Towing a caravan

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Jake3847

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2021
Messages
5
Hi, I've asked questions before regarding towing a caravan. My caravan is 1500kg. I hace a2018 2.4 Phev. This weekend we have travelled a short distance from Lancashire to the lake district. This journey was nearly all motorway and the car was great. I had it in charge mode and mainly in cruise control. On the way home I had it the same. However for the last 9 miles I have some hilly country roads to navigate, but nothing too excessive. I still had 10 miles EV range showing. I selected sport mode but the car was surprisingly sluggish. The rev counter was over 5 and the engine was loud. When I looked at the in car display the engine block did not turn orange. On the way to the lake district when the car performed best the engine block turned orange i think. What is the significance of this? When the block is orange is this is when it's giving most power?
Thanks
 
I can't say I have ever seen an orange engine light on my dash and mine is exactly the same as yours? I would have thought that meant you had an issue? I don't think I would tow in charge mode either as you are asking the engine for all its got all the time? Just my thoughts, lets see what others say.
 
Hi Jake
Page 5-180 of the manual refers to a possible air leak in the fuel filler cap.
Just something to check.
Good luck
 
Hi Jake
Sorry, previous post should have been Page 5-179, possible air leaking in at fuel filler cap.
 
I think Jake is referring to the display that shows how the car is being powered. The engine block turns orange when the engine is using the direct drive to the front wheels and blue when it's powering the car by electricity via the generator. The direct drive is a fixed gearing and is therefore only available at speeds above ~45mph. If you demand high power (floor the accelerator) the engine will tend to use indirect (electric) drive, as this allows it to rev higher and generate more power - this holds up to speeds of about ~75mph.
 
Jake3847 said:
The rev counter was over 5 and the engine was loud. When I looked at the in car display the engine block did not turn orange.

By having the Charge button pressed, you are asking the PHEV to generate power when ever possible, which is critical for towing so the battery is not depleted quickly.
Chris is correct, what you are describing with Charge mode active is what happens at slower speeds when the engine has to act only as a generator (series hybrid). When the engine icon is orange, it is in parallel hybrid mode which is only possible at highway speeds due to the fixed gearing.
More info on Series and Parallel modes here - https://greencarjournal.com/electric-cars/how-mitsubishis-phev-system-works/
 
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