So!

I rented a u-Haul trailer to pick up a pool table. They hooked up the 5x10, 1250 lbs. trailer and off I went. I first took a 15 minute drive to Home depot to grab some drywall, got it up to 90 kph (55 mph) with no issues. Afterwards I drove home about the same distance and speed, no problems.

The next day I went off to grab the table. I drove a full hour at highway speeds 90-100 kph (55 - 60 mph) without any problems.

However, after we loaded the pool table (1000+ lbs) into the trailer that's when the issues started. I was driving at around 90 kph (55 mph) when I received a "stop safely now" message. I still had power and was able to pull off fairly quickly.

I had never seen this, or heard of this before, so I just turned off the vehicle, immediately turned it back on and kept going at a reduced speed of 80 kph (50 mph). I made it another 20 minutes when it happened again, but I think I had creeped back up to 90 kph.

At this point the engine shut off completely as soon as the error displayed. I was on a major highway with 3 lanes of cars passing at 120 kph (75 mph). I waited awhile then restarted and creeped at 60 kph to the next exit and continued my journey on the back roads. I had stopped and was starting to cross a major intersection when it happened again.

This time I opened the hood and stayed there for about 20 minutes to cool. (In my mind I thought it was overheating, but I have no clue. It wasn't overly hot out, around 20 Celsius, that's 68 Fahrenheit)

I made it the rest of the way at very low speeds and it did not happen after we unloaded the table and I returned the trailer.

Do you think this was happening because I was obviously ignoring the 1000 lbs. limit and it was too much for the vehicle? I was well over 2000 lbs... probably at 2500 at least.

I have a tent trailer that's 1050 lbs fully loaded, and now I'm a little worried about taking it the 4 hour drive to the mountains.

Any thoughts? (Besides that I was being an idiot towing so much... I realize that was dumb, but I read a bunch about how some people towed 3000 lbs + with their FEH.)

 

Sounds like you have a bad mech/electrical coolant pump and the eCVT is overheating. This is very common in the FEH, so check if the pump is running under the radiator. Turn your key ON but don't start the engine and get under the front of the FEH to hear the pump running. If it is not running you should replace it.

GaryG

 

Just checked. There's a steady hum under the front end when I put the key in the ignition and move it to the on position. It sounds like its coming from right by the radiator. So if that's what is supposed to happen then it's not the issue.

Any other ideas? Could it be the coolant levels? Bad coolant? Something else?

 

It could be the fluid level, the Aux battery A/C or the internal battery fans also. Check the fluid level and make sure your cabin A/C is working good. Don't say anything about towing over the limits for warranty reasons, but the dealer may have to check for fan DTC codes in the battery.

GaryG

 

Just checked under the hood, and both coolant reservoirs are under the cool fill level by a noticeable amount, but not by a large amount. Would this be the issue I wonder? If so, do you know If I am able to top it off or should I let the dealer do it?

The A/C settings all work fine and blow nice cool air.

 

The MECS pump can also stop running intermittently, mine did before it failed. That would cause the problem you are having. Do you have a Scan Gauge to monitor the coolant temperature?

 

No, I don't have one installed currently. I guess maybe it would be worth looking into one, but I have no experience with them... I imagine they need to be professionally installed?

I still wonder if low coolant might be the issue...

Edit: ok so I just looked into scanguages for the first time. Wow. For everything it does it seems quite worth the cost. Would it allow me to read the error codes that might have piped up when I received the warning? It seems they are plug and go too... Im sure I can find a thread asking how to install one. If it can tell me what code came up and it allows me to monitor temperatures, then I'm sold.

Btw, I'd I DO buy one, what temperatures should I monitor? It seems there are quite a few components I can watch...

 

You may have encountered a "normal" failure, everything working properly but...you.

Did you happen to note the hybrid battery charge level..?

Towing a hevy load a LOT of the engine HP is routed through the "generator" to drive the "motor" and that results in lots of HEAT inside the e/CVT.

 

Ok, it happened again. This time I was just towing an empty (truck bed type) trailer out to a friends for them. It's DEFINITELY less than 1000 lbs. It's another warmer day here... was 20 + degrees Celsius so similar conditions as before. I was able to pull over, let sit and cool, then make it to my destination.

Unfortunately... it happened twice more when I wasn't towing anything. Once when I was coming to a stop at a red light, and again (luckily enough) just as I pulled up my driveway.

But I received another bit of info, this time when the "Stop Safely Now" message appeared, it alternated with another message "High Motor Temperature".

 

I would recommend changing out the MECS pump. Here's a thread with lots of information:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...acement-22207/