A vehicle includes a transmission; a torque converter coupled to the transmission; a controller in communication with the transmission and the torque converter; a driver seat, a passenger seat, and a back seat coupled to the transmission; and sensors configured to detect user occupancy of the seats. The sensors are in communication with the controller. The controller is programmed to receive data from the sensors, determine an occupancy status based on the occupancy data, set an engine operating parameter of one of the transmission and the torque converter based on the occupancy status, and control one or both of the transmission and the torque converter to operate according to the parameter.

An EGR passage, an EGR valve that is provided in the EGR passage, and an opening degree controller that controls an opening degree of the EGR valve based on an operating state of the internal combustion engine are included. The opening degree controller determines whether or not there is a possibility of an exhaust outlet of the exhaust passage being submerged in water, and when it is determined that there is the possibility of the exhaust outlet being submerged in water, the opening degree controller controls the opening degree of the EGR valve to a closing side as compared with a case where it is determined that there is no possibility of being submerged in a same operating state.

Systems and methods for improving regeneration of a particulate filter located in an exhaust system of a vehicle are presented. In one example, the particulate filter is regenerated when the vehicle is expected to operate in a stationary electric power generating mode where the vehicle supplies electric power to off-board electric power consumers.

A method to control a road vehicle during a slip of the drive wheels, which are caused to rotate by an internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of cylinders arranged in two banks, and with a plurality of fuel injectors each injecting fuel into a corresponding cylinder. The control method comprises the steps of: detecting a slip of at least one drive wheel; and controlling the internal combustion engine, only during a slip of at least one drive wheel, with a signalling law, which causes the internal combustion engine to work in an abnormal manner so as to generate an abnormal vibration and/or an abnormal noise, which can be perceived by the driver. The internal combustion engine has two twin control units, each of which is associated with a corresponding bank, controls all and the sole injectors of its own bank and actuates the signalling law completely independently of and autonomously from the other control unit.

A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine involving (1) cylinder trapping strategies where one of several pneumatic spring types are dynamically selected for cylinders based at least partially on a predicted number of upcoming skips for each of the cylinders respectively and/or (2) staggering various valvetrain dependent operational engine strategies as operating conditions permit as the internal combustion engine warms up following a cold start.

An injection control device includes: an arithmetic unit that obtains a valve-closing time for stopping injection of fuel from a fuel injection valve based on a degree of variation in a time change of a voltage generated when the fuel injection valve is driven based on a required injection amount; an injection amount change unit that increases or decreases the required injection amount; and a learning unit that repeats injection control of the fuel to learn the valve-closing time obtained by the arithmetic unit.

Methods and systems are provided for opportunistically conducting an evaporative emissions test diagnostic procedure in order to indicate the presence or absence of undesired evaporative emissions in a vehicle evaporative emissions control system and fuel system. In one example, tire pressure and barometric pressure are monitored, and responsive to a tire pressure decrease in the absence of a barometric pressure increase, along with an indication that the vehicle transmission is in neutral and that the vehicle is not traveling downhill, the evaporative emissions system and fuel system may be sealed and the presence or absence of undesired evaporative emissions indicated based on a vacuum-build. In this way, an opportunistic evaporative emissions test may be conducted based on conditions favorable to conducting an emissions test procedure, and may thus increase test completion rates and reduce undesired evaporative emissions.

A method and system for anti-idling management for a vehicle including an anti-idling system (AIS) is disclosed. Based on inputs from different sources associated with the vehicle, the AIS determines when anti-idling management should be enabled in order to control the engine of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the AIS includes an AIS battery that can be used to power auxiliary vehicle components when the vehicle is stopped via anti-idling control management.

A misfire detecting system for an engine of a vehicle that detects a misfire of the engine is provided. The system includes a sensor configured to detect a wheel speed of the vehicle, a load adjustment device configured to adjust a load of the engine, and a processor. The processor determines whether a wheel slip has occurred by examining whether a change rate of the wheel speed is equal to or greater than a determination reference value, when determining whether the wheel slip has occurred, limits a determination of the misfire of the engine by adjusting the determination reference value higher or lower based on corresponding increases or decreases in a requested load, by applying the adjusted determination reference value, determines that wheel slip has occurred, and based on the wheel slip determination, determines that the misfire has occurred.

Disclosed herein are techniques for implementing vehicle ECU reprograming, so the ECU programming, which plays a large role in vehicle performance characteristics, is tailored to current operational requirements, which may be different than the operational characteristics selected by the manufacturer when initially programming the vehicle ECU (or ECUs) with specific instruction sets, such as fuel maps. In one embodiment, a controller monitors the current operational characteristics of the vehicle, determines the current ECU programming, and determines if a different programming set would better suited to the current operating conditions. In the event that the current programming set should be replaced, the controller implements the ECU reprogramming. In a related embodiment, users are enabled to specify the ECU programming to change, such as changing speed limiter settings.