Servicing Hybrid Transmissions
Servicing
Hybrid
Transmissions
by David Skora
www.atra.com
O
ne of these days, a very ordi- 5. Make sure
nary looking vehicle is going the vehicle
to come into your shop for won’t run
what should be a normal service. But out of gas
hold on a second; before you give your while it’s in
standard price estimate, take a closer the shop.
look: Your customer may be driving a 6. Some vehi-
hybrid. Besides the extra precautions of cles use a
working around high-voltage, there are high volt-
several other systems that have been age motor
modified to operate the hybrid power- which will
train. You need to know about them and operate the
how to service them, too. A/C com-
Hybrid vehicles are designed to p r e s s o r
be able to drive the vehicle from one or cool-
of two sources of power. One source is ing fans.
the typical internal combustion engine. This motor
The other source is from a bank of bat- may auto-
teries. Each manufacturer has designed m a t i c a l l y
its own unique system to operate the come on if
vehicle. There may be specific or even the battery
updated information that you’ll need compart-
before you start. ment gets
Make sure you go over any specific too hot.
information or TSBs you find at ATRA, 7. Whenever
Mitchell, AllData or ideally, the OEM service is
Figure 1
service information site. Here are some required near the battery or other play panel went into a factory program-
important general precautions: high voltage devices, always use ming mode. Since we weren’t familiar
1. Never leave the vehicle unattended the appropriate safety gloves. with Japanese, we decided not to press
unless the ignition is off and the Never wear anything metal that our luck!
transmission’s in park. might come in contact with a high 9. Some vehicles with regenerative
2. Keep the ignition key in your pock- voltage source. brake systems develop voltage that
et whenever you’re away from the 8. Some vehicles’ electronic modules could damage a module even if
vehicle. may be damaged if you use the you just push the vehicle around
3. Some vehicles include autostart, wrong scan tool. Consult your scan the shop. If you need to push the
which may automatically start or tool manufacturer to be sure it’s vehicle, it’s a good idea to place
restart the engine under certain appropriate for the vehicle you’re each wheel on a tire dolly.
conditions, such as when the vehi- working on. 10. Never connect a conventional bat-
cle has already been turned on. tery charger to the vehicle. Even
4. Use extra care when positioning For example: We connected a the auxiliary, 12-volt batteries that
jacks or hoists. There may be high Launch scan tool with the power feed most hybrid vehicles use are spe-
voltage wiring underneath the connected to the cigarette lighter socket cially sealed.
chassis. on a Gen 1 Prius. The dashboard dis-
12 GEARS January/February 2010
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