Protecting your turbo - turning off the hybrid engine

[trailhunger]

Turbos might be new to you but they certainly aren’t new to the automotive industry. Stop worrying about it.

If you’re driving 100mph for hours then immediately stop and turn off the engine then yeah, that’s probably not amazing for the truck. Generally speaking, people don’t just immediately come to a stop though. They get off an exit ramp, come to a stop or at least a yield, and pull into a parking lot, etc. During all that time off the highway your turbo is cooling down, there’s no need to come to a stop and sit in your truck for a minute before you turn it off.

eh, no one is worrying about it, boss. But OP has a valid question. engine break-in has rules too, there's do's & don'ts to extend part & engine longevity. Reading a manual might be new to you but many of us own these trucks and don't lease. So we give a shit about details

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[tacorancher]

eh, no one is worrying about it, boss. But OP has a valid question. engine break-in has rules too, there's do's & don'ts to extend part & engine longevity. Reading a manual might be new to you but many of us own these trucks and don't lease. So we give a shit about details

Right. Not worried at all. I just enjoy understanding and properly caring for my vehicles. It’s part of the experience for me.

 

[32spoke]

Here is a diagram of the turbo cooling system

This diagram is accurate for a liquid cooled intercooler. Are you stating that the Tacoma utilizes a liquid cooled intercooler?

 

[tacorancher]

This diagram is accurate for a liquid cooled intercooler. Are you stating that the Tacoma utilizes a liquid cooled intercooler?

I’m ignorant on how turbo systems are typically cooled (both the compressed air being routed to the engine and the turbo itself). Is this setup typical? Inter cooler plus separate radiator? Pros/ cons to it?

Unrelated- is the trans fluid cooled by the engine’s radiator?

 

[32spoke]

I’m ignorant on how turbo systems are typically cooled (both the compressed air being routed to the engine and the turbo itself). Is this setup typical? Inter cooler plus separate radiator? Pros/ cons to it?

Unrelated- is the trans fluid cooled by the engine’s radiator?

I believe some some variants of this engine use a liquid intercooler, but on this truck-the intercooler is air to air- like a radiator with no liquid in it. The turbo may have a coolant line, but I have not looked underneath the passenger side of the engine to confirm this. The turbo will definitely have an oil lubrication feed line.
My guess is that people here are mistaking, is that the idea behind letting the engine idle briefly after driving, is to cool the turbo… I would bet good money that the intent of idling, is to allow the turbo CHRA/impellers- to slow to their slowest spinning speed before shutting the engine off. The transmission oil cooler is a heat sink looking thing near the engine oil filter. I am no fan of it, but this type of design has been used by various automotive manufacturers for a while. Personally, I will install a trans oil cooler with a fan and temp sensor/fan switch. I will mount the oil cooler under the driver’s side of the truck since there is lots of room since I have no hybrid motor to contend with/non hybrid truck.

 

[tacorancher]

I believe some some variants of this engine use a liquid intercooler, but on this truck-the intercooler is air to air- like a radiator with no liquid in it. The turbo may have a coolant line, but I have not looked underneath the passenger side of the engine to confirm this. The turbo will definitely have an oil lubrication feed line.
My guess is that people here are mistaking, is that the idea behind letting the engine idle briefly after driving, is to cool the turbo… I would bet good money that the intent of idling, is to allow the turbo CHRA/impellers- to slow to their slowest spinning speed before shutting the engine off. The transmission oil cooler is a heat sink looking thing near the engine oil filter. I am no fan of it, but this type of design has been used by various automotive manufacturers for a while. Personally, I will install a trans oil cooler with a fan and temp sensor/fan switch. I will mount the oil cooler under the driver’s side of the truck since there is lots of room since I have no hybrid motor to contend with/non hybrid truck.

So the transmission oil is not cooled at all via the radiator?

 

[32spoke]

So the transmission oil is not cooled at all via the radiator?

I believe this is the “heat exchanger thingy” but this one is for the engine oil- spin on oil filter is likely engine oil filter.

https://parts.smithtowntoyota.com/v...2-4l-l4-gas/cooling-system--engine-oil-cooler

and for the transmission oil cooler, I think it is #10 on this schematic. I will have to crawl under the truck to look where the tranny lines go, but I gotta do this another day, gotta get to a car show….

https://parts.smithtowntoyota.com/o...wMjQmdD10cmQtb2ZmLXJvYWQmZT0yLTRsLWw0LWdhcw==

 

[Astewart23]

I know it's not an actual turbo timer, but these vehicles will ensure the turbo is cooled down before the fans, pumps, etc turn off even after you turn the off the vehicle. You could install an turbo timer if you felt like it, but i don't thinkits probablynecessaryon these trucks.

I’m sorry , but in an attempt to keep false information from being spread, that is not an accurate description of a Turbo Timer. A Turbo Timer allows you to turn the ignition switch to the off position, remove your key and exit the vehicle, , all whilst the engine remains idling for a pre-set time to “cool the turbo” Fans don’t cool turbos, oil and coolant do but only while the engine is running, hence the need for idling after heavy load,, ultimately justifying the need of a convenient “turbo timer” that will never forget to idle the engine.

 

[JustAnotherDingus]

Right. Not worried at all. I just enjoy understanding and properly caring for my vehicles. It’s part of the experience for me.

That’s interesting that it shuts the engine off but there isn’t a start stop button right? I haven’t taken delivery of my hybrid yet so I’m not sure, but I drive a single turbo vehicle rn and when I want it to idle I will press that button to stop the engine from shutting off on autopilot. I suspect outside the limited hybrids there isn’t a button for that huh. Hmmmm. Maybe there’s something to be done using something like a carista obd thingy but that might be interfering too much with the hybrid ecu across the board. It’s a great question though. I’ve been wondering about it too.

 

[TacoFreak]

@JustAnotherDingus No, there is no way to alter the stop/start in any 4th gen hybrid, even with a Carista. When the engine runs and when it shuts off is strictly under the control of the hybrid system.

When I let off the gas and coast to a stop the ICE shuts off immediately. As I am slowing down it uses regen to charge the traction battery. If I am just creeping forward it will remain off, but as soon as I give it much accelerator input it starts up again.

The first time I was stuck in a long line of stop and go traffic it would shut off at each stop and start backup when traffic moved. But after about 10 minutes of that it no longer shut off, probably because the battery was getting low. Then later it began shutting off again when the battery had recharged. It is much more complex and sophisticated than I expected.

It is so smooth and so seamless that I have stopped paying much attention to it and I just let Toyota's hybrid magic sort it all out.

 

[tacorancher]

@JustAnotherDingus No, there is no way to alter the stop/start in any 4th gen hybrid, even with a Carista. When the engine runs and when it shuts off is strictly under the control of the hybrid system.

When I let off the gas and coast to a stop the ICE shuts off immediately. As I am slowing down it uses regen to charge the traction battery. If I am just creeping forward it will remain off, but as soon as I give it much accelerator input it starts up again.

The first time I was stuck in a long line of stop and go traffic it would shut off at each stop and start backup when traffic moved. But after about 10 minutes of that it no longer shut off, probably because the battery was getting low. Then later it began shutting off again when the battery had recharged. It is much more complex and sophisticated than I expected.

It is so smooth and so seamless that I have stopped paying much attention to it and I just let Toyota's hybrid magic sort it all out.

Correct - and why would we mess with Toyota’s engine settings anyway? I’m sure the engineers didn’t forget about turbo cooling on the hybrid—we just don’t know how it works. I’ll ask car care nut

 

[JustAnotherDingus]

@JustAnotherDingus No, there is no way to alter the stop/start in any 4th gen hybrid, even with a Carista. When the engine runs and when it shuts off is strictly under the control of the hybrid system.

When I let off the gas and coast to a stop the ICE shuts off immediately. As I am slowing down it uses regen to charge the traction battery. If I am just creeping forward it will remain off, but as soon as I give it much accelerator input it starts up again.

The first time I was stuck in a long line of stop and go traffic it would shut off at each stop and start backup when traffic moved. But after about 10 minutes of that it no longer shut off, probably because the battery was getting low. Then later it began shutting off again when the battery had recharged. It is much more complex and sophisticated than I expected.

It is so smooth and so seamless that I have stopped paying much attention to it and I just let Toyota's hybrid magic sort it all out.

Good to know. Thx!

seems like it runs like my friends older rav 4 hybrid (without a plug).

I hope we see a battery pack upgrade eventually. It’d be so nice to have a little more juice for coasting in traffic.

 

[JustAnotherDingus]

Correct - and why would we mess with Toyota’s engine settings anyway? I’m sure the engineers didn’t forget about turbo cooling on the hybrid—we just don’t know how it works. I’ll ask car care nut

Yeah I’m curious to hear what he’d have to say about that. My inner nerd would love to know how it all works

 

[tacorancher]

Yeah I’m curious to hear what he’d have to say about that. My inner nerd would love to know how it all works

lol - exactly - for me it’s the nerdy aspect and it’s fun to know how your truck works

 

[Tsturbo]

So far nobody has answered my question about the hybrid always turning off the motor when I come to a stop — how would I be able to cool down the turbo oil / drain it out if it never really “idles?”.. also does it have a turbo timer or not?

If you are coming off the highway or hill climbing, DRIVE IT EASY for about a mile. Just keep the rpm’s up slightly and it will not go into hybrid mode. My understanding is that there is not a way to shut off the hybrid. Just don’t drive it in stop and go traffic or where there are stoplights if you are trying to cool the turbo. Not really hard to understand and your owners manual is a great resource.

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