12.5% MPG JUMP?! PCM or Tires?

[Nmadole]

Last week I had snow tires put on my car and had FIELD SERVICE ACTION NUMBER: 14E02 completed on my car.

 

I have a specific trip to my hometown that I take very frequently (2.5 hours on cruise).

 

I took the trip last night and ended up with 45 MPG

 

When I usually take the same trip with my stock 18" wheels (prior to the update) I would get right around 40 MPG.

 

I was expecting my snow tires to KILL my MPG ... but now I am stumped

 

?!

 

My car has 29,000 miles on it and has been extremely consistent at sucking in the MPG category.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Nmadole

[lolder]

A different tire diameter would account for it or a 15 mph tailwind.

[Nmadole]

A different tire diameter would account for it or a 15 mph tailwind.

 

Same exact diameter wheel and I have literally driven this same route 50 time with extremely consistent MPG results.

[Easy Rider]

Wait for another fill or two.

The pump you used may have shut off earlier than most, thereby making it appear that you used less gas.

 

But then.......if those numbers came from the on-board calculations, that means that it WAS better but maybe not as much as reported.

 

Let's hope it keeps up but I have trouble keeping mine above 40 too.

 

What exactly is 14E02 ??

Edited November 3, 2014 by Easy Rider

[vangonebuy]

A good tail wind.

cruise control on.

climate turned off.

higher tire pressure.

a less topped off gas fill.

Car gets better mileage with age.

So many variables.

 

Or a combination of any.

It's better to MPG rate the tank rather than rate each trip.

My trip computer is much higher than my Fuelly tracking.

12.5% is too big to trust.

 

But enjoy the moment and do it again tomorrow.. :)

[acdii]

Last week I had snow tires put on my car and had FIELD SERVICE ACTION NUMBER: 14E02 completed on my car.

 

I have a specific trip to my hometown that I take very frequently (2.5 hours on cruise).

 

I took the trip last night and ended up with 45 MPG

 

When I usually take the same trip with my stock 18" wheels (prior to the update) I would get right around 40 MPG.

 

I was expecting my snow tires to KILL my MPG ... but now I am stumped

 

?!

 

My car has 29,000 miles on it and has been extremely consistent at sucking in the MPG category.

I recall another member who has run snow tires on his and got very good MPG. I am curious as all hell now regarding the tires on your car. Yours was built the same week as the BD, and I remember that car had good snow traction, but SUCKED gas like yours did. My first inclination was the tires causing the problem, but could not prove it without swapping them out.

 

Even though the brand and model of tires are the same was what I just got rid of, I wonder if these few cars that have issues have a different tread pattern on the tires, or received a batch of tires that had tread flaws that impact rolling resistance.

 

How is the coast down now, any different? Does it seem like it slows down less when you lift your foot?

[acdii]

A good tail wind.

cruise control on.

climate turned off.

higher tire pressure.

a less topped off gas fill.

Car gets better mileage with age.

So many variables.

 

Or a combination of any.

It's better to MPG rate the tank rather than rate each trip.

My trip computer is much higher than my Fuelly tracking.

12.5% is too big to trust.

 

But enjoy the moment and do it again tomorrow.. :)

He has a car that was built the same week as the BD I had, with the same issues of really crappy FE. I think I would be as surprised as he is had that car done that. It was horrible at highway speeds.

[Nmadole]

A good tail wind.

cruise control on.

climate turned off.

higher tire pressure.

a less topped off gas fill.

Car gets better mileage with age.

So many variables.

 

Or a combination of any.

It's better to MPG rate the tank rather than rate each trip.

My trip computer is much higher than my Fuelly tracking.

12.5% is too big to trust.

 

But enjoy the moment and do it again tomorrow.. :)

 

The drive is NE to SW along lake Michigan so there is no tail wind

I always use cruise for this trip (set at 60MPH)

It was 28-38 degrees outside and the heat was set to auto (72)

I am religious about my tire pressure checks ... the old tires were always at the correct PSI

I always fill up before I leave (almost always at the same gas station).

I took the trip two weeks ago in 65 degree weather and got the normal 40 MPG

 

.... I guess we will see what happens next time... but something has changed. I know this car too well ...

[Nmadole]

 

How is the coast down now, any different? Does it seem like it slows down less when you lift your foot?

 

I haven't notice any real difference ... No one thinks it could be the PCM update?

[lolder]

GREMLINS !

[Waldo]

It may not be the PCM update itself, but it could be that the act of resetting the PCM did clear up some kind of bug.

[vangonebuy]

 

I haven't notice any real difference ... No one thinks it could be the PCM update?

Looks like an emission code problem.

http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/2547-14e02-powertrain-control-module-reprogramming/

 

If it continues to improve. Cant rule it out.

[Easy Rider]

 

The drive is NE to SW along lake Michigan so there is no tail wind

 

 

How do you figure that those two things go together ?

 

I bet that some times during the year the wind DOES blow from NE to SW along that road.

[Nmadole]

How do you figure that those two things go together ?

 

I bet that some times during the year the wind DOES blow from NE to SW along that road.

Lake Michigan creates it's own weather / prevailing wind

[lolder]

Headwinds/tailwinds are worth 3 mpg per 10 mph wind. If you had a 7 mph headwind usually, and a 7 mph tailwind on this trip, that would account for the difference. A 7 mph breeze is very gentle when you're standing in it and you would probably not take note of it. Moderate traffic also tends to create a 5 -10 mph tailwind.

[Texasota]

Lake Michigan creates it's own weather / prevailing wind

Maybe, but I just looked at the 10 day for Traverse City and the wind directions are from all different directions on the compass.

[Nmadole]

How about the law of averages .... I've taken this same trip 50+ times and never once have I seen a MPG number above 40 until Saturday.

[md13ffhguy]

How about the law of averages .... I've taken this same trip 50+ times and never once have I seen a MPG number above 40 until Saturday.

Collect more data. As of now, it's just one data point and could just be an anomaly. If it occurs again, then it might mean something.

[Easy Rider]

Lake Michigan creates it's own weather / prevailing wind

Living in Florida, I'm quite familiar with coastline "prevailing" winds.

 

The thing IS that they generally are blowing the opposite direction in the morning than they are in the evening AND passing weather fronts will alter the wind direction similar to what it does on flat land.

 

Prevailing does not mean constant and fixed.

[corncobs]

It may not be the PCM update itself, but it could be that the act of resetting the PCM did clear up some kind of bug.

This an answer I like a lot as it has been showing good improvements for others as well.

Maybe a screw up data table early on has now been reset and the car now has the default but correct tables to go off.

[acdii]

Mine was done yesterday, and the PCM did get reset as I lost all EV+. My trip in this morning in 43* temps was 48+. Doesn't mean much though, had a tail wind or cross wind most of the trip. My trip home will determine if it made any difference. I still have not put grill blocks in either.

[rvlasek]

Had PCM Software upgrade 14E02 done in late January 2015, noticed an increase in the efficiency of way the EV mode was being utilized which gave an increase in MPG. However this last weekend in taking a trip to Austin and back from Dallas(480 miles), it is now very apparent the software upgrade has given an increase of at least 8%, the round trip MPG was about 47.1 Previously, on a road trip averaging 73 MPH, I was lucky to get about 43.5 MPG. Very pleased, Just a note when the 14E02 upgrade was done, Ford Service also changed out my 12V battery, which apparently reset my EV+ points and maybe other parameters which could have contributed to the increased efficiency how the EV mode is being utilized....Battery was changed out because of the "battery saver mode" issue which I was having...

[Easy Rider]

Are those MPG numbers from the onboard display.......or from a manual fill and calculate ?

[corncobs]

Had PCM Software upgrade 14E02 done in late January 2015, noticed an increase in the efficiency of way the EV mode was being utilized which gave an increase in MPG. However this last weekend in taking a trip to Austin and back from Dallas(480 miles), it is now very apparent the software upgrade has given an increase of at least 8%, the round trip MPG was about 47.1 Previously, on a road trip averaging 73 MPH, I was lucky to get about 43.5 MPG. Very pleased, Just a note when the 14E02 upgrade was done, Ford Service also changed out my 12V battery, which apparently reset my EV+ points and maybe other parameters which could have contributed to the increased efficiency how the EV mode is being utilized....Battery was changed out because of the "battery saver mode" issue which I was having...

I had the same update done about a month ago and so far I'm not too happy with it. The behavior has definitely changed to in my opinion to the "bad".

 

For example there are certain section on my commute where I know it went into EV automatically with the ECC engaged. Now it just sits there continuing to charge the battery. This happens across all speeds 38 / 48 / 58 and I usually force it into EV by quickly reducing the set speed and increasing it as soon EV is active.

 

EV+ was lost but showed up for home again today. It also shows up while driving by my dealer so it definitely got a few key cycles there.

 

Hopefully I can restore the previous behavior over time.

[rvlasek]

On board display is where I got numbers....