Hello everyone, I noticed something about the engine lately. During the warm summer days, that's when I purchased my car, the engine start up and go revs for 10 secs or so and goes idle. I had my car do a free service check up recently. The weather is colder now and the engine revs much longer. After a few minutes of driving does the engine go quiet during a stop. Is this normal for hybrid cars?
Yes, it's normal. The car runs the engine to bring it up to operating temperature so that it's ready when you need it. That's why it runs longer in cold weather - it takes longer to warm up. You have to remember that a hybrid is not an electric car. It's fundamentally an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) that uses a battery to store some of your momentum when you stop, and to supplement the ICE when it has to run in an inefficient RPM range. So the car needs the engine, which is why it warms it up when you start out.
Glad to hear mother nature is the cause for the long engine run and not by a bad mechanic. Reading too many bad posts here make me queasy. Thanks!
