So I’ve recently noticed this since the outside temp has dropped when the car is starting from cold.
When I start the car and opt for hybrid mode the engine kicks in and runs at 1400 rpm, it then knocks off after a few minutes and the car stays running in electric unless I put my foot down past “Eco”.
But today I noticed, if the car is in hybrid mode and running in full electric, if I switch the heaters on inside the car, the engine starts up and initially runs at 1400 rpm and then drops to 800rpm, when I slow right down the engine turns off and the car stays running in electric hybrid mode, if I switch the heaters off the cars stays in hybrid electric mode, but as soon as I switch on the heaters again the engine starts up again.
When this happens, the display on the dash shows the car with the engine running and but power to the wheels is coming from the traction battery.
Turn off the heaters and the display only shows the traction battery running the car, the engine shows as not running.
Is it normal in cold weather for the engine to start up if the heaters are turned on when the car is in hybrid mode ?
This morning was probably one off the coldest this year for us, so is this a factor ?
Also the traction battery was low, around 20%.
Any advice appreciated.
It’s hard to keep up with the DS. I drive 80% in electric mode, so I don’t monitor the combustion engine’s performance in hybrid mode. The remaining 20% is in Sport mode, where the combustion engine runs constantly. I occasionally use Comfort mode, but not enough to say anything about it.
I guess it makes sense for the engine to kick in on cold days especially if you’re asking for heat in the cabin ?
I wasn’t sure though where the heat comes from if the car is driving with just the traction battery.
In hybrid or comfort mode though the engine definitely kicks in when you turn on the cabin heaters if the temp is cold outside.
Not sure though if the engines kicks in depending on the level of charge in the traction battery.
Mine was only on around 20% this morning and it was a cold morning, so when i switched on the heaters the engine kicked in straight away, when i turned the heaters off the engine shut down and it went back to driving in full hybrid/comfort mode.
In electric mode, it operates on electricity and is much faster than the engine coolant-based system. Hot air is released within a maximum of one minute. This isn’t possible with a combustion engine, so an electric heater is often used to heat the cabin.
Of course, the heating consumes additional current from the traction battery when driving in electric mode but it never forces the combustion engine to work. Even if there are 2% of the energy.
Switching on the heaters this morning definitely triggered the combustion engine to start up, I tried it a few times on & off and each time I turned the heaters on the engine started up, but only to 1400rpm and then within a few minutes dropped to 800rpm.
You could see on the dash display that the drive to the wheels was still coming from the traction battery but the engine was illuminated to show it was ticking over, but when I turned off the heating the illuminated display for the engine went out and it just showed the traction battery lit up driving the wheels.
I’ve only ever seen it do this this morning when it was very cold here.
I’ve run the heaters in electric mode before and the engine has stayed off .
It’s important to note that these functions are part of the vehicle’s design to ensure comfort and efficiency, and they are not indicative of any malfunction. If you have concerns about the engine starting up unexpectedly, it’s advisable to consult with a professional mechanic or the vehicle’s manual for more detailed information.
I’ve looked at other forums for different makes of PHEV and they seem to suggest its normal for the combustion engine to kick if the internal heater is set higher than the external temp, which mine was.
Google results seem to suggest that if the internal heating is set high there’s a chance the ICE will start up.
Mine was set at 24 degrees.
This may be normal, but if you start the car in pure Electric mode and engage Drive, the combustion engine will never start. Even if you set the cabin heating temperature to the highest setting. This will only happen when the traction battery runs out of power.
Only in Hybrid or Comfort mode does it work as you described.
I recently drove at 130 km/h in electric mode with heating, and the combustion engine wouldn’t turn on. The current load during such driving is high, but the entire system was operating solely on electric power.
That supprises me. The way I thought the Stellantis carsheating system works is via an Electric heater, (supplemented by the water jacket surrounding the combustion engine when the engine is warm - maybe not?).- this is why you get heat blowing very quickly cold mornings, and also why you can pre-condition the cabin for about 20 mins before you get in.
Not sure where the power comes from, but I would imagine the traction battery as you can not pre-condition the cabin with less than 20% charge. But like most things on these cars, nothing happens if the 12volt (battery under the bonnet) or the 48volt Hybrid battery.
So it’s very possible, your car thinks either one of these batteries are low and needs the engine to charge, or…
I’m driving home soon, I’ll try it in pure electric with the heater set to 24 degrees and see if the ICE kicks in.
I’ll also try it in hybrid but with the heaters set lower , see if the ICE kicks in ?
I’ve Googled this all day on different sites & forums and the consensus seems to be its normal if the car is in hybrid mode with the heater set towards the high end ?
Going on your previous posts, you only travel 4-5 mile to work, why not in stay in Electric mode, and leave Hybrid/Comfort for longer trips, or when the car decides? Short distance for a petrol engine could increase internal wear.
To be honest with the route and speeds I travel to work , the car in hybrid/comfort mode it rarely triggers the ICE anyway.
But this morning I noticed the ICE starting up when I turned on the heaters.
So coming home from work I tested this by driving in pure electric mode and turning on the heaters, the ICE did NOT start up at all in pure electric mode. .
I then changed to hybrid/comfort mode, drove for a mile or two in electric, and then turned on the heaters to 24 degrees, the ICE started up with the rpm’s going to 1400, but the car stayed using the traction battery to power the wheels, after a brief moment to rpm’s dropped to 800rpm.
The drive continued to come from the traction battery but the ICE was ticking over in the background at 800rpm.
After a minute or two I turned off the heaters and the ICE stopped running.
The only thing that might of been an influence was the traction battery is low, almost depleted by the time I arrived home.
But going to work earlier there was juice in the battery and the same thing happened.
I definitely think turning the heaters on to a higher setting (23 degrees or more), when in hybrid mode can trigger the ICE to start up, but it the ICE doesn’t necessarily take over from hybrid to drive the wheels, this depends on speed ect at that time..
You can see this because firstly on the dash display you can see the ICE lit up but not driving the wheels, also it’s only ticking over in the background at 1400rpm, dropping to 800rpm, plus theres no selected gear showing in the dash display.
So the car is still using electric to drive the wheels but the ICE is ticking in the background.
When I reduced the heater temp down or turned it off the ICE stopped running.
This is quite interesting, sadly my car is back at the workshop due to some error as before - black screens…
From memory my car doesnt engage the ICE engine when in hybrid or comfort any more then when its warmer.
Yesterday temp was about -8 celsius, engine started as normal when reaching 78km/h, cabin temp set to 22c
When activating the heated windscreen and mirror defrosters ICE engine might fire up due to the 12V battery level dropping.
If they wont accept a buyback of my car I will try to monitor how it behaved.
Yeah , I agree it might not be just one thing.
But I was testing it with just the heating set at23 degrees and above, which did turn on the ICE, and it went off again assoon as I dropped the temp or turned it off completely
@Jacyac you must really feel the cold, all last winter and this one so far, setting has never been above 21 degrees, normally 19-20. Yesterday 3 degrees outside 20.5 inside - without a coat.
What you see in the temperature settings is an indication of thermal comfort. Manual doesn’t say anywhere that these are degrees Celsius. I usually set it to 18/19 in winter and 22 in summer.
Note from the manual:
The displayed value corresponds to a specific comfort level, not a specific temperature.
So tested this again this morning.
Only difference from yesterday was the car had a full charge last night.
Set off in pure electric, put the heaters on 25 degree (or comfort level which ever ), the ICE did not start up, drove for a mile or two but the ICE stayed off.
Then swapped to Comfort mode with the heaters off, the car was driving in eco using the traction battery, as soon as I turned the heaters back on, the ICE started up, first going to 1400rpm and quickly dropping to 800rpm.
I drove like that for a few minutes still in Comfort mode, traction battery driving the wheel, heaters still on and ICE running at 800rpm, no gears where showing on the dash so the car was obviously driven by the traction battery.
Just before I was in work I slowly turned down the temp on the heaters, the ICE cut off at 17 degrees, outside temp was 4 degrees.
Oddly though, initially the ICE didnt start up until the heater temp was set at 25 degrees.
But I’m convinced the heaters do impact on the ICE either starting up or turning off when in Hybrid/Comfort mode.
