Familiarizing yourself with i-MiEV 3-2 General information/Charging
3
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i-MiEV is a pure electric vehicle. Some of the vehicle systems operate differently from and have different characteristics than ordinaryvehicles equipped with an internal combus- tion engine. For this reas
on, it is very impor-
tant to read carefull
y this entire owner’s
manual.
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i-MiEV is powered only by electricity. This vehicle does not
emit exhaust gases,
such as carbon dioxide and nitrogenoxide. The i-MiEV uses electricity stored in the lithium ion battery. The lithium-ion bat-tery is called the main drive lithium-ion battery. This vehicl
e does not have an
internal combustion engine and does notrequire gasoline
or diesel fuel.
The main drive lithium-ion battery must be charged with electricity to drive thevehicle. As the vehi
cle operates, the main
drive lithium-ion battery gradually dis- charges. If the main drive lithium-ion bat-tery becomes completely discharged, the vehicle will not
operate until it is re-
charged. The charging process can take upto 23 hours as descri
bed more precisely in
this manual. This vehicle uses two types of batteries. One is 12V starter battery that is the same type of the battery used in ordinary vehi-cles. It is called the 12V starter battery. The other battery which propels the vehi- cle is called the main drive lithium-ionbattery. The 12V starter battery provides power to the vehicle systems and features such asthe audio system, supplemental restraint systems, headlights a
nd windshield wiper.
The main drive lithium-ion battery pro- vides power to the electric motor that pro- pels the vehicle and charges the 12V starter battery. Through a process called regenerative braking, the main drive lithium-ion bat- tery is automatically charged, while thevehicle is decelera
ting or being driven
downhill.
Familiarizing yourself with i-MiEV Main features
NOTE
If the 12V starter batter
y is discharge, the
electric motor unit ca
nnot be started. And
also the main drive lithium-ion battery can-not be charged.WA R N I N G Pay special attention to pedestrians. Because there is no engine noise, pedestri- ans may not know the vehicle is approach-ing and may step into
the path of vehicle
travel. Refer to “Aco
ustic vehicle alerting
system (AVAS)
