Filed under: Hybrid, Manufacturing/Plants, Chevrolet, GM, Saturn, USA
GM having problems with Cobasys batteries in mild hybrids
Click the Saturn Vue Hybrid for a high res gallery
It's no secret that General Motors' hybrid sales are nothing to brag about, especially when compared to cross-town rival Ford and, especially, cross-ocean rival Toyota. While the overall sales direction is positive, sales were most certainly negatively impacted by a problem with battery packs manufactured by Cobasys which were intended for installation in mild hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura. According to reports, some nine-thousand batteries had to be recalled and replaced due to an internal leak which made the entire pack inoperable. Although the vehicles themselves would still operate, the hybrid system would not.
GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson put it well when he said, "I don't know how many hybrids we could have sold, but we would have had at least 9,000 more batteries for the pipeline." There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, though, as Cobasys claims to have resolved the problem and Chevrolet reports that production of the 2009 Malibu hybrid is on target for June 23.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
philmcneal 9:05PM (6/02/2008)
gm should just ditch the mild hybrid concept and work on their lithium hybrid project that is more effective on a broader scale, it seems the cost for this system for the mpg is netted just seems too wasteful than the usefulness it actually provides.
Reply
stevefazek 9:42PM (6/02/2008)
I think the mild hybrid is already good for small cheap and light cars not midsized. something like a Aveo with a mild hybrid
Reply
jake 10:21PM (6/02/2008)
@stevefazek
That might be even worst b/c the mild hybrid is a set cost, and in a midsize, which costs more already, it's not as noticable, but for a small car, it will make up a much larger percentage of the cost. They should really focus on full hybrids instead or use that simple start-stop system that's getting popular in Europe. Looks like the tahoe/yukon hybrids are giving them more of a return than these cheaper mild hybrids.
Reply
Joseph 12:32AM (6/03/2008)
Were these "nine-thousand batteries" full packs or individual cells? I presume that these nine-thousand batteries are already in vehicles and not sitting in some warehouse, and so have been/need to be replaced.
It must be embarrassing for GM that they are having problems with a little tiny mild-hybrid system while larger and more complex hybrids by Toyota and Honda are doing well.
I hope problems with these batteries have nothing to do with GM's Tahoe two-mode hybrid. There may be an issue though, since Cobasys provides that NiMH batteries for the Tahoe hybrid. (they do, right?)
Reply
Joseph 12:32AM (6/03/2008)
Addition:
Confirmed, Cobasys does provide the batteries for GM's Tahoe hybrid. Reference:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/05/01/abg-first-impressions-two-mode-hybrid-chevy-tahoe-and-gmc-yukon/
I really hope this doesn't mean trouble for GM's two-mode hybrids.
Reply
TBlueMax 8:22AM (6/03/2008)
"It must be embarrassing for GM that they are having problems with a little tiny mild-hybrid system while larger and more complex hybrids by Toyota and Honda are doing well."
Funny, I didn't get a sense from the article that there was a problem with GM's mild hybrid system, just a supplier issue with some faulty batteries that have since been identified and corrected.
With GM's mild hybrid system, you get exactly what you pay for... small price = small efficiency gains. No complaints if that is what you're after.
Reply
Brent 10:44AM (6/03/2008)
I disagree with scuttling this project. I think GM is looking at this as a way to move the technology into mass production, which can be done without major modifications to a vehicles drivetrain. Even a small percentage increase in economy across a larger percentage of vehicles is a step in the right direction, and will have a bigger impact than a train full of Priuses. This system is due for an update in 2010, which will further improve overall fuel economy.
Reply
Joseph 3:20PM (6/03/2008)
@ TBlueMax
"Funny, I didn't get a sense from the article that there was a problem with GM's mild hybrid system, just a supplier issue with some faulty batteries that have since been identified and corrected."
You are correct. I was wrong. It is a supplier issue, not an inssue with GM's hybrid system.
@ TBlueMax and Brent
"With GM's mild hybrid system, you get exactly what you pay for... small price = small efficiency gains. No complaints if that is what you're after."
I wasn't criticizing the hybrid system's effectiveness, I was criticizing its reliability, which you have pointed out isn't GM's fault; it was the supplier's fault.
Reply
Kevin Nugent 6:52PM (6/03/2008)
You know at first i really think gm was bull*** but it seems that with all these green projects going on they really want to be part of a revolution of effective low emissions vehicles
Reply
Bill 6:09AM (6/04/2008)
And all the hobbyist ranted and raved about how there was a "conspiracy" since Cobasys wouldn't sell them NiMH batteries in quantities of one for their home-brew EV conversions.
Reply