EV mode keeps dropping out on MG HS PHEV

Totally agree, I find it's a pain, I've also noticed that when the EV mode is under load I.E. going up hill, the EV mode will drop out, does the cat think it's better to run in Hybrid mode rather than EV?

despe said:

Mine always starts in hydrid mode so I took the habit to manually turn the EV mode on when I start.
Even a small stop for few minutes tends to switch off the EV mode.

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It starts in Auto mode if
• it was plugged in
• if climate control temperature is set to anything but Lo

I think when car detects kick down (I’ve experienced this twice), it exits EV mode too.

There was another discussion where a downhill caused exit. Could have something to do with regen / battery temperature but I’ve not experienced that.

hermitdave said:

It starts in Auto mode if
• it was plugged in
• if climate control temperature is set to anything but Lo

I think when car detects kick down (I’ve experienced this twice), it exits EV mode too.

There was another discussion where a downhill caused exit. Could have something to do with regen / battery temperature but I’ve not experienced that.

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I will have to check how I set the climate control. A bit strange that it has an effect on the EV mode at start up as it can be manually activated.
Anyway not a big issue for me.

I purchased my MG HS plus EV in January 2022, I had no problem starting on EV mode until last week it won't go on EV mode. I have to drive for 5 minute before I can change to EV mode and also noticed it drops off EV mode far quickly now. I have made complaint with the dealership and waiting for their reply back.

Has anyone also noticed that when driving down a mountain, the EV mode often drops out ? Its as if the car is trying to use the engine to slow it down instead of regenerative braking...

midician said:

Has anyone also noticed that when driving down a mountain, the EV mode often drops out ? Its as if the car is trying to use the engine to slow it down instead of regenerative braking...

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I owned a VW Golf PHEV for over four years before going full BEV.
This reacted in the very same way.
If the incline is not very steep and short, it would allow the Regen braking to take care of the situation.
However, the decline was both steep and long, it would bring in the ICE to help provide engine braking to hold back the car.
It sounds like the HS PHEV has a similar set up.
I have been reading the HS post's, because my son is extremely interested in the HS PHEV as his first introduction into the world of electric propulsion.
I have seen members comments about the HS PHEV dropping out of EV mode.
The VW was designed to default to start in EV mode, the only way this would NOT happen, was if the HV battery was depleted of charge.
It would remain in EV mode until the driver deselected it, or the battery was empty.
If you demanded MAX power and the car was in EV mode, it would bring in the ICE when the pedal was buried to the floor !.
As soon as the demand was reduced, it would drop back into EV mode ASAP.
Also, using the cabin heater DID NOT bring in the ICE.
It would consume the range really fast due to the demand for heat tough.
The car did NOT have a heat pump also.
I does appear strange to me that as soon as cabin heat is required in low ambient temperatures, it brings in the ICE ??.
EV range is especially useful for making shorts trips, because a cold engine in a ICE car uses a lot of fuel, until the engine has reached the ideal working temp.
Surely, this is the worst time to run the car ICE efficiently ?
This is a VERY poor design on the HS PHEV then in my opinion.
Your cost savings are slashed in the winter time, because you have no choose to run the heater without starting the engine ???.
Please correct my understanding on how the HS PHEV operates if incorrect please.

Hyundai Tucson PHEV has a similar system
If you put the heating on the ICE kicks in.

Personally I can't wait for the day I get rid of my HS PHEV....and will be giving MG wide berth!!!

madmartyr71 said:

Hyundai Tucson PHEV has a similar system
If you put the heating on the ICE kicks in.

Personally I can't wait for the day I get rid of my HS PHEV....and will be giving MG wide berth!!!

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What a absolutely crazy idea that is !.
The driver should have total control of how and when that EV energy is used !.
We all know that the cabin heater is the biggest consumer of energy from the HV battery ( apart from the drive motor of course ).
So, maybe the idea is to try a preserve some of that EV range stored by kicking in the ICE to bring up the temp of the engine.
But for short trips in the winter, this not going to be cost effective surely ?.
Summer is fine, because the engine is a lot less likely to kick in.
Please don't tell me, if you use the heated seats, it brings in the ICE as well !.

Lovemyev said:

What a absolutely crazy idea that is !.
The driver should have total control of how and when that EV energy is used !.

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Unfortunately it don't work like that with the majority of PHEV's. I know the Toyota RAV4 PHEV has a different system and uses the air for out side to generate the heat without the need to use the engine...but then you talking a car which a silly money!!

Maybe they should take another look at the VAG model PHEV's that they like to mimic then !.
Both the VW and Audi PHEV's allow the driver FULL control of how and when the EV range is consumed together with the use of the cabin heater.
It was possible to pre heat the car in the winter via the HV battery, without starting the engine.
Okay, the range consumption was extremely high, but who cares !.
In the winter, with everything running, it would munch through the 30 miles of range like a total beast !.
But on a cheap over night electricity rate, it was still cheaper than fossil fuel !.
Four years of ownership was more than enough time to convince me that a full BEV was the next step.
I am now on my second full EV after the PHEV and although I really enjoyed my time with it, I would not be too willing go back !.
There is a place in the market for PHEV's, because some folks are unable to take that large step for a lot of reasons and I totally get that !.
Thank you for providing the information and this will be given some strong consideration before moving forward.
My son is extremely keen to make the first step on his electric travels, but it's very important to understand any pit falls along the way.
This issue of the EV drop out / ICE starting may just scupper the plans to be honest !.

Another things I've picked up on is the poor fuel economy on PHEVs when using the petrol. It's due to the size of the engine. The two most Economical are the RAV4 and Ford Kuga...both use 2.5 petrol engines. Hyundai is also bring out the Tuson with a 2.5 petrol for it's PHEV.

PHEVs with smaller 1.5 or 1.6 engines really struggle to pull the weight of the car.

madmartyr71 said:

Another things I've picked up on is the poor fuel economy on PHEVs when using the petrol. It's due to the size of the engine. The two most Economical are the RAV4 and Ford Kuga...both use 2.5 petrol engines. Hyundai is also bring out the Tuson with a 2.5 petrol for it's PHEV.

PHEVs with smaller 1.5 or 1.6 engines really struggle to pull the weight of the car.

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2.0 Litre engines appear common place in a number of PHEV's and Hybrid's.
But with a hybrid, you are burning fossil fuel to put energy back into the battery ?.
I can't see this as a good method of reduction in running costs to be honest.
Given the higher cost of purchasing a PHEV the cost savings return can be a bit weak..
At least with a PHEV you can charge the HV battery from a electrical supply, not so with hybrid.
My Golf PHEV had a 1.4 TSI engine that when combined with the electric motor, was really quick.
VW detuned the GTE in order that it would not out do they flag ship Golf R in a 0 - 60 dash.
When driven carefully though, I would see a regular return of about 80 - 90 TRUE MPG.
I did see 105 - 115 MPG on a few occasions in optimum conditions.
I guess the reason why I think MG used the 1.5 engine, is because they already had it, rather than include a new 2.0 Litre unit ?.
The new VW Tiguan PHEV is a heavy car, just like the HS PHEV.
But they are still pulling it with a 1.5 TSI engine, like fitted in the standard Golf.
The EV motor SHOULD make up and fill the gap's left, by using a small engine in a large body.
I don't think the 1.5 motor was that economical when it was fitted in the ZS which is a much lighter car.
The body to weight ratio does it no favours, I will admit, but a more efficient engine would help.
Of course, MPG returns are going conflict wildly even between two different owners of a PHEV because there usage case can be completely different.
I do firmly believe that high mileage users gain very little in running costs when driving a PHEV.
They are heavy cars that when the petrol engine is used to transport that heavy and very likely depleted battery around, hammers the MPG.
When using the EV mode, it is using a lot of energy to pull around that dormant engine and gearbox around etc.
Short to mid sized trips are better suited to PHEV's in my opinion.
Making full use of that stored EV energy.
This on the HS PHEV appears to be an issue, if when using the cabin heater the EV mode drops out !.
When I first purchased my VW PHEV - I though I was visiting the petrol station just as often as my previous car, but then the penny dropped and I discovered that the fuel tank was less than half the size !.
Similar on the HS PHEV with only a 37 Litre tank I think.

madmartyr71 said:

Another things I've picked up on is the poor fuel economy on PHEVs when using the petrol. It's due to the size of the engine. The two most Economical are the RAV4 and Ford Kuga...both use 2.5 petrol engines. Hyundai is also bring out the Tuson with a 2.5 petrol for it's PHEV.

PHEVs with smaller 1.5 or 1.6 engines really struggle to pull the weight of the car.

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For the size of the car, the 1.5L engine does an OK job, and OK fuel economy- no worse than my 1.4L Golf. I usually get about 7-8L/100km.

Lovemyev said:

I owned a VW Golf PHEV for over four years before going full BEV.
This reacted in the very same way.
If the incline is not very steep and short, it would allow the Regen braking to take care of the situation.
However, the decline was both steep and long, it would bring in the ICE to help provide engine braking to hold back the car.
It sounds like the HS PHEV has a similar set up.
I have been reading the HS post's, because my son is extremely interested in the HS PHEV as his first introduction into the world of electric propulsion.
I have seen members comments about the HS PHEV dropping out of EV mode.
The VW was designed to default to start in EV mode, the only way this would NOT happen, was if the HV battery was depleted of charge.
It would remain in EV mode until the driver deselected it, or the battery was empty.
If you demanded MAX power and the car was in EV mode, it would bring in the ICE when the pedal was buried to the floor !.
As soon as the demand was reduced, it would drop back into EV mode ASAP.
Also, using the cabin heater DID NOT bring in the ICE.
It would consume the range really fast due to the demand for heat tough.
The car did NOT have a heat pump also.
I does appear strange to me that as soon as cabin heat is required in low ambient temperatures, it brings in the ICE ??.
EV range is especially useful for making shorts trips, because a cold engine in a ICE car uses a lot of fuel, until the engine has reached the ideal working temp.
Surely, this is the worst time to run the car ICE efficiently ?
This is a VERY poor design on the HS PHEV then in my opinion.
Your cost savings are slashed in the winter time, because you have no choose to run the heater without starting the engine ???.
Please correct my understanding on how the HS PHEV operates if incorrect please.

Click to expand...

I feel for you, if you live in North Wales and require heating most of the year. For me in Adelaide , I barely use the heating. Runnning the car in EV most of the time, I have done 5000km an only refuelled it twice, and am still on 3/4 tank. No doubt that a heat pump would have been ideal, but would have bumped up the cost by quite a bit.

I no longer fret about the fuel use, as my attitude is that we would rely on fuel for better range and convenience. The whole idea of a PHEV was to not have range anxiety.

Lovemyev said:

However, the decline was both steep and long, it would bring in the ICE to help provide engine braking to hold back the car.

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In my experience the ICE kicks in at the bottom of the hill. There is one near home that the ICE kicks in at about the same spot which is at the bottom back on the flat. Another hill near work is the same, bottom of the hill.

Lovemyev said:

Your cost savings are slashed in the winter time, because you have no choose to run the heater without starting the engine ???.
Please correct my understanding on how the HS PHEV operates if incorrect please.

Click to expand...

Yes you got the idea but once the engine is hot enough, you can manually switch back to EV with the heater remained on until the engine cools down again. In winter the worst journeys are really short ones like 2 miles to the shop when the engine barely gets time to heat up but if it’s a 12 miles commute one way, you can still do 50/50 ICE/EV.

During this last year the PHEV has really suited my lifestyle. At present my journeys are mostly short so I use EV most of the time. In this current cycle of journeys I have done 500+ miles and only have used half a blob of petrol on the fuel gauge.m (8 blobs in total/37L). Absolutely loved driving in EV and definitely converted me to full BEV in the future. Just the prices of a BEV that puts me off.

sky0000547 said:

Absolutely loved driving in EV and definitely converted me to full BEV in the future.

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Thank you for your comments .
Yeah - Having a PHEV was how I got bitten by the EV bug back in 2015.
For myself, the PHEV turned out to be a brilliant “Bridge” into going full BEV.
You have it absolutely spot on !.
To maximise your cost savings, you have to favour the EV power as much as you possibly can, take every opportunity to use it !.
I find the whole idea of sacrificing the heat to the cabin, by not being able to us the EV range, to be a huge oversight to be honest.
The logic ones not make any sense to me at all ?,
Give the driver the TOTAL control of how and when they use the EV power !.
Not just in the warmer months, all of the time please.
My son has a ten mile journey to work and then same length on the return leg.
The company he works for are currently installing a large number of EV charging points and he intends to make full use of the facility, which is likely to be FOC !.
If total use of EV power was possible all through the year, then the cost savings could go a long way to help subsidise the outlay of purchasing the car.

Tried a little experiment today on my way home from work. I live in the South Wales Valleys so loads of steep hills etc. Done the route using the adaptive cruise control today and the car remained in EV mode all the way..even going down steep hills.

If I do the same route with me in total control the car will jump out of EV mode when going down steep hills.

So the car seems to be capable of remaining in EV mode but not when the driver is in full control!!

Must be something in this as I've noticed that car won't self charge in cruise control.
IT just goes to zero but switch to manual and you get charging. I suppose it needs the power to maintain the set speed.

a1970man said:

Must be something in this as I've noticed that car won't self charge in cruise control.
IT just goes to zero but switch to manual and you get charging. I suppose it needs the power to maintain the set speed.

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My does exactly the same. Really flawed system of I'm honest.

Can't charge in cruise control or drops out of EV if driving manually and hit any decent length hill!!!!

madmartyr71 said:

My does exactly the same. Really flawed system of I'm honest.

Can't charge in cruise control or drops out of EV if driving manually and hit any decent length hill!!!!

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It tries to do too much for me. My previous car (Mercedes C Class) kept the speed constant up or down hill and I just steered it to a lane that I could continue on. The MG gets set to 70 MPH, but you find yourself tootling along at 48 most of the time as it can see a slower car ahead. I know it's trying to help, but unless you're on a completely clear road, it's mostly pointless.

I still love it though