Idling in a hybrid. Bad???

[Maverick2023]

If I'm idling at a stop sign or in heavy traffic, does it mean the car runs off the battery or gas engine? What about sleeping at a rest area with the engine on? Good or bad thing to do?

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[docsmith1511]

If I'm idling at a stop sign or in heavy traffic, does it mean the car runs off the battery or gas engine? What about sleeping at a rest area with the engine on? Good or bad thing to do?

You hybrid is made for idling, but it has to maintain temperature and the hybrid battery. So if you are sleeping at a rest area with the engine on it will kick on to maintain those 2 aforementioned items. If the engine kicks on at a stop sign or heavy traffic, your engine is taking care of the battery charge or motors temp. I currently drive a 2009 escape hybrid and am waiting for my Mac hybrid XLT to relieve the watch.

 

[icegradner]

As long as the battery has enough charge the ICE will turn off while stopped. Idling isn't any different to the system over all. If you were to sleep at a rest area with the vehicle on it would cycle the engine on an off as the battery charged and discharged. Might be a little disruptive if you are are trying to sleep.

 

[fbov]

I've found the ICE runs about 10% of the time to keep up with air conditioning, which is 100% HVB-powered. Heat is 100% ICE, so you might find a higher duty cycle is required to keep you warm.

Sleeping in a running vehicle has it's own issues.

 

[clavicus]

Sounds like an interesting test! How much gas and total ICE runtime is required per hour to keep the vehicle at like X interior temperature with Y exterior temperature. And likewise for A/C.

Dr. John D. Kelly chuckles in one of his videos about how he has accidentally left a Prius on in his shop over the weekend. He comes back on Monday and still doesn't even know it until the engine kicks on and surprises him.

 

[PriusHater]

I slept in my Prius for two nights after a hurricane hit the Panhandle region. Late summer hot and muggy weather. Set the A/C at 72 degrees and enjoyed the starry nighttime sky view for sleeping. Car would kick on for a few minutes to recharge battery periodically. Overall, I think it consumed a gallon of gas across those two nights.

 

[PriusHater]

While attending the first Artemis launch scrub, I sat/dozed in the Maverick overnight with it idling and A/C set on low auto. I did notice that it burns a lot more gas recharging the battery periodically than the Prius did. So much so that I turned It off several times.

 

[GPSMan]

I had a 2005 Escape Hybrid. Ya! A 2005! (Loved it.)

I slept one night in a Utah Blizzard with engine on at a rest area. Let it cycle for heat. In the cold, in the first generation hybrid, it would run about 4 min on / 8 minutes off at about 28 degrees.

Used only 1.5 gallons or so in 7 hours.

With such low duty cycle you DO NOT have to worry about carbon monoxide if you are parked OUTDOORS. NEVER NEVER NEVER run any engine, hybrid or otherwise in a garage.

 

[TedTX]

I've found the ICE runs about 10% of the time to keep up with air conditioning, which is 100% HVB-powered. Heat is 100% ICE, so you might find a higher duty cycle is required to keep you warm.

Sleeping in a running vehicle has it's own issues.

Mostly correct but there is electric strip for defogger/defrost that is also turned on in max heat mode which should always be used to bring up heat faster ( with better full use of the extra ICE running when cold ) . Learned from my Prius camping days that a small watt foot heater will save gas and bring car to warmth faster then ICE alone.

 

[atomguy245]

This is probably a dumb question: When parked and on, the Maverick Hybrid cycles the ICE on and off to maintain the heat or a/c? I ask because my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid would only run the ICE to keep the a/c going, but wouldn't come on to keep the heater working, so when I was parked in the winter I'd just freeze

 

[Guv]

This is probably a dumb question: When parked and on, the Maverick Hybrid cycles the ICE on and off to maintain the heat or a/c? I ask because my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid would only run the ICE to keep the a/c going, but wouldn't come on to keep the heater working, so when I was parked in the winter I'd just freeze

It does, why you bought a Ford

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