A vehicle includes an engine having a particulate matter removal filter to remove particulate matter, in an exhaust system, and a control device to control the engine such that the vehicle travels in a mode selected from a plurality of modes including a first mode in which both fuel efficiency and ride quality are achieved and a second mode in which the engine is operated at a load higher than a predetermined load. When an accumulation quantity of the particulate matter in the particulate matter removal filter is equal to or more than a threshold, the control device notifies a driver that traveling in the second mode is recommended. When the driver selects the second mode in response to the notification, it is possible to restrain an uncomfortable feeling to be given to the driver, even if the engine is operated at a high load for regenerating the filter.

A hybrid vehicle is provided. A vehicle V has a gasoline particulate filter (GPF) provided on an exhaust passage to capture particulate matter (PM) included in exhaust, a generator motor connected to a crank shaft of an engine, an exhaust temperature sensor acquiring a filter temperature correlated with a temperature of the GPF, and an electronic control unit (ECU) performing motor drive control for rotating the crank shaft with the generator motor when a filter temperature is higher than or equal to a PM combustion start temperature and a PM combustion integration amount that is an integration amount of PM combusted in the GPF is less than a PM discharge integration amount.

Disclosed are a hybrid electric vehicle, which is capable of controlling engine starting in consideration of entry into a specific area, and method of controlling the same. A method of controlling engine starting of a hybrid vehicle includes determining whether catalyst heating is necessary, determining whether a current location corresponds to a specific area associated with exhaust emissions, determining whether a first mode driving is possible, when it is determined that the current position corresponds to the specific area and the catalyst heating is necessary, and performing the first mode driving when the first mode driving is determined to be possible, or a second mode driving when the first mode driving is determined to be impossible. Here, the first mode driving is performed by using an electric motor, and the second mode driving is performed by using at least an engine.

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.

A method of controlling a mode change in a hybrid vehicle for performing a driving-mode change related to a change in the amount of charge of a battery in consideration of catalyst warmup of an engine includes activating adaptive mode change control between a first mode and a second mode, determining whether or not catalyst heating or engine warmup is performed in advance, setting a mode change reference depending on a result of the determining, and performing the adaptive mode change control depending on the set mode change reference.

Power system optimization is disclosed. An example power system described herein may include an engine control module that receives measurements associated with sensors, identifies settings associated with control devices, determines that a first set of parameters associated with the one or more control devices is to be optimized according to a first optimization process, iteratively performs the first optimization process until the first set of parameters are optimized, determines that a second set of parameters associated with the one or more control devices are to be optimized according to a second optimization process, iteratively performs the second optimization process until the second set of parameters are optimized, and, after the second set of parameters are optimized according to the second optimization process, configures one of the control devices to operate using an optimized value for the control device determined using the second optimization process.

Systems and methods for operating a spark ignition engine that includes a particulate filter in the engine's exhaust system are described. In one example, the spark ignition engine is prevented from exceeding a threshold engine load when the engine is supplying power to an electric machine so that engine emissions may be reduced.

It is provided a control device for a hybrid vehicle including a controller configured to control an engine, a first motor, and an automatic transmission and a control method of the hybrid vehicle. The controller is configured to determine whether or not an operation state of the engine is changeable, when an upshift of the hybrid vehicle is performed, decrease torque of an input shaft of the automatic transmission by outputting negative torque acting to decrease the torque of the input shaft of the automatic transmission from the first motor when a prohibition condition that the operation state of the engine is not changeable is established, and decrease engine torque output from the engine to decrease the torque of the input shaft of the automatic transmission to be decreased accompanied by the upshift when the prohibition condition is not established and the operation state of the engine is changeable.

A regeneration compliance system is provided and includes navigation, regeneration, zone and timing modules. The navigation module determines a location of a vehicle. The regeneration module determines a state of a PF of an exhaust system of an engine of the vehicle and whether to regenerate the PF based on the state of the PF. The zone module, based on the location of the vehicle, determines whether the vehicle is in a regeneration permitted zone and where regeneration permitted and prohibited zones are located relative to the vehicle. The timing module estimates time to a next regeneration permitted zone or an amount of time remaining in a current regeneration permitted zone. The regeneration module controls when the PF is regenerated based on (i) the state of the PF, and (ii) the time to the next regeneration permitted zone or the amount of time remaining in the current regeneration permitted zone.

A controller includes an engine controlling section and a motor-generator controlling section. The controller is configured to use the engine controlling section and the motor-generator controlling section to execute an intermittent stop control, a temperature increase control, an intermittent stop prohibition control, and a motoring control. The intermittent stop control automatically stops and restarts operation of an internal combustion engine. The temperature increase control increases the temperature of a filter in the exhaust passage to a temperature at which PM can be burned. The intermittent stop prohibition control prohibits stop of the operation of the internal combustion engine by the intermittent stop control until the temperature increase control is completed. The motoring control drives the output shaft of the internal combustion engine by the motor-generator, thereby forcibly rotating the internal combustion engine.