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t’s time. Automotive service and repair shops that want to continue serving their customers and communities must consider developing service readiness for electric vehicles (EVs). For the purpose of discussion here, hybrid, plug-in, all-electric, hydrogen fuel cell or even conventional powertrains (that feature electrified technologies) will be referred to as EVs. Preparing for the continued electrification of automobiles will be essential to a shop’s growth and sustainability. While there’s still time to develop EV service and repair expertise before the inbound wave of EVs show up at independent shops, it’s closer than many think. Contrary to what some antagonists may suggest or prefer, electric vehicles and associated technologies are not going away. And after recent meetings between this MOTOR contributor and automakers (most requiring a nondisclosure agreement), let me share this: The assimilation of vehicle electrification is accelerating. Automakers and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are actively ramping up their planning, development and production of electrified powertrains, other vehicle applications, training, tooling, service information and other resources. In 2000, just a few production series EV models were available, primarily gasoline hybrid-electrics. Today, more than 50 models can be purchased. Some say the number of EV models produced will double to more than 100 by 2015 and triple by 2020. In addition, several new hydrogen-fueled EVs will be entering the market, some as soon as model year 2015. Automakers are not shying away from EVs. Nor are standard certification organizations or industry educators. In April 2013, SAE International announced the launch of the first handson credential for hybrid and electric vehicle diagnostics—the SAE International Advanced HEV Diagnostics Certificate of Competency. SAE has partnered with Automotive Research and Design (AR&D) to provide the five-day training courses to technicians, engineers, shop owners, instructors and other automotive professionals in support of this certificate of competency. SAE says the practical goal of the new credential is to
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ARE YOU PLANNING FOR AN ELECTRIC SURGE? BY BOB CHABOT Vehicles incorporating electrified technologies constitute a steadily growing percentage of the vehicle population. If you haven’t already, it may be time for your shop to (r)amp up its electric vehicle service and repair readiness.
expand the EV diagnostic processes and systems information currently used by the service and repair industry, and use additional diagnostic testing methods and equipment that will complement OEM on-board diagnostic systems. In addition, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has committed to developing a Light Duty
Hybrid/Electric Vehicles technician certification for launch in January 2015. “Two development workshops have already been conducted in 2013,” said Dr. Charles S. Kunce, ASE vice president for Test Development. “Other workshops will continue into 2014. Expect the new ASE certification to be part of ASE’s Advanced Level series
Photoillustration: Harold A. Perry; images: General Motors, Wieck Media, Thinkstock & Portland Community College
and as such, require one or more prerequisite certifications.” On the education front, the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) has developed a Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Curriculum and Certificate geared to instructors at accredited institutions that offer automotive training. Many educational institutions
have begun or are considering changing curriculum content to incorporate EV technologies and service and repair procedures. Some even acknowledge that graduates have not been shop-ready to meet industry needs—a common concern that many shops hiring graduates have expressed—generally a result of spending too much time on well-estab-
lished automotive technologies and associated service procedures. On the automaker training front, many OEMs are developing training programs for their engineers and dealer technicians. For example, according to John Cardillo, Ford Motor Co.’s Technical Specialist for Off-Board Diagnostic Tools, Service and Products, “Ford now requires technicians aspiring to work on EVs to complete one year of classroomdelivered training, followed by three years’ follow-up online training.” These recent changes represent considerable “skin in the game” or, in other words, a building of critical mass. With OEMs not only producing more EVs but also developing in-depth EV service and repair training, those of us in the aftermarket should heed that notice. As with the shift to EFI a few decades ago, eventually the inertia of old paradigms, opinions, attitudes and human nature will yield to this accelerating momentum. The trick is to ensure that the pace of change meets opportunity. To remain competitive, we must be diligent and focused in getting up to speed with EV training and make sure we continually update our EV competencies, or risk losing market share to those who do. Continued resistance or apathy to this major inbound shift will impede servicereadiness. EVs soon will become a part of the mainstream. Those shops and technicians that want to survive and prosper in the coming EV age must begin now to acquire the relevant training and other preparation necessary to build the required competencies and expertise that EV service and repair require.
Stick to the Basics “When a shop and its technicians transition from conventional vehicle to EV service and repair, you want their first experience to be a positive one,” noted Craig Van Batenburg, CEO of the Automotive Career Development Center, a Worcester, MA-based training provider specializing in EV service and repair training. “No one wants surprises. Many technicians and shop owners are reluctant to change; they would rather keep on doing what they’ve been doing. That’s human nature. To help ease their transition to EVs, they need to know how much trouble they can get
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General Motors and other OEMs have begun integrating electric vehicle information, service and repair procedures and training into their websites for both mechanical and collision shops.
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OEMs currently do not allow dealership technicians to service battery packs, providing a possible market opportunity for independents experienced with EVs. SAE International and other organizations now offer training and certification for EV service and repair, including battery packs.
years,” stated Jorge Menchu, owner of Automotive Electronics Services. “My biggest impression here at my shop is that the biggest threat to us from EVs is that they have much less to service compared to conventional vehicles. To date, we have seen some pattern failures, as well as some issues with high-
Photo courtesy Fluke
into, so they can avoid it and still be able to fix the car.” “Shops should migrate slowly but surely into the EV realm and ensure their EV technicians become experts about electrical basics,” advised industry trainer Jim Morton, owner of Morton’s Automotive Technical Services and an instructor at Pennsylvania-based Automotive Training Center. “One very important bit of information that the technician will need to keep in mind for all of the newer EV technology will be that while one can buy voltage (battery) and buy resistance (a load or resistor), one cannot buy current; the technician must know how to make and control it. Examples of basic understanding include knowing that a byproduct of current flow is heat, that current always follows voltage and that voltage drop is the product of amp flow times resistor value. “In addition, they should learn the difference between general diagnostic tests and more specific diagnostic tests,” Morton continued. “It’s critical from an efficiency perspective that technicians perform enough general tests to be sure they are on the correct diagnostic path before delving into specific tests that may not even be needed or relevant to a service problem.” “I have been servicing hybrids, including rebuilding the batteries using used and new parts for the last four
Photo courtesy Automotive Research and Design
Photo courtesy GM
ARE YOU PLANNING FOR AN ELECTRIC SURGE?
Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, OR, learned that factory scan tools weren’t enough to efficiently diagnose, pinpoint and correct certain EV operational issues related to the high-voltage components. The shop uses a Fluke 1587 Insulation Multimeter to test for and pinpoint voltage leaks, to help determine whether a part can be repaired or has to be replaced.
voltage batteries, AGM batteries, inverter water pumps, some failures of Toyota Prius motor-generator windings and a few failures of cooling fans in the Escape hybrid battery pack. “Electricity is the building block of all vehicles, including EVs, so the more you understand electricity, the deeper you can delve into complexity without being overwhelmed,” explained Menchu. “Unlike scan tools, authentic OEM wiring diagrams, when color-coded, are a useful diagnostic tool to discern and repair problems, whether whole systems or individual components, because they show how the vehicle is engineered to operate. “Most everything can be scan tool diagnosed,” Menchu added. “Initially, I bought lots of specialized stuff, but found that not much of it has been needed for basic EV service work, although it was interesting for my research. With respect to EVs, what shops and technicians most lack is general knowledge and experience. Training in electronics and interpreting wiring diagrams, the proper use of factory scan tools and other EV tools, equipment and supplies is essential to bridging those gaps.” The push to stricter worldwide emissions and fuel economy standards is a primary driver behind the growth in EVs. To meet ever more stringent fleet CAFE standards, automakers are committed to producing and selling more
Photo courtesy Portland Community College
ARE YOU PLANNING FOR AN ELECTRIC SURGE?
The Automotive Service Technology Program at Portland Community College (one of three schools Hawthorne Auto Clinic has partnered with) offers a 30credit certificate for students aspiring to become hire-ready EV technicians.
EVs. In many cases, there’s a loss in producing them that’s offset by subsidies and CAFE credits. But at a recent visit to Fiat-owned Chrysler, CEO Sergio Marchionne stated, “For every Fiat 500 EV that we produce, even after all the subsidies we receive, we still lose about $10,000 per vehicle.” Ford and General Motors spokespersons echoed these sentiments, but also noted that in many U.S. markets today, EVs can be purchased or leased at nearly the same price as, and sometimes even less than, comparable conventional vehicles as OEMs push to meet CAFE and other regulators’ requirements. These and other automakers acknowledge that the EV market segment is growing and will continue to do so.
A Proven Pathway To EV Service & Repair So, let’s acknowledge that the EV segment is poised for rapid growth. The question then boils down to how to begin preparing and building an EV ser-
vice and repair presence. MOTOR spent time in June with Jim Houser, owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic, in Portland, OR. His shop has made a successful transition from general mechanical repair in 2000 to not only building an EV service segment, but today being savvy enough to offer complex repairs to EV components and parts. He shared with us the details of his journey into EV service and repair. (The complete interview with Houser was included in a recent MOTOR Magazine newsletter. Sign up for a free subscription by visiting the MOTOR website at http://www.motor.com/category.asp?category=magazine.) “Automotive technology has always intrigued me,” Houser said. “When electronic fuel injection was introduced years ago, many other shops stayed away from it, whereas we embraced it early, because it improved driveability and more. In 2000, SAE sponsored a local presentation by Honda engineers here in Portland. It included a Honda Insight hybrid vehicle, service informa-
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Illustration courtesy Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.
tion, training and other resources. We thought the technologies involved were very cool, and like with EFI earlier, wanted to get involved early. We know our customers here, and wanted to make sure our shop service-readiness was in place to make it easy for them to jump into hybrids and other EVs. “Resources were scarce back then,” Houser continued. “Even today it’s difficult to get OEM training for EVs, as it is non-OBD II in nature. At first, most of our service work pertained to the gasoline-assist engines in hybrid vehicles. It was what we knew going in. To become familiar with the hybrid-electric components and systems, we turned to the aftermarket educators who had developed expertise. We took our first class with Craig Van Batenburg in 2003, and recognized that training would be a regular resource to keep improving our competencies and grow the EV side of our business. Houser mentioned genuine service information, proper EV tooling and being very safety-conscious as other criti-
Toyota is poised to launch several new emissions-free hydrogen fuel cell hybrid-electric vehicles beginning in 2015, but the population of fuel cell vehicles across the nation will be very small until late 2020 and concentrated only in ZEV-mandate locations, according to the carmaker. You won’t be seeing any hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in any volume in dealers until maybe 2017 or 2019, and it may be another five years before there’s much of anything in the aftermarket servicewise beyond collision repair.
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ARE YOU PLANNING FOR AN ELECTRIC SURGE? cal elements to taking on EV service. He said it’s all about “closing gaps, by using the most complete and genuine resources available and, conversely, by avoiding the use of resources that are incomplete or inaccurate. “Since 2003,” Houser went on, “we have continued training with Van Batenburg and other early EV adopters such as Jack Rosebro, Harvey Chan, Mark Quarto and others. We also began doing our own research with local EV associations, discussion forums, local colleges offering EV education and other key organizations. “For example, we are participating in a series of ASE workshops to develop an ASE certification for EVs that should be available by January 2015. In addition, we also participated in the April 2013 SAE workshop, which finalized its new certificate for HEV/EV service and repair. Two technicians from our shop participated in the first SAE certification course, which was conducted during June 2013 in Portland.
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“EVs are not going away,” he emphasized. “Increased fuel economy, reduced emissions, reduced reliance on dwindling petroleum resources, compliance with new regulatory standards and other forces are driving EVs forward.” For instance, the California Air Resources Board has mandated that zeroemissions vehicles (ZEVs) must account for 15% of all new vehicle sales by 2025, up from less than 1% now. Houser advises shops to “get involved now, and commit to making this a part of your future business.” He noted that many shops now employ a knowledgeable diagnostic specialist technician. In time, as a shop grows its EV business, developing specialist “eTechs”—competent specialists for EV service and repair—will be prudent and profitable. Houser’s shop’s initial EV business was based on maintaining Honda and Toyota EVs. They added Ford EVs to the mix a few years later. Once their expertise grew beyond basic maintenance, they started making repairs to EV components,
which led to their becoming the warranty partner for a fleet of 125 all-electric TH¡NK cars in the Pacific Northwest. “Our shop has recently been considering offering battery analysis and reconditioning,” Houser told me. “Today there are some aftermarket firms that provide sophisticated battery analyzers, balancers and chargers, service tools and equipment. That said, I strongly urge shops new to EV service and repair to be very cautious about taking on EV battery service too soon. This equipment is expensive—about $15,000 in total. Relative to the lower EV car counts an entrylevel shop will have initially, this makes getting a reasonable ROI difficult.” Houser wants his shop to be seen as capable of providing proper service and repair for complex vehicles—conventional or electric. In addition to providing its current technicians with top-quality aftermarket training and support, they also look to hire aspiring technicians who are EV-ready when they enter the shop.
Houser also has developed a good working relationship with three local colleges, each of which has focused on developing “eTechnicians” by offering technical and service-savvy EV and alternative powertrain curriculums for aspiring technicians instead of spending time teaching current technologies and service procedures. His shop works closely with these educators, accepts intern placements and has hired EV-ready graduates.
courage them to bring their curriculums into the EV era so that graduating technicians are better hires for shops. These and other opportunities exist for an EV service-ready shop, but they all are predicated on getting good at the basics first.” Change is a constant in our indus-
try. Each of us chooses the trends we’ll weave into the culture of our business and our community by how we do what we do. Bottom line? To fix the cars of today and tomorrow, it’s time, if you haven’t already started, to begin adapting, planning and preparing for the new EV reality.
Getting Started When asked where to begin and how to build an EV service and repair presence, Houser advised that shops should select a reliable automaker and grow slowly into EV service and repair. He cited Toyota as a good starting point. Its factory Techstream scan tool and service information combination is affordable, and it has more EVs on the road today than any other automaker. He also cited the fact that Toyota customers can have their vehicles serviced anywhere, thereby maximizing the car owner’s brand experience. “Build your knowledge base gradually, then branch out to other makes and models,” Houser said. “Learn to navigate their websites efficiently and become intimate with the functions and operation of their factory scan tools. Also, develop a relationship with local EV enthusiast associations. I’ve found they know where to get the tools and other resources to service and repair. They’ve been a huge source of support to me. “Once you’re comfortable with basic EV service, look for other opportunities in your market. Becoming a TH¡NK car warranty center was one that helped us to quickly develop repair competencies we didn’t have before. My friend Carolyn Coquillette, who owns Luscious Garage in San Francisco, recently added a second (night) shift to her EV shop dedicated to the service and repair of a fleet of 400 EV taxis.” Houser concludes with this: “Develop a working relationship with local automotive technical schools. En-
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This article can be found online at www.motormagazine.com.
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