Automate

@TopherC Upgrading version 2.0 is tricky. It has to be done in a two stage process. The first step only works if have a firmware update that is for your specific VIN. Firmware anyone else has used will not work. Once you have upgraded from 2.0 to 3.0 then you can use a generic firmware to upgrade to 4.4. PM Rebecca in http://fordsyncforum.com/ she may be able to help you out..

I'm thinking a dedicated duct not blocked by the shutters to supply air to the trans cooler would work best.

You might find some helpful info here http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/emergency-response-guides/2015%20Fusion_MKZ_Energi%20Modifier%20Guide_D2.pdf

Without all the data Ford has on the eCVT we won't know for sure. If you graphed it, the motor/generator losses is a line with a positive slope with increasing temperature. The transmission viscosity losses would have a negative slope with increasing temperature. The point at which these two lines intersect would have the highest fuel efficiency. My guess is this intersection would be somewhere between 32 and 50 F. So anytime you are above 50 F you are better cooling the transmission. So back to your question. Getting eCVT temperature down to 150 F would be better than 170 F and getting it down to 100 F would be even better. But since it is cooled by ambient air, getting it any lower during the summer is not going to be possible.

My thoughts on eCVT temperatures. First the facts: Conventional manual transmissions don't need coolers because they have minimal friction surfaces / clutches inside the transmission, they use gears that generate very little heatConventional automatic transmissions do need fluid coolers because they use friction surfaces / clutches that generate heat every time they change gearsAutomatic transmissions also use a torque converter which generates heat whenever it is slipping. The fluid in the torque converter is shared with the fluid in the automatic transmission. eCVT have less gears than even a manual transmission and do not have clutches or torque converters like an automatic transmissionThe FFH motor and generator are inside the eCVT and integral to the transmission shafts.Scan gauges consistently show the eCVT motor and generator are at a higher temperature than the transmission fluid temperatureMotors/Generators, wiring and electronics all have higher electrical losses at higher temperatures because the resistance is higher at higher temperatures.Transmission components (seals, bearings, motors) generally last longer at lower temperaturesThe lower the transmission fluid temperature the higher the viscosity or resistance to movement. Based upon the above facts here are my conclusions / recommendations: The primary purpose of the FFH transmission fluid cooler is to remove the heat generated by the motor and generatorAlthough high viscosity of the transmission fluid at lower temperature effects fuel economy (FE), the higher temperature of the motor / generator has a bigger effect on FE.At very low temperature (maybe less than freezing) a transmission heater may help FE but at normal operating temperatures a cooler eCVT will result in better FE.Once up to operating temperatures the eCVT should be kept as cool as possible for better FE and motor/generator/transmission life Interested in your comments.

Not generally. 2013 + have smaller engine (2.0 vs 2.5), better aerodynamics, better batteries (Lithium vs. Ni-MH) and can run on batteries up to 85 mph instead of only 47 in first gen.

Are you using gas station fill-up gallons or the dashboard display MPG? Are both off?

"GM says it can reduce the price because lithium-ion battery and other costs are coming down." http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/03/2016-chevy-volt-msrp-33995/ http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/05/04/gm-cuts-2016-volt-plug-in-hybrid-car-price-by-almost-1200/?intcmp=features

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/30/autos/ford-fusion-recalls/

That was the first design when GM was developing the Volt. No mechanical coupling between the engine and the wheels. The engine runs efficiently but what they found is power losses converting mechanical energy to electrical then sending it into the batteries and then extracting it back out are much greater than the very small losses of a eCVT transmission.

This is an interesting question. How much if any brakes to use on a downhill before an uphill. It's tempting to say keep the momentum in the car and don't use the brakes because even through regenerative braking is nice, you still loose about 30% of the energy charging the battery when braking and then taking it back out of the battery later. On the other hand if you don't use the brakes your speed will be higher at the bottom of the hill and therefore air dynamic losses are greater because they go up with the square of the speed. So your speed at the bottom of the hill will determine if you are better off using your regenerative brakes or coasting.

I would guess these guys did their homework and knew the most efficient speed on ICE and EV. My guess would be 25 to 35 on ICE and 15 to 20 on EV. They spent a lot more time on EV so their average was closer to the EV speed. A 2nd generation FFH should be able to do even better with its smaller engine, better aerodynamics and lithium batteries.

Someone here has 200k on a first generation. http://www.fordfusionforum.com/topic/8513-just-passed-100000-miles-on-ffh-anyone-else/?do=findComment&comment=85104

Probably not a symmetrical bell curve but certainly 0.01 mph is NOT the most efficient speed. Look at it this way. We know the car can go 700 miles on a tank. If driven at 0.01 mph it would take 70,000 hours to go 700 miles. That is almost 8 years! We know a tank of gas, even if the car is left in park will not run the car for 8 years. The problem is the car uses some energy just to keep itself on. Even if you turn off all the optional assessors you still have a lot of electronics to keep powered up such as the power control module, battery control module, transmission control module, OBDII module, anti-lock brakes, DC to DC controller, power steering control module, instrument panel control module, etc. In addition you have the battery cooling fans, and all the energy lost charging and discharging the battery if you never use the ICE to make the car move. My guess is it wouldn't be a single speed. The most efficient speed would be one speed when running ICE and another speed when running EV mode.

Nice document find. Here is a link to other year OBD documents. https://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/diagnostics/default.asp?pageid=diagnostic_theory&gutsid=diagsheet

2010 MY OBD System Operation Summary for Hybrid Electric Vehicles OBDSM1001_HEV.pdf

Yes, A good one is this https://www.scantool.net/obdlink-mx.html But you can roll the dice and take your chances with one of the super cheap ones on e-bay.

I don't own an iPhone or a Wifi OBDII scanner which is required. Android version will work with the more popular Bluetooth scanners.

FORScan Lite for Android (freeware) is now available in beta http://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=985

While I agree that AGM batteries are much better than wet cell batteries I don't think the wet cells on their own are the root cause for the problem. I also agree the load from the electronics which are still powered up when the key is off is a contributing factor. The FFH's small 12V battery size and battery quality issues are the main culprits. The vast majority of cars sold today use wet cell batteries. These cars also need to power loads when the key is off to run microprocessors, alarms, IA key transponders, keypads etc just like the FFH. The difference is they have a larger standard size wet cell battery. The FFH's engineers probably thought since the 12V battery does not need to run the starter they could get away with a smaller battery and save cost and weight. They probably didn't think as much about the load on the battery over an extended period of time when the key is off. I also think the FFH batteries have had higher than normal quality problems. The FFH 12V battery is smaller than a standard battery and there are probably a limited number of battery vendors that are set up to make this small battery. So when Ford started seeing the battery quality issues it was not easy for them to just switch to another battery vendor to solve the quality issue.

I'd like to know what speed FFH users can maintain in EV mode on level ground. I have a first gen FFH so mine is only a little over 40 MPH but its hard to tell for sure since I live in a hilly area. The first gen aerodynamics aren't as good as the 2013+ FFHs and EV will shut off at 47 anyway. At full EV speed the SOC drops pretty quickly in a FFH so it's sometimes difficult to know for sure if the speed is stabilized before you kick out of EV. Oh and no cheating. I know only a very very slight downhill will make a big difference in the speed so maybe it should be from one of the really flat places like Florida or parts of the Midwest or Southwest.

Well my 2010 FFH (built in 2009) says I have the latest even though I only have version 2.0.. That's why I'm asking.

Anyone with Gen1 checked for updates recently? According to this http://boards.synccommunity.com/discussions/Welcome_to_SYNC_Owner_to_Owner/Tips_Tricks__Stories/Gen_1_Update_is_finally_here/fordsyncmb/9812.1?nav=messages there is a new 4.4 version available for some cars.

Freightliner ... Its loaded 65,000-pound semi returned 12.2 mpg during a real world highway test, 115 percent better than the average truck on the road today. http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/03/26/freightliner-supertruck-hauls-goods-sips-fuel/

I'm enjoying my new-used 2010 FFH and need to replace an aging Honda minivan. Thinking of a 2010-2012 Escape Hybrid. Interested in impressions from people that have driven both the FFH and FEH.