EV Mode Kicks In/Out

[brcd131]

I thought I read that the full EV mode kicks in at 62 MPH and below, and above 62 MPH the ICE runs full time and is assisted as necessary by the traction motor. Is this what others are seeing as true?

[jeff_h]

I thought I read that the full EV mode kicks in at 62 MPH and below, and above 62 MPH the ICE runs full time and is assisted as necessary by the traction motor. Is this what others are seeing as true?

 

YUP. Runs when needed to power the car, charge the battery, warm the cabin, or make julienne fries... EV seems to stay in place from a start better than my 2010 did, meaning that it takes slightly more pressure on the accelerator to have the computer sense it and tell the ICE to come on and assist. However running only on EV is not a constant thing, as running purely on EV will sap the HV battery as it goes (naturally, it's normal), and then as the HV battery meter on the dash gets down to about 1/4 or so, the ICE will come on to charge the HV battery, even if it's not needed to help move the car.

[terryb]

Really, it pretty hard to get the car to do exactly what you want when you want it to as it has a lot of computer calcs telling it what to do too. Levels and rates of lots of variables have been considered. Just let it do its thing, it is very well trained.

[coach81]

Agree.... Jeff, and Terry...

 

Lovin' it!!!!!

[brcd131]

My impression was that the car would not go into full EV mode above 62 MPH. But mine has been doing that this week. Just wondered if others have seen this. I have not done a lot of testing, but I have seen it go into full EV mode as high as 65 MPH so far.

[jeff_h]

My impression was that the car would not go into full EV mode above 62 MPH. But mine has been doing that this week. Just wondered if others have seen this. I have not done a lot of testing, but I have seen it go into full EV mode as high as 65 MPH so far.

 

Mine appears to do that too, from the looks of the speedometer I'll be going 63-65 (best as I can tell) and the indicator on the left side has the blue 'EV' showing...

[acdii]

Yep, it will stay in EV up to 65 depending on load. It wont kick in at that speed, but if below 63 it engages, the ICE can stay off up to 65 as long as the load is very low like in going down hill. I like that I can pull out on a cold day and get up to about 30 before the ICE kicks on as long as I have enough SOC.

[fusionTX]

Has anyone verified the accuracy of the speedometer? I know my Camry is running about 2 MPH slower than it shows.

[acdii]

verified within 1 MPH against GPS.

[neod192]

I don't even go by my car's speedometer anymore. My radar detector has a built-in GPS and I have it set to show the speed all the time. It's more accurate than my car ...

 

PS. I don't have my Fusion yet :(

[expresspotato]

How long are you all able to stay in EV mode for on flat level ground with a full charge?

[coach81]

My battery has yet to get to a "full charge", but I have gone at least a mile or two (I think) in just EV mode when driving across town.

[gemdc]

I haven't found that running back and forth into EV is very beneficial to mpg at say 60 mph. Sure you get that great infinite mpg while in EV but the batteries deplete and really suck up a lot of ICE power when it kicks in to charge them back up. Watching the "instant mpg" meter, I see my mpg drop to about 20 mpg for about 30 seconds until the battery gets back to about half full. At half full, the charging load on the batteries drops and the mpg picks back up. I had a 2010 Fusion Hybrid and it looks to me like this 2.0 liter ICE sucks up more gas than the 2.5 liter did on the 2010. Looks now like this 2013 is going to take much more careful driving to get decent mpg. I haven't had a 40 mpg tank as yet. Only +38 with a tail wind. Hopefully, Ford will come up with a new computer map to fix some of these mpg problems.

[acdii]

I haven't found that running back and forth into EV is very beneficial to mpg at say 60 mph. Sure you get that great infinite mpg while in EV but the batteries deplete and really suck up a lot of ICE power when it kicks in to charge them back up. Watching the "instant mpg" meter, I see my mpg drop to about 20 mpg for about 30 seconds until the battery gets back to about half full. At half full, the charging load on the batteries drops and the mpg picks back up. I had a 2010 Fusion Hybrid and it looks to me like this 2.0 liter ICE sucks up more gas than the 2.5 liter did on the 2010. Looks now like this 2013 is going to take much more careful driving to get decent mpg. I haven't had a 40 mpg tank as yet. Only +38 with a tail wind. Hopefully, Ford will come up with a new computer map to fix some of these mpg problems.

 

 

 

Hey stop copying my posts! :)

 

I am at the point where, screw this hybrid driving and just flog the car, hopefully the plugs will foul sooner so I can take it back for service #3, then they can replace the plugs again, and give it back, then I can flog it some more and bring it in for #4, and finally file lemon law on it.

 

Pretty sad when I can get better MPG out of my 2010 FFH not doing "special" driving, and have to be super diligent with "special" driving just to get what the 2010 can get.

[gemdc]

Yeah, acdii, I been readin' your stuff and thinking the same things. Either those new batteries are mighty hard to charge or that 2.0 liter isn't very efficient. I did notice that coasting when the battery is less than half full does put on a drag. The arrow over the battery gauge is on while coasting and the ICE is off. Therefore, it must be charging while coasting. Also easy to feel when you shift to N. I don't remember the 2010 charging the batteries when off the throttle. BTW, I do have the 18" wheels and wide tires. We do have a new transmission that introduces some more variables. The new Ford HF35 replaces an Aisin unit in the pre-2013 hybrids. A cutaway picture I found on the Web looks like it is quite a bit larger unit. Looks that way from under the engine too. (I have had the fiberglass panel off under the ICE looking for a noise I have when ICE is cold).

[hybridbear]

How long are you all able to stay in EV mode for on flat level ground with a full charge?

 

If starting with an almost full battery I've been able to go about 1.2 miles before the ICE kicks in, but it all depends on acceleration, number of stops to regen and speed. Driving on the highway when gradually descending in elevation is where I've seen the best efficiency. Hills that aren't steep enough to require Grade Assist and engine braking. On some routes I've gone 5 or 10 miles with limited use of the ICE because the car mostly just coasts down the hills. Those are the best trips!! One time I drove for about 60 miles and at the end my trip summary showed I had gotten over 600 MPG in that drive! Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of that screen...

Edited January 29, 2013 by hybridbear

[acdii]

Man, I'll tell you what, my car does better in the cold temps than warm! I got a whopping 35 MPG yesterday in 60* weather. If I didnt like this car so much I would have dumped it long ago.