ICE running while in EV

[plannersteve]

Recently my 2018 PHEV has begun to run the ICE when the battery charge is nearly full. This is starting out in normal mode. Switching to EV does not stop the engine from running. I am not accelerating rapidly and am driving under 50 MPH. The weather is warm here now. Is there something wrong with my vehicle or is this to be expected? I thought that the car would normally run in EV mode down to about 30% charge.

If I pull over, push the power off, then power back on and immediately hit EV I can prevent this, but don't think that should be necessary.

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. I'll be damned if I can figure out the search engine for this site.

 

[JohanvdH]

It can do that when the car thinks the fuel in the tank is getting old.

 

[plannersteve]

My last fuel up was on July 29th so that doesn't seem too long ago.

 

[jaapv]

Was it more than fifteen liters?

 

[plannersteve]

Was it more than fifteen liters?

7.4 gals or 28 Liters at last fill

 

[richr]

Whilst I can’t find it in the technical documentation in the public domain, I believe it’ll run the engine from time to time to ensure the oil and coolant are circulated and the bore surfaces don’t dry out etc.

It’s a hybrid not a BEV, you should expect the engine to run some of the time.

 

[plannersteve]

Whilst I can’t find it in the technical documentation in the public domain, I believe it’ll run the engine from time to time to ensure the oil and coolant are circulated and the bore surfaces don’t dry out etc.

It’s a hybrid not a BEV, you should expect the engine to run some of the time.

That makes sense to me. I'm raising the question because it did not appear to do this for the first couple of months of ownership, but now it does. With our use pattern, I could easily go a few weeks without ever using the entire battery charge. Typical day might be 10 or 15 miles of use, then back on the charger.

 

[MikkB]

That doesn't sound right to me. Unless it's cold weather or its not 3 months since last fuel up, it should be possible to drive on EV only without ICE for weeks on end. I know, I've done it.

 

[greendwarf]

Occasionally get this on my 2014 model if I start it up with aircon left on - too much simultaneous load on battery? (similar to accelerating too quickly, perhaps.) :idea:

 

[N6IO]

On my US 2018 GT the trick is to press both ECO and EV -BEFORE- turning on the AC or heater. This is especially important in winter when temp is more than 20 degrees below what is set on the heater. If you press both, the engine will only come on in my experience in below 10 degree F weather.

This is a FEATURE for the comfort of the driver. Mitsubishi does not want drivers to feel the heat/ac is inferior so they force the engine on when demand is high.

Side note - if you press both of those buttons you can floor the accelerator and the engine won't come on either. I think this only works for 2017 or 2018 and later models.

And yes - if the engine does start it will run for 3 to 5 minutes after pressing those buttons unless you stop and restart the car. And of course the car forgets those settings when you restart just to be more annoying.

 

[MartinPHEV]

This can happen if the car needs to deliver more energy than the battery can supply for acceleration or hill climbing. After engaging EV the ICE may still start for a while until the car is happy with the situation. The algorithm is fast enough but it has some heavy hysteresis built into the software.
Stupidly smart cars these. Don't panic.