Well, this morning, my HCH used the starter motor for the first time. When I went out to the car, it was 1F, and needless to say, quite cold. One turn did nothing (to the engine...all the electronics came on). Next turn cranked the starter motor and started the car up. Super cold all day today, and I managed a whopping 31mpg today! Woo hoo! Supposed to be colder tomorrow (-4), so I'll have fun again!

 

Reassuring, isn't it?

 

Jordan,
I'm curious - did you happen to notice how many bars your battery was showing before you shut down the night before? Do you drive big hills on your way home that would drain down the battery pack? I'm surprised that the battery pack was that low at 1 deg F. Mine seems to try to maintain 7 bars on the battery indicator when it's below a certain temp. I always assumed this was so that there would be enough battery left to start the car the next morning if it got very cold. It's not that it won't go below 7 bars, but the car tries to maintain 7. So I'm wondering if you have some type of commute that drains your battery down as you approach your home?

 

I had plenty of battery power. 5 bars at the start...it wasn't that. It was that the engine was so cold that the electric motor couldn't easily turn over the gas one from a dead start. This morning, the electric motor did it on its own, but it didn't like it!

 

'Nuther Cow Town'er, and yep, yesterday I also had my electric starter kick in to lend the IMA a helping hand. I could definitely hear the difference, as it sounded a lot more like my old Sable. My SOC has been hovering in the 5-6 range, with the occasional forced regen shortly after starting up. FE right around 40, as I get a full engine warm-up on my commute that Jordan and a couple other northerners don't have the luxury of. Unfortunately, no place to plug in a block heater, as I'm still an apartment dweller.

 

Wow, I am surprised. I would think a 20 hp electric motor with a half charged battery pack at over 140 volts could spin circles around a 12 volt starter that I'm guessing is around one hp or so (okay, I'm too lazy to look it up. ). Strange.