In this study, we investigated an influence of engine automatic start sound of a hybrid electrical vehicle (HEV) on the uneasiness feeling. In the subjective evaluation test, a series of HEV interior sounds including decelerating, stop and accelerating conditions were presented to participants and the uneasiness of the sound only at the stop condition were evaluated. As the result, uneasiness was found to be increased by the unexpected engine start sound. Subsequently, we considered a method to relieve the uneasiness feeling by changing the engine starting duration for battery charge at the vehicle stop condition. Three patterns of engine starting durations at the automatic start conditions were prepared. In the original, middle and long patterns, the engine started from stop to 2500 rpm for 2 s, 3 s and 6 s, respectively. The subjective evaluation result indicated that the uneasiness was relieved when the duration was middle at 3 s. On the contrary, the ratio was largest at the duration of 6 s. This revealed that the uneasiness to the engine auto-matic start sound varies depending on the engine starting duration and there is a suitable duration for engine start to relieve the feeling.
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