The Toyota Mirai hydrogen project was well-intended, but some buyers feel misled on the car's capabilities and ease of use. Now they want their money ...
"The Iwatani hydrogen station is fragile, has only one working pump, and dispenses fuel every 20 minutes. It also has a limit of about one-third of the full tank per fill, so a Mirai driver has to spend one hour at the pump to fill up to 100% if the driver comes to the station with less than 30% in the tank," Benko said. "[Last month] my M irai completely lost power when I was waiting in line because I had my heater on. I called Mir ai’s emergency roadside assistance. The assistance came in an hour and rechar ged my battery; however, the line moved up only 1 car in that time, so I was s till an hour away from getting to the pump."
And then there’s the freezing. Owners often show up to refuel and become stuc k—sometimes for hours—to the pump. This has been an issue for some hydrogen fueling stations where pumps are positioned between traditional gasoline dispe nsers. Fueling station clerks sometimes need to corral a group of hydrogen-pow ered vehicles lined up waiting for a car to unfreeze from the pump so they don ’t lose revenue from blocked gasoline pumps.