The past week or so when I am in HV mode and have accelerated through the EV / HV blue bar meter and the engine begins to kick on, I have heard an electrical whining type noise. Almost sounds like I am hearing the electric motor load whining to turn on the engine. It is noticable at higher speeds 40-80 mph and is distinctly higher pitched than the low speed electric motor whir. My car is a 2018 with 35,000 miles. Any ideas? Worth getting checked at a dealer?
Under the conditions that you’ve described the engine is generating electricity to provide more power to the motor. The motor can put out 121hp from the battery and at least 60 additional hp is available once the engine fires up. It is more likely that you are hearing the electric motor which is under greater load. It also has a single gear ratio, so it will spin faster as speed increases. The more common observation in your situation is ICE noise. Particularly, a wildly revving engine without a corresponding amount of acceleration. Much like slipping a clutch or a vehicle that actually has a CVT. It is simply the generator behaving as designed, which is increased RPM’s to meet increased demand for power. On the other hand, your car may have a problem. Diagnosing weird sounds on a forum is always a challenge.
