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Problem on very steep hill HCH06

Created July 26, 2007, at 1:16 am by vallelunga

Just moved into a new house with VERY steep driveway (16% grade for 1 mile). Second time up the driveway, my HCH06 ground to a hault; there was a burning smell from under the hood; no green or white bars whatsoever to indicate either battery had a charge or assist was occurring. I was flooring it and was going 0 mph.

Let it cool off, and it recovered, and I drove the rest of the way.

Am now concerned it does not have enough power to take this driveway every day. Also concerned about what might be wrong.

Any suggestions?

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MSantos
Senior Member

4 years ago

Some folks report greater success when climbing steep inclines by setting the transmission to S or even L. This is supposed to give the gas engine a greater workout but at the same it may help you as well. Loss of momentum does not help either.

The steep and long inclines will definitely drain the battery and leave the small 1.3 liter to fend for itself unaided. To avoid these cases, it pays to ensure that we have a good State of Charge and that the passenger cabin is cool as well. In a warm day the IPU will suffer because under those conditions it will be too hot to operate safely, so my recommendation is either keep the windows open or operate the AC on auto. Remember, the IPU (battery, BCM, MCM, DC-DC) derives its cooling from the cabin so a comfortable driver means a longer lasting and happy IPU.

Lastly, I would pay the dealership a visit just to be sure as well.

Cheers;

MSantos

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