How long does ICE run once started?

Hi all,

Does anybody know how quickly the Outlander PHEV turns the ICE off once it is no longer required?

E.g. if I were to turn the demister on forcing the ICE to start, how quickly would the ICE stop running once I turn the demister back off?

Similarly if I force the ICE to start by accelerating hard, how long before the Outlander decides my driving is 'efficient enough' again to turn the engine back off?

Are there any ways to make this happen faster, short of turning it on and off again? Maybe turning 'Save' on and then off again?

I wanted to find all this out myself today when I test drove a GX3h. But the dealer had left it standing on the forecourt too long and the car insisting on running the ICE the whole time even with a full battery charge (it didn't give the message about refilling with 15 litres of fuel, but did say something about engine started to maintain quality).

I'm thinking of buying a used one, but the ease with which I can keep it in EV-only mode is quite important to me...

Thanks!

jmb said:

Hi all,

Does anybody know how quickly the Outlander PHEV turns the ICE off once it is no longer required?

E.g. if I were to turn the demister on forcing the ICE to start, how quickly would the ICE stop running once I turn the demister back off?

Similarly if I force the ICE to start by accelerating hard, how long before the Outlander decides my driving is 'efficient enough' again to turn the engine back off?

Are there any ways to make this happen faster, short of turning it on and off again? Maybe turning 'Save' on and then off again?

I wanted to find all this out myself today when I test drove a GX3h. But the dealer had left it standing on the forecourt too long and the car insisting on running the ICE the whole time even with a full battery charge (it didn't give the message about refilling with 15 litres of fuel, but did say something about engine started to maintain quality).

I'm thinking of buying a used one, but the ease with which I can keep it in EV-only mode is quite important to me...

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The ICE will turn off as soon as it isn't needed, though 'needed' depends on a lot of factors.

Based on absolutely nothing more than gut feel and experience, it seems to me that the first time the engine starts, it tends to stay on for a minute or two, irrespective of other factors. Once it's 'warmed up' it will happily cut in and out for just a few seconds, according to demand, as SolarBoy says.

It also seems less likely to start (or run on long) if you have used pre-heating before driving. I also find using Eco-mode makes it slightly more reluctant to start up and keener to shut off.

The right answer (but not very precise, I know :mrgreen: ) for the question is : about 30 s.
For example when I've forgotten to cut the heater before starting, the ICE runs about 30 s after having switched the heater off. Same time when I push too much the throttle.

Grigou said:

The right answer (but not very precise, I know :mrgreen: ) for the question is : about 30 s.
For example when I've forgotten to cut the heater before starting, the ICE runs about 30 s after having switched the heater off. Same time when I push too much the throttle.

Click to expand...

I'd say it is less than this in my experience - 30sec is quite along time but most people tend to over estimate time unless using "one Mississippi, two Mississippi"

I am not fluent with the English language, so I may have made a mistake with the word "about" ? For me it signifies less or more...

Grigou said:

I am not fluent with the English language, so I may have made a mistake with the word "about" ? For me it signifies less or more...

Click to expand...

Trust me, nothing wrong with your English!

I think GreenDwarf is implying he thinks it is much less, rather than just a little less.

Personally I've never paid it enough attention to see how long the ICE is on for.

I don't think there is a simple answer to the question - the ICE run time depends on a number of factors - as it should. Starting the engine will always use some battery charge, so frequent starts and stops with very short run times will deplete your battery. Starting a cold engine will result in increased mechanical wear - so once it has been started, it makes sense to let it run for a while to get the oil circulating and warmed up a bit. The programming seems to make some reasonably sensible decisions that don't always please owners who are seeking a pure EV vehicle. With a moderate level of battery charge and a warm engine, it will happily start and stop within a few seconds but if the battery charge level is close to the lower limit or the engine is cold, it may run for longer.

It does appear that if it starts the engine for heating with a relatively flat battery, it does not take the opportunity to top up the charge level - and that seems a strange decision to me. I have watched my car running the engine after start up on a cold morning with a 50% charge level and the display shows no current into the battery pack.

jmb said:

Hi all,

Does anybody know how quickly the Outlander PHEV turns the ICE off once it is no longer required?

E.g. if I were to turn the demister on forcing the ICE to start, how quickly would the ICE stop running once I turn the demister back off?

Similarly if I force the ICE to start by accelerating hard, how long before the Outlander decides my driving is 'efficient enough' again to turn the engine back off?

Click to expand...

The two cases above that ICE start for cabin temperature control and acceleration power, have two different ICE usage:

1- For cabin temperature
I guess ... ICE will keep running until the ICE coolant will reach 70deg (at least, and then it may depend by cabin temperature and outside temperature too) ... anyhow ... this depend by external temperature
What I know from experience .. is that ICE keep running for too long for my taste .. I would say above 5 or 10 minutes (after 10min I normally switch off "ventilation/car heating" for be sure to switch off the ICE)

2 - ICE start for acceleration power that require more then 60kw
Assuming was an instantaneous power need, and car is back inside the 60kw .. per my experience ... this does last few seconds ... possibly between 15 to 30 seconds ... the PHEV does not like to start for very short time the ICE ... I guess there is some technical reasoning behind

I think there are three drivers for starting the engine:

- heating demand
- power demand
- charging demand

The first time the engine starts, it will run a certain amount of time, depending on temperature conditions, but regardless of what the driver was. This allows the engine to somewhat warm up, pump around fluids, and what not. This first cycle takes longer in winter, shorter in summer. For summertime, 30 seconds sounds about right. Once this first cycle is done, the engine may run just a few seconds at a time, regardless of what the driver for starting the engine was.

I don't think power needed for starting the engine was a

Also, what I have noticed is that, when looking at the "charging demand" driver, the first engine start is initiated at a higher SOC, then the consecutive engine starts. Makes sense to me: during the first cycle, it takes a while before the generator starts delivering power.

Today was the first day this year when my ICE didn't start! Ambient temperature was 12 and the heater was set to 22. Rock on Summer