Lease and Drive the Honda EV+ (EV Plus)--Trip Log of an ordinary driver

4000 to 7999 miles--second 4000 miles

Back to 1st 4000

• Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1997: Car taken in to Costa Mesa Honda for the 4000 mile check. The techs download the on-board data collector each 4,000 miles, but because of our little problem with the battery they already did this about a thousand miles ago when they replaced the battery. So this time they just generally check over the car, refresh the washer fluid levels, change the oil . . .just kidding. No oil to change. Kick the tires? Brian, the manager, himself sets it up, car is in and out in less than an hour. We feel like royalty. Does Honda treat all lease owners so well, or is it just because of the EV+? Don't know, but Costa Mesa Honda is a great place for us. Still have not yet received a bill for the electrical work done when the "charging station" was installed in our garage, so there are still a few bugs in the system. At least they have the lease payment billing correct now.

  We get the EV+ for a few days. Will see if there is any time when we have to use a gaso vehicle due to range, not charged, etc.

• Thurs., Oct. 30: Off to Hacienda Heights at 5 P.M. with 8 bars. Up the 605, which is jammed beyond Beverly. 5:12, 7 bars at 3.1 miles. 5:18, 6 bars at 10.4 miles at the 91. 5:30, 5 bars at 19.2 miles. Arrive at 6:01 with 4 bars and 29.6 miles on trip counter.

  Drive home in dark, at least no traffic, arrive with 2 bars of power and "battery" light flashing.

• Fri., Oct. 31: Lisa takes EV+ to work.

  Drive to Fedco in dark to buy emergency breadmaker when trickortreat dies down. Trusty EV+ is the car to drive.

• Saturday, Nov. 1: Drive EV+ to Temple in Long Beach to cook monthly breakfast. I find distinguished-looking chap eyeing the EV+, reading our signage. I start to proselytize, explain that range is really 150 miles since we found out about the extra bars. He starts to explain advantages of the GM EV1 over EV+, talks about their many charging stations. Not only is he the Cantor, but, it turns out, works on GM EV1.

  Like loyal GM Engineer, he would have liked us to have purchased EV1. Well, we looked at it. I go through the several reasons why we chose Honda. He is unconvinced, still thinks GM EV1 is the better car, the first EV, and the patriotic choice. What ever happened to those 80 Impacts?

  EV+ to old folks home, to Stater Bros, etc. Our most comfortable vehicle in this heat and heavy traffic. Try zero to sixty run, for fun, do not floor pedal but still get up to 60 in about 12 seconds. Not a sports car, but plenty of acceleration, more than we need.

• Sunday, Nov. 2: EV+ is used for pick up in downtown Long Beach. Take young cousin relative for late-night ride in EV+ with old relatives. All love the way EV+ drives.

• Monday, Nov. 3, 1997: Trip counter reads 19.2 from yesterday. Drive EV+ down to Fry's in Newport Beach, then to old folks home, then back. Drive fast--arrive home with 6 bars of power and 50 miles on trip counter (appx. 7.5 miles per bar). Recharge car for trip to Pomona and then Ontario Airport.

  This will be the last we get to drive it for a while. There was no occasion when we had any reason to use one of the gaso vehicles. Odometer reads 4514, just driving around town almost 1 week since 4000 mile service. SCE electric bill arrives, no bigger than our normal bill, but no bill yet for the second (EV) meter. When it does, it is moderate--less than we used to spend in one week of driving our Ford F-150.

  Trip to Pomona:

  • Start at 10 bars and 4514.
  • 9 bars at 7.1 miles
  • 8 bars at 17.1 miles
  • 7 bars at 27.1 miles
  • 6 bars at 37.5 miles, arriving at Pomona

  Trip to Airport:

  • 5 bars at 54.2 miles, at Ontario Airport
  • 4 bars at 68 miles ariving back at Pomona

  Unplanned trip back to Seal Beach (forgot charging cord!):

  • Leaving for Seal Beach with somewhat less than 4 bars
  • 3 bars at 78.1 miles
  • 2 bars at 87 miles
  • 1 bar at 98 miles, driving very carefully and in economy mode
  • 0 bars at 104.4 miles, arriving at Seal Beach with all gauges blank and battery lights flashing. We know that there is another 20 or so miles left in the car, but do not wish to test this knowledge. This is the longest anyone but R.E. has driven Honda EV+ without recharging.

• Thurs., Nov. 6, 1997: We plan a trip to Woodland Hills, we figure 65 miles each way. Will recharge at a Canoga Park Site. With careful driving at 45 m.p.h.,, the EV+ gets 125 to 150 miles per charge. On the freeway, however, it is difficult to drive even as slow as 55 m.p.h. (range would be 110 to 130 miles). Mostly, safety dictates speeds of 65-75 m.p.h., which pushes range down to 80 to 100 miles. Thus, even on a trip as short as 65 miles (one way--total is 130 miles), we have to plan on recharging. If time permits, driving on city streets (even with stopping and starting) gives better range than freeway driving at high speeds.

  Leaving Pomona with the Honda EV+ reading 10 bars at 6:26 A.M.

  • Down to 9 bars at 4.6 miles (uphill, wind, cold battery?) North on 57 to 210 Fwy
  • Down to 8 bars at 21.2 miles at Rosemead Blvd (downhill) West on 210
  • Down to 7 bars at 28.5 miles somewhere in Pasadena at 7:20. The 210 is designed to create traffic jams. Is there anyone at Caltrans who knows anything (about traffic patterns)?
  • Sitll 7 bars at 33.9 miles at Brand and Central in Glendale. Time: 7:25. We pick up the 134. Caltrans traps passed, traffic moves at speed.
  • Down to 6 bars and 39.2 at Cahuenga.
  • Still 6 bars at the 101 West and 41.1 miles. The 134 goes down to 3 lanes, then two lanes, then .. Yagh! only one lane! How can people stand it? Cars back up, stall, crunch. This is great for Honda EV+, because low speeds increase our range, and we can look down on suffering drivers from great heights of air-conditioned Honda EV+. Pfaugh on Cal-Trans!
  • Down to 5 bars at Hayvenhurst and 47.8 miles at 7:50.
  • Still 5 bars, North on Canoga to our destination, the DWP station at 7505 Canoga Avenue. It is listed as having two Hubbell stations. Mileage estimates were too large, so it looks like things are going to be easy. We arrive with 54.9 miles on the trip counter, whereas we were budgeting 65 miles. If we had known, there was no reason to go the extra 1 mile to DWP: could have made the trip without recharging.
  The evil hand of fate strikes all plans. We have studiously copied down, printed out and duplicated all of the relevant CALSTART charging sites. We plan ahead: Recharge at the DWP facility on 7505 Canoga Blvd., about one mile from our destination near Desoto and Victory. Easy to say. Pull in, it is a Hubbell, the yard guys are very friendly, but the plugs do not work! One of the 110v plugs seems to have some power, but the charging station is defunct. Disappointed, I head out to the metrolink station at 21510 Devonshire, then mistakenly listed as having Honda charger.
  • Down to 4 bars at 55.1 miles, North on Canoga.
  • Still 4 bars at 62.5 miles at the Metrolink station at 21519 Devonshire St. Arrived at last, I feel secure. Falsely, as it turns out.
  In spite of bad maps I find it, and find charging station, but, when opened, like a snake, the withered claw of a GM inductive charging device uncoils itself from its despicable hiding place! What to do? I am down to 4 bars. I can make it back to Seal Beach, maybe, but not to Pomona etcetera. I drive out, in shock. Stop in car wash, offer to bribe foreign-looking guy if he'll let me use plug. No dice, no 220 plug. On to Taco Bell--learned lesson, I walk in with clipboard, only talk to Manager. He pays attention (clipboard?) , and agrees to look at EV+, is a car buff. I am in luck. If all else fails, he will let me charge until he goes off-shift at 10:00. Thanks, Manager Al. You are a credit to Taco Bell and to the Public Relations industry. Still, idealist that I am, I believe that I can get fully charged before 1. It is now after 9:00, and I am thinking of knocking on doors to ask for power. CALSTART lists another site. Do I believe it? I drive East on Devonshire, to 18104, dodging fast moving cars, trying to spot numbers. Close as I can get to 18144, the stated address, which (I am getting accustomed to this) does not exist.
  • Still 4 bars at 64 miles.
  Drive in to yard full of DWP trucks, dudes yelling at me that I cannot come in--not a public yard. I produce printout, demand that they follow policy--one DWP place was down, another misrepresented, and this one, does not even seem to be a facility--only a substation. Finally, all dudes get interested, look at EV+, examine battery, ask questions about range. I ask for just a 220 plug. They have 12,000 and 150,000 volts, but no conventional 208-240 setup! I remember days at Nuclear Power plant, trying to hook up printer, no plug was available! Feel like the guy dying of thirst in middle of lake. Sergio, the station boss, recalls that the facility next door is being torn down, used to have charging station. Must go around block, around back, over tracks, behind wall. I do all this, finally pull into huge yard, hidden from street. See beautiful girl, ask her if there is charging station. Is this a dream? No, they have two stations, which work, even. Unfortunately, the result of cost cutting from prior debt problems, they are in process of moving out. Will they leave the charging station? I gratefully rest on hot tarmac while EV+ goes from barely 4 bars to 8 bars in about 3 hours.
  All the DWP people examine EV+, think highly of it, ask about range, talk about horrible polution problem. We talk about "ring of fire" refineries, located to windward of L.A., and I tell them of Texaco Refinery in Long Beach. When reported to APCD, they were fined $500 fine per day for releasing toxic gasses to downwind breathers. Would even $500,000 per day be noticed by Texaco? It sounds like fining Bill Gates a million dollars.
  I am happy, take off. Leaving good DWP facility with 8 bars at 1:20 and 64.5 miles on the trip counter.
  • Still 8 bars at 73.3 miles. Have driven carefully, but know that we're just about to lose a bar.
  Learn hard lesson: CALSTART page is not to be trusted, and planning ahead based on faulty info is no better than driving into unknown. Later, in gaso car, drive back to DWP facility on 7505 Canoga, two guys are working on the charging station, finally getting at least one of the 220 plugs working. I rejoice that DWP does solve problems when made aware of them. That charging station is now operative. If we could just get them in every shopping center, so we would not have to hunt all over . . . I do not have time to go back to Metrolink Station and find out what their problem is. From previous experience, no one there has any responsibility for EV charging. Plan to send Email to Calstart reporting false info on their page.

  R.E. and group of Cal Poly Pomona students leave from Canoga area with Amory Lovins, co-founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, a big dude in energy conservation movement. Barely 8 bars at 73.3 miles.

  • Down to 7 bars at 74.5 miles
  • Down to 6 bars at 84.5 miles
  • Down to 5 bars at 95.5 miles
  • Down to 4 bars at 102.3 miles
  • Down to 3 bars at 113.5 miles
  • Down to 2 bars at 121 miles
  Honda EV+ gratefully recharges. Leaving for L.A. with 4 bars:
  • Down to 3 bars at 128.5 miles
  • Down to 2 bars at 144.4 miles
  • Down to 1 bar at 153.3 miles
  • Arrive at DLA facility with 162 miles
  Students recharge at DLA facility (CALSTART is accurate on this!). Leaving L.A. with 3 bars of power.
  • Down to 2 bars at 166 miles
  • Down to 1 bar at 180 miles
  • Down to 0 bars at 188 miles
  • Arrive with 0 bars and 190 miles.

  This is our record so far for driving EV+ in one day, 190 miles with three brief recharges and many surprises (e.g., driving around wilds of Northridge looking for electric plug!). We carefully plan, however, that with new knowledge, we can drive EV+ to San Francisco in one day. Starting with 10 bars from Malibu, with three stops (15 hours of recharging), 8 hours of driving, we can make it to fellow students of R.E. near Stanford pretty easily in one day, even if I get to drive.

• Sunday, Nov. 22: Unknown CSU facilities bureaucrat (turns out to have been Daisy, the Dog, who chewed on it mightily) apparently makes off with EV+ extension cord, so we get to have EV+ all to ourselves for a while. Off to Carlsbad on the Coast route:
  • Fully 9 bars at 0 miles on the trip counter at 12:24 P.M.
  • Down to 8 bars at 8.8 (Coast Hwy)
  • Down to 7 bars at 16.4
  • Down to 6 bars at 26.4
  • Down to 5 bars at 34.1
  • Down to 4 bars at 41.8 (Fwy Driving)
  • Down to 3 bars at 48.3
  • Down to 2 bars at 56.6
  • Arriving Carlsbad with 1 bar at 67 miles on the trip counter at 1:45. Average speed was appx. 50 m.p.h., using appx. 8 bars to go 67 miles, or appx. 8 miles per bar. Odometer reads 5940 miles. Driving to store, etc. runs trip counter to 68.2 miles.

  Honda EV+ recharges from barely 2 bars to (what turns out to be) barely 8 bars.

  • Barely 8 bars at 68.2
  • Down to 7 bars at 70.2
  • Down to 6 bars at 79.9
  • Down to 5 bars at 88.9
  • Down to 4 bars at 98.1
  • Down to 3 bars at 110.0
  • Down to 2 bars at 121.4
  • Down to 1 bar at 131.0
  • Arriving back to the pad with 1 bar of power and 135.2 miles on the trip counter. Odometer is 6008 miles.

  The coast route is evidently five miles shorter than the Golden State Freeway (5) route.

• Monday, Nov. 23: Lisa takes the EV+ to work and errands. Returning with 49.8 miles on the trip counter at 6058 miles on the odometer.

• Tuesday, Nov. 24: Leaving at 3:37 with ten bars of power. I drive for fun, not conservation. Down to 9 bars At 3:47 with 7.4 miles on the trip counter. Arriving at the old folks home at 3:57, still 9 bars, with 12.4 miles on the trip counter. Drive around looking for parts. Down to 8 bars at 18.9 miles. Down to 7 bars at 26.7 miles. Arriving back with 7 bars left and 32.2 miles on the trip counter.

• Tuesday, Dec. 2: Off to the Dentist at 1:30 with 10 full bars of power. Drive fast.
  • 9 bars at 7.0 miles on the trip counter. North on the 405.
  • 8 bars at 14.7 miles. Slow down a little.
  • 7 bars at 21.5 miles North on the Harbor 110. Will they informally let EV into High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane? I wonder, but do not wish to test this possibility now.
  • 6 bars at 30.1 West on the 10 Santa Monica Fwy.
  • 5 bars at 37.6 North on La Cienega. Dudes in old van stop me, want to know how much EV costs. I have been driving pretty fast, so it looks like they are impressed with EV performance. So am I. La Cienega is torn up, I lose two traffic lights behind dorks jockeying to zip into right lane ahead of me, almost colliding into each other -- then, second dork stops on corner to let out old lady! I am gracious, wait, but spend lots of time on this street.
  • Still 5 bars at destination, 38.0 miles on the trip counter. I am 10 minutes early, but park valuable EV+ in expensive lot, not on side street. One hjour later, leave with still 5 bars. Parking guy asks about EV, bemused. I explain lease conditions, give ride around lot to show him handling, acceleration. He is amazed that engine does not need to be started. Another convert! Now to bring the price down to level parking guy can afford. I do what I can, give unaccustomed big 50 cent tip. 5 bucks to park for less than an hour -- that's L.A.
  • 4 bars at 46.7 miles. East on the 10, then South on 110. Dude with construction hat decides crowded freeway is boring, takes off into HOV lane by himself. There was talk about letting EV drive in HOV lanes. This guy has old junky car, nothing to lose, I guess. That's L.A.
  • 3 bars at 55.5 miles. South on 405.
  • 2 bars at 62.6 miles, exiting at Spring St.
  • RECHARGE BATTERY light goes on and red battery flashes at 67.3 miles. No discernible change in performance. South on Lakewood.
  • 1 bar at 70.0
  • Ending with 1 bar left at 73.8 miles on the trip counter.
  Result: average speed 38 divided by 50 minutes = 45.6 MPH getting there in heavy, fast traffic -- the worst kind for EV+ mileage. Getting back was faster. Miles per bar average was 73.8 divided by 9.5 (since we're halfway into bar 1) or 7.76 miles per bar. This is about as good as I can do in heavy freeway traffic. If I drove slower, miles per bar would be much higher.

• Wed., Dec. 3: Lisa takes EV+ to work, shops afterward in Santa Ana and elsewhere, picking up about 100 lbs. of food for cooking tomorrow. EV+ is handy, can carry even more! Its carrying capacity and reliability make errands a breeze. Forgot to set trip counter, so she returns with 110.7 miles (36.9 miles for the day). She states that when EV+ came out of car wash, dash lights dimmed, and did not return until car dried out. Difficult for me to believe. Then on to Smart and Final (more stuff!) and the Temple, adding 10.1 miles to day's total. EV+ recharges to 10 bars in a couple three hours.

• Thurs., Dec. 4: Off to old folks home. I drive fast on the way down., with radio and air conditioner set to 72.
  • 9 bars at 7.5 miles, reflecting high speed trip
  • Arrive with 9 bars still at 12.0 miles
  • On way back I drive conservatively. Down to 8 bars at 19.9 miles, or 12.4 miles for this second bar, traveling on city streets, not freeway.
  • Still 8 bars at 23.3 miles. Recharge to 9 bars.
  • Off to Friends Church in Yorba Linda. Drive fast, traffic is fast. Garden Grove (22) East to 57 North to 91 East, off at Imperial. Give demo ride, impresses old friends. Return via 55 South to 22 West. Miles for the trip: 60.3.
  At end of day, odometer reads 6659.

• Fri., Dec. 5: Lisa drives EV+ to work and errands. She gets max. 15.5 for first bar, 36.5 miles for 3 bars. Ending odometer is 6696.
  Recharge to 9 bars only. Off to Hacienda Heights during lull in rain.
  Down to 8 bars at 5.6 miles
  7 bars at 12.2 miles
  6 bars at 21.0 miles
  5 bars at 29.0 miles at Azusa, ending with 5 bars at 32.4
  Leaving at 1:00 A.M. with 5 bars, I get lost trying to take short-cut. Finally get to fwy, but lose 10 miles. East on 60 to 57 South with 3 bars. Down to 2 bars at Katella West. Sticking to city streets, ending half into 1 bar. Total miles for this circuit with short excursion into hill country, 76.8 miles . Avg 9 miles per bar. Odometer reading: 6772.

• Sat., Dec. 6: Off to Temple, rainstorm continues. Give ride to fellow co-worker and to the Rabbi. Both are amazed at how easy it is to drive, its speed, ergonomic features, size, etc. The first words from the Rabbi were "This is what people should drive!" We agreed that the oil companies are unrelenting enemies of electric car. Traveling East on 22, I see my first EV1 in action: a red one, following in slipstream of large truck. Bikers (and EV+!!) drivers know that this is one way of getting better miles. We honk and wave.

• Sun., Dec. 7: Off to the L.A. Airport with 10 full bars, perhaps, but lose one bar after 5.2 miles. Maybe the cold, or only 9.5 bars? Anyway, travel 75 to 86 miles per hour all the way. Cannot find rumored EV station, so park in $3 Lot. Arriving with 6 bars at 32.1 miles. EV charging station is at the lower level just East of Terminal 1: 10 stations, only one taken by airport S-10 pickup truck (fully charged). EV drivers thus get free parking at LAX in walking distance to Southwest terminal--that's worth a lot! But all charging stations are EV1 inductive charging stations, not for Honda EV+. Arriving back at the pad with fully 1 bar for 57 miles, or about 6 miles per bar. Above 84, seems like we only get 4 or 5 miles per bar.

  Recharging to 8 bars (cut off by time limit on our special 4 cent per KWh rate) then off to Home Depot, etc. Ending the day with 81.5 miles and 5 bars. Total bars used for 81 miles: 12. Average miles per bar: almost 7 miles per bar. I've know I have to start driving for efficiency, but cannot resist high-speed and acceleration temptation. Odometer=6887.

• Mon., Dec. 8: Off to Banks, Post Office, Old Folks, Trader Joe's. Ending with 24.5 miles and 8 bars, avg. 12.25 miles per bar. Odometer=6911.

• Tues., Dec. 9: Off to Long Beach, Pomona, etc. with 10 bars.
  • Arriving at destination in Long Beach, still 10 bars at 8.0 miles.
  • Down to 9 bars at 9.5 miles, North on the 710 Long Beach Fwy.
  • 8 bars at 17.2 miles, East on 91 at Lakewood.(9.5m per bar)
  • 7 bars at 25.6 miles at Beach. At 26.5 miles, the 91/5 split, traffic stops. Only three lanes full of trucks, and two trucks have a collision taking up the right lane. Meanwhile, a Cal-Trans sweeper train (don't you love it?) West bound on the 91 causes massive congestion there, resulting in two more accidents. I slow down, enjoy the ride, look at other cars, dodge trucks.
  • 6 bars at 34.4 miles, North on 57. Won't do well on miles-per-bar here because of hills.
  • 5 bars at 41.9 miles.
  • Arriving still with 5 bars barely at 51 miles.
  • Down to 4 bars at 51.8 miles, leaving Pomona on 57 South.
  • 3 bars at 59.5 miles.
  • 2 bars at 72.6 miles West on Katella.
  • Recharge battery light starts at 78.1 miles.
  • Down to 1 bar at 83.2 miles.
  • Arriving home with 87.7 miles, recharging for tonight's run to the airport. Recharges to (what turns out to be) barely 9 bars from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M. The run to LAX takes 58 miles and uses 6 full bars. We do get to park in one of the 10 EV charging spots, but there are no 220 plugs, so we cannot charge at LAX! This needs to be protested--they should at least have a Hubbell!
  • Total miles for the day: 145.7, using a total of 15 and one half bars including the recharge. Avg. appx. 9.7 miles per bar.

• Tues., Dec. 16: R.E. has been putting miles on the car. At 7438, at high speed and with battery low and rapid acceleration in lane 2 of the Pomona Fwy, the "motor" light comes on, the "POWER TRAIN SYSTEMS" warning light comes on, and the car is placed in "limp mode", 29 m.p.h. Car "limps" back to Pomona.

• Wed., Dec. 17: We can have car towed for free to Honda of Costa Mesa, but elect to try to drive after checking with Brian that it is O.K. Nerve-wracking slow-speed drive to Costa Mesa and swift, courteous loan car switch. They think the circuit just needs to be reset.

• Thurs., Dec. 18: Voila! car is ready. They also have done 8000 mile download since we're almost there. The anomaly we have noticed with our 110 "courtesy charger", Honda now tells us, is a defect, and they have removed the old one for replacement. After we pick it up, Honda Engineers decide to put special data monitor on board, so we have to go back tomorrow.

• Fri., Dec. 19: R.E. has charged car to full, drives on errands, visits old High School and gives (not "old", but "former") Math teachers (including much revered Mrs. H.) ride in Electric Car. Then drives down to Costa Mesa Honda, to Temple and back. Total miles for today: 146, with three brief re-charges (Walmart at Azusa and Pomona Fwy and home).

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