Just like classic gas-powered cars, hybrid cars require engine oil since the non-electrical part of their engine system needs a constant lubrication. Because of hybrid cars’ engine specifications, and to guarantee the longevity of the engine parts, the products you use must be chosen with care. Learn how to maintain your hybrid car with TotalEnergies.
Do hybrid cars need engine oil?
Unlike cars functioning with a combustion engine only, hybrid cars are equipped with two engines: an electric engine and a combustion engine. Thus, to function properly, this type of vehicle needs both electricity and fuel. Hybrid cars’ engines generally work one after the other but, in some situations, they can also work together.
Hybrid cars usually rely on the electric engine when the vehicle starts and when it is running at a speed between 45 and 80 mph. If the route you are taking requires it or if the battery is not charged enough, the combustion engine will help the electric one. In case of a brutal acceleration, both engines work simultaneously. These different stages refer to three types of traction: the electric traction (electric engine only), the thermal traction (combustion engine only) and the hybrid traction (both electric and combustion engines).
In hybrid cars as in gas-powered cars, the combustion engine needs to be permanently lubricated. That is why both these types of cars require engine oil. As a reminder, engine oil is used to lubricate the different mechanical parts of combustion engines. This lubrication reduces friction between the various engine components and thus avoids increases in temperature, premature wear, and excessive deposit accumulation.
Engine oil is essential for the proper functioning of hybrid cars. But these types of vehicles also need other lubricants such as transmission oil to shift gears, and engine coolant to keep the engine at the right temperature.
