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Originally Posted by ohioTCHguy
I'm looking for tips and input on how to get the most FE out of my new TCH. There are some good things on this site. I do have a question, though.
Have you found it normal for the ICE to kick on from dead stops at intersections to get the car up to speed.
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Congratulations on your purchase, and welcome to
GreenHybrid! I don't have a TCH, but from my reading it sounds like its hybrid systems are somewhat similar to those in my Ford Escape Hybrid in terms of ICE on/ICE off behavior. With that in mind, I'd say it is normal for the ICE to kick on from dead stops, especially if you accelerate briskly and/or the road has a increasing grade (causing more load to move the same distance on flat ground.) Even minor road divots are enough to change your pressure on the accelerator pedal enough to tell the vehicle that ICE is probably going to be wanted so, and thus it turns on in preparation.
Different hybrids and different hybrid drivers have different theories and rules of thumb on whether one should accelerate briskly up to speed (though not a jackrabbit start) or do so gingerly/slowly. I myself accelerate at a moderate pace to get up to speed and decelerate the same way via engine braking and actively braking.
If my experience and that of others is any indication, you may also find it's easier to keep the ICE off as the vehicle gets broken in.
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Originally Posted by ohioTCHguy
4. My girlfriend believes I'm obsessed about the the FE on this car. She and I went to lunch today and it was let's say interesting. She made me change the display screen so I couldn't see what was powering the car.
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Hehe... She has a point -- it is very easy to get distracted as a new hybrid driver, and the last thing you want is to crunch your new baby. You already have a target painted on you reading "HIT ME" because you're in a brand new vehicle (trust me... I had someone lock their brakes up on me and skid within a foot of my rear bumper because they were too busy on their cellphone to bother with braking as I began to brake preparing for a 90 degree turn into a Post Office parking lot.)
That said, you may find she warms up to it in time and flips through the screens as you drive. My husband does that when I'm driving, and when he drives he has a particular routine of viewing the real-time fuel economy/elapsed FE screens and the energy management screens when he wants to be aware of the ICE off and power distribution. He also gets competitive, reporting his fuel economy after using my car for the day or whatnot to see if he's "ahead" of me.
