Systems and methods for diagnosing operation of an internal exhaust gas recirculation system of an internal combustion engine are presented. The system and method may be applied to conventional or hybrid powertrains having a capability to rotate an engine via an electric machine. The internal exhaust gas recirculation system may be diagnosed based on output of a differential pressure sensor.

Methods and systems are provided for determining whether an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve is degraded and being held open in a vehicle system. In one example, a method may include, in response to an engine pull-down request, closing a throttle coupled to an intake manifold of the engine, closing the EGR valve, propelling the vehicle via an electric motor, and checking operation of the EGR valve based on both intake manifold pressure and exhaust pressure. For example, if the intake manifold pressure does not decrease by a threshold amount relative to the exhaust pressure, EGR valve degradation may be indicated.

A vehicle includes an engine and an electric power output device that is configured to output electric power generated by using the engine to the outside of the vehicle. The engine includes an EGR device for recirculating exhaust gas of the engine to an intake side. The vehicle further includes a controller for controlling a recirculation amount of the exhaust gas by the EGR device in accordance with a load of the engine. The controller restricts the recirculation amount of the exhaust gas under the same load in the case where the electric power output device outputs the electric power to the outside of the vehicle in comparison with a case where the electric power output device does not output the electric power to the outside of the vehicle.

A hybrid vehicle including one or more in-wheel motors, a power electronics supplying power to the one or more in-wheel motors, and a Rankine cycle system is described. The Rankine cycle system includes a pump driving a working fluid through the Rankine cycle system, a heat exchanger receiving the working fluid from to the pump and connected to the power electronics to cool the power electronics, an evaporator heating the working fluid received from the heat exchanger utilizing heat from an exhaust gas from an engine, an expander receiving the working fluid from the evaporator, and a radiator cooling the working fluid received from the expander.

A hybrid vehicle including one or more in-wheel motors, a power electronics supplying power to the one or more in-wheel motors, and a Rankine cycle system is described. The Rankine cycle system includes a pump driving a working fluid, a first three-way valve having an input, a first output, and a second output. The Rankine cycle system also includes, a second three-way valve having a first input, a second input, and an output, an evaporator receiving the working fluid from the output of the second three-way valve and heating the working fluid utilizing heat from an exhaust gas from an engine, an expander receiving the working fluid from the evaporator, and a radiator cooling the working fluid received from the expander.

A hybrid vehicle includes an internal combustion engine, an electrical storage device, a rotary electric machine, and a controller. The hybrid vehicle travels in a selected one of a charge sustaining mode and a charge depleting mode. Switching from the charge depleting mode to the charge sustaining mode is controlled such that a first state of charge is higher than a second state of charge. In the first state of charge, the controller switches from the charge depleting mode to the charge sustaining mode at the time when operation characteristic of the intake valve is unchangeable to a desired operation characteristic. In the second state of charge there is switching from the charge depleting mode to the charge sustaining mode at the time when the operation characteristic of the intake valve is changeable to a desired operation characteristic.

The invention relates to an adaptive powertrain control for realizing an enhanced or optimized performance of one or more vehicle features. By monitoring vehicle performance, dynamic adjustments can be made to various vehicle operation parameters to enhance a feature of vehicle performance, such as fuel economy. A method (40) of controlling a vehicle powertrain includes monitoring vehicle performance (42) and determining whether at least one of a plurality of vehicle performance features may be enhanced (44). A plurality of operation parameters that are associated with the powertrain are identified that have a relationship to the at least one performance feature (46). An adjustment is automatically made to at least one of the identified operation parameters to thereby enhance at least one aspect of the at least one performance feature (48). The performance feature may comprise fuel economy or urea consumption.

The invention relates to a method of controlling a vehicle powertrain including determining that a performance feature associated with the powertrain is outside of a desired performance range. A plurality of operation parameters that are associated with the powertrain are identified that have a relationship to the performance feature. An adjustment is automatically made to at least one of the identified operation parameters to thereby bring the performance feature closer to the desired performance range. Preferably, the relationship comprises a mathematical model that corresponds to how the operation parameters influence whether the performance feature is within the desired performance range, the method further comprising identifying an actuator failure associated with the powertrain; determining at least one of the operation parameters corresponding to the actuator failure; determining a value of the corresponding operation parameter that is indicative of the actuator failure; and using the determined value as a fixed value for the corresponding operation parameter in the mathematical model.

A method for reducing an exhaust gas of a mild hybrid system may include determining by an electronic control unit (ECU) whether an engine enters a full load region or a partial load region, based on a position of an accelerator pedal, controlling, by the ECU, the operation of an electric supercharger, based on information on an engine rotational frequency, when a vehicle is driven while being accelerated in a state in which the engine enters the full load region, and controlling, by the ECU, the operation of the electric supercharger by determining whether the vehicle is accelerated, based on an incremental slope of the position of the accelerator pedal, when the engine enters the partial load region.

A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle controls a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid vehicle including: a power source including an internal combustion engine and an electric; a recirculating device configured to recirculate an exhaust gas from an exhaust side to an intake side of the internal combustion engine; and a recirculation amount adjusting device configured to adjust an amount of the recirculation by the recirculating device. The control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle is provided with: a determining device configured to determine whether or not the internal combustion engine is stopped and electric running by the electric motor can be performed if the hybrid vehicle runs while operating the internal combustion engine; and a recirculation controlling device configured to control the recirculation amount adjusting device such that the amount of the recirculation by the recirculating device is larger than an amount when it is determined that the electric running cannot be performed, if it is determined that the electric running can be performed. This makes it possible to preferably prevent a misfire of the internal combustion engine.