3Novices:Do electric cars dream of software fixes?

RECALL how Apple’s reputation took a knock after the firm admitted it had surreptitiously hobbled the performance of peope’s iPhones when their batteries started deteriorating with age. Toyota now faces similar opprobrium for throttling back the batteries of some of its older Prius hybrid cars, to prevent them frying their electronics. The software tweak—performed during a voluntary recall of Priuses sold in America between 2010 and 2014—forces the vehicle to rely more on its petrol engine and less on its electric motor/generators. That causes fuel economy to fall and exhaust emissions to rise. Prius owners, who bought their hybrid vehicles precisely because they were lean and clean, have not been best pleased.

More galling still, reports continue to come in of overheating problems that leave Prius owners in limp-home mode or stranded in traffic unable to move. Online forums (see priuschat.com) have been abuzz with tales of woe from afflicted drivers. Apparently, owners of vehicles that are out...Continue reading

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