Mechanics go to school on hybrids
By jeffrey t. lavery
While the novelty of seeing a hybrid on the road has worn off, concerns about how to service them are mounting.
Area mechanics are going back to school in droves to tear down hybrids and better serve customers. That was the goal of a four-day workshop recently held in Leominster, where mechanics from all over the globe dove into hybrid nomenclature, driving and ripping apart hybrids, then putting them back together. The class, organized by Craig Van Batenburg of the Automotive Career Development Center in Worcester, attracted attendees from down the street to as far away as Sydney, Australia.What strikes fear in the hearts of the neighborhood mechanic is this: While a new hybrid Prius or Civic may be sold at a dealership, likelihood exists that the owners will still want service from their local mechanic. However, when hybrids hit the streets, only factory-trained technicians knew how to service the unique drivetrains. Though still largely the case, the tide is changing as more technicians gain knowledge to service long-standing customers driving the latest in hybrid technology.
"I have customers with a lot of interest in buying hybrids," says D.J. Pothier, owner of D.J.’s Auto Repair in Leominster. "I want to be educated so I can service them."
Quirks create need
While largely similar to their gasoline counterparts, hybrids do require a dose of extra care. Hondas use a Continuously Variable Transmission, which tends to need more attention than a standard unit due to its more complicated parts. Further, an electric motor does much of the braking in hybrids, which translates to underused brake pads and calipers in need of cleaning to reduce rust build up. And finally, the battery pack residing in the vehicle will at some point need replacing, but the jury is out on when that will be. Van Batenburg notes that battery packs are outlasting the transmission in high-mileage hybrids.
With the hybrid firmly lodged in the mainstream, service technicians can reap what dealerships sell. Toyota offers three hybrids, the Prius, Highlander SUV and new this year, the Camry Hybrid. Honda released a redesigned Civic Hybrid in early 2006, and in June noted record hybrid sales, moving 2,601 cars off dealer lots, accounting for a 40.4 percent increase over the same time last year. Toyota’s upscale sibling Lexus sells two hybrid models, and Ford shares a hybrid SUV with Mercury.
On the local level, dealerships can’t keep the fuel savers in the showroom. Gilles Labelle, hybrid manager at Westboro Toyota’s Hybrid Center, notes that he wishes Toyota would put "50 more hybrids on the lot." Russell Houle, a sales manager at Lundgren Honda in Auburn, spent five months looking for a used Civic Hybrid for a customer. Independent mechanics want a piece of that pie, but as Van Batenburg points out, even the dealership technicians need to beware.
"Dealership technicians who work on a flat rate have to learn that it takes them longer to fix a hybrid car, but they’re not getting paid for it," says Van Batenburg. "And there’s an incentive at independent shops to learn because they’ll lose their customers back to dealerships."
Jeffrey T. Lavery can be reached at jlavery@wbjournal.com
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