Vehicle control apparatus

A vehicle control apparatus to be applied to a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a torque converter and an engine, the torque converter comprising a turbine runner and a turbine shaft, the engine comprising a crankshaft coupled to the torque converter, the vehicle control apparatus comprising:

• a turbine hub comprising
• a flange coupled to the turbine runner, and
• a hub coupled to the turbine shaft;
• a lock-up piston comprising
• a cylindrical part slidably supported by an outer circumferential surface of the hub, and
• a disc part extending from the cylindrical part outward in a radial direction of the cylindrical part;
• a damper mechanism coupled to both the turbine hub and the lock-up piston, and configured to permit relative rotation between the hub and the cylindrical part;
• and
• a control system comprising a processor and a memory that are communicably coupled to each other, the control system being configured to control the engine, wherein
• the control system is configured to
• calculate, in a state in which the lock-up piston is engaged with the crankshaft of the engine, a PV value that is a product of a sliding surface pressure and a sliding speed between the hub and the cylindrical part, and
• when the PV value is greater than a threshold, change an engine torque more gradually than when the PV value is equal to or less than the threshold, the engine torque being an output torque of the crankshaft.