2025 hybrid questions

I remember the car care nut addressing this in one of his videos. The hybrid truck actually has a standard 12 volt conventional starter in addition to the normal operation which is the ability of the motor/generator to handle starting. I’d assume that is in case the relatively small hybrid battery is dead or to allow jumpstarting.

If you look up in the parts list of a hybrid trim, there is indeed a normal starter.

 

You'll get used to the sounds a hybrid makes at low speeds. Toyota actually engineered those sounds into the hybrids as a warning to pedestrians that the vehicle is on and moving. They are 100% worth the gain in power you get with the hybrid! These trucks are crazy fun to drive!

 

I've had my hybrid OR for a couple weeks now. Nice performance, but the quirks of the system are fairly noticeable, especially in city traffic conditions.

In the hybrid, it seems the only way to prevent the engine from shutting off is to drive in tow/haul mode, which then uses shifting patterns designed for towing.

Lately I've putting the truck into tow/haul and then moving the gear selector to the manual position, and ratcheting it up to S6. This makes the truck shift more normally, but it doesn't seem to ever go into a gear higher than 6th, regardless of whether I select 7 or 8 manually. At that point I'm usually on a highway anyway, and just take it out of tow/haul mode.

Wish there was a button to just disable auto start/stop.

 

put in it manual position s8 . and leave tow haul mode off. mine seems to keep the engine running this way and will still shift through all gears normally

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

I gotta ask, why would you want to keep the engine running all of the time?

 

What quirks? I find the transition from elec to gas almost seamless.

 

I feel the transition from silent and motionless to abrupt engine firing and the gear changing. but only initial gear changing.

 

Manual +S8
Or
Just put it in Sport+ mode

Both keep the ICE engine idling

 

Yota_Mike the noise at low speeds is actually a little known Federal law for electric vehicles, under 20mph it must warn Pedestrians while in electric mode. Lots of dogs and cats turn and look while mine is going down the street.

 

Engine startup from a stop is very subtle, and switching from ICE to EV to ICE on the move is nearly imperceptible. I guess some are more sensitive than others, but if at any point the transition feels too intrusive, then hybrid in general might not be the right choice.

Toyota engineers deserve a lot of credit here, they nailed it; but no surprise given their experience. The other manufacturers now scrambling to offer more of their own hybrids will be benchmarking this one. Good luck to them.

 

I don't like the small shudder and pop of the exhaust every time the gas engine re-engages, not to mention the extra wear on the starter motor.

Gas mileage isn't a concern to me. I bought the hybrid for the extra hp and torque.

Maybe one of the tuners will modify sport mode to prevent the engine from shutting off. (sport mode on a stock vehicle doesn't prevent the engine from shutting off)

 

LOL. Its like hybrid powertrain is a breakthrough technology in this thread. Yes, the ICE cycles on and off. Why in the world would you seek to bypass this? Its one of the primary advantages of a hybrid vehicle. We've had Toyota hybrids in our family for 15 years and they will not let you down.

That said, I think the series hybrid system in the Ram Charger is going to be the new benchmark for trucks, not the iForce-Max platform Toyota is using.

 

Most new cars have auto stop/start and the starter is designed for it.

 

I don't mind the cycling of electric to gas.. my small issue is the abruptness from electric to gas when I press the accelerator from very low speeds. Apparently, others also feel it and it isn't subtle at all. The truck vibrates as though you are starting the cars engine for the first time.

 

That statement gets so old.....when the last time someone had to change a starter out that wasn't on something that was a GM product or 15-20 years old......

 

You mean this statement:

 

I have been waiting for greater commercialization of the series hybrid -the ICE running in its most efficient mode, running the electrical circuit and charging the batteries for full time electric motor-- for a while. I hope Ram's implementation is successful.

 

My Subaru battery needed replacement after 3 years of ownership due to my wife’s constant start stop usages. I purchased an item on Amazon that reverses the switch for auto start and stop to be always to be turned off. Subaru replaced the battery to a larger one to prevent premature wears. On my X5 I was able to permenatly switch off the start stop feature and the battery has lasted for 10 years without issues. I just replaced it a few months ago.
I think automakers have this on most modern cars to meet the epa requirements to reach a certain mpg. Just my opinion.

 

Good thing the Tacoma has a 10yr/150K mi warranty on the battery.