Hybrid mode default

DLai · May 29, 2016

Does anyone know how to get the hybrid setting to be the default mode? It is annoying to have make this selection every single time you start the car.
The dealership said it is a factory setting and cannot be over-ridden. I don't believe Audi would sell a "fuel efficient" car and not allow hybrid mode to be the default setting!!!! ANy ideas?

Dominic · May 30, 2016

I first thought there was a MMI setting for that matter. But no.

I then thought there was a surely a vag-com tweak for that. But it appears support for the e-tron specific hardware is next to none. But maybe if your german is good enough you will find some adaption...

It is really annoying.

2euro · May 31, 2016

I agree, This should be something the user can change as default.

5x112 · Aug 15, 2016

Yes. This, in my opinion, is a huge issue. It requires you to think about how the car will be used everytime you get in it. And once the battery is gone, thats it. No 200 hp. No efficient city driving. No plug in hybrid mileage help on road trips. All the other settings of the car are held. MOST of the other settings are user definable. The one control that actually DEFINES what the ETRON actually is - Tough luck.

andymccrory · Aug 16, 2016

Sorry guys, I don't see the problem with the default drive mode being zero emission. I would have more of a problem with the default being to use the ICE. If there were an option to change the default I would not change it. If you don't want EV mode, you need to think about your journey and plan your modes accordingly.

More of issue to me is the drive mode button, when you press "EV" you expect the first toggled option to be EV, instead you have to know which mode you're in and press the button the right amount of times to reach EV, if you don't know which mode you're in you need to take eyes off the road to watch the modes toggle.

On the point of losing 200bhp when the battery is empty, you very soon get one or two white bars (and therefore boost to 200bhp) just from regen braking.

bruintoo · Aug 16, 2016

5x112":858iurol said:
Yes. This, in my opinion, is a huge issue. It requires you to think about how the car will be used everytime you get in it. And once the battery is gone, thats it. No 200 hp. No efficient city driving. No plug in hybrid mileage help on road trips. All the other settings of the car are held. MOST of the other settings are user definable. The one control that actually DEFINES what the ETRON actually is - Tough luck.

I'm not sure you're entirely correct in that assumption. I think the battery has reserves (it is 8.8 kWh total after all and only 6.5 kWh is availalble for pure EV driving) that when you tap boost mode when you press past the detente in the accelerator pedal that'll give you 200 horses.

rfortson · Sep 19, 2016

bruintoo":wtyun4cb said:
5x112":wtyun4cb said:

Yes. This, in my opinion, is a huge issue. It requires you to think about how the car will be used everytime you get in it. And once the battery is gone, thats it. No 200 hp. No efficient city driving. No plug in hybrid mileage help on road trips. All the other settings of the car are held. MOST of the other settings are user definable. The one control that actually DEFINES what the ETRON actually is - Tough luck.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure you're entirely correct in that assumption. I think the battery has reserves (it is 8.8 kWh total after all and only 6.5 kWh is availalble for pure EV driving) that when you tap boost mode when you press past the detente in the accelerator pedal that'll give you 200 horses.

Yep, I believe there is always battery in reserve for boost, if needed. As for the default mode, I like EV as that's how I drive it every day. My change would be to have it switch to Hybrid Auto mode (instead of Hybrid Hold) when the ICE kicks in once EV battery is depleted.

5x112 · Oct 17, 2016

My point was the Plug in battery reserve is finite and the driver should be able to set the defaults. Every driver will use the defaults differently. There is no logical reason why Audi decides for me. Even if you can use some of the reserve for boost, lots of passing gets rid of that. If I am on a long trip, I get better gas mileage in Hybrid auto mode with a full battery, than I do with a depleted one. Plus, when I get to my destination, it is usually urban, and I want to use EV then at slow speeds (which goes farther), not all at once after pulling on to a highway after getting gas. It is easy to forget to change the modes and it's a 2 1/2 hour mistake if I do forget.

clarkaddison · Oct 17, 2016

All that's required to change drive modes is pressing a button. I don't see that as a problem. As for taking your eyes off the road to press the button, we do more than that changing stations or sources on the stereo system.

rfortson · Oct 17, 2016

5x112":m31ppdw6 said:
My point was the Plug in battery reserve is finite and the driver should be able to set the defaults. Every driver will use the defaults differently. There is no logical reason why Audi decides for me. Even if you can use some of the reserve for boost, lots of passing gets rid of that. If I am on a long trip, I get better gas mileage in Hybrid auto mode with a full battery, than I do with a depleted one. Plus, when I get to my destination, it is usually urban, and I want to use EV then at slow speeds (which goes farther), not all at once after pulling on to a highway after getting gas. It is easy to forget to change the modes and it's a 2 1/2 hour mistake if I do forget.

Well, I do agree that it would be nice to be able to choose all the defaults. Seems like it would be easy to implement.

And yeah, I've noticed that the mileage is much better when I go Hybrid Auto mode with a full battery (and the battery lasts a long time that way as well). If I'm on a long (several hour/many miles) roadtrip, I'll even use the Charge Battery mode before I get to my destination.

5x112 · Oct 18, 2016

It is a no-brainer to implement. ALL the other settings are held that a driver sets, (the radio, the lights, the drive modes, the windshield wipers, the soft keys, etc, etc, etc) when the car is shut off. This is the only one that is not held. Why? This setting defines what the etron is and how it will work. It is an obvious design oversight.

hangtime10 · Oct 19, 2016

I wonder if other PHEV's allow the owner to set their EV settings???
Maybe there's more to the setup than we know, something that the transportation ministry has decided on in order for PHEV's to be Green plate worthy.
Maybe it has to start in EV to satisfy the conditions that differentiate PHEV's from the old hybrid label.

maggie · Aug 28, 2024

5x112 said:
My point was the Plug in battery reserve is finite and the driver should be able to set the defaults. Every driver will use the defaults differently. There is no logical reason why Audi decides for me. Even if you can use some of the reserve for boost, lots of passing gets rid of that. If I am on a long trip, I get better gas mileage in Hybrid auto mode with a full battery, than I do with a depleted one. Plus, when I get to my destination, it is usually urban, and I want to use EV then at slow speeds (which goes farther), not all at once after pulling on to a highway after getting gas. It is easy to forget to change the modes and it's a 2 1/2 hour mistake if I do forget.

Totally agree! Irritating! You spend all that time charging the battery and forget to switch it to hybrid once and you're (practically) back to square one. Inconsiderate design flaw. If the battery could take you 40 or 50 miles in EV mode it would be different. Not so.

Someone please figure out a fix so every time you start the car, the default mode is the one the diver chooses and uses most often.

dlinkA3 · Aug 29, 2024

maggie said:
Totally agree! Irritating! You spend all that time charging the battery and forget to switch it to hybrid once and you're (practically) back to square one. Inconsiderate design flaw. If the battery could take you 40 or 50 miles in EV mode it would be different. Not so. Someone please figure out a fix so every time you start the car, the default mode is the one the diver chooses and uses most often.

We have our 2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron set to ALWAYS start in EV-only mode. It almost always acts as expected, but once or twice a year, it starts in hybrid mode, just to annoy us. Our dealership does not know why that happens, and has done extensive checks, but nothing discovered. If that was designed to lubricate our rarely used gasoline engine, we would understand, but it appears to be a software flaw. At least it is rare.

We would LOVE to have a true PHEVLER (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Long Electric Range of 80-100 miles EV range), which was strongly favored by the inventor of the PHEV, Dr, Andrew Frank, of the University of California Davis, but only a small number have ever been sold AND they are all well over $100K each.

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