For most people, all vehicles are technically the same. There are wheels, engines, transmission, breaks, etc. But there is a reason why today mechanics go through constant advanced training to deal with all the wide range of modern vehicles, including hybrid cars.
The fact that hybrid vehicles are becoming more and more popular in fact presents certain challenges for modern body shops.
In this article, we discuss the peculiarities of collision repair for hybrid cars and what their owners should know if they have to address the service.
What makes a car “hybrid”?
Hybrid vehicles are called so because they have both traditional gas or diesel engine and an electric motor. It allows such cars to consume less fuel and emit less CO2.
There are two types of Hybrid Vehicles:
- Plug-in – this type of hybrid has a large battery that can be recharged from a special outlet or even a portable station like your cell phone or any other gadget. At the same time, they still have a standard gas engine that recharges the battery and keeps the car going in case there is no plug-in station available.
- Conventional hybrid vehicles – this type of hybrid cannot be plugged-in to recharge. A hybrid vehicle uses its gas engine to turn a generator, that charges the batteries and gets the car going.
Due to the wide range of modifications and advanced technologies used in Hybrid Vehicles and to protect the mechanics who provide the collision repairs for such cars, some specific protocols and regulations are developed for both plug-in and conventional hybrids.
Pre-repair procedures for hybrid vehicles
There are certain steps and safety restrictions that minimize the risk of electric shock and damage in case of an accident that involves a hybrid vehicle:
- Due to the potential shock hazard, a hybrid vehicle cannot be towed on its own wheels;
- The Hybrid systems should be the first ones to be checked thoroughly before the collision repair procedure;
- Before the damaged car body part is removed, a mechanic needs to check whether any connectors, modules, wires, and other parts of the hybrid system are located behind them and whether they have suffered any damage.
The process collision repair for hybrid vehicles
Even if the mechanic has checked all the Hybrid vehicle systems and made sure that no damage has been done to them during the accident, there are some severe precautions and protocols developed for the hybrid vehicle’s collision repair:
- A mechanic must wear protective gloves at all times. Although modern Hybrid Vehicles have special built-in interlocks and circuit monitoring systems meant to minimize the risk of electric shock, wearing protective gloves is highly recommended during the whole time of working with a hybrid vehicle;
- If a mechanic detects any engine damage, the hybrid vehicle systems must be disabled entirely before any other repair procedures;
- Mechanics should be careful around connectors, wires, and other parts of the hybrid vehicle systems, never touch them with bare fingers and preserve them from moisture, duct, and other contaminants.;
- After the repair is finished, a mechanic needs to scan the systems of the Hybrid Vehicle thoroughly to make sure that it is entirely safe to power up.
No matter what kind of vehicle you are driving, it is essential to have a reliable and professional body shop with qualified mechanics who can provide all sorts of routine and urgent services, including collision repairs.
However, hybrid vehicles may require a specific high level of expertise and professionalism from the service providers due to their complexity.
Contact OHS Body Shop to make sure that your Hybrid Car or any other vehicle is treated by high-end professionals using advanced equipment and technologies.
Our branches are located all over Montana’s Greater Flathead Valley, in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Polson. Contact us today and make sure that whatever comes your way, your vehicle is in good hands.