From a practical perspective, there is a lot to love about the ever more popular hybrids – great gas mileage, the newest cutting-edge technology, and the sense of doing good for the environment. But then there’s the questions of maintenance. With so much new technology, maintenance on hybrid vehicles is significantly more complicated than on traditional gas-powered vehicles. You see hybrids driving around Huntington Beach every day – they might not have the classic appeal of the hot rods or convertibles that Southern California loves so much, but they are reliable and practical as daily drivers or family cars.
What exactly is a hybrid vehicle? To put it simply, a hybrid is any vehicle that uses more than one power source. In most cases, they use a gas engine as well as an electric motor. The car is capable of regenerating energy from the kinetic energy produced by your vehicle moving and braking, and automatically switching between power sources based on things such as the amount of throttle you use, settings you can select for yourself, and the power left in the batteries. Because they have a secondary power source helping move the vehicle, hybrids are able to use much less gasoline than conventional vehicles.
Routine maintenance such as tire rotations and oil changes should be done on the scheduled maintenance plan just as in a regular vehicle, but there are still some major differences in most hybrid vehicles.
Since hybrid vehicles are equipped with both a gas and electric motor, you may think that you’ll need twice the maintenance to keep your hybrid running well. However, due to the nature of hybrid technology, you may not need that much more regular maintenance at all.