Advice Please ,1st time owner Toyota corolla Hybrid 2020

[Steve 100]

I have had My car a month now, and need some advice regarding driving a Hybrid, I rougthly drive twice a week maybe 30 miles , I have noticed since the weather has got colder the cars ICE comes on more frequently. When in traffic it will startup the petrol engine and rev  slightly to 1.5K  then will  go back to normal . Is this the ICE charging the Battery ?

Also I find early morning starts the ICE fires up and goes back  to electric, Forgive my ignorance i just wanted to know basically how the Hybrid car works/ drive as a 1st time owner of these great cars.  Thank you for your replies . I know that obviously the Battery is needing more charge etc , but wanted to check if everything is ok .

 

Steve

[dannyboy413]

Sounds perfectly normal. You will probably find the ICE 'kicking in' more often as the weather gets colder. Out of interest, how long does it take to do your 30 mile journey?

[AndrueC]

In cold weather the ICE will not only start to charge the Battery, it will start in order to provide heat for the cabin.

[Steve 100]

Thanks for your replies  , The journey normally takes 1 hour due to  mostly traffic when going to work, stop and go traffic

Essex to Kent  rush hour

[Cyker]

I wouldn't worry too much - the hybrid system just seems to do what it wants! Esp. this time of year, as it gets colder, its behaviour changes from the summer months, esp. with the engine starting when you're not expecting it to or running for longer than you're used to.

99% of the time it seems to be down to engine temperature being lower than the system would like, so it runs it more to raise it.

I mitigate it by taking longer faster roads which, due to the horrendous traffic in London's urban roads thanks to the best efforts of KHAAAAAN! and the local borough authorities, ends up taking practically the same amount of time  

[Unaz]

I had a lexus CT200h and it was exactly same behaviour. My theory is, engine needs to be warm to provide heat but also needs to be ready to give full power anytime so it goes through warm-up cycle at start to make sure Battery is topped up as well as engine warm, ready to deliver power safely. I found it wasn't great in winter with very short journeys as engine was running most of times due to heat demand and the fact it idles high, it was going through a lot of fuel. Longer journeys were great on fuel though.

[taxidriver50005]

Ice needs to run for heat but you can turn heat off until your car has warmed itself up on the drive to work, this does make a big difference in fuel economy. 

[TonyHSD]

Or use hvac in auto mode and heating will remain off in the first two minutes. That’s all these cars need to warm up themselves. 

[AisinW]

In winter time, the HVAC needs more heat and the engine kicks in early and longer to warm up and also heat up the cabin. The cold weather increases the fuel consumption because it takes longer for the engine reaching ideal temp and fuel ratio.  

The engine provide heat much more efficient than any BEV range in winter that often drop 30-45%. Heat takes a lot of electricity even with the best system in octovalves/Supermanifold heat pump in Tesla. 

[fred88]

Paradoxically we like the car warm in winter and cool in summer. Worst of both worlds I suppose. I use "Tank Average" to monitor fuel consumption. It varies but generally I'll average low 60's in Summer and mid 50's in Winter. Hower when I look at trips in the MT App, I'll often see high 60's, particularly in Summer.

[Babar13]

Also you shoud know that every time the CAT is below a certain temperature (around 15° C), the engine will power on to warm it up in order to reduce emissions.

[AisinW]

On 10/14/2024 at 7:48 AM, fred88 said:

Paradoxically we like the car warm in winter and cool in summer. Worst of both worlds I suppose. I use "Tank Average" to monitor fuel consumption. It varies but generally I'll average low 60's in Summer and mid 50's in Winter. Hower when I look at trips in the MT App, I'll often see high 60's, particularly in Summer.

we like ideal temp 20-22 all year long with low humidity. it is better than heavy dusty allergic reaction without HVAC. 

[AndrueC]

On 10/14/2024 at 6:48 AM, fred88 said:

Paradoxically we like the car warm in winter and cool in summer.

No, that makes sense. In summer you are likely to be wearing fewer clothes. I do the same thing - typically have it set to 21.5 for summer when I'm wearing shorts/t-shirt but 20.5 in winter when I'm wearing long trousers and have a jumper on.