PHEV windshield heating

[Adsf]

Is there a way to demist the front windshield without using petrol? I'm finding that when I turn the heating on the ICE kicks in and it won't turn off the remainder of the journey, despite me turning off the heating.

[ernieb]

You’ve noticed this somewhat annoying feature.  I’m currently playing with the options on this one. If I’m tethered to the charge cable then I set the front and rear windows to defrost and the cabin temperature higher than normal.  So far that does not seem to switch the front window defrost on so not sure about that. The best I’ve found at present is to not use the front defrost button to stop the ICE firing, but to temporarily set the cabin temperature higher than I’d want and select Normal drive mode rather than ECO. I’m going to try using Rain-X Antifog, I have some at home so I’ll give that a try after giving the screen a good clean, weekend job. It’s worked pretty effectively on other cars.
When I bought the car I found the front screen and a couple of the side windows covered in a sticky haze which I took to be something that the guys who cleaned the can during the pre delivery had deposited. I cleaned in off but I still think it worth giving it another go.

This car does seem more prone than others I’ve owned?

[nlee]

There was a similar topic last week but I don't think it has any answers of how to stop it.

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/202879-phev-feeling-dirty/ 

[ernieb]

Agreed, I commented that I was doing some tests on various solutions and I’ve not yet got this one buttoned down, maybe someone else will come up with a solution. The Rain-X or similar might be a good starting point…

[Lawnmowerman]

7 degrees when I left this morning and fell to 4 degrees. Did not pre-warm car. ICE came on immediately and stayed on for about 70% of the journey (had heater set to 24 degrees).

[ernieb]

9 hours ago, Lawnmowerman said:

7 degrees when I left this morning and fell to 4 degrees. Did not pre-warm car. ICE came on immediately and stayed on for about 70% of the journey (had heater set to 24 degrees).

What car settings were you using ECO, Normal?

[LynxE]

Toyota states that they designed a completely new and effective heat pump for their PHEV, so that's a bit weird this system can't cope with fog and ice on windows. In our family, we use EV Peugeot with electric heat-pump and it works excellent without draining the Battery. So I wonder why it happens with the Toyota PHEV car.

[spicyhotone]

I got caught by this this morning too. Not even that cold (10C). Does the ICE actually add any heat to the system (as it would in a traditional ICE car), or purely power? When I switched it on, I was going downhill with foot off the accelerator, and ~90% Battery charge. Heating in ECO mode I think. I'd not even switched on heated rear screen - I imagined that would be more likely to start the engine as that actually draws more electrical power, but it doesn't seem to.

 

[ernieb]

No, but it provides for additional braking I think if the car thinks the current situation needs it? I believe if it were -10oC then the ICE would kick in as the heat pump does not work at this temperature.  It’s a bit of a mystery wrapped in a conundrum for me!

[Flatcoat]

My Volvo PHEV had really good heating when in EV mode but it hammered EV range. In the long run it balances out. The need to use ICE for cold weather heating is Not uncommon on PHEV’s. 

[Lawnmowerman]

12 hours ago, ernieb said:

What car settings were you using ECO, Normal?

Never thought about it Ernie - normal I think. When the temperature was higher it just drove in EV straight away.

[ernieb]

It will switch to EV once the ICE is warmed up. Once it’s made the switch to ICE for whatever reason it will reasonably go through the process of allowing the engine to heat up.

[nlee]

Found this in the electronic manual. I couldn't see it in the paper manual anywhere. It is probably the bullet point in red most of the time but the bullet point below it seems to be the catch all, i.e. the car knows best!

■Gasoline engine operation in EV mode or AUTO EV/HV mode Even if there is a sufficient amount of electricity remaining in the hybrid Battery (traction battery) and EV driving range (→P.181) is being displayed on the multi-information display, EV driving (driving using only the electric motor) may be canceled and both gasoline engine and electric motor are used depending on the situation (EV driving will be returned to automatically after EV driving becomes possible again). EV driving may be canceled automatically in the following circumstances*1:

●When vehicle speed is more than approximately 135 km/h (84 mph).

●When power is needed temporarily, for example when the accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or when accelerating suddenly.*2

●When the temperature of the hybrid system is high. The vehicle has been left in the sun, driven on a hill, driven at high speeds, etc.

●When the temperature of the hybrid system is low.

●When the heater is switched on when the outside temperature is below about -10°C (14°F).

●When the windshield defogger switch is pressed. (→P.453)

●When the system determines that the gasoline engine needs to be started.

*1: The gasoline engine may also operate in circumstances other than those listed above, depending on conditions.

*2: When driving in AUTO EV/HV mode. Even in EV mode, the gasoline engine may start, depending on the condition of the hybrid Battery (traction battery).

[LynxE]

RAV 4 PHEV for the Nordic countries comes with an electric-heated windshield, do you have such an option in the UK? And it's interesting, does the heat pump cope with ice on side glasses in that case?

[ernieb]

lots of things missing in the UK spec including the electrically heated from windscreen, heated steering wheel etc.  I’ve not had my PHEV long enough to go through a winter, I’ll see what happens if we get a cold winter this year?