The present disclosure relates to a hybrid electric vehicle configured to respond to a required torque while reducing exhaust gas emission in a situation where catalyst heating of an engine is not completed, and a driving control method for the hybrid electric vehicle. The driving control method of the hybrid electric vehicle comprises entering catalyst heating control of an engine when there is a request for catalyst heating and a required torque exceeds a first threshold during traveling in a first mode using an electric motor as a driving source, and entering acceleration feeling increase control when the required torque exceeds a second threshold greater than the first threshold, in which the second threshold is set between the first threshold and a third threshold that is a reference for an entry into a second mode using the engine as the driving source.

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 hybrid vehicle controller includes processing circuitry configured to execute a particulate matter (PM) deposition amount estimation process that estimates a deposition amount of PM deposited in the filter. The processing circuitry is configured to switch between a first mode and a second mode as a control mode that defines control of the engine and the motor. A use of the engine is limited in the first mode as compared with the second mode. The processing circuitry is configured to execute a display process that notifies a user that the filter needs to be regenerated when the control mode is the second mode if the estimated deposition amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, and not to execute the display process when the control mode is the first mode even if the deposition amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount.

A control device for a hybrid vehicle, includes a travel route creation unit creating a travel route from a starting point to a destination through a stopping point by referring to map information; a parking time period estimation unit estimating a parking time period of the hybrid vehicle at the stopping point; a travel load prediction unit predicting a traveling load of the hybrid vehicle in each of sections obtained by dividing the travel route by referring to the map information; and a travel mode setting unit setting, for each of the sections, a traveling mode of an EV mode, in which the battery provides power for traveling as a main power supply, or an HV mode, in which the internal combustion engine provides the power for traveling as the main power supply, on the basis of the parking time period and the traveling load.

In a hybrid vehicle, in a case where a temperature of a catalyst is equal to or larger than a prescribed temperature that is a temperature at which purification of an exhaust gas in the catalyst begins, and charging of a storage battery is not restricted, at least one of an engine load, an engine speed, and a retard angle amount of an ignition timing is made to gradually increase, and in a case where the temperature of the catalyst is equal to or larger than the prescribed temperature and the charging of the storage battery is restricted, the engine load is fixed and at least one of the engine speed and the retard angle amount of the ignition timing is made to gradually increase.

A hybrid vehicle includes an engine, a rotary electric machine, a filter and an ECU. The engine includes an exhaust passage. The rotary electric machine is a driving source of the vehicle. The filter traps particulate matter flowing through the exhaust passage. The ECU is configured to control the hybrid vehicle in any one of a plurality of control modes. The plurality of control modes include a first control mode and a second control mode. The number of opportunities for the engine to operate when the control mode is the second control mode is larger than the number of opportunities for the engine to operate when the control mode is the first control mode. The ECU is configured to, when the filter is regenerated, control the hybrid vehicle in the second control mode.

When a catalyst temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature on a second or subsequent start of an engine since system activation of a vehicle, a catalyst warm-up request is output for the purpose of warming up a catalyst in a catalytic converter. An output limit Wout of a battery is not increased in response to a second or subsequent output of the catalyst warm-up request, while being increased in response to a first output of the catalyst warm-up request. Accordingly, the catalyst warm-up in response to the second or subsequent output of the catalyst warm-up request since the system activation suppresses excessive output of electric power from the battery and thereby suppresses deterioration of the battery. Catalyst warm-up is performed in response to the second or subsequent output of the catalyst warm-up request. This suppresses deterioration of emission. As a result, this configuration satisfies both (balances) suppression of deterioration of the battery and suppression of deterioration of emission.

An engine controller includes: a warm-up control unit that performs warm-up operation for letting the engine continuously operate until an integration value of air intake of the engine comes to a predetermined integration value in order to warm up a catalyst provided in an exhaust system when the engine is first started after start-up of the vehicle; and a continuation control unit that lets the engine continuously operate for a predetermined period subsequent to an end of the warm-up operation. The continuation control unit takes an output value of the engine as a request output value when the request output value of the engine is a predetermined idling output value or more that is smaller than the predetermined warm-up output value and takes the output value as the warm-up output value when the request output value is less than the predetermined idling output value.

A system and method of reducing particulate matter accumulation in a diesel particulate filter of an exhaust system of a vehicle comprises operating the vehicle including an engine connected to the exhaust system in a drive mode. At least one parameter indicative of particulate matter accumulation in the diesel particulate filter is monitored and evaluated against a predetermined particulate matter accumulation limit. Control logic determines at least one operating parameter of the vehicle and adjusts the transmission assembly from a first transmission position to at least one second transmission position to increase engine speed and generate higher exhaust gas flow when the particulate matter accumulation is greater than the predetermined particulate matter accumulation to regenerate the diesel particulate filter.

A control device for a hybrid vehicle is provided. When a first drive mode is selected as the drive mode of the hybrid vehicle, a control section shifts the drive mode to a second drive mode when a charge amount of a battery for an electric motor becomes smaller than or equal to a determination charge amount. The first drive mode operates the electric motor while an internal combustion engine is stopped. The second drive mode permits the operation of the internal combustion engine. The control section executes a shifting process when the upper limit system output is lower than or equal to a startup determination output even though the charge amount of the battery is greater than the determination charge amount. The shifting process shifts the drive mode to the second drive mode to start the internal combustion engine.