New PHEV owner with general questions

5538 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Jay, Mar 5, 2022

Ben

Discussion Starter · Feb 22, 2022

Hi All!

I just got my 2022 Tuscon PHEV and have some questions, but this thread has been awesome in answering many, so I’ll try not to repeat.

1) does anyone leave their block heater plugged in all night and if so, do you notice it heats up and switches to EV mode sooner because the engine is warmer already?

2) I’m in Winnipeg and it’s been absolutely freezing, like weeks of -20 or colder as the high. At night, the vehicle is in my non heated garage, which sits at about -8 to -10 c. I can only get to EV by shutting off the heat (as others have noticed). Are there any tips other than things like drive side only, heat at auto 19 low fan, etc that haven’t been listed here yet? I didn’t hit EV once on my 15 KM drive today even after warming the vehicle for 10 mins in the garage (-10)

2) any way to know how often the car is running hybrid without watching the motor output screen?

3) for those in cold climates like mine and who have had the vehicle for a while… what months or temps did you notice it not taking long for the ICE/cabin to heat sufficiently so that the EV went on almost right away?

as we have really cold winters and really hot summers (dealership tells me the AC also runs of ICE which means hot days replicate the issues on very cold days visa-vis pulling HVAC from the ICE) I want to assure myself this purchase was still worth it!!

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Jay

· #2 · Feb 22, 2022

Regarding leaving the block heater plugged in all night--why? It's wasteful of electricity and shortens the lifespan of the block heater. If you know approximately what time you're leaving in the morning, buy a timer and set the block heater to come on a couple hours before you leave. Walmart sells one for about $5: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-To...Single-Grounded-Outlet/725810211?athbdg=L1600

Regarding the AC, the traction battery powers the AC.

Ben

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 22, 2022

Jay said:
Regarding leaving the block heater plugged in all night--why? It's wasteful of electricity and shortens the lifespan of the block heater. If you know approximately what time you're leaving in the morning, buy a timer and set the block heater to come on a couple hours before you leave. Walmart sells one for about $5: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-To...Single-Grounded-Outlet/725810211?athbdg=L1600

Regarding the AC, the traction battery powers the AC.

Good suggestion re the timer! Thanks. That’s interesting re the AC. The sales guy came back to me twice to say the AC pulled from the ICE and therefore the same issue applies in summer. Also - wondering why it would say “switching to hybrid mode for heating OR cooling” if it wasn’t needed due to being run off battery?

Ben

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 22, 2022

Ben said:
Good suggestion re the timer! Thanks. That’s interesting re the AC. The sales guy came back to me twice to say the AC pulled from the ICE and therefore the same issue applies in summer. Also - wondering why it would say “switching to hybrid mode for heating OR cooling” if it wasn’t needed due to being run off battery?

Jay said:
Regarding leaving the block heater plugged in all night--why? It's wasteful of electricity and shortens the lifespan of the block heater. If you know approximately what time you're leaving in the morning, buy a timer and set the block heater to come on a couple hours before you leave. Walmart sells one for about $5: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-To...Single-Grounded-Outlet/725810211?athbdg=L1600

Regarding the AC, the traction battery powers the AC.

Have you noticed that EV kicks in sooner in cold climates when the block heater is on a few hours before?

mungo544

· #5 · Feb 22, 2022

Ben said:
Good suggestion re the timer! Thanks. That’s interesting re the AC. The sales guy came back to me twice to say the AC pulled from the ICE and therefore the same issue applies in summer. Also - wondering why it would say “switching to hybrid mode for heating OR cooling” if it wasn’t needed due to being run off battery?

Ben said:
Good suggestion re the timer! Thanks. That’s interesting re the AC. The sales guy came back to me twice to say the AC pulled from the ICE and therefore the same issue applies in summer. Also - wondering why it would say “switching to hybrid mode for heating OR cooling” if it wasn’t needed due to being run off battery?

You only have so much battery power stored when the car is plugged in. After that your car runs as a hybrid. The a/c requires electric power to run. If stored power from the charger gets low enough, the ICE has to kick in to provide electric power for the a/c and the warning light will come on. If the warning light is for heating, it's because the ICE coolant temperature has dropped too low to provide adequate heat. In the case of heat, you will get a little boost to your stored battery power while the ICE is running.

Ben

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 22, 2022

mungo544 said:
You only have so much battery power stored when the car is plugged in. After that your car runs as a hybrid. The a/c requires electric power to run. If stored power from the charger gets low enough, the ICE has to kick in to provide electric power for the a/c and the warning light will come on. If the warning light is for heating, it's because the ICE coolant temperature has dropped too low to provide adequate heat. In the case of heat, you will get a little boost to your stored battery power while the ICE is running.

Thank you - so if I understand correctly you’re saying that if your EV battery is sufficiently charged AC will pull from it, but as it drops too low, ICE kicks in like it does for heat?

mungo544

· #7 · Feb 22, 2022

Yes, the ICE will kick in to recharge the battery for a/c. The ICE will kick in for heat when ICE coolant temperature drops too low. Any time the ICE is running it will recharge your traction battery, so when it is running to provide heat, it will also charge the battery. I'm guessing that the only time you will get those warnings is when you are in "EV" mode on initial startup.

Starboy

· #8 · Feb 22, 2022

Ben said:
Hi All!

I just got my 2022 Tuscon PHEV and have some questions, but this thread has been awesome in answering many, so I’ll try not to repeat.

1) does anyone leave their block heater plugged in all night and if so, do you notice it heats up and switches to EV mode sooner because the engine is warmer already?

2) I’m in Winnipeg and it’s been absolutely freezing, like weeks of -20 or colder as the high. At night, the vehicle is in my non heated garage, which sits at about -8 to -10 c. I can only get to EV by shutting off the heat (as others have noticed). Are there any tips other than things like drive side only, heat at auto 19 low fan, etc that haven’t been listed here yet? I didn’t hit EV once on my 15 KM drive today even after warming the vehicle for 10 mins in the garage (-10)

2) any way to know how often the car is running hybrid without watching the motor output screen?

3) for those in cold climates like mine and who have had the vehicle for a while… what months or temps did you notice it not taking long for the ICE/cabin to heat sufficiently so that the EV went on almost right away?

as we have really cold winters and really hot summers (dealership tells me the AC also runs of ICE which means hot days replicate the issues on very cold days visa-vis pulling HVAC from the ICE) I want to assure myself this purchase was still worth it!!

If you change your cluster to tachometer which is the last setting you can will see a tachometer instead of the charger stuff. It is adjustable to whichever mode. I have my set to this on the performance setting. I am in Florida and the car runs on ev with the air-conditioning working. I am not in the belief that the ice has to be working for air conditioning

Jay

· #9 · Feb 22, 2022

Ben said:
Good suggestion re the timer! Thanks. That’s interesting re the AC. The sales guy came back to me twice to say the AC pulled from the ICE and therefore the same issue applies in summer. Also - wondering why it would say “switching to hybrid mode for heating OR cooling” if it wasn’t needed due to being run off battery?

The AC compressor has to be powered by the traction battery on any full HEV or PHEV, or the AC can't operate when the engine is off. The hybrid Tucsons are no exception. You don't have to take anyone's word for it. Look at the AC compressor under the hood. Is there any pulley associated with it? No. Is there an orange cable going to it? Yes.

Reactions: 1

Ben

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 23, 2022

Jay said:
The AC compressor has to be powered by the traction battery on any full HEV or PHEV, or the AC can't operate when the engine is off. The hybrid Tucsons are no exception. You don't have to take anyone's word for it. Look at the AC compressor under the hood. Is there any pulley associated with it? No. Is there an orange cable going to it? Yes.

Well that’s awesome news - as it means extreme heat doesn’t take away from the benefits like extreme cold does. Thanks!

Reactions: 1

Ben

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 23, 2022

Ben said:
Well that’s awesome news - as it means extreme heat doesn’t take away from the benefits like extreme cold does. Thanks!
[/QUOTE

Jay said:
The AC compressor has to be powered by the traction battery on any full HEV or PHEV, or the AC can't operate when the engine is off. The hybrid Tucsons are no exception. You don't have to take anyone's word for it. Look at the AC compressor under the hood. Is there any pulley associated with it? No. Is there an orange cable going to it? Yes.

Another question:

when the car is running on motor power, is that effectively the same as EV from a gas usage perspective? IE not using gas when using motor power?

I assume the difference is that motor power is way less range than EV battery so requires more frequent regeneration?

Jay

· #12 · Feb 23, 2022

Ben said:
Another question:

when the car is running on motor power, is that effectively the same as EV from a gas usage perspective? IE not using gas when using motor power?

I assume the difference is that motor power is way less range than EV battery so requires more frequent regeneration?

EV power = motor power. The engine can run, however, whether or not it is providing drive to the wheels. It's usually charging the battery via the hybrid starter/generator (HSG) under this condition. Have you seen Hyundai's animated video of their P2-style hybrid system?

Reactions: 2

PDS

· #13 · Feb 26, 2022

Ben said:
Hi All!

I just got my 2022 Tuscon PHEV and have some questions, but this thread has been awesome in answering many, so I’ll try not to repeat.

1) does anyone leave their block heater plugged in all night and if so, do you notice it heats up and switches to EV mode sooner because the engine is warmer already?

2) I’m in Winnipeg and it’s been absolutely freezing, like weeks of -20 or colder as the high. At night, the vehicle is in my non heated garage, which sits at about -8 to -10 c. I can only get to EV by shutting off the heat (as others have noticed). Are there any tips other than things like drive side only, heat at auto 19 low fan, etc that haven’t been listed here yet? I didn’t hit EV once on my 15 KM drive today even after warming the vehicle for 10 mins in the garage (-10)

2) any way to know how often the car is running hybrid without watching the motor output screen?

3) for those in cold climates like mine and who have had the vehicle for a while… what months or temps did you notice it not taking long for the ICE/cabin to heat sufficiently so that the EV went on almost right away?

as we have really cold winters and really hot summers (dealership tells me the AC also runs of ICE which means hot days replicate the issues on very cold days visa-vis pulling HVAC from the ICE) I want to assure myself this purchase was still worth it!!

I'll try and answer some of your questions. I'm not mechanically adept to explain the finer details, but,
1) Did you have a block heater installed at the dealership? I don't have one, but I would love to install one, but my dealership said there were no block heaters for a PHEV. I did take down a part number from this forum and ordered the part, but I have not heard back from them. Everything I have read said you should only plug in your block heater about 2-3 hrs before starting the car.
2) I'm in Ontario where we have only had a handful of days/nights below -20,, my Tucson is parked outside in driveway. The only hint I can give is to run the car for 10 minutes before leaving, then once the cabin is not freezing, turn the heat off. The heated seat and steering wheel is usually enough to keep warm, especially for a short 15 km drive. The car should immediately switch to EV when the heat goes off.
3) On the screen to the right of the instrument panel should show HEV, Auto and EV whichever is active.
4) From my experience, I've only had the car since November, it takes about 30 minutes to warm the car up enough to then turn the heat output down and run on EV when selected

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somekindaguy

· #14 · Mar 4, 2022

Just a general question....I looked around on the forum and could not see an answer to this;

After getting back home & plugging the PHEV in to recharge, should you unplug it after it reaches 100% (or the next morning for example), even if you don't expect to drive it anywhere for a day or two?
Or do you just leave it plugged in until your next trip regardless of charge status? In other words; does it harm the battery to leave it plugged and charging (not sure if the car changes to trickle charge?) for several days without driving anywhere?

kevinrobedm

· #15 · Mar 4, 2022

Once the vechile is fully charged, it stops charging. You don't need to unplug it as it will not draw any more power once fully charged. I bought a charger that shows when the vehicle is actually drawing power from the outlet and can confirm that once it is fully charged it does not draw any power. It won't damage the batteries as it is not charging anymore.

Jay

· #16 · Mar 5, 2022

somekindaguy said:
Just a general question....I looked around on the forum and could not see an answer to this;

After getting back home & plugging the PHEV in to recharge, should you unplug it after it reaches 100% (or the next morning for example), even if you don't expect to drive it anywhere for a day or two?
Or do you just leave it plugged in until your next trip regardless of charge status? In other words; does it harm the battery to leave it plugged and charging (not sure if the car changes to trickle charge?) for several days without driving anywhere?

If you want your expensive traction battery to last as long as possible, you should avoid leaving it in a fully charged state. Lithium-ion chemistries, generally, last longest when stored at 40% to 70% of maximum capacity. The combination of heat and high charge state is particularly hard on the lifespan of Li-ion:

"...Lithium-ion suffers from stress when exposed to heat, so does keeping a cell at a high charge voltage. A battery dwelling above 30°C (86°F) is considered elevated temperature and for most Li-ion a voltage above 4.10V/cell is deemed as high voltage. Exposing the battery to high temperature and dwelling in a full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more stressful than cycling..."

batteryuniversity.com

BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

BU meta description needed...

batteryuniversity.com

Also see here; esp. the chart at the bottom of the article: Battery Power/Lithium Ion Batteries - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

Ideally, from a longevity standpoint, you would only fully charge your battery just before leaving. Otherwise, keep the charge level 40% to 70%.

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