ICE in EV Mode ... Again

With the Classic, you were allowed to postpone housekeeping by shutting off the system. It's realistic to see the same approach used for this generation too.

 

But it appears that this isn't housekeeping but rather bleeding off excess regen. That shouldn't really change regardless of when the car was turned on, no?

 

The battery longevity is only one reason for engine running. What about emissions? There are collect & burn events, after all. And how would any of us know what all the parameters are for the emission system, especially when temperature and seasonal-fuel are taken into account?

 

Sure wish we had access to a Toyota PIP Engineer on PC !!!

 

I think you're on to something. Add my name to the list of mysterious "ICE starts." We've been real cold here the last few days. Driving home from work last night (temp around 15degF), no fans/heater/etc. going...and with 4-5 miles of EV remaining...I easily drove the 3-4 miles home in EV without any issues (with speeds up to around 35mph). This morning (about same temp)--after a full charge (220 EVSE upgrade)--I kept popping into EV driving that same route 'back'--again with no fan, heater, etc. 'No real incline/decline either way other than some very small gradual hills. I kept dropping out of EV into ICE the first mile or so of this drive...after that no problems despite nearly identical driving conditions. By then, presumably, there would have been enough 'drawn off' for there to not be an 'excess regen' issue...

'Good detective work Tracksyde....funny this came up today after my experience just this morning...

 

Drove 7 miles round trip on EV tonight. It was 52 out and the inside of the windshield was misting up, so I had the fan on low, the temp at 68 and the mode on windshield/floor. The ICE never came on at all. Just to be sure, I had the energy display on.

 

52 outside and climate control on 68? no ICE? hmm.. I'd say that's a first.. or at least the first time I heard of that.. although I think we focus a lot more on what will start the ICE rather than what won't

good to know though.. I'll give this a shot next time it fogs up inside the car.. it sure beats turning on the AC on "LO" in 50 degree weather in the morning

 

I have had the same experience as you, Rogerv. If I have the temperature setting on anything but LO the ICE kicks on during these cold mornings of below 50. Then I have to turn the fan on, turn the temp down to LO, restart the engine and reset my trip gauge to get the EV settings back to 999mpg. I try to remember to get the temp back to LO whenever I am driving in HV the day before, but don't always succeed. Whenever the ICE kicks in when I start in the morning, it always seems to be that the temp is above LO. Didn't notice it this summer, but then never had the temp set above LO.

Also, have noticed that when the car is warmed up and I've had it in HV, I can put the temp to 68 and not have the ICE kick on while in EV mode. This is still a bit of a mystery but it seems to happen only after I have been driving for a while even when the temperature outside is still cold.

The other thing that I have noticed is that the car is sluggish on accelerating when it's below 50 in EV and if I'm accelerating on a steep incline, the ICE will kick in. Haven't figured out if this happens only when I've been driving EV only at the beginning of my trip or can also occur after having been in HV already. In any case, in my car, there seems to be circumstances as to when the ICE kicks in whenever I'm in EV mode. The outside temps definitely has an impact and I think it also has to do with the car having had a warm up time and acts differently once the ICE has kicked in and warmed up. I can then drive more dependably in EV only, if that makes any sense.

 

this isn't a mystery. basically, what happens is that the ICE warms up the coolant and shuts off as soon as it reaches some specific temperature. then, until the coolant drops below a certain temperature (114 F? depends on whether you have ECO mode on), the ICE won't restart for heating.

 

when was the last time the ice ran?

 

Interesting. I thought Gen2 has a small electric heater. Perhaps Gen3 and PiP has one also.

 

It ran from 5 to 5:45. I drove in EV around 8.

 

The GenIII has an electric heater, but I was told the PIP doesn't.

 

do you think the water temp was still warmer than what it needs for 68 degree air?

 

yeah i think it's just that the coolant was warm enough. time for Torque or scan gauge lol

 

There needs to be a significant delta-T in order to get some heat transfer to happen. Try blowing a fan over a plate warmed up in an oven that is just 68 degrees...it will feel cool.

Mike

 

agreed, but if the water was at 170 degrees? at 5:00, by 8:00 it might still be pretty warm in 52 degree weather.

 

A little cooler, 52.

 

fixed, thanks!

 

today, i went out, full charge, 37 degrees, hit the pedal hard, about 3/4 of the hsi. 8.5 miles, ice never came on.