Hot Weather Hybrid Owners Unite
 

Looking to buy a Hybrid but I travel in hot weather climates frequently - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona. I have read a couple of threads concerning warmer temperatures and I wanted to see if I should be making this investment if I live in a warmer climate.

Any suggestions/answers/comments??? Thanks. Sam

Re: Hot Weather Hybrid Owners Unite
 

- tint your windows,
- try to find shaded parking or covered parking,
- crack the windows open slightly,
- think about installing "ventvisors" to allow cracking the windows, so you don't get rain in the interior,
- make sure nothing blocks the battery ventilation.

Do whatever you can to shield the car and battery pack from excess heat. It should help the battery's life span.

Be prepared for a MPG hit when you finally give in to the heat and just have to turn on the A/C. I tried cycling the A/C on only during decelerations coming to a stop. Now that the temp and humidity are both 90+, I have to use the A/C more and more. And the MPG's are suffering.
A little personal fan with a spray bottle of water helps (found it at Brookstone).
But sometimes the A/C is the only relief, before heat stress kicks in. :angry:

And welcome to GH!

Re: Hot Weather Hybrid Owners Unite
 

Hi Guys:

___I have an excellent solution besides all those we have discussed to death over the last 2 years. I will post a few pics and give a small review sometime Saturday. It works for those particularly nasty 90 – 104 degree days indeed ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Re: Hot Weather Hybrid Owners Unite
 

Thanks for the suggestions. Any idea on how much your gas mileage has suffered in the hot weather compared to cooler/moderate temps?

Re: Hot Weather Hybrid Owners Unite
 

Samdelag:

Now that I gave in and started using a little A/C (cool the interior and then turn A/C off, after that only turn A/C on during slow downs), my average for the current tank is at 78.3 MPG by the FCD with 400 miles on the "A" trip odometer (it's down to about the half mark on the fuel gauge).

The last tank averaged 80.6 on the FCD, same commute to work, same temps, but no A/C except on slow downs.

So, maybe a 2 mpg hit. With minimal A/C use. If I just turned the A/C on all the time, I would guess a 10-15 MPG hit.

Regards,