Hybrid ambient conditions

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MikeBLW
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:57 am

Post by MikeBLW »

I couldn’t understand why my hybrid 4 elite nav grandland x couldn’t select electric mode. I returned it to the dealer who applied lots of software updates.
They also said these updates stopped the left indicator chime which happens occasionally just once after starting a journey
Following this I still can’t select electric mode at various times but it now says the reason is due to ambient conditions. There doesn’t seem to be any logic to this as the conditions range from as low as 10 degrees c to as high as 27 degrees c. Sometimes at the same outside temperature you can run in electric but at other times you can’t. The left indicator also continues to chime despite the assurance that the software fixed it and it was nothing to do with voltage surges from faulty headlights or anything else mentioned on this forum.
To be honest I have given up with the car and the dealership and just find it amusing to say to the car “so what mode do you fancy using today?
I would though be interested if anyone has a logical explanation for how the car decides what mode it will run in and what is meant by ambient conditions?

Moss5
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:24 pm

Post by Moss5 »

Like you, I could not understand why my Hybrid 4 chose not to default to electric mode. I fitted 4-12 volt voltmeters to try to make an association between low battery voltage and the starting of the IC engine (on a fully-charged car).
I am pleased to say, I have just had my first service at: -
https://www.picadorplc.co.uk/vauxhall/l ... dlers-ford
and they have rectified all my problems. They replaced a 'module' without putting anything in writing. I believe a senior member of staff has a Hybrid 4, so they had practice on his car before doing mine. The upshot is a 'different' and much more pleasant car. Range, after an overnight charge is 32-miles (used to be 12-16-miles). Plenty of bull around about thin oil and ambient temperatures, but this 'module' has sorted it.
If your dealer gives a stuff, I suggest they contact Picador for a brain-picking session. I imagine people within the business can be frank and forthcoming. It seems to be corporate policy to "never own-up" to the customer to avoid bad press.
I am urging you to persist with getting your rights to a 'different' car. You will not regret it.
2020 Hybrid 4
Moss5
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:24 pm

Post by Moss5 »

My car found a new reason to elect to start the IC engine. "Old fuel" is the reason.
If you keep using electric mode, the fuel will age.
Fuel does age, but only if in a vented container.
I shall try adding a litre to see if I can 'fool' the computer.
2020 Hybrid 4
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brucey
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:21 pm

Post by brucey »

I've just bought a Grandland Hybrid4, and both of the cars they had at the dealer in Burton were showing the same refusal to go into electric mode. This doesn't bother me too much because all that seems to happen is that you select Hybrid mode and it just runs from the electric battery (most of the time anyway) so you still get that addictive slug of power when you need it, and the car seems to run pretty economically in Hybrid mode like this. I did a 110er mile down from Staffordshire yesterday and it drank a quarter of the tank and all the electricity and alledgedlly returned 55mpg, which is pretty respectable for a petrol car doing a good dose of speed on motorways and through towns. Thanks @Moss5 for your pointer to Picador, I'll bug them if my chosen experts close by here can't sort it.

Anyway, the dealer in Burton told me that he had sold a couple of these cars and when the battery was replaced it sorted out all the problems. That sounds likely as the same is true of electrical gremlins in other cars I have owned. So, I will post a new thread on battery refurb on the Hybrid4, because I have all the gear I think I need to do it, just that the weather has been so bad, I haven't been able to get under the bonnet of my new car :-)
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Grandland Ultimate Nav 2020 Hybrid 4 :x
srettob
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2022 5:57 am

Post by srettob »

Hi new to group, Grandland X Hybrid 4 Ultimate 69 plate but only 7000 miles, bought 2nd hand from main dealer in MAy.

So can I ask if anyone knows what the module was that Picador (now Snows) replaced?

Also 'brucey' what battery was it you were talking about replacing, the high voltage or one of the smaller ones?

I have just had mine in at Chorley Group in Ormskirk due to extremey low electic range 14 miles and a couple of fault mesages, one being the spanner and something to do with the the electronic stability fault needs repairing which also triggers the sat nav to go into locate your nearest vauxhall dealership mode.
I was told that there had been various software updates carried out, not sure what as I had just done one myself (which took about 5 hours to download and install) whatever they have done to it, I think must have wiped the memory I was told that it 'learns your driving style' my other half drives this 10 miles a day and drives like Miss Daisy not Michael Schumacher.

Regardless this has meant that the 16 mile range I was getting from a full charge from 0 miles, has increased from 16 (costing me the same amount of money according to my hypervolt charger) to 34, the same as when I first got it. Unknown as yet if her indoors is going to get anywhere near that when driving (used to get three trips on pure electric) as we only picked it up last night.

However and unfortunately the spanner and message mentioned before came back the second time it was started on way bck from garage and now I have the added issue that the LHS wing mirror does't want to fold in when locked, has anyone experienced that before?
jw021979
Posts: 133
Joined: Sat May 28, 2022 7:07 pm

Post by jw021979 »

The battery they change to get it to go into electric mode is the 12v battery.
Mine had software updates done by the dealer, these are all to do with the drivetrain. The ones updated by you are for the user interface (screens) and the maps. When my dealer did all the updates it took over a day as there were 16 modules that needed updating.
The battery range will drop when it's really cold, mine got down to about 19 miles when it was closer to 30 in the warm weather.
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brucey
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:21 pm

Post by brucey »

I have had the mirror refusing to go out when its very cold so I assume frozen solid. My car runs on pure electric much of the time but also runs as a hybrid/petrol for long journeys and I think that has helped the battery. Range is really low at the moment but ticking up now. In the end I haven't needed to do anything with it to get it to behave, once the car had seen some use, everything seems to work properly. On my other non Vauxhall car I changed the battery to an AGM one and it made it work considerably better.
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Grandland Ultimate Nav 2020 Hybrid 4 :x
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