No electric cabin heater in the Santa Fe PHEV

The Hyundai/Kia PHEV topology uses waste heat from the ICE motor to provide heat in the cabin. My 2017 Optima PHEV was much the same.

 

All Hyundai PHEV seem to work that way. It seems there are two philosophies (well, three) among PHEV vehicles. Electric that can be extended with the gas motor (most strongly seen in the BMW i3, and less so the Honda Clarity), primarily a hybrid that can run EV (Prius Prime, Hyundai products), and compliance only (many of the European luxury models).

If you view it as a car that can work as an electric car for most of your daily driving, but has an ICE engine for trips, it would be a major disappointment as it really can't do EV in the winter. However, if you see it as an extended hybrid, that can also run EV when it is warm, it is still a step up from a regular HEV and regular ICE. Generally, while many PHEV get much worse mileage when running hybrid than the HEV version of the same or similar car, Hyundais and Toyotas are generally quite close to the hybrid version of the same car. For the Ioniq PHEV that will be cheaper than the HEV after the IRS tax rebate, the PHEV is an obvious choice. For the Tucson or Santa Fe where you will pay a premium for the PHEV, it might be worth it if you live around here (Maryland) or further south where there are only a few months that you'll have heavy use of the heater, and it may be a no-brainer someplace like Florida or Southern California where you'll rarely use it. However, in a colder climate it probably isn't worth the premium over the regular hybrid.

 

I'm in agreement that this is available in the parts bin, however it is a heavy drain on smaller PHEV batteries. To preheat my Optima PHEV I kept a 120v boat heater running on cold mornings.

More permanent solutions are also available.

https://www.amazon.com/Zerostart-2600900-Interior-Electric-Portable/dp/B000NM73ZA

 

Thanks!!! Your explanation framed it perfectly. I wish I found this post before wasting 4.5 hrs at the dealership to receive a highlighted page printout of the 2022 PHEV Santa Fe owners manual. The highlighted portion says it is normal for ICE to turn on and off during driving. The dealership also said they didn't know much about the car (it's new) and I had greater working understanding since I've driven it for 7 months. I bought the vehicle in March. The no heater issue didn't become obvious until October. I also live in Maryland and my car is kept in the garage overnight. I anticipated I wouldn't get the consumption performance in the late fall/winter, but low 40's... EV should still be in play. I still like the car very much. However the EV/HEV management system has much to be desired. Throughout my 7 months of pressing the EV/HEV has no direct impact on changing it to EV mode.

 

Same Here (I've got Tucson PHEV). Have you considered Webasto or similar preheater?
I have figured out, that Climate control starts ICE when heating is turned on. Preaheater will heat Climate control cooling liquid, so it will warm up fast, but I am not sure, if it will prevent ICE from start. So there is the reason, why I'm in doubt...

 

**Update**I have an update on my winter use. It really doesn't matter about batter temperature - back up to 114 MPG. I'm able to stay all EV, if I'm willing to only use the heated seats for winter comfort. I've tested this at 16(f). Just leave the climate off. I wonder what that's doing to the battery long term. It seems this is more about amperage during certain conditions. The battery is just as cold at start up climate heat on or off.