New Owner heater questions

[Idomeneus]

Hi all,

Just bought a 2014 energi with 22,000 miles on it. I feel like I got a great deal and only paying .99% financing.

 

I am in the NE and this morning it was cold. My commute to work is about 17 miles but it is mostly down hill in the mornings. When I get to work I usually sill have about 16-17 miles left of battery charge. This morning when I put the defrost or heat on the ICE immediately came on. I realize that the electric drive doesn't produce heat. When the ICE comes on is it just heating the car or is it being used to drive it? When I monitored it I noticed that it initially said heater operation but quickly switched to engine on for normal operation. I tried turning off the heat and it went back to electric drive but the ICE went right back to normal operation when I turned the heater on. Is there reason why it wouldn't be used just for the heat? Is there a setting that can be adjusted for that?

 

Any insight?

 

Thanks

[murphy]

Did you have the car in EV Only mode?

There is a 5 kW resistance heater to provide heat in electric only mode.  Unfortunately it puts a big dent in the number of miles you can get.

Cold weather also reduces the efficiency of the battery.  Below freezing I get about 10 miles without using the heater.

 

In Auto the car decides what is going to happen.  The only time I use Auto is when it switches to Auto and I don't catch it before I leave.

 

Try a warm coat and turn the seat heater on.  Mine doesn't have a heated steering wheel so I wear gloves when it is below freezing.

 

The ICE and the electric motor can move the car at the same time.  The computer sets the ICE RPM for maximum efficiency.  If you haven't noticed, there is no correlation between speed and engine RPM.  The throttle pedal is not connected to the engine.  It tells the computer what you want and the computer decides how to provide it.

 

It is impossible for the ICE to move the car in reverse.  Reverse is an electric motor only situation.