Is electric really the answer?

[Barrykearley]

Does it still make a pop sound on overrun??

[RobinB5]

That's exactly what happens:

 

[ChrisJ]

I did that at school with a gas syringe in chemistry - Used my cigarette lighter to light the end of the rubber tube we were generating it through while pushing the syringe to make a "jet". Didn't quite work like that, very loid pop and shot the end all the way along the long chemistry desk. There was another student who walked past the end of the desk at that moment. turned and caught the syringe.

I can't remember our explanation for it, but I don't remember getting a detention.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Just waiting for the AA man to come and look at my Passat Estate GTE PHEV. It was one year old on Thursday and had its first VW service yesterday. I drove it back 10 miles electric only. Then another 20 mile round trip this morning electric only. An hour gap with a bit of recharge and a second 20 mile round trip. The battery was empty about 3 or 4 miles from home, so the engine kicked in and I selected re-charge also. I got within 100 yards of home and started smelling an awful stench. Pulled into our driveway and fine smoke is billowing out of the engine bay. More of an electrical fire smell than a fuel one. The source of the smoke was on the exhaust side of the engine under the heat shield by the lambda sensor. No sign of actual flames. I got a wet rag and dowsed it on the affected area. The smoke gradually stopped as it cooled down. There were no dashboard warning lights and I was able to back the car away from the garage (don’t want all of my cars going up in smoke!). VW Roadside Assistance is not valid less than 0.25 miles from home, so I’m going with the AA first. Could the VW mechanic have forgotten something at the service? It only happened after the ICE kicked in. The high voltage battery system seems OK. Will update.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Update. Just before AA were due to turn up, they sent a text advising a 2 hour delay.

Anyway I’ve just had another closer look. There is some fresh oil in the nooks and crannies of the cam cover and cylinder head on the exhaust side. My suspicion is that the VW mechanic has spilled a load of fresh engine oil all down the side of the engine at the service. Probably gave the top end a quick wipe with a rag and left it, without checking where the rest has ended up. I just restarted the ICE and sure enough, when cold no smoke, but as the engine heats up the vapours and smell start to appear again. This would explain why it is still operating as normal with no warning lights. If true, then it “just” needs cleaning off, but how to get into the depths of the engine bay to do it? Or do I just need to drive around in a smokey car until it all burns off? Not great from VW.

[pete]

10 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

Can’t help but feel that this has been overlooked

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/REVAi

Or tripped over

[Painterdave]

It's rear-wheel-drive

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Just going back to the Passat. The AA man turned up 4 hours late, but 100% confirmed my prognosis by means of a check with his flexible torch. The VW mechanic has spilled oil all over the back of the engine and down over the exhaust manifold, so nothing to do with it being a PHEV. The AA man reckons that the dealer can clean it off with their jet wash, otherwise it will stink inside and outside and smoke every time the ICE kicks in. I agreed with the AA man to leave the obviously spilled oil as evidence and called the VW dealer to get it sorted a.s.a.p. next week. That’s not the service you would expect from a main dealer.

[Bibs]

Not at all, but they work to a timesheet and at a guess they probably got something like 30-40 mins to service your car. It's very production line-esque in a service dept sadly at mainstream main dealers. 

[C8RKH]

If that's the case then why do you usually have to wait 4-6 hours when you drop your car off to get it back?  Why don't they just offer 1 hour slots - drop off at 0800, pick up at 0900 etc...?

Or do they use under aged monkeys in the reception/booking as well as the service bays?

[Barrykearley]

You can’t handle the truth @C8RKH

[Bibs]

Same as hospitals booking you a 9AM (morning) or 1PM (afternoon) slot nowadays. Easier for them to plan your arrival so you're there and they'll see you when they are ready, not vice versa.

[C8RKH]

Difference is I have no choice with the NHS, with a garage, I can and do, go elsewhere (i.e independents as they are just better!). The dealers who get the after-sales stuff right are the ones who will thrive as I predict that in future the general public will not be buying a new car more often, if at all, as we move almost wholesale to a "leasing" model with all costs included.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Took the Passat back to VW dealer this morning to get the spilled oil cleaned off the engine etc. It took them ages, about 3 1/2 hours, including about 30 miles of test driving to wash/burn it off. Seems 99% better now. Hopefully OK for my next business trip on Wednesday. I don’t want to meet my customers smelling like Red Adair.

[exeterjeep]

MG4 being announced, made and delivered in reasonable volumes with a more potent one to come, and low priced...

High-performance MG 4 EV to launch in 2023 with 443bhp

Twin-motor, AWD with 330kW of power
► Targets a 4.0sec 0-62mph time
► Here in 2023, priced around £35,000

The Chinese SAIC/MG production getting ramped up at pace. Compared to some other companies. If this car is reliable then it will make an inroad into the UK registrations quickly.

 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

On 30/06/2022 at 09:48, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

So the warmer weather has yielded an electric only mileage range of my Passat PHEV in the low 30s. I’ve recently been doing quite a few battery only drives. The overall fuel consumption since Day 1 has consequently improved to 50.6 mpg. That will probably represent the pinnacle of what I can achieve, since I have some very long journeys coming up. The new extension lead works fine, with no overheating.

Just another update on my Passat PHEV. I’ve had it for just over a year now and have managed to improve the overall fuel economy to date to a genuine 55.6 mpg over a total of 6536 miles. That’s quite impressive for a big car with decent performance and 10% better than I was expecting.

[Doug Ashley]

Some more on synthetic fuels:

Harry Metcalfe also did a video a few months ago, & is now running an old Rolls/Bentley on the stuff.

As part of a range of solutions, I think this is something to be optimistic about.  Just need the proper investment..

 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Others will know much more about this project than I do, but it looks like a failure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63457813

 

[exeterjeep]

Britishvolt & Lotus sign MoU to collaborate on next generation battery cells specific to Lotus requirements  Jan 2022...

https://www.britishvolt.com/news/britishvolt-lotus-sign-mou-to-collaborate-on-next-generation-battery-cells-specific-to-lotus-requirements/

 

 

[hedgerley]

The news that Britishvolt is teetering on the edge of receivership is bad news for Lotus. I thought Matt was rather hesitant on Harry's video....

[Royal]

@exeterjeep I read the article and noticed another article that funding has been secured from a source not revealed, for the short to medium term. 

[Techyd]

I take it the batteries are/were to be used in the Evija and possibly the Lotus / Alpine collaboration?

[exeterjeep]

May be Geely have stepped in as Aston have also signed a MoU. So to help protect interests in both brands electric future.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Seems like the investment on Monday was only a sticking plaster. They could be back to square one next month, although it makes you wonder why anyone would hand over a few million quid, just for the sake of a few weeks survival. There must be more to it, I would have thought.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63483666

 

[yeller77]

"Leveling up" just sounds like a new name for "Delorean.'" 🤷‍♂️