After driving my TCH for about 2 months, a really disconcerting thing started happening: every time I got out of my car after a trip and closed the door with my hand, I got a small electric shock.

I live in LA, and it may be that low humidity here has something to do with it, but it's never happened to me on any of my other cars (except in the desert), so I'm wondering if an engineering glitch in the TCH's electrical system is somehow creating a voltage differential in the metal of the body. Not a very scientific diagnosis, but it's the best I can come up with.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

It's "static" electricity. Probably more caused by those rubber soled shoes you are wearing and the low humidity you mentioned. My guess is the discharge is FROM you TO the car.
If it's really a problem there are little tricks to minimize the discomfort. Like holding a coin and touching it to the car handle first. That way you don't feel the spark.

 

This happens to me with both of my non-hybrid cars. As mentioned by schmidtj it's probably static electricity.

 

Funny that you mention this. I have gotten a small static shock getting out of my last two cars, a Passat and an Altima. This happened so frequently that I was starting to wonder about myself! In 6 months of ownership, I have to say that I can't recall its happening on my TCH! In fact, I had forgotten about it until I read your post. Maybe you got my static "mojo"!

 

How come you don't get a spark when you insert the fuel nozzle into the filler tube?
At least I don't remember ever getting a spark.
I'm getting out of the burn unit in a day or so.

Seriously,
When I fuel my aircraft (any aircraft) you always attach a static
cable to the aircraft's frame to prevent sparks during refueling.
How come you don't need to do this with automobiles?

 

LRR tires, such as those provided as OEM on most hybrids, will exacerbate static electricity buildup. It has something to do with the rubber compound although I can't pretend to know specifically what. This happened to me quite a lot on my second-to-last car, which was a non-hybrid but had LRR Michelins.

 

I've seen fuel pumps with a metal plate along with a sign stating that you should touch the plate before fueling to discharge any static charge. I believe most, if not all, pumps have this. Most people don't even know about it and the sign is not conspicuous.

There have been rare cases of a static spark starting a fire at the pump. Probably a good safety precaution, but one I don't follow either.

 

My '95 Camry gives me worse electric shocks than my TCH--to the point where they're sometimes painful. I'll still feel it even if I'm wearing gloves.

 

I get the same thing from my hch. It's a combination of the type of clothes you are wearing at the time, seat materials, and the low humidity of winter. Any car will also build up a static charge when driving at highway speeds and if you happen to pass some money to a toll taker, you run the risk of discharging a good jolt. To remedy this, you can attach a static strap to the rear of your car that will touch the ground as you come to a stop and discharge any static electricity that has accumulated.

 

Would something like Static-Guard sprayed on the seats help with this? It hasn't happened to me yet, but Denver is known for its dry climate, so I would be shocked if it didn't (pun intended).