Have so many been so obsessed by whether the engine in their car was running at any given moment in time. I've read so many postings about the stages of HSD operation, the concerns about the engines not shutting off, about various displays showing engines spinning and using fuel vs spinning and not using fuel vs off and when, why, and how it all happens.

[BubaGump's Toyota] Service, can I help you?
[TCH Owner] I'm concerned, my car's engine won't shut off when I'm driving.
[BT] And that's bad?
[TCH] It's a hybrid, it's suppose to shut off.
[BT] Maybe it's because (insert one of a hundred wild guesses here).

And yes, I count myself in this group. Anytime I'm driving my TCH I am constantly paying attention to the state of the ICE. Before I even got my TCH I spent a lot of time lurking on the various Prius forums, read the entire HybridSynergyDrive web site about 3 times, and even spent a lot of time on the Toyota Japan web site and Lexus Europe web sites both of which offered lots of semi-technical tidbits. I rarely use the audio system, I spend a lot of time listening to the sound of the ICE, electric motor, generator, etc. I can usually tell what is happening just by listening before any of the info displays or gauges actually show it.

I understand there will be some TCH owners (or spouses of owners, etc.) that will drive this car that won't have a clue what's going on with HSD and won't care either. No, actually I don't understand. How can you drive a car like this without knowing everything that's going on. I've read everything I can find, but need to know more. I need to be able to anticipate everything the computer will do. What? the engine started! Why, was it the catalytic temp, coolant temp, air temp, incline angle, was I pressing too hard on the gas, was I going to fast, was the traction battery too hot? Where was I just driving, what was I doing? Must know the reason. Quick, where's my paper bag, that's it, slow the breathing down a bit. Must.. Google... HSD... one more time, maybe.. find... new... link.

Does it get any better than this?

 

I just got mine last Friday, about 250 miles on it, and I adore it...because it's so quiet! Mine's fully loaded, and I nearly killed myself Sunday because I got interested in something on the nav screen for a couple of seconds. Don't do that.

My engine shuts off all the time, I think it's great fun.

The cumulative mileage was really poor, though, but I just filled it for the first time, and reset it. If it doesn't become wonderful, right back to the dealer I will go.

 

I can see now the most catistrophic failure the TCH could experience for many of us would be if the Informationn screen goes blank.

 

Speaking of "never in the history of the automobile" things:

Speaking of QUIET - I wonder when the first time we (the USA) will have a known fatality or a serious injury because a pedestrian/bicyclist/blind person does not HEAR a hybrid coming down the street or out of a driveway or around a corner?

I ride a Segway most days on part of my commute, and I find myself using my HEARING sometimes to determine if a driveway or an intersection is clear. It's a habit born of 42 years of using that part of my senses to do a job for me.

With the TCH (and the other HSD vehicles of course, in EV mode) I would only at most hear a hum or a crackling of the tires on the pavement, but not the "normal" sound of a car.

I wonder how long it would take us to adapt to not relying on that type of engine sound for safety purposes?

 

Many newer cars are also very quite when coasting. The engine of my neighbor's Honda Odyssey is amazingly quiet when standing next to it. Try hearing a Toyota Lexus idling - very very quite.

However, I do share your concern. I've thought of putting a small PA speaker in my Hybrid so I could play the "Jetson's car sound" when appoaching someone at very low speeds in EV mode

 

Oh my god, I can see it now.. The government will mandate that a speaker be placed in the engine compartment to play engine sounds at a certain db rating to insure that pedestrians wont wander in front of your new hybrid.

 

The idea sounds humorous, but all it takes is for a couple pedestrians to be hit by a Prius or TCH and some class action lawsuit by some scumbag lawfirm, and Toyota will be forced to add noise to their cars when the ICE is off.

 

I am not sure, but I think I saw something in the TCH manual that I downloaded that explicitly mentions these risks, and tell you to be careful around pedestrians.

The lawyers at Toyota anticipate everything, don't they?

 

Maybe someone should throw together the equivalent of
http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/squirt/ for the TCH?
All it takes is finding one injector lead and tapping it.
.
_H*