There is a LED on the mirror that lights up when someone is in your blind spot.

You can turn off the monitor, make sure it is on. It is controlled by the left hand screen on your dash.

Yeah, a little early. You need at least 1000 miles to break in the engine, so says the owner's manual.

Check the coach in the MPG screen, what's it complaining about?

Also make sure you turn on Eco mode for cruise control, it helps a lot.

Okay, so I keep resetting the main lifetime, how do I reset the one in Engage?

The extra octane means you can compress it even further before it decides to explode on its own without a spark. At a given compression assuming it does not autoignite, I believe the higher octane would yield less power (someone please correct me if this isn't right). We use 100+ octane tool fuel for our K12 FR saws in the fire department. That K12 has a 80cc engine, but puts out 6+ horsepower thanks to the extra high compression (I do not know the exact value, but we have to hit the decompression valve otherwise we'll yank our arms off pull-starting it).

 

In small bikes like my sportster, it doesn't have electronic knock detection (only manual = my ears), so I keep a high octane fuel 91+ in it for the high compression (12.0:1) after my engine conversion. The FFH has a CR of 12.0:1, I think, but also has knock detection and can retard/advance ignition on the fly. The lower power density in a higher octane may not make a difference at all, but fuel additives may as well as overall quality of the fuel. I have always felt that the + branded fuels are held to a higher standard going through the refinery, but that's just my insane logic.

 

I'll wait to see Bob's results since I really have no idea other than on paper what the octane helps.

 

You also say that you fill up once a month? The gasoline may be degrading over that month, especially since ethanol can evaporate off and leave you with even less of a tank to use. This is unlikely since gas should stay fine for a couple of months, but if the fuel is questionable to begin with, that's another story. (If all the ethanol in a 13.5g tank evaporates and somehow escapes the tank, that is 1.35 gallons gone right there with a 10% blend).

 

Are you seeing better numbers right after a fillup?

I'm going to need a couple of months to give feedback, it is taking a week and a half to two weeks to go through a tank of gas now.

Good points on the gas content. I notice it on my Yamaha FZ6. They say regular gas like my fusion but there is a difference in how it runs on regular + or super. I use Chevron as I have had a Chevron card for ever it seems and there gas usually is close to what it says it is. But then again maybe not quite. Although now with only filling up once or so a month I could probably do the cash deal and search for the best actual gas station with the best gas. I wonder what would happen if I put in some of my dirt bike racing gas in my FFH? Probably wheely away! LOL. I think she would not like it however.

My mechanic recommends Chevron, so I use Chevron. It is as simple as that.

LOL, I've been hosed before....

 

Moving 25' is too insignificant a number to be used in the average fuel use calculation?

If I move the car in and out of the garage 30 times a month (with ICE running) it will not affect my overall mpg number because the computer is using the miles driven and gallons used as part of the algorithm - yes?

Basically yes. It will keep track of the movement but it will be such a small portion of the whole, you won't really see it.

Oh and note, it is still part of the average function, but like I said scaled.

So you might get 3 mpg, but you multiply that by the number of miles (0.0001) add it to your normal number (10 miles @ 40 mpg) and you get 400.0003/10.0001 or approximately 40 MPG (rounding).

When I follow the instructions for re-setting the Lifetime Summary the little bar moves and says it's reset.

However the Lifetime Fuel use remains the exact same and nothing is reset.

How does one zero out the big 'Average MPG' numbers in the center of the left display?

I have the same problem, I don't know if that one can be reset. There's a second "Lifetime" status that can be reset, but it appears when you turn off the car,

So, every time I move my car and the ICE runs, the mpg for that move is integrated into my overall Average mpg's.

Hypothetically:

The 25' moves may show as very low mpg, like 3mpg, which goes against the 44mpg that I got traveling 50 miles earlier in the day.

Meaning, 44 divided by 3 equals a grand total for the day of 14.66mpg even though I moved 25' in the one case and drove 50 miles in the other - right?

I'm getting dizzy again....

Not quite, your 3 MPG will be scaled with respect to the distance you went. (The computer will keep track of the gallons used while sitting still and update appropriately when you actually move a fraction of a mile.) Think of it like weighted grades. If one test is weighted 1% but you get a 0, it means the best you can get is a 99% in the class. If on the other hand it is weighed 75% of your total grade, you're, well, hosed.

The short distances and long distances are weighted such that you continue to get an accurate number overall.

 

 

Each time you turn the ignition off, you will get a MPG number for that trip on the left display. It only stays there for a few seconds, however, before it reverts to the lifetime average. If you press the up botton on the steering wheel, it will appear again for a few seconds, but then it's gone forever. If your passenger opens their door before you turn off the ignition, the Door Agar display will cover the MPG number. The numbers are also small in size and many times I have a hard time reading the amount of MPG (I know, get bifocals). I had many short trips yesterday and the MPGs ranged from 14.2 to 75. I think you should do the proceedure to reset the overall lifetime MPG. You'll be less frustrated that way.

That's not exactly true for me. If I restart my car and then turn it off without ever putting it in gear, the last trip numbers come up again.

I think I got 3 something once, going between my driveway to my house and the driveway to my shop. Battery was drained, only had to go about 300 feet.

They don't make "bad" ones anymore. They make lots of bad drivers though :) I thought I wasn't a "bad" driver, but 2k miles/2 months later I'm starting to see some good numbers.

I think that's the key, your break in period may be longer or shorter than advertised.

The tool does everything the master reset does without losing all your settings :) Either method would have fixed the problem.

Right, so it doesn't wipe the flash and go back to factory settings. Master reset is a strict super set of the "reboot" application, or so it appears.

I word it that way because it is Microsoft after all and third party code. You never know unless you wrote the code yourself. (For both the master reset and the reboot.)

Only when the light itself is yellow, Haha.

Talk about the bane of my existence now. Lack of warning the light is going to change for good breaking. I swear the yellow times have gotten shorter since I got my FFH.

Drive it more, you might be trying too hard though. Try not to keep it in EV too much, and see if that changes anything. I have only driven the car 3 times so far and have not really played the Hybrid game with it, just letting it do its thing and getting 40-43 in it. I'm approaching this car with a different attitude than the last one, and just driving it, and ignoring the tricks I used in the 10 and the Flex, and seems to be working.

 

Just use a light throttle when at speed, give it a healthy push from a light up to speed between the second and third mark on the Empower screen, and back off when approaching the speed you want to be at, then just lightly caress the throttle to help it stay there, and let the car do the rest.

So wait, you're not supposed to go into yellow when accelerating from a light? ;) Kidding only kidding.

So a master reset didn't work? Or the reset tool was just easier?

acdii, try resetting MFT using the little program I posted here.

Are you saying you're able to enter text passwords and connect to a wi-fi network with the car? I can only enter numbers, not text.

Yes, yes you can enter text.

Go to navigation (enter a POI name) or any other screen that shows the entire keyboard enabled. Then go back to the WiFi password screen.

Basically the filter that disables portions of the keyboard doesn't get reset.

That stinks, here it is "up to 10% ethanol". Knowing it's an octane booster, and having to use high octane for the bike, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a high ethanol content when I fill up the bike. I do not know how much ethanol is actually in our 87/89 octane.

 

Here's a supposed list of ethanol free places in Oregon.

 

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=OR

 

Most are probably marinas for boats or the octane is >91.

Thanks for the list.

Last time I saw someone advertise ethanol free gas, they wanted $5/gallon.

Master reset?

I did have problems entering a WiFi password for a while until I figured out the "filter" on the keyboard is not reset for WiFi passwords.

Do you fill up at the same station or the same area consistently?

 

Stations farther away from sources allow the ethanol in the fuel to absorb more moisture in transit and unloading. If the station doesn't keep their tanks tidy, more can be absorbed there.

 

If you suspect bad gas, you should be able to submit a complaint to the Dept. of Agriculture/Weights and Measures and they can take samples from the station to confirm. I've considered complaining about all the stations in my area, getting sample data, and then exclusively go to the one with the least ethanol content (my Harley hates it).

 

I always like to see the Weights and Measures sticker on the pump and the calibration date, I don't trust flowmeters very much past 6 months. Unfortunately ya'll gotta let someone pump your gas for you.

See here's the thing, the State of Oregon mandates 10% ethanol.

That said yes, I go to the same station, every time.

Well they say Oregon has crappy gas and of course the weather can be complained about both of which could have an effect on gas mileage. I wonder if we here in Oregon used Plus or Super to get around the supposidly bad gas? I still am only getting 35-36 mpg even with the weather warming up. I have 3500 miles now and no sight of 40+ mpg. A few trips mostly flat or down hill I can do 40 but that's not real world driving. I was just in DC and Nebraska and it being so flat I can see where it would be easier to get better mileage. I flew there not drove. LOL.

So I have my own tracker for this (my own website, mysql db, etc). I'll try the experiment of plus or premium once I have a good baseline and post the results.

Given the cost is usually $0.10 more and in my Mazda I saw over 10% gains, it was completely worth it.

I've noticed the same once, but then couldn't see it again. Definitely odd looking.

I know this probably isn't it, but did you check that your Sync software was up to date?

Not sure if you have MFT with Nav or what.

Well part of the issues I can't talk about until the security module is replaced. That said my car must have sat in the desert for a month or two. Look at the back of the engine:

I spent hours washing, waxing and cleaning this car. If it wasn't a case of needing a car right now, I would have just told them to order one.

_{I was following the procedures in the owners manual. "Hold + or - button down until desired speed is reached, then release".}

I'm pretty sure they are talking about the display:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirsnet/OwnerGuide_EU/MainContent_Test_Layout.aspx?year=&model=Fusion%20Hybrid&bookcode=O21825&market=US&language=EN&chapterUid=G1518974&subUid=G1526211&topicHref=G1526212

It should say "Release the control when you reach the desired speed on the display."

Granted it doesn't say that, but that was the meaning, based on my own experiences.

That still leaves 700nm-950nm unaccounted for. But I do not know how much heat it generated in that small spectrum. My guess it's that it doesn't generate much heat being so close to the visible light spectrum. Otherwise the color red would generate heat, and that would just be freaking weird, haha.

So a couple of things, words like block and reject are marketing terms. You care about absorption and reflection. A material may "reject" a wavelength by absorbing it, and you're no better off (the material heats up and then radiates that energy out, right into your car).

3M specifically talks about reflecting; however, this is not quantified. I mean you don't really want to know what you're buying, right?

So a brief talk about wavelengths, energy and absorption.

Take a gamma ray. Lots of energy, very hard to produce. 100 keV. Can go through most thin materials without breaking a sweat. The wavelength is tiny. Smaller than an atom. In order to absorb such a wave, the energy of the wave must be completely transmitted to the object. Usually this translates into heat, by vibrating molecules. In some cases (especially with high energy waves) this will result in knocking an electron off, damaging DNA, etc. This is why sunscreen works on ultraviolet light. Damaged DNA leads to mutation which generally takes the form of cancer. Nasty stuff, wear your sunscreen people.

On the other side we have radio waves. (Sound waves are a result of compression of air, not strictly part of the EM spectrum.) Radio waves are long. Very long. The energy needed to create such waves can be as small as a 9 volt battery. (Actually smaller but you get the idea.)

So absorption of this energy doesn't result in much heat at all, which is good. Take for example 2.4 Ghz, water absorbs that range especially well. That said your WiFi router doesn't give you the equivalent of a sun burn. But in greater doses it can be used to heat food, in what's known commonly as a microwave. That's right kids, you want to know why your WiFi dies when you start making popcorn? The microwave floods the area with 2.4 GHz radiation and chokes out your signal.

So where does this leave us:

Small wavelengths = lots of energy

Long wavelengths = less energy

So it turns out that ultraviolet waves are shorter than visible waves (starting at violet going to red) and visible waves are shorter than infrared waves.

So which wavelengths would you like to reflect? Well if you're trying to prevent energy transfer (keep the inside cooler in the summer based on energy from the sun) the longer wavelengths are your friends and should be invited to the party while rejecting the shorter wavelengths.

Oh and don't be fooled, visible light does generate heat. Remember what you see is only the light that is reflected, not what is absorbed.

Okay so all this talk, but no conclusion. Well, remember your dash is mostly black, so any and all light energy coming through the front window will be absorbed and radiated. While tinting can help a little with this, the three biggest factors will be, the color of your car, can heat escape and if you can block all the energy.

So use a windshield screen, preferably in white or silver on your front window. That will work the best. Tinting at best will have a minor effect. We're talking .1 MPG, if that. Cracking your window so heat can escape would do more. Also white cars have much less heat gain, due to the reflection of all visible light.

TL;DR version:

No, tinting won't help your MPG in the summer. Have you considered cracking your windows?