2017+ Chrysler Pacifica Minivan Forums banner

Will PacHy run with no gas in the tank?

17K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  stop-eject 
#1 ·
I'm curious about it. Considering that the electric motors are comparatively weak they may disable this mode for safety reasons.
 
#6 ·
The electric motors aren't "weak". They're fully capable of getting the van up to highway speed. If you run out of fuel the van will show you a red turtle light to let you know that some of the powertrain is compromised. As @jtangm04 notes, it'll get you to a gas station no problem.
 
#7 ·
The electric motors aren't "weak". They're fully capable of getting the van up to highway speed. If you run out of fuel the van will show you a red turtle light to let you know that some of the powertrain is compromised. As @jtangm04 notes, it'll get you to a gas station no problem.
The motors, battery and inverter aren't designed to propel the vehicle at maximum performance. You can run on electric only but you have to be easy on the pedal. This is unlike the Volt, which is designed to unleash all the available 149 hp without starting the engine.

Curious to see if we can trick the van into thinking it's out of gas. It would provide a selectable, all-electric mode.
 
#10 ·
I would assume that turtle mode is initiated because the battery only maintains a very small reserve (0.5-1 kWh) that is only tapped when the vehicle runs out of gas completely. That reserve capacity is intended to move the vehicle as far as possible so that it is more likely to reach a gas station. Less power available to the motor = longer driving distance. Overall, I think this is a great feature.

A few questions for those that experienced this -

1) What was the top speed of the vehicle in turtle mode?
2) Does it handle this top speed at all grades or does it slow down even more when going up a hill?
3) Is the acceleration adequate for most driving situations so that it does not cause any safety concerns on major highways?
4) What is the kWh reserve capacity of the battery (for turtle mode) and how far is it intended to take the vehicle before shutting down completely?

I realize #4 probably can't be answered here but you never know.
 
#11 ·
I'm sorry but your assumption is incorrect. Turtle mode will engage even if the battery is fully charged. It indicates that the gas motor is unavailable and that the van is operating only on the high voltage battery (assuming you don't also have a transmission warning light which is a different thing entirely). So in turtle mode (with no transmission issues) you could theoretically go 55km or so depending on driving habits and weather conditions although the manual specifically warns against using turtle mode. It's a mode designed to tell you to get gas ASAP. If your van is in turtle mode you should be looking for a gas station or at a minimum a charger, although gas stations are probably more common anyway.

1) The top speed in EV mode that I've seen so far is around 120 km/h, I haven't driven in turtle mode since it's not recommended but the manual leads me to believe that the van will operate normally in EV mode under turtle mode.
2) The van seems to be able to maintain close to the top speed going up a hill in EV mode. I haven't really paid attention too much but it seems to not bleed too much speed under reasonable hills and speeds.
3) Yes, you're basically limited to 50% throttle which is more than enough for normal driving. It's a minivan after all, not a land-speed record attempt. 50% throttle is plenty to accelerate with traffic flow and drive normally. No safety concerns with that.
4) The battery reserve is not documented anywhere I've seen but turtle mode in PacHy is not like turtle mode in an EV where you're down to your last few electrons. Turtle mode in PacHy just means your gas engine isn't available so punching the throttle won't deliver more acceleration than can be drawn from only the battery pack. I'm sure there is a battery reserve of some sort given how it behaves once the battery is 'depleted' (ie, it sure uses a lot of EV mode for having a dead battery) but I wouldn't want to see just how far I can push an empty tank turtle mode PacHy before it dies completely.
 
#13 ·
I hear what you're saying but I don't know if there's a need for some minimum battery level for turtle mode. It's entirely possible that if you already have a depleted battery and you run out of gas the van will simply show you the turtle and promptly die on the side of the road. I agree that when it says the battery is depleted it isn't actually fully discharged but I doubt the battery range with no fuel available is more than a few hundred meters - probably enough for you to go from the far left lane to the right shoulder of a highway. I'd be surprised if it was any more than that. I know conventional hybrids like Toyotas can go EV for a couple hundred meters on their puny little batteries so I expect our PacHy's to do something similar with '0%' remaining. I doubt the engineers would design it such that the battery management system would allow the battery to be damaged in any way, especially for a temporary and easily rectified situation like no fuel/no charge. It wouldn't make sense for them to block off a huge part of capacity for emergencies and it wouldn't make sense for them to allow the use of the small part that is actually blocked off for battery health reasons. They have probably decided that rather than sacrifice the battery because some fool forgot to buy gas for their van, they're prepared to just let the car die on the side of the road with some percentage of battery remaining in reserve (if hidden from the driver). After all, that's what roadside assistance is for.
 
#14 ·
So a couple of users on the Facebook have been experimenting with running the van with no gas at all. Other than the turtle icon, the van appears to function normally. One driver shows acceleration at a decent clip up to 85 mph.

If it weren't for the fact that my spouse borrows the van occasionally on the weekend and hates going to the gas station (she owns a Tesla) I'd be very tempted to run on empty full time. For one thing, it would keep the van from lurching into ICE mode every time someone changes lanes in front of me on the highway while cruising in ACC.
 
#15 ·
This is not a good thing to do as the electric fuel pump in the tank is always running when in run position even when the ICE is off. These actions will burn up the pump in the tank with no fuel to cool the pump.
 
#18 ·
I'm toying with an idea of faking the "low gas" signal from the fuel level sensor. The question is if the van will switch to electric based on the sensor or will try to run on gas until the fuel pump will suck up the air.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I‘m near positive that once the gauge get to a software defined “empty” it sets the turtle (and that this signifies a change in mode to “no engine support available, limited power”). Waiting for pressure drop would be pretty backward.. but Chrysler is always a wildcard.

Probably the best way to get full electric opperation seeing now that the drivability isn’t capped in turtle mode.

However this raises possible negative conditions for your vehicle.

The software monitors fuel level and fills.. you will change these counts. forcing Pure EV mode may defeat the maintenance routines and if you neglect to manage your engine health yourself might cause damage. Limited cabin heat. Limited power should an evasive driving situation require more.. maybe have Warranty issues for modification to the powertain. I don't feel its inherently unsafe mod.. there are vehicles with less power on the road and handling, abs, traction and all other safety systems remain functional.

The range is so limited already I would imaging forcing EV mode wouldnt be super useful?

If you do, remember to switch through the correct resistor value of the correct wattage. Edit: 1000ohm will equal empty. 1/4W will get hot. 1/2W is better.

I’ll look up more info on the fuel
system and update this post as I find info.

43171


43172


43173
 
#26 ·
Just to keep the van from jumping into ICE mode when you don't want it to. For people in cold areas, this usually means the Fuel and Oil Maintenance mode where the van shifts to ICE even though the battery is fully charged.

For me, it's when I'm using cruise control (set at 65 mph, for example) and the car in front of me (going 57 mph) shifts lanes and there's empty road ahead. The van will lurch forward and start up the gas engine for a minute or two. I'd like to avoid having the gas engine turn on or off for short periods, if possible.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top