Doublade

Our engine was designed to have two compnents; electric and gas right? Hence the hybrid. Now I've heard that the electric motor turns on first when you first turn on the car, the electric component warms up the gas motor so that it is ideal to drive at higher speeds.

So if the electric motor is always going to warm up the gas motor first, whats the point of autostart? I know autostart was the purpose of starting up the car and warming it up while you don't have to stress about waiting for the car to warm up...but if we have hybrids whats the point?

lexuslover

i'm not really sure what you mean? the electric motor doesn't "warm up" the gas motor. the hybrid operates on electric when at all possible (i.e., low speeds and slow acceleration). the gas kicks in when needed (e.g., high acceleration, cold engine temp, etc.).

so in the morning when i start up the car, it's totally silent when i back it out of the garage. when i get out of the garage onto the driveway, in another 1-2 seconds the gas motor comes on even though i'm stopped, because the engine is cold. the gas motor will remain running until the engine has had a chance to warm up (for me, that is about 3-4 minutes). and of course the gas engine will kick on again at high speeds or acceleration.

if the engine is already warm (say i went to run errands and made a quick stop), the gas doesn't need to come on like it does in the morning. so you can cruise around on electric in the parking lot without the gas motor coming on.

the point of remote start from afar is to warm up your car in the winter or cool it down in the summer (if you live in extreme climate and that is desirable to you), so that by the time you are there it's not freezing cold or scorching hot.

if you are referring to push-button start, that is so you don't have to crank a key in the ignition, which is just a comfort/luxury feature to leave a key in your pocket or purse.

SpeyRod

The electric motor is not there to warm your engine. It is there to get your car rolling and to a speed where the gas motor will take over. Going from stopped to 25mph is the most inefficient part of driving a gas car. The electric motor is there to eliminate the inefficiency.

If the motor comes on while you are sitting first thing in the AM it is because the system knows you are going to need more power than is currently available. It is coming on to prevent a power dip when you start out first thing. After a few miles of driving your battery is topped off and ready to go for the day.

FNFZ4

I believe auto start is a feature that when you are walking up to your car.

Matt_RN

iTrader: (3)

The REMOTE start feature is used to heat up the inside of the car on cold mornings so it's toasty when you step into your car outside the house. Or to cool the car down on hot days before you step in.

But yes, I concur with everyone's input on how the electric and gas engines function. The electric motors are not there to heat up the gas engine. If the gas engine needs to be warmed up, it was start automatically.

Tom59

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car6.htm

yamaturkey

good documentation~!thanks for sharing