I was at a stoplight today (with the car on a downhill grade - unusual for my area), and I had my foot on the brake. The ICE kicked in as I was waiting for the light, and it actually made my car move forward slightly. This was a bit unnerving, but I reacted quickly and applied more brake pedal pressure. I must have been applying barely enough pressure to hold the car from rolling downhill.

Has anyone else noticed this? I swear that I remember reading someone (possibly on another forum) that claimed that her car accelerated unexpectedly and she was very upset about it. It didn't really bother me all that much, and I can see how this could happen. I might have to be more careful on slopes like this!

 

The ICE can start at any time, even at a standstill.
Working as designed so expect it.
If the traction battery need charging, the heater need warmer water etc.
Using the a/c will increase the ICE run time but putting it in ECO mode helps reduce that somewhat.

 

Maybe because you weren't holding the brake firmly the "creep" function was still drawing power from the battery. Also, AC would be drawing power from the battery if on. I only had the engine start once while in a stopped position, waiting in a long drive thru with the A/C running.

 

I've had the ICE come on in a similar situation, and the lurch forward annoyed me. I wasn't exactly sure WHY the ICE came on, but I guess it has its reasons. Chock one up for the ghost in the machine...

 

The ICE coming on is normal the "lurch" is not.

 

I think the lurch probably IS normal. When the ICE comes on, the RPMS and torque go up, thus more brake pressure is needed to keep the car from creeping.

Sounds like normal behavior to me.

 

I suspect it is normal, too. I just happened to be in an unusual situation where I was on a downhill grade, and wasn't pressing the brake very hard. It is just something to be aware of in the future.

I could see someone like Chicken Little claiming that the sky is falling, though, if this happened to them!

 

With my Prius if I didn't press the brake very hard the Energy screen would show a flow to MG2. If I pressed a little harder the flow would stop. So it looks like light brake pressure resulted in current flowing to a stalled MG2 which would cause it to potentially overheat.
That said ...
With (my) Camry I need to press the brakes much lighter to cut off the current flow to MG2 when at a stop light. Holding just enough to prevent the "creep" results in no current flow on my Energy display.
If the ICE starts (for whatever reason) my Camry does not creep or lurch even with this very light brake pressure.
I live in flatland so I don't know what being on a uphill or downhill but on my driveway which has a modest incline I never had a lurch when the ICE starter even when not in motion. The PSD should prevent any lurching IMHO.
J

 

Yes, it is normal. It happened to me many times simply because I always apply brakes slightly. Every time the RPM go up (ie when the A/C comes on in a non-hybrid car, or the ICE kicks in) the car will start moving forward and need to apply more brake. On the other hand I rarely have to change my brake pads .

 

I posted once about how my ICE came on unexpected during an auto-stop in my HCH I, and at the time the consensus of responses was that it must have been the temperature- apparently if you stop and the engine temperature drops, the ICE will re-engage to warm things up, because it only goes into AS when it's warm enough. No creep froward, though, which is good- that would be really unsafe and freaky.