[cerrmj]

Just drove from MO to the Destin area, 750 miles. Very happy with hybrid MPG on the road trip. Getting about 30 or so, ACC worked great and ride was very comfortable.

But I have noticed that there is a driving situation that has seems to cause this normally very quite vehicle to sound like a blender crushing ice.

This loud noise has happened in the following situation. Battery at 0% and driving in slow situations with frequent stopping like at lights and in traffic or while driving around and around very slowly looking for a parking space. I've noticed it the most while stopped.

Based on the indicators, the ICE fires up and the battery starts charging. When this happens the noise is very loud and is sort of a mechanical grind and whine kind of like a loud hydraulic pump. It lasts for maybe 10 to 20 seconds then the ICE shuts down and charging stops, but does so very roughly with a shutter that you can feel. Very unlike the normal ICE on and off while driving which is smooth as silk.

I'm assuming that the computer thinks that the battery needs a little charge before moving again and fires up the ICE to do that.

The noise however is very harsh in this situation such that I thought something was getting torn up in the mechanism.

After these events and starting to move again, the van works just fine and back to its normal quiet self.

Anyone else notice this behavior? Again it is a very unusual sound and just doesn't sound right.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[TMaclay]

I've never heard anything like that with mine. I would have that checked out by the dealer.

The first thing that comes to mind is torque ripple in the drive motor and/or generator. This would possibly cause this type of noise from normal backlash in the gears.

The theory is you are moving along slowly with steady but very slight pressure on the accelerator and you are really good at maintaining steady pressure. The motors underrun momentarily on torque due to their normal cogging behavior and, due to inertia and normal drivetrain flexibility, the driving gear teeth essentially bounce from driving one tooth flank on the driven gear to being driven by the tooth flank behind. If it's this sort of phenomenon, when it starts making the noise back off or increase throttle lightly right away or change the speed of the vehicle a little to see if that makes the noise cease. If the ICE is still running and momentary accelerator/speed changes make the noise come and go independent of the engine running, maybe that's an explanation and maybe FCA can tune the harmonics out of the power inverter driving the motor(s). This is a way out WAG so don't give it much credence. ?? When troubleshooting, the complex, scientific explanations often aren't it.

 

[cerrmj]

I happened again this evening. Car sat all day today. Still 0% battery as I have no way to charge it here at the condo. Went to turn the car on and the ICE fired immediately and started running the generator. I'm now thinking that the ICE charging process is just noisy as it must be running gears in the transmission to get power to the smaller generator/motor. I'm also thinking that this isn't going to be a typical thing to happen unless I'm on a trip with the battery fully run down and not getting enough juice to the battery via regen braking. I'm not going to worry about it as everything else is just fine. Just unexpected I guess how loud that process is.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[ScorpyMjolnir]

Just drove from MO to the Destin area, 750 miles. Very happy with hybrid MPG on the road trip. Getting about 30 or so, ACC worked great and ride was very comfortable.

But I have noticed that there is a driving situation that has seems to cause this normally very quite vehicle to sound like a blender crushing ice.

This loud noise has happened in the following situation. Battery at 0% and driving in slow situations with frequent stopping like at lights and in traffic or while driving around and around very slowly looking for a parking space. I've noticed it the most while stopped.

Based on the indicators, the ICE fires up and the battery starts charging. When this happens the noise is very loud and is sort of a mechanical grind and whine kind of like a loud hydraulic pump. It lasts for maybe 10 to 20 seconds then the ICE shuts down and charging stops, but does so very roughly with a shutter that you can feel. Very unlike the normal ICE on and off while driving which is smooth as silk.

I'm assuming that the computer thinks that the battery needs a little charge before moving again and fires up the ICE to do that.

The noise however is very harsh in this situation such that I thought something was getting torn up in the mechanism.

After these events and starting to move again, the van works just fine and back to its normal quiet self.

Anyone else notice this behavior? Again it is a very unusual sound and just doesn't sound right.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Mine does the same thing. It's VERY loud.

 

[gory]

I've already commented in another thread about the exact same thing, exactly as you have described. A lot of vibration that goes with the noise too. Don't like it at all. I hope it is something that can get fixed easily. Glad and sad that somebody else is experiencing this. I thought I was going crazy or that I was alone with my lemon. Other than this, I'm really loving my car.

Mod, can we merge this thread? http://www.pacificaforums.com/forum...high-loud-engine-revs-when-switching-gas.html

 

[snorth]

I'd say all of you guys should complain to Chrysler about this.

 

[Runner]

Pretty sure mine does this too. Are you sure they all don't do this?

 

[dlieu]

it will maintain minimum battery charge. if it is not plugged, it will run the engine. Kinda all hybrids do that. my Highlander Hy does that.

i noticed it happenning, but i did not think it was louder than it needs to be, given the higher revs. I guess it will try to run Atkinson in optimal mode for that (which doesn't mean at idle revs, of course).

What's different compared to HighHy though is that i can hear transmission during this. On the other cars it's been only just the engine (which may also mean that PacHy engine is just quieter )

 

[ground_gainer]

Mine does this too--it's a super loud, aggressive sound that then turns off after 5-8 seconds.

I'm leaving next Wednesday for a 3000 mile roadtrip--really hoping to have no problems! Most of the trip I won't be able to charge.

 

[csnyder]

Noticed it last night when I wasn't expecting it. I was sitting in a parking lot (capturing a gym in Pokemon Go :-D ) with the van in park; estimated range on battery was reporting at ~25 miles, so the battery was mostly full. During the 15 minutes or so that I was parked, the engine kicked on twice. It didn't rev very high—eHybrid display showed that it was only contributing 5 kW—so it wasn't as loud as I've experienced it in the past. But I was surprised that it kicked on at all. Outside temperature was around 60ºF, so I doubt it was temperature-related.

Anyone have any guesses as to why? Two possibilities I can think of:

1. Perhaps the engine needs to run in order for the radiator fan to spin? Since I was sitting still, maybe there wasn't enough airflow to disperse the heat generated by the electrical systems.

2. Maybe the car felt it needed to burn off some old gas? The car is only a couple of months old, but who knows what the computer thinks at this point (maybe it thinks that it was filled on January 1, 1970 at midnight UTC?).

3. I had run the gas motor a little bit earlier (on the same trip) when I was showing off the van to a friend. Maybe that had something to do with it?

 

[Supal]

It happened to me too few times and battery was not depleted.

It's noisy and I felt vibration. It's a different motor sound than when the motor is running with the battery depleted.

I'm curious too to know if this is normal.

 

[ScorpyMjolnir]

I had the engine kick on this morning on my way to work.

30 or so miles available on the meter (electric)
It was 60 degrees outside
I was braking from 25 mph. Not a hard brake, but a nice gentle brake.

Engine fires up and rattles like a diesel for 5 - 10 seconds then dies off again.

I wish I knew what circumstances caause the engine to come on.

It doesn't come on a lot. We've put on almost 1,500 miles, and less than 300 are gas.

 

[sunnypm]

I just bought a 2018, and having the same issues. It didn't do it at all on the test drive, but after I drove for a while and depleted the charge I started hearing the noise. It's mostly just enough to be annoying, but if it's normal, there should be some sound proofing Chrysler can supply. If not, it's definitely a worry that should be addressed further. Now, even with the radio on medium and at cruising speed, I can still hear the noise kick in. When we get home, we will mostly be staying within the charge distance, but hey, it's a $40,000+ vehicle. It should sound(or that is be quiet) like one.

 

[egable]

Ours has done this a handful of times, too. First few times we heard it, we were concerned there was a problem. However, we quickly figured out it was the ICE turning on and running a generator at high RPM. Once I realized it sounded like a toy electric race car, it made sense what was going on and why it was so loud and whiny sounding, and now we just ignore it. It hardly ever happens, mostly because the vast majority of our driving is all electric and we rarely get down to 0% charge.

 

[shtimseht]

ScorpyMjolnir - Just wanted to make certain that you saw the other thread titled" Our 2018 Didn't Make it Far (Screaming Engine/transmission)". I'm thinking that the loud diesel engine sound coming from the transmission is not normal. Can you listen to the video embedded in that thread and see it is the sound you experienced.

Albeit that I've only had my PacHy for 2-3 weeks, but during that time it was nearly imperceptible when the ICE kicked on. A very slight hum, prompting me to look at the energy display to see if I saw blue and not teal. The loud "diesel noise" was clearly abnormal. I'm pretty certain that this is the same noise that cerrmj describes in the opening thread - "blender crushing ice". I thought that was the most illustrative description of the jarring noise that I heard in my van.

We may want to combine the threads as I think they are the same issue.

 

[Iain McClatchie]

It'd be great if people shot a video of their instrument cluster while the car is making the funny noise.

Some noises are different for this car than for others, but are just fine. For instance, when mine is running the ICE while slowing down to a stop sign, I can hear the smaller motor/generator speeding up. That's because the ICE is at constant RPMs, and the smaller MG is on the other side of the planetary gearset, soaking up power from the engine. If you think of the planetary as a differential (they are the same idea), then the engine is on one side, the smaller MG is on the other, and the wheels are on the center tap. If the center tap stops (car stops), then the MG has to run in reverse at the same speed the engine is running forward.

All I'm saying is, you'd not be used to this noise if you've not driven a hybrid before. But it's not loud and it's no big deal.

 

[sunnypm]

I may have replied elsewhere, but this is an issue on my new 2018. I've driven over 800 miles to get home, and it was a nuisance all the time even with the radio at moderately high volume. It's a little laughable that one of the features touted on my sticker is "Active Noise Cancellation". Should be "Active Noise Making". Not as annoying as my ex-wife, but close...
If the noise is normal, Chrysler needs to provide extra soundproofing as a recall. I don't think it's related, but my check engine light came on this morning. Then this evening the touch screen went blank, except the back-up camera does work.
Really am hopeful it will all be fixed, because the gas mileage, and the first 30+ miles of all electric driving are still good.

P.S. I have the whining sound on a small mp4 file, but looks like a video format is not allowed here.

 

[presidio]

Please get a video of this if you have a passenger or if you're adventurous. I've seen a video on the Pacifica Hybrid facebook group that sounds similar to what is described here and it would be good to confirm if the sound is the same. It does not sound normal.

 

[Roland]

I may have replied elsewhere, but this is an issue on my new 2018. I've driven over 800 miles to get home, and it was a nuisance all the time even with the radio at moderately high volume. It's a little laughable that one of the features touted on my sticker is "Active Noise Cancellation". Should be "Active Noise Making". Not as annoying as my ex-wife, but close...
If the noise is normal, Chrysler needs to provide extra soundproofing as a recall. I don't think it's related, but my check engine light came on this morning. Then this evening the touch screen went blank, except the back-up camera does work.
Really am hopeful it will all be fixed, because the gas mileage, and the first 30+ miles of all electric driving are still good.

P.S. I have the whining sound on a small mp4 file, but looks like a video format is not allowed here.

I had the touch screen being blank twice now though both times it did end of starting after a little while.

 

[Leemarkus125]

Thanks for the information. . .