Just got back from my weekend in Vegas with family.
Okay, I've owned my HCH2 for over 8 months now and I live in Los Angeles,
where the temps usually hover around 80 degrees.

I finally experienced my first "forced regen" in Las Vegas. The temperature was around 120 degrees and we had to have the AC on. Stuck on Las Vegas Blvd. and stopped at a light. The battery dropped to 1 bar and the car started revving up the charge bars dropped to about 3. The car had absolutely no power at all.

The day we arrived in Vegas it was also 120 deg. While on the way to pick up my brother at the airport I noticed that the vehicle does not respond like it does in Los Angeles.

First, the car does not auto-stop in 120 deg temps, no matter how low of a setting I use for the AC fan (this trick works in LA, set it at a lower setting before coming to a stop).

Second, the car would not regenerate battery power while braking? What was going on? Does extreme heat cause the HCH2 to respond strangely?

Anyone in Phoenix have a response?

i read some of the manual and it does have a feature that will not let it work during high tempertures.

James


Best MPG tank: 57.7 calculated
Best Trip: 73.8mpg displayed(Palmdale"LACR" to LAX)

The chemical reaction that occurs when charging heats up the battery pack, if the computer detects the batteries are already too hot, charging is restricted to protect them. I've heard of this happening if the vent to the battery pack is obstructed by something, 120 degree weather could very well do it, as well. This is one of the noted design flaws of the Honda Hybrids -- the fact that the battery pack is air-cooled from the cabin-air, rather than cooled directly by air-conditioner refrigerant, as I believe the Toyota Hybrid system does it.

^^ very interesting!!! so what you should have done is cranked up the AC and cooled the car as much as possible! In some cases AC yeilds better mileage in the hot!

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.

So, has anybody done studies on correlation of FEH to cars that are consistently parked in parking garages during the day? That would be an interesting comparison to see if it could be feasible.

I live in AZ where it is daily around 115+ degrees. While the auto stop does not work initially as the car cools down it does work. It seems that if I put it at 86 in auto it cools down relatively quickly and then the auto stop does work. While some might think that 86 is not that cool, it really is when the outside temp is 115+.

I have never experienced this...

i've read on the ford website is that you can improve the performance of the batteries if one kept their FEH in the garages rather than roasting in the warm sun. Since when one turns on their car in the hot, the car has to take time to cool down the batteries before they can be used, but in the cool garage the batteries can be used instantly without delay!

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.

I went to Vegas in the summer 3 years ago, it was SO crazy hot. Just be glad you don't live there.

Aren't you breaking the rule of Vegas? "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.." This thread should be removed..

I had posted on this before. Here in Houston, simply parking on a lot and then driving in the day shows autostop etc will not work in conditons of extreme heat UNTIL the battery pack cools down. Parking in a garage does make a difference as you will have all working much sooner again as normal.