Rav4 CVT explained

[Stopeter44]

1 hour ago, Yugguy1970 said:

and what on earth is ubik???

UBIK is what a lot of people sit on, or can't find in the dark, or are sometimes when they are being stupid or aggressive ....

 

You've been UBIKed, again !

Edited February 23, 2022 by Stopeter44
Well I've been ubik'ed again!

[Catlover]

Never heard of UBIK

[Parts-King]

On 12/15/2021 at 11:51 AM, Yugguy1970 said:

Great video.  Why does the voice sound computer generated?  🤣

It probably is! Have your heard the same old computer generated voices on TikTok? The Chinese/American sounding woman is on just about every video 

[nlee]

2 hours ago, Yugguy1970 said:

Well now I know one thing.

We can never have a discussion about sandpaper grades.

I still can't work out what word you were trying to use. This is more challenging than Wordle 😄

[Hybrid21]

4 hours ago, Roger_N said:

Have you tried or do you use sport mode when doing the fast acceleration? 

Yes Roger I've used sport mode for overtaking, etc, but I've not used it to join a motorway.

I will try it next time and see if it reduces the rev issue.

Iain

 

 

 

[Hybrid21]

3 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

So why is that better ?

Better because it doesn't scream like a scalded cat and you can hear the gear changes 👍

Iain

[Catlover]

There are no gear changes in your Rav, that’s one of the beauties of a Toyota hybrid.

 

[Hybrid21]

1 hour ago, Catlover said:

There are no gear changes in your Rav, that’s one of the beauties of a Toyota hybrid.

 

Yes there are no gear changes, which makes it sound like a scalded cat 😸

Iain

[nlee]

I hardly notice the higher revs these days, I've probably got used to it. It did seem a little strange at first. Having said that, I believe the PHEV has improved sound insulation and sound insulating glass, maybe the MY22 HEVs have too? I test drove both and definitely noticed the PHEV was quieter (and I was in HV mode before anyone picks up on it!)

Personally, I much prefer the seamless and smoother transition over the step change of the traditional auto gearbox. My last auto used to feel like it snatched a bit in lower gears when accelerating away. That could have been down to that particular gearbox or my poor driving though.

[Flatcoat]

17 minutes ago, nlee said:

I hardly notice the higher revs these days, I've probably got used to it. It did seem a little strange at first. Having said that, I believe the PHEV has improved sound insulation and sound insulating glass, maybe the MY22 HEVs have too? I test drove both and definitely noticed the PHEV was quieter (and I was in HV mode before anyone picks up on it!)

Personally, I much prefer the seamless and smoother transition over the step change of the traditional auto gearbox. My last auto used to feel like it snatched a bit in lower gears when accelerating away. That could have been down to that particular gearbox or my poor driving though.

Agree, pretty much used to it now. Just need to see how it goes with towing. 

[TonyHSD]

Toyota hybrids does sound like “scalded cat 😸” when under hard acceleration but sometimes only and to prevent that all you need is to push accelerator further and quickly (floor it) then the car will use extra help from the e motors and rotational speeds of all 3 power sources  ice, mg1 and mg2 will equalises more and it will give you more direct and faster acceleration similar to torque converter lock in other standard auto transmissions like 9G-TRONIC from Mercedes, if  there is no enough charge in the hybrid Battery or you haven’t floor it properly then the car may whine, this is because of the power split device and how everything rotates  at different speeds, plus very high rpm of the mg2. , nothing to do with cvt or engine underpowered as many auto journalists talk. Power (sport) mode actually does very little and most of it its simply sharper throttle response, which can be managed in normal mode with harder push. 👍

[Hybrid21]

Interesting info Tony, maybe I'm just a bit light on the accelerator ?

I've noted your tips and will try at next opportunity, thanks

Iain

[Stopeter44]

5 hours ago, Hybrid21 said:

Better because it doesn't scream like a scalded cat and you can hear the gear changes 👍

 

With respect, the stepped changes in RPM are what you expect and/or are used to, so your brain has some adjustment still to do.

I have found that for the most part, my driving style has completely changed since getting the Yaris. I wouldn't have called myself an impatient driver, but I am finding that I take more time, generally, to get up to cruising speed, to the point that I accelerate a wee bit faster when there are cars behind me. I do so enjoy those moments when I can "coast" downhill knowing that I am getting some free charge in the Battery!

I even knocked 5km/h off my standard autoroute cruising speed (105 instead of 110 km/h), but when I needed to blast past a gaggle of trucks, the other day I was up to 135 km/h before I knew with car, seemingly, give me some more of that. I didn't notice the scalded cat, though 😉

 

[Cyker]

TBH even in my manual cars they sounded like scalded cats when I was really giving them the beans  Esp the Mk2, where I'd have to drop 2-3 gears on the motorway and boot it if I wanted to accelerate quickly, because all the power was at the top-end.

The issue I had with earlier hybrids under load is you often got the engine revving up but the car didn't accelerate appreciably and the disconnect really irked me. It's not such an issue with the Mk4 as, although it is loud under hard acceleration, it really bloody moves too, so I'm fine with that.  

I've also found that it's better to not literally and suddenly floor the accelerator, as the revs will rise much faster than the car can accelerate and it takes a second for the system to sort itself out before it launches - The notorious rubber-band effect. It feels better to be quick but progressive with the accelerator, and feed it in as the car accelerates - You feel the torque build and build like a diesel.

I have had to retrain my brain to understand that the engine sound is how much load it's under/how much power it's delivering, and not to use it as a reference to know how fast I'm going. Loud engine = High load, and not high speed!

[Stopeter44]

9 hours ago, Catlover said:

Never heard of UBIK

Seriously ?

[Catlover]

Yes, seriously

[Yugguy1970]

21 hours ago, nlee said:

I still can't work out what word you were trying to use. This is more challenging than Wordle 😄

Rhymrs wuth corse. That's all I wanted to say.  The engine sounds a bit corse.🤣

[Yugguy1970]

Im the same, not that I was a speed freak in any way but now having a hybrid mpg is always on my mind.

Not in a worrying way but more of a why waste it on pointless acceleration way.  The eco meter helps with this.

[Yugguy1970]

The weirdest thing I've had to get used to is when you are going up a long motorway hill and the engine is working but then engine revs drop as the hill ends but your speed remains the same.

After 34 years of driving normal ice engines this still messes with my head when it happens.

[TonyHSD]

I think all Toyota hybrids owners has to watch Weber auto the video about gen 3 hybrid transaxle

here is easier to understand since all power units are lined up on the same line , gen 4 drive train is slightly different set up as mg2 is positioned slightly on top. The biggest difference between gen3 and gen4 is higher rotating speeds of mg2  to match higher speeds of the driving wheels, better and optimised electronic control on the virtual gear ratios. The difference in behaviour between gen3 and gen4 is minimal, they are almost the same but the later is an improvement obviously, it’s the next step into the evolution of the Toyota hybrids. Gen4 including rav4 phev will be whining when there is no sufficient Battery charge because while engine is propelling the car it is also charging the Battery and so the mg1 put stress and require extra power from the engine plus mg1 rotates at different rpm’s  from what actually it’s transferred to the driving wheels via power split device, so we have very high rpm of crankshaft and mg1 that actually does not all been used to drive  the car but only some of this power the rest is for Battery recharge (self charging hybrid 😉) , and when you floor it sharply the ecu will adjust this power split as there is higher demand for power and the car will respond accordingly, all available power from mg2(battery) engine and even mg1 steps in to help and it will launch the car faster will kind of equalises ratios to provide best possible acceleration similar to downshift of manual gearbox 4th down to 2nd or automatic with torque converter lock up function. When you accelerate normally and ask for more power the engine rpm will rise and you will get it accomplished with some whining noises and those will depend on engine load and what source of power is available at the moment. Sometimes the hybrids can act exactly opposite to the whining and gives you fake feeling of driving an ev with range extender, for example when battery is full or near there, the  engine is in early stages of warm up process the car will accelerate on mostly mg2 and ice will remain at steady rpm and work as generator to warm up itself and provide charge to the battery, meanwhile if you need more power push it more and ice will come to life and spin itself at higher rpm to help propel the car. And yes loud engine noise means high load and more fuel consumption. 👍

[Stopeter44]

34 minutes ago, Yugguy1970 said:

The engine sounds a bit corse.🤣

You wouldn't say that if you had actually heard a Corsican, they have a somewhat, let's say, relaxed way of speaking! 😉

 

13 hours ago, Catlover said:

Yes, seriously

You must have lived a sheltered life 😊

[Catlover]

24 minutes ago, Stopeter44 said:

You must have lived a sheltered life 😊

Probably, for the last part of my life, and I am happy to be there. 

[Yugguy1970]

I'd not heard of it either tbh.

[Lawnmowerman]

10 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

I think all Toyota hybrids owners has to watch Weber auto the video about gen 3 hybrid transaxle

here is easier to understand since all power units are lined up on the same line , gen 4 drive train is slightly different set up as mg2 is positioned slightly on top. The biggest difference between gen3 and gen4 is higher rotating speeds of mg2  to match higher speeds of the driving wheels, better and optimised electronic control on the virtual gear ratios. The difference in behaviour between gen3 and gen4 is minimal, they are almost the same but the later is an improvement obviously, it’s the next step into the evolution of the Toyota hybrids. Gen4 including rav4 phev will be whining when there is no sufficient battery charge because while engine is propelling the car it is also charging the battery and so the mg1 put stress and require extra power from the engine plus mg1 rotates at different rpm’s  from what actually it’s transferred to the driving wheels via power split device, so we have very high rpm of crankshaft and mg1 that actually does not all been used to drive  the car but only some of this power the rest is for battery recharge (self charging hybrid 😉) , and when you floor it sharply the ecu will adjust this power split as there is higher demand for power and the car will respond accordingly, all available power from mg2(battery) engine and even mg1 steps in to help and it will launch the car faster will kind of equalises ratios to provide best possible acceleration similar to downshift of manual gearbox 4th down to 2nd or automatic with torque converter lock up function. When you accelerate normally and ask for more power the engine rpm will rise and you will get it accomplished with some whining noises and those will depend on engine load and what source of power is available at the moment. Sometimes the hybrids can act exactly opposite to the whining and gives you fake feeling of driving an ev with range extender, for example when battery is full or near there, the  engine is in early stages of warm up process the car will accelerate on mostly mg2 and ice will remain at steady rpm and work as generator to warm up itself and provide charge to the battery, meanwhile if you need more power push it more and ice will come to life and spin itself at higher rpm to help propel the car. And yes loud engine noise means high load and more fuel consumption. 👍

Tony! I'm exhausted after reading this. Humungous sentences and only one paragraph - I'm not the grammar police but phew. I need a lie down 🤣.

But thanks for the effort it took to explain 👍

[ColinB]

22 hours ago, Yugguy1970 said:

I'd not heard of it either tbh.

Same here, but I have obviously led a sheltered life