Hybrid question for owners....

3rd get owner here, curiously looking at 4th gens.

So I stopped by the dealer today to pick up a filter for an oil change on my 3rd gen and had some time so I looked at the couple 4th gens they had, 3 being hybrids. As expected, as soon as my eyes looked over at them from closer than a football field distance the salesman was all over me. So I started asking questions when I sat in the hybrid sport they had on the lot.

So he explained how the Hybrid system on these work...like he was reading from a sales brochure...as they are different from typical Toyota hybrid. I knew this as I watched a few care care nut videos on them.

However I had one question which came to me when I watched care care nut that he didn't really answer and the salesman, and two others plus a manager, were clueless on that so I figure maybe a current owner could shed light on.

So hybrids are pretty known well to stop/start because that's just how they work to charge the battery on deceleration. Ive driven a Prius before and basically every time you take your foot off the gas the engine stops and it takes in the kinetic energy while coasting to charge up...makes sense. Care care nut says this does largely the same thing just with one motor, etc.

So just hypothetically, you are doing 70 on the highway so the motor is pushing along and you take an off ramp to say a stop light. My main question is "Does the engine shut off and possibly stay off while you are stopped?" Because these are turbocharged, on the highway that turbo is going to be by far the hottest it's going to be. So as soon as the engine shuts off, so is oil pressure and flow. The oil in that turbo is going to get ridiculously hot, and it's just going to sit in the turbo like that? Seems like a good way to kill the turbo, and destroy the oil taking care of the rest of the motor for that matter.

Please don't think I'm bashing the 4th gens, don't take it like that. It's pretty amazing what they are pulling off with that little motor.

Its just as a pilot, on any turbocharged engine I flew over my many years in general aviation pistons, it always had a limitation of typically around 2-3 min at or near idle before you can shut it down for that exact reason. Just goes against anything I know. So I was wondering if anybody knew how that worked? or does it maybe have an electric oil pump? I guess that would do it

Anyway, sorry for the paragraph length question and thanks to any owners who chime in.

 

Yes the engines will shut off. Electronic pumps exist. Toyota engineers took hybrid engine behavior into consideration when designing the powertrain and cooling system. Toyota has decades of experience designing and producing hybrid and turbo powertrains.

 

Let it idle after drag racing, road rage teaching that effing ahole a lesson, or towing a trailer full of gold up the Eisenhower Tunnel. Just like the manual suggests. Otherwise it will be ok. Stop engine events are short lived. Long downhills, stop lights, and slow crawling around the mall seem to be the longest. Turbo doesn't get used much then.

 

That's what I figured, as it seems like the fundamental and most basic problem of allowing a turbo to spool down while being cooled in ANY turbo motor, car, truck, plane, hell even the jet engines on my daily work plane, that I'd hope they thought about when they built this thing. Just seems like something at least one out of four at the dealer should know. Thx

 

I agree with snickers, stop engine events don’t happen very often and when they do it’s very short duration without the motor running

 

It's a mild hybrid compared to a prius. Limited regen, battery size etc.

Shut downs aren't super frequent, tacoma doesnt use an electric engine water pump (but there is an electric "Heater Water Pump" used for the heater core), But it has valves that isolate cooling circuits to keep the engine warm and circulating.

Modern turbos don't have cooling or lubricating issues like the old days.

Pilots tend to ask these questions and they're valid but you gotta take some confidence in the brand lol.

 

The 2.4T never seems to be working very hard, even at highway speeds, and typical Toyota, the cooling & oiling systems are over-engineered. The electric mode is brief with an almost seamless transfer.

With virtually every automaker now moving fast towards offering more hybrids, I can’t imagine who I’d trust more with that technology than Toyota. Jeep’s 4xe isn’t terrible, but it still feels a full generation behind iforce max comparatively.

 

Mr. pilot . what RPM does avg does turbocharged plane engine run at cruising speed?

 

News flash, all modern engines (hybrid or not) shut off when coasting. With the the torque converter locked up, the drivetrain keeps the engine spinning and fuel/spark is cut off. It's called DFCO deceleration fuel cut off.
Fun fact: If you shift into neutral when coasting, you will get worse gas mileage because now the ECU has to give some fuel to the engine to keep it idling.

 

My question for hybrid owners. How did you rationalize giving up storage under the backseat?

TRD Pro and Trailhunter only come with hybrid but other trims are available with the under seat storage.

 

Not a mechanic, I just fly them, but I’ve heard 15-20k rpm. I’ve flown some twins where in cruise at night a very obvious red glow is visible in the some of vents of the cowling.

 

Yes but in your case the fuel is cut off and the engine is still spinning and driving the oil pump so no oil starvation or oxidation issues... In the case he mentioned if the engine isn't spinning (is it?), and it doesn't have an electronic oil pump, will there be more coking/deposits on the oil.

I know some people at SWRI and they used to tell me the stop-start feature is the worst thing for engines as the main bearings have to rebuild pressure so it causes premature wear on those and cams as they would break these engines down and measure wear.

 

I can only answer for why I initially chose a Trailhunter as I am a seeker of remote areas:

2400 watt inverter. Toyota already did the work of a second battery, battery management system, inverter, wiring, drilling, etc., all with one stop warranty.

Now that I have over 8K miles, I can see choosing hybrid w/o the 2400 watt inverter. Effortless smooth power. Might be important for people that tow and/or want that. Trade off over the the small space under the seats may be worth it. Especially when 99 percent of the space in the bed is not used 99 percent of the time. *For most people. YMMV.

 

Airplanes don’t use water cooled turbochargers. Fortunately, automobiles aren’t limited in the same way. Also, freeway driving is a pretty low-load event, unlike cruise flight in an airplane

 

Okay, hybrid owners (IForce Max), when you are coasting do your RPMs go to zero or even to idle RPM?

 

On EV motor, RPM is zero, oil pressure zero.

 

At a stop or coasting?

edit. If you are driving pure EV or before ICE kicks in RPM/OP would be zero.

 

Gas motor on: from memory, idling at park 1000-1100, coasting a little higher depending on conditions, 1200-1400.

 

Limited you trade that storage for full time 4WD.

 

Ok, so at interstate speeds not in cruse, I can can get mine turn off (zero engine oil
pressure) while going down a long bridge and for a little ways once the road flattened back out. Engine restarts to ~2000 rpm or close to what ever rpm it needs to match mph. Also if U are super easy on feathering the go pedal I can usually get the truck to drive down neighborhood streets with no ice just motor.
And my ice always turns off when it starts to coast down to a red light.