What is bidirectional charging in electric vehicles? | Car Doctor
Q: I am considering an electric car and was thinking about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and wonder what you think about it. I will be charging it from home. What do you recommend for home charging? Also, I keep hearing about bidirectional charging. What is that?
A: The Hyundai Ioniq is a great EV. It is comfortable, fun to drive and has good range. In fact, at AAA, we just purchased two for our driving school. Having these EVs in our fleet of vehicles helps us to learn and understand firsthand about EV ownership.
You have many choices when it comes to home charging. I recently spoke to Shawn McLaughlin — the CEO of Emporia (www.emporiaenergy.com). They have a 40-ampere home EV level 2 charging station that can be hardwired or plugged into the appropriate outlet for less than $400.
Bidirectional charging — which is not quite here yet — will allow you, as the car owner, to sell the electricity in your car’s battery back to the electric utility during peak rates and buy electricity to recharge your electric car when the rates are lowest. In pilot testing, tests have shown that — depending on the vehicle and electricity costs — the consumer can generate $200 per month reselling their electricity.
Q: I just had a new battery installed this past September, but my battery was dead yesterday. I had an AAA technician come to help. The meter he used showed that my battery was still good. What else could be wrong? Would something be draining the battery?
A: Yes, that could certainly be the case. A light could be on because a door didn’t fully close or something else could be draining the battery.
The best thing to do is to have the battery charged using a battery charger and then have the charging system (alternator output) as well as the electrical system checked for parasitic drain.
Q: My car will not start. It seems as if the computer system is whacked out. What should I do?
A: For an engine to start, it needs fuel and a working fuel system, ignition (spark), proper timing and reasonable engine compression. If any one of these is missing, the engine won’t start. You need to see what the engine has and doesn’t have.
The first step is to check for fuel pressure and see if the fuel injection is working. Then, see if the engine has spark. Once that is determined, scan the computer system to look for fault codes.
The issue could be a faulty ignition coil(s), or a fuel pump or timing belt that failed, among other things. The actual computer is likely not the problem.
Q: My wife and I own a 2020 Toyota Prius XLE e-AWD with just over 25,000 miles. The car has always been serviced by Toyota, always garaged and was in pristine condition. Unfortunately, we were stopped at a light and a distracted driver never stopped and plowed into the rear end of the Prius without applying their brakes. Needless to say, the car was not drivable after the accident and had to be put on a flatbed to the tow yard.
With the impact of the accident, which caused our car to be catapulted into the car in front of us, I thought for sure the car would be totaled. The insurance adjuster came out yesterday and determined the car was repairable, What he saw with visual inspection was $11,000 worth of damage. He said there probably would be thousands of dollars of additional damage once the body shop begins to disassemble and put the car back together.
My car is currently at a reputable body shop. The body shop owner told me that it is still very difficult to get replacement parts and that it could take up to five weeks to repair the vehicle if parts are available.
My concern is with a major rear-end crash. Even when repaired by a good body shop, will the car perform the same as it did before the accident? Should I trade in the car and take a beating on the trade, or should I contest the appraiser's opinion and ask for the car to be totaled?
A: Right now, the car is worth somewhere in the range of $30,000 (looking at the website iseecars.com), and usually cars are not totaled until the repairs exceed 60% of the value (sometimes more). The body shop should be able to determine if additional repairs are needed.
At this point, with the very high car prices, it probably makes sense to repair the car. Once repaired, it will be as good as new. If the shop has good technicians and uses quality parts, there is no reason to think it won’t be. Still, if you are uneasy about the car, you might be surprised to find what it is worth, since used car values are still a bit crazy.
John Paul is the AAA Northeast Car Doctor. He has more than 40 years of experience in the automobile industry and is an ASE-Certified Master Technician. Write to John Paul, The Car Doctor, at 110 Royal Little Drive, Providence, RI 02904. Or email jpaul@aaanortheast.com and put “Car Doctor” in the subject field. Follow him on Twitter @johnfpaul or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What is bidirectional charging in electric vehicles? | Car Doctor
