The OTHER thing electric cars need

[Rick Potter]

The thread on noise for electric cars reminded me of one other thing they need. A yellow warning light in the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Light), to warn drivers behind that they are using regeneration mode to slow down, and not the brakes.

My plug in hybrid, like most, has almost one pedal driving, with the regeneration mode working. It slows down about like normal braking speed until I hit the brake for the last 10 feet or so, finally energizing the brake lights. I keep a pretty close eye on drivers behind me to be sure they know I am stopping.

Hard to believe no one has addressed this yet. Most BEV drivers seem to do the same thing around here, where Tesla's are pretty common.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

There is something out there for motorcycles that senses when the rider is trans-braking, ie gearing down to slow down, and it flashes the tail light to signal other motorists behind the rider that they are slowing down. It would be a good idea for electric cars as well.

[Jim Matthews]

The thread on noise for electric cars reminded me of one other thing they need. A yellow warning light in the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Light), to warn drivers behind that they are using regeneration mode to slow down, and not the brakes.

KIA already does this, based on deceleration.

****

Do the rear brake lamps come on when using my EVs regenerative braking?
Avatar Technical and Warranty Team
February 27, 2021 00:53
Follow


The rear brake lamps may activate while the vehicle is using regenerative braking. The brake lights will activate depending on how quickly the vehicle is decelerating.

Deceleration not greater than 0.7 m/s² (meters per second squared) = Brake lamps will not activate
Deceleration between 0.7 m/s² and 1.3 m/s² (meters per second squared) = Brake lamps may activate
Deceleration greater than 1.3 m/s² (meters per second squared) = Brake lamps will activate

***

https://support.kia.co.nz/hc/en-us/a...ative-braking-

[Jim Becker]

The thread on noise for electric cars reminded me of one other thing they need. A yellow warning light in the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Light), to warn drivers behind that they are using regeneration mode to slow down, and not the brakes.

My vehicle is not electric or hybrid. I don't use the brakes to slow down much at all...I let the vehicle coast for that. (It's a key contributor to why I generally get very long brake life in my vehicles) I honestly don't drive any differently than I did with the three hybrids we have owned in past times. But I can appreciate what you mention for sure.

[Dave Seng]

The thread on noise for electric cars reminded me of one other thing they need. A yellow warning light in the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Light), to warn drivers behind that they are using regeneration mode to slow down, and not the brakes.

Why would you want a different color warning light for a different kind of slowing down? Slowing down is slowing down no matter what kind of vehicle. As a driver, why should I need to learn and interpret what a yellow light means? Why not just activate the brake lights when any kind of braking is occurring?

[ChrisA Edwards]

There is something out there for motorcycles that senses when the rider is trans-braking, ie gearing down to slow down, and it flashes the tail light to signal other motorists behind the rider that they are slowing down. It would be a good idea for electric cars as well.

Not sure that's an OEM thing, many riders will fit auxiliary red strobe lights, that activate with the brake system. Very common in the Goldwing and touring circles. I also did it on a couple sports bikes as well.

Many motorcyclists get rear ended when they are stopped at traffic lights. The strobe gets the attention of a car driver better than either a solid on or off brake light. Many of these devices are sold specifically for motorcycles and are legal in most states, but they usually flash 3 or 4 times and then go sold on while the brakes are being applied, which doesn't help the stationary rear ending situation, therefore some prefer to use the auxiliary strobes, that have programable patterns, that continue to strobe while the brakes are engaged, whether the bike is moving or not. These can be very annoying to drivers following, especially in stop and go, but the purpose is to get attention.

[Bill Dufour]

They should all have a 120 volt outlet and an arc welding jack.
Bill D

[Bernie Kopfer]

My vehicle is not electric or hybrid. I don't use the brakes to slow down much at all...I let the vehicle coast for that. (It's a key contributor to why I generally get very long brake life in my vehicles) I honestly don't drive any differently than I did with the three hybrids we have owned in past times. But I can appreciate what you mention for sure.

Your cloned brother lives in my town. He starts slowing down a half mile before a stop sign or light in order to save on brakes. He also accelerates real slowly to save on gas and engine wear. And then complains about tailgaters. 😁🤪

[Doug Garson]

Seems to me it would be easy for manufacturers to program the brake lights so they came on any time the car was decelerating and got brighter the more you decelerate whether you touch the brake pedal or not. Maybe go into strobe mode when hard braking.

[Jim Becker]

Your cloned brother lives in my town. He starts slowing down a half mile before a stop sign or light in order to save on brakes. He also accelerates real slowly to save on gas and engine wear. And then complains about tailgaters. 浪

Scary that there is more than one of me. LOL

[Brian Elfert]

Are you sure the brake lights are not coming on during regenerative braking? Diesel vehicles with exhaust brakes have been required to turn on the brake lights during exhaust braking since the late 1990s.

[Mike Henderson]

I read an article about electric vehicles with regeneration and I thought the standard now was that the brake lights come on when you have the regeneration set to "high" and you lift your foot off the accelerator.

I have a couple of "features" I want to see in electric vehicles:

1. "Dog Mode" where you can set the air conditioning to run when you have the car parked. Tesla does this. It will run until the battery gets to some level, such as 25%, and then it will send you a message (text or to your Tesla app) telling you it's going to shut off. Then when it gets to maybe 20% it does shut off. If a car did not have a cellular connection, the app could see what your battery level was when you set "Dog Mode" and tell you it will only operate for (example) 2 hours. Then give you an alert at the end of two hours. This is something that can't be done with an ICE car so it's a nice unique feature of an EV. Of course, this is for when you have a dog in the car and can't take it in with you.

2. There are a lot of options on an electric vehicle, level of regeneration is one, creep is another, ride stiffness might be another, etc. Different drivers want different settings. I'd like to see the car offer multiple profiles so that when you get into the car, you can choose your profile so the car is set the way you like to drive it. They could even link the profile to the key fob so that when a driver approached the car from the driver's side, the profile associated with that fob would be set. They could even set the seat and mirrors the same way.

Then there are a few that have probably been implemented:

1. I want a display showing the cars around me as I drive. I think Tesla does this by showing your "car" in the center of the screen (in one color) and cars around your car in a different color. This is just representative, the boxes don't look like cars - just boxes.

2. I want to be able to see all the charging stations around me and whether they are in use. Additional information would be how much they charge for a charge (there might be some free ones).

3. I want to have the car support ApplePlay so I can use the navigation on my phone instead of the built in navigation.

4. I want a display showing if I'm pulling power from the battery or putting it back in, and the level of each. A pointer that points straight up for neutral and moves one way for using power and the other way for regeneration would be good. How far the pointer swings would indicate the amount of each. Would help encourage more economical driving.

What features do you want?

Mike

[Roger Feeley]

I slow down and accelerate very smoothly. It goes back to my teen years. I had my license but my dad wouldn’t turn me loose with the car until I passed his test. He got in the back seat and put a modest size aquarium on the floor. He filled the aquarium to about 3” from the top. He gave me the route in advance. When I could drive that route without spilling any water, he would give me keys. For some reason the lesson stuck.

[Ed Aumiller]

Mike,
Prius has item 4 showing power usage, where it comes from, etc..
Both my 2011 & 2020 have them..

Also, the 2020 shows if a car is in the BLIND spot...

Most new Toyota hybrids (not all) have ApplePlay....

Note: The A/C will run until battery is low, then gas engine will start to recharge batteries... It will NOT send a message.. Semi-dog mode ????
Also, in winter the heater works the same way... starts/stops automatically to keep inside warm...

Agree with the brake lights coming on when slowing down... I try to tap brake pedal occasionally when slowing down, not enough to actuate brakes, but to turn on lights.

[Doug Dawson]

I read an article about electric vehicles with regeneration and I thought the standard now was that the brake lights come on when you have the regeneration set to "high" and you lift your foot off the accelerator.

I have a couple of "features" I want to see in electric vehicles:

1. "Dog Mode" where you can set the air conditioning to run when you have the car parked.

”Dog Mode”, huh? You could also call it “Baby Mode”. But it would have to be accompanied by a proximity sensor so that when somebody approaches the car, an external speaker plays a recorded message saying “I’m alright Jack, put down the hammer” on repeat. :^)