Surging when stopped. Anyone else?

[Red Eyes - Wide Shut]

It's only an issue if someone has OCD.

Mine does it. For 4 years and 65,000 miles and I have the ability to ignore it.

No big thing.

Yes I drive and enjoy it. If my dealership comes to the conclusion that the eCVT is defective and needs replacement, I'm not saying no. That would be stupid. That is were this is headed. As I said they are fighting corporate.

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[Art Vandelay]

Try this to see if yours is "normal" or not.

Typically the "surging" happens when you have a full battery and a cold engine.

Do this:

Drive the last mile or so before parking for the night in EV only. Use EV coach to help.

Next day on a cold engine, startup and drive away in electric mode for as long as possible. This will lower your batttery charge to as low as possible.

Then when engine starts, do a couple / few starts and stops.

Betcha little or probably no surging.

To reverse confirm do opposite.

Some day drive home in Tow/haul mode. Putz around slowly while close to home for 3 to 4 minutes but don't come to a full stop. Keep engine running. Then slowly pull into your parking space for the night. This will park with a HIGHLY charged battery.

Next day "flick" the go pedal to start the cold engine right away and drive away. Do a couple of stops in the first minute.

Betcha you will have surging on a cold engine now combined with a full battery.

This is "normal" for this vehicle.

Well now I can't wait to try this just out of pure curiosity. I'm almost certain that my Hybrid only used to do the surging in cold weather and I don't remember it happening in the summer as well. However, lately it has been happening most mornings even in the summer heat. It could be that I'm misremembering though.

If this does work the only "issue" is that it won't really work in the winter when the truck forces the gas engine on at start up. But as you've mentioned it's not really an actual problem that will harm anything which is why I put "issue" in quotations.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Well now I can't wait to try this just out of pure curiosity. I'm almost certain that my Hybrid only used to do the surging in cold weather and I don't remember it happening in the summer as well. However, lately it has been happening most mornings even in the summer heat. It could be that I'm misremembering though.

If this does work the only "issue" is that it won't really work in the winter when the truck forces the gas engine on at start up. But as you've mentioned it's not really an actual problem that will harm anything which is why I put "issue" in quotations.

Parking with a low to empty battery, I find is more important than outside temperature.

In short, the truck likes having some "work" to do in the first 2 minutes. With a full battery on a cold (as in ambient) restart it has nothing to do. So it "fidgets". You know "Idle hands.... ....devil's work.....

 

[Red Eyes - Wide Shut]

SURGING HAS BEEN RESOLVED!!!
Read the attached work order from my dealership. It took a few visits before they found something. They did a great job! They call it engine Hiccup. Before you decide to ignore this, go with your gut and deal with it. I'm fortunate that 3 dealerships in my area are owned by the same individual and they have a large database to pull from and have dealt with this before.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Shall we wait and see if it comes back in the cold(er) weather?

Will you report back if it does?

I still say 'minor' surging on a cold engine with full battery is an innate behavior. It's too widely reported and too easy to make appear and disappear to be anything else.

 

[Red Eyes - Wide Shut]

Shall we wait and see if it comes back in the cold(er) weather?

Will you report back if it does?

I still say 'minor' surging on a cold engine with full battery is an innate behavior. It's too widely reported and too easy to make appear and disappear to be anything else.

I will let you know. It is a fact that this version of the hybrid system has this inate problem, as well as battery charging and draining issues. They are both widely known reported design issues.
The eCVT uses a planetary gearset with no traditional mechanical clutches. The electric motors must actively spin backward to counteract the gas engine's rotational energy when it idles to heat up or charge the battery.
As in my case while this intermittent thumping is usually just standard software behavior, you should visit the dealer if it becomes Violent or happens Constantly.
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive manages this transition alot more smoothly. While a Toyota hybrid will also idle high on a cold morning to warm its engine, its power-split programming and motor-generator calibration are morerefined The system seamlessly balances the engine's output without sending those mechanical hiccups or thumping sensations through the drivetrain.

 

[HeyBales]

SURGING HAS BEEN RESOLVED!!!
Read the attached work order from my dealership. It took a few visits before they found something. They did a great job! They call it engine Hiccup. Before you decide to ignore this, go with your gut and deal with it. I'm fortunate that 3 dealerships in my area are owned by the same individual and they have a large database to pull from and have dealt with this before.

Well we know for sure that all that glitters is NOT gold in this case.

I guess the tranny filter isn't intended for fine stuff. Wonder if Andrea had a hand in assembling your tranny - and was wearing too much glitter that day.

Replaced "transmission drive unit" and "generator starter filter" - huh?
But reassembled core, and I'm guessing other things.
Maybe just strange use of terminology - it would be interesting to get a better description of what is new or just cleaned.
I'm assuming cleaned though that word isn't used.

Flakes on GM, did not use the word glitter.
Hope no touching in the GM was happening to create flakes, that resulted in glitter later on after some grinding.

Well - several things in there would sure explain the difference between slight surging effect and "jump forward and back".

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