Strangely silent occasionally when ICE starts up.

[higheroctave32]

Has anyone else experienced this? At least once a day, especially when first in the car, when starting from a stop or very slow, if I give it a bit more throttle input that it kicks it out of EV mode and fires up the ICE according to the Empower screen, it's so quiet that I can't hear it. The white bar will be up as high as 2kw of engine power even. Normally I can clearly hear the engine come on with it's characteristic errrrrrrr sound but not when this happens. I keep wondering if my ANC is working properly. It's not especially loud other times, though I can clearly hear it and on the freeway sound is quiet.

Am I imagining this?

[hybridbear]

Has anyone else experienced this? At least once a day, especially when first in the car, when starting from a stop or very slow, if I give it a bit more throttle input that it kicks it out of EV mode and fires up the ICE according to the Empower screen, it's so quiet that I can't hear it. The white bar will be up as high as 2kw of engine power even. Normally I can clearly hear the engine come on with it's characteristic errrrrrrr sound but not when this happens. I keep wondering if my ANC is working properly. It's not especially loud other times, though I can clearly hear it and on the freeway sound is quiet.

Am I imagining this?

Have you looked at the Engage screen during this? I'd bet that what's happening is that the ICE is coming on at a very low RPM and not providing power to the wheels but rather just warming up. The traction motor is likely still providing all the power to the wheels.

[corncobs]

Yes every the ICE kicks in for the first time it's in this mode. It's kinda strange but like HB said it's "warming" up the engine.

In this state you can discharge the HVB pretty far. It would never go that low under any other condition.

[higheroctave32]

Well that sure sounds right to my brand new hybrid driving ears. I've messed with engage a couple times but haven't really wrapped my brain around what it's telling me, so I've been reading your (hybridbear) excellent posts in the Acceleration Quick VS Slow and FFH Warm Up Stages threads to help me along.

 

Thanks for the responses and the hybrid lesson.

[kbailey990]

If i remember right... Hybridbear or larryh has an extensive explanation of this ICE stage, and how to skip it. I don't have the link (I'm on my iPhone), but if you drop the gear selection from drive to low and back again when the ICE first comes on the FFH skips this phase, improving overall MPG. I've used that tip ever since I read his original detailed post. It skips that inefficient phase of accelerating with HVB, while the ICE is warming up without providing power.

[higheroctave32]

This now leads to another epiphany. Strange how this car seems to keep causing those, lol. It's not the engine at all that I'm hearing, or not, depending on the conditions, it's the transmission when it gets handed off to by the electric motor. It all makes sense now. As you can tell this is my first hybrid and first CVT, so the sounds and behaviors are quite a learning curve but a very engaging one.

 

Thanks again all.