As illustrated in Development of Electric Powertrain for CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID, the Clarity PHEV uses two inverters: one for power going into the battery and another for power coming out of the battery.
Honda Roadside Assistance vs AAA?
- Thread starter Kathy
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LegoZ
Active Member
Wouldn't that be one inverter per motor in the car? The Stater/Generator can have power fed to it to spin up the engine or be spun by the engine to feed power to the battery. The Motor (traction motor) can have power fed to it from the battery to spin the wheels or be spun by the wheels to feed power to the battery.
You're right, I misinterpreted the diagram. The SAE paper, Development of Electric Powertrain for CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID says:
"The Power Control Unit integrates an inverter that drives the traction motor, an inverter that drives the generator, and a DC-DC converter to boost the battery voltage..."
I'm guessing the AC output from the motors when operating as generators must be rectified to DC for charging the battery.
4sallypat
Active Member
I have never liked the manufacturer roadside assistance (Cross Country Motors) which contracts with many brands including: Honda, BMW and Land Rover.
They never get to you in a timely manner.
My next best option I have for all my cars: AAA/ACSC which is great for my annual multi DMV trips I get to avoid by not going to the state office. Auto Club has a great DMV dept for tag registrations, plate changes, and transfer of owners.
The other option I have for all my cars:
Premium Roadside Assistance for Platinum Amex members:
Premium Roadside Assistance provides the following services, where eligible, at no additional cost up to 4 times per calendar year: towing up to 10 miles, winching, jump starts, flat tire change when Card Member has a workable spare, lockout service when key is in vehicle and delivery of up to 2 gallons of fuel.
This can come in helpful if I need a tow further than 5 miles (basic AAA/ACSC membership tow).
The extra 10 miles can be what I need to get it to a shop that I want to get to.
I pay $78 a year for AAA and use them at least 3 times a year. I used to have a natural gas car and it ran out of gas a couple of times a year. I also have a Prius which seems to have a battery issue and it dies from time to time. My Honda Pilot's battery dies last week also. Every time AAA was there in under half an hour and fixed the problem free of charge. I am a big fan.
John Hurson
New Member
If you want roadside assistance then i would suggest taking any local towing or roadside assistance service. AAA and similar services may need yearly membership fee which is quite good But, i guess you face vehicle broken down issues once in a year. So, its upto you or condition of your vehicle.
AAA is worth it for other reasons than roadside assistance, their DMV capability is well worth the price if you need it. Some here may remember my post about getting a ticket for a degraded CA license plate that the officer wrote up as "stripping reflective coating." I had another car showing the same license plate problem and wanted to avoid another ticket. I thought I would have to go to the DMV, something that strikes fear and loathing into any CA resident, but I thought to call AAA first. Yes, they can do this. They have the plates and the registration stickers in house. I went in, waited less than 5 minutes, handed them my old plates and registration, paid $20 and got new plates, stickers and registration in less than 10 minutes. So much easier than going to the DMV.
MajorAward
Active Member
This Forum is great. I learn something new here everyday.
2002
Well-Known Member
When I lived in California I bought a car from a relative from out of state, and I would never get the registration notices in the mail from DMV when it was time to renew. Went to the DMV office, they said everything looks fine in their database, but next year - no registration notice. Not a huge problem, but it is nice to get the notices. So I went to my local AAA office and asked for their help. It took them several days but they finally figured it out. They said the DMV database had two different date fields, one of which was used for registration notice mailing. Somehow when the registration was transferred to California from out of state the mailing date field was left blank. They said it should be fixed now and it was, I always got my registration notice on time the remaining years that I owned the car.
One time I was visiting my cousin out of state and her car wouldn't start. I called AAA and they came out and got it started, no charge.
Back in the old days if I was travelling somewhere I would stop by the local AAA office and pick up their free guide books, they seemed to have them for just about anywhere I wanted to go. Of course now with Internet that service isn't really needed.
I sometimes am able to use the AAA discount for hotels which helps to partially subsidize the annual fee.
MajorAward
Active Member
Is that what I remember as a Trip Tik?
2002
Well-Known Member
I remember Trip Tik but those were mainly for driving trips, with routes and things along the way, etc. What I used were their destination guide books which I used when I flew somewhere. Sometimes they combined several states or countries into one guide book, I would tear out just the pages that I needed to reduce space in my already crowded luggage. I wouldn't think of doing that with a Fodors book that I had spent several dollars on, but thought nothing of tearing pages out of a free AAA guide book
And don't forget passport photos, I think they used to be free, now you pay for them but it's still convenient.
With any Hybrid/plug in vehicle there is no space for a spare tire so every mfr that I know of offer their Roadside Assistance for free. Having experience with this I thought I would comment. This is based on MY experience with toyota and now Honda roadside assitance. I drive a Clarity and just recently had a side wall puncture from a pot hole in my rear tire. I lost steering and pulled over on the narrow shoulder of the HOV lane, during rush hour on a Friday night in NY. I called Honda Roadside assitance and was put on hold and when finally got the voice prompt asked me for the last 6 digits of my VIN number. Keep in mind I was trembling from the experience and felt unsafe. I got the reigistration out and typed in the last 6 digits, I was on hold again. I left the call on hold and dialed 911. When I returned to the call no one was there. I called Honda assistance back and entered the 6 digits yet again and I was then put on hold AGAIN for about 3 minutes when a call came with no caller ID came in, I answered it and it was a county police they said they would have an officer there shortly. I then called back Honda Roadside and on hold and entered the last 6 digits once again and was finally spoke to a man who said "we're really busy". I told him that I called 911 because I was on hold and didn't feel safe and that the officer called a flat bed tow truck already, he said "oh they should NOT have done that! We could have a tow truck to you within 2 hours." I don't no anyone that would've opted for staying in an unsafe location for 2 hours to get FREE roadside assistance vs paying $175 CASH to the tow truck and I had him to take me to the nearest dealership. What I have learned from these FREE Roadside Assistance programs offered is that there are so many rules to abide by that are just not realistic. So in a perfect world if I wanted no money out of pocket, I should've gotten a flat tire within 3 miles of a Honda dealership and waited 2 hours for the tow truck to take me there. THEN and only then would it be free. This is true for Toyota roadside assistance also. For safety reasons alone I opted to listen to the officer and was thankful that he could call a tow truck and it was there in 25 minutes! My only hope is to get reimbursed but I have a feeling that it will get denied, (as it did with toyota years back) even though I have my phone records as proof of calls to HRA. Oh, and they have this locator service that didn't work for me also, because evidently you are supposed to have great phone service wherever your flat happened too! Tow truck companies, AAA all have their loop holes and rules that have to be abidied by so at times of trouble if you feel unsafe and need help right away, do whatever you have to get safe and worry about the money after. Its just not worth all the red tape and rules that they ALL have. Stay safe everyone!
Honestly, expecting you to wait for 2 hours is ridiculous! This is why I have AAA in addition to Honda roadside assist. AAA will tow you to a garage which will be able to fix the tire whereas Honda roadside assist will tow you to the dealer. I have never had to wait for more than half an hour for AAA.
Texas22Step
Well-Known Member
There's plenty of space in the trunk, just no spare tire.
But with that said, having to stop on a busy NY highway on its narrow inside shoulder for the HOV lane would be no picnic for anybody, and even if you had had the spare tire in the trunk, it is doubtful you could have made good use of it anyway under the circumstances. Your experience is telling and valuable -- thanks for posting it.
su_A_ve
Active Member
AAA can be a couple of hours wait as well. They have contracts with tow companies, same as Honda, and it would all depend on how far is the sub is and how busy they are.
AAA will tow you to wherever you want to, but you would have to pay the distance if above the threshold (depends on your sub level). AAA also has a limit on how many tows per year you do so careful here. Honda would tow it to the nearest Honda dealer.
If it's a nail or something straight, the fix-a-flat will help you or AAA can even plug it right on the spot. If it's a sidewall impact, there's no fix - you need a new tire, and a dealer will most likely have the tire. Local garage or warehouse will need to order the tire.
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
Let's not forget that your local insurance agent most likely has a real good option too...if money is the concern. For mine I actually now pay $4/year per car for towing reimbursement coverage. Compare that to whatever AAA charges annually these days! With this coverage I'm free to handle the situation myself in the most efficient way possible...emergency tire swap service, towing, gas/battery delivery, jumpstart, lockout, etc...then turn in receipts of what I spent to my insurance company, and they reimburse whatever I spent within their given limits. I wrote my essay earlier in this thread and didn't mention this option, but I'm just gonna add again that in a TRUE emergency, or during a nasty weather event, typically AAA sucks, roadside assistance contracts for all manufacturers suck, and most often the best bet is to simply call 911, or the local police direct, and tell them you have an emergency due to your dangerous location/weather/disability/etc, and you need a tow truck ASAP. They'll usually immediately patch you thru to a company that handles emergency tows or whatever, and you can pay that company direct with a credit card when they arrive on site. Then if you purchased your $4/year coverage, send the bill(s) to your insurance company for reimbursement. Smartphones and insurance company coverages have rendered AAA fully obsolete both from a utility and price perspective...why would one pay too much $$ to pigeon hole him/herself into ONE alternative for rescue from a bad situation, when there are often 10 to 100 alternatives a click and phone call away? Just because you paid the membership and are trying to get your money's worth out of that ONE organization, does not mean you're going to get the best/fastest/most necessary service, and you may be stuck calling someone else to rescue you anyway...
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KentuckyKen
Well-Known Member
I like that $4 per year option. Thanks, I didn’t even know it existed. Will be talking to my agent tomorrow.
I’ve gone to taking a spare with me on trips out of town so that the Honda Care person can just come and change the tire while I sit in the car and then I’m on my way. In town, I can accept the “tow only to nearest dealer” and get a friend to pick me up if the slime/inflator kit won’t handle it.
This way I avoid the AAA fee but still get free assistance At a level that works for me as long as I remember to take the spare on trips
I’ve gone to taking a spare with me on trips out of town so that the Honda Care person can just come and change the tire while I sit in the car and then I’m on my way. In town, I can accept the “tow only to nearest dealer” and get a friend to pick me up if the slime/inflator kit won’t handle it.
This way I avoid the AAA fee but still get free assistance At a level that works for me as long as I remember to take the spare on trips