MeeLee

Could be anything. When does it happen and where? Fan on? Engine on? AC on? When you just start driving, or also when standing still? Brakepads rubbing?

Several things. Buy a $10 Bluetooth OBD2 port scanner, and check your engine temps, or other warnings viewable with one of the many free OBD2 scanner apps on your phone. On my card the 12V battery was over 4 years old, and in need of replacement. I replaced it with a similar sized 12.8 (13.3)V 50Ah battery pack. I think you can go as low as 36Ah, but higher is better. I think about 60-75Ah will be the largest batteries that fit in the compartment.

Change when you notice a faint whiff or smell from the air vents when turning on the fan. Like said, 30-50k miles is about right for Florida, with mainly clean environmental air. I also recirculate the air, as my ac works better that way.

125k miles and less than 25% usage on the pads. Bought the car with 30k miles on, and at around 50k miles I got the hang of when the brake pads start gripping. I always try to brake on regen when I can, but the 40HP motor is only good for braking between 65 to 45mph, after which you usually have to add some friction. Replace pads with organic pads. They are the worst in initial grip, but the rotors will last longer, and will make a smoother transition between regen braking and using the brake pads. Ceramics wear the rotors, and cause the rims to get either flakes or rusty brake dust on it. The FFH is more of an economy car than a track car, so organic pads recommended. From what I've used it would appear my first brake pad change would be around 250-300k miles.

I'm just at my third cabin air filter. I don't smoke, don't use any perfumes, but replace the filter with a carbon activated filter. The only thing that's tough on the filter, is the rainy months here in FL, as the high amount of humidity ends up making the cabin air smell a bit stale, though only when the ac isn't on. My first oem replacement was at 30k miles. Second filter at between 60 and 75k miles. Third is at 125k miles. I could do longer as the filter doesn't particularly look or smell bad, however, when I turn on the fan only, I do get a slight musty smell for maybe the first minute or so. I hardly ever run the air without ac. So for me, every 15k miles is baloney. Perhaps when you use strong odors, or smoke, or live in a major city with lots of smog or construction dust going on... 30-50k miles replacement is pretty standard to me.

The ffh regularly performs cell balancing procedures. On the highway you wouldn't know, unless you were looking at the meters showing >45 instant mpg or so... The procedure is basically overcharging the batteries, until all cells are fully charged. The blue (ev) line occasionally gets above the 3rd line, usually when the engine is cold, and hv battery charged up. Still, check the 12v battery voltage. I replaced mine, even if the battery still was in relative good condition. My current lithium battery gives a nice clean 12.7-12.8V, and I've only experienced one odd bug.

Waldo, my 2019 model did a lot of highway, and had a few times the battery down to almost zero, due to the ac being on with the car on (engine not running). I have 122k miles on it, and my battery has about 1/3rd of the performance, and range left. It's hard to tell from the cell voltage, but an avg voltage of 3.65 vs 3.8 means a decent chunk of my capacity is gone. The biggest performance and mpg losses, happened around the 100k mark. Anyone who sees below 42mpg avg, either lives in the arctics or desert with maxed out climate control, drives like a maniac, or has a degraded battery. I'm fairly sure had I known how to drive the FFH when I bought it, my avg fuel numbers would exceed 50mpg. They're 42.3 now and dropping. The 2019 model has an indicator how far the battery charges on a relative long stretch of road using the engine to propel and charge. A good state of charge should go to the 3rd bar. A normal state of charge charges to the 2nd bar. A poor state of charge, charges to the first line, and even when pushing, might not reach to the second line anymore.

Without knowing the details, are the 5 point lugnut position the same as on the 17" rims? If so, they should fit. You'll just drive on very noisy, unsafe low profile tires, I'd never recommend it. I actually would recommend 225 55 R17 over the stock 225 45 R17 tires on those rims. Much quieter, and looks better too.

Mpg at 30k miles while not knowing how to drive efficiently was 48mpg. Mpg at 94k miles, right before the big drop, was 46mpg. Mpg at 100k miles, with knowing how to drive efficiently was 44mpg. Mpg at 120k miles was 42 mpg. Despite me driving better, mpg gets worse. Engine is on longer, motor runs less long. Electric braking is weaker, and battery degradation happens faster and faster as the miles rack up. I finally opened my battery pack, and measured each of the 72 cells. 38 cells per bank, 2 banks. Lowest voltage was 3.64V, the cell closest to the inverter. Highest voltage was 3.66V. Apparently the car self balancing the cells works well. It basically overcharges the cell, until the (I suspect) internal bms shuts off the cell from charging. When the majority of the cells shut themselves off, the balancing process is finished. A new cell should read between 3.77V and 3.8V. This means I've lost between 1 and 2% of capacity, at 100k miles. Multiply the 3.8-3.66=0.14V with 72 cells, and I've lost 10v, or 3 cells of capacity. The battery at 3.80v cells x 72 cells equals to 374V. The battery at 3.66v cells x 72 cells equals to 263.5V. That's 10V difference. Battery charge voltage is 4V/cell x 72 cells = 288V. My battery pack should not exceed this value,meaning the maximum amount of cells I can add is 8 cells of 3.2V, or 25.6V, seeing that the battery pack will further reduce in voltage over time. While I can't seem to gain my previous range back by balancing the cells, I might by adding cells, as the cheapest solution without having to rely on finicky older HV batteries, or costly new batteries. Right at the junction of the fuse, when you unplug it, is the feed line of the battery. One side hot (274V), the other side cold. I'm thinking of buying 4 cells of 3.2V, for a total of 12.8V, and adding it between the fuse and the wire leading out to the motor (the cold side), to get my desired voltage and range back, without having to buy a new battery. This because all the internal cells are wired in series. All the 72 cells are in series. No central controller, temperature sensor, or voltage regulator sensor wires on any of the cells. So I guess the overall hybrid system just measures the voltage and amp draw of the entire pack. The cells can easily be mounted between the high voltage battery, and the wall close to the backseat. They will be cooled by fan of the battery pack sucking in cabin air into the battery pack, causing an air draft in that area. It's just a thought. Now that Lithium prices dropped, spending $200-300 for a decent 12v battery or 4 cells, should get me 100-200A rated cells. The motor is 30kW. At 300V that is 100A. At 275V that's 110A. I'd be safe to get cells that can withstand 150A, so the 180-200A models as most common ones found on chinese websites, are going to be what I'm looking for. I'll also need a bms to control the voltage over the cells, or just buy a 12V lifepo4 car battery which already has one built in (but has no cooling), and house it next to the high voltage battery somewhere. The latter will be easier. I can even mount it in the trunk. Still thinking about this all... anyone ever tried to extend his hv battery with a 12v lithium battery?

It does when the battery needs replacing, but on my 2019 model there is an indicator that shows battery charge voltage. Nominal voltage is 2 of 3 lines (~23kW est). Brand new is 3 out of 3 lines (~30kW est). After ~120k miles: 1 out of 3 lines (~20kW est).

Same here. Either cv joints, bearings, or abs sensor ring (with tooth). Either way, don't do hard turns, try not to do heavy braking or acceleration while turning, and you should be able to continue driving for at least an additional 25k miles (and more).

I would just do a transmission fluid change. If the transmission I as good as a 2017, you won't need a new one, as long as you do the 100k mile transmission fluid changes (wih the ford certified fluid). Don't skimp on cheaper oil. It's not worth the headaches.

On the older models you probably need to do a transmission oil change earlier on. On the newer models (starting 2014 or 2015), you can just drain 4 out of 5 quart of transmission fluid, and replace it with ford certified fluid. Don't use regular transmission oil, as it shares the oil with the electric motor. I found 100k miles the perfect interval. Oil is still clean enough, but mpg shows its getting near to needing replacement (+1mpg gain after oil flush).

Check the brake pads. Some people mention rear brake pads needed replacement at 100k miles. It really depends on how frequent or aggressive you brake. I put nearly 100k miles on my car which already had 30k miles on, and I've learned to use regen as much as possible, and my pads are still 33-50% good.

I've had the dame on my 4 year old battery. Turns out that 2 trips of 10 miles a day (about 20 miles, 40 minutes), isn't enough to charge the battery. I don't have any error codes, but I'd check with a multimeter to see battery voltage cold after just opening the trunk should be 12.7v or more. Voltage with car on should read 14.4V. Voltage after a long ride should be about 13.3v. In my case, I just plugged my battery in a battery tender (12V 4A), and charged it overnight, until I replaced the lead acid with a 12v 50A SLA Lithium battery. This works really well, however, I needed to manufacture a 2 way diode, to get a charge voltage of approx 13.9V, as the 14.4V would trigger the BMS, and prevent the battery from charging. Also, the sla would put out 13.35-13.85V, which was too much for the internal dome lights. They look better at 12.7-13.3V

I have. Just buy some felt carpeted floor protectors, like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y1NZ8Y7 You only need 2 to 3 of the smallest ones, and can use the rest for your furniture. Insert 1 to 2 of the floor protectors, in the gap between the dash and the a-pillars, glue side on the dash. Push em deep enough down that they're not sticking out and only visible at closeup. They should squeeze in just fine. If not, get a small lever to increase the gap space for a moment, until the pieces are in place. I used another protector, to push the small ones down deep enough. For $10 all rattling is gone, and I can only see it if I peer carefully down the gap between the dashboad and a-pillar.

Not sure, but I changed my cvt fluid around the 75-99k mile mark (forgot when) and it was tea color. It should be pink. After changing my mpg went up by 0.5 to 1 mpg, indicating the lubrication properties of the oil were starting to wear off. I highly recommend changing out the ecvt fluid. Not a full flush, but usually you can drain 4 out of 5 gal, and replenish with 4 gal pretty cheap ($300-ish, parts plus labor). 2 things could have happened, 1- they used regular transmission fluid, which is absolutely bad! You need ford approved, ecvt specific fluid that aside from cools, and has wear additives, also can lubricate the slow gear cogs, as well as the fast spinning electric motors. 2- Or they didn't put the right amount of fluid back in. Taking 4 gal out and putting 3 or 5 in, is asking for problems. You could also have some pebbles in the brake pad/rotors, a dragging brake disk, or other...

Totally untrue! The engine actually prefers high octane fuel, as this (not being a true atkinson engine, but a modification to the Miller engine). Instead of keeping the intake valves open longer, the ford engine closes the exhaust valves quicker, causing a smaller amount of air/fuel to enter on the next intake stroke. This also causes the chamber to still have hot exhaust gasses in them. Higher octane fuel not only has higher resistance to heat, and thus pinging, but also contains more potent combustion (nitrogen), mostly gas stations like BP and Shell use that. This allows the engine to run in it's reduced 'atkinson state' for much longer, or more severe than with lower quality gasoline, resulting in much higher mpg, especially noticed on hot summer days. Using high octane fuel, I regularly hit 55 to 60mpg, and also notice an increase in hp when pushing the engine a bit harder. Using regular fuel, I regularly hit 45-50mpg. When using (months) old and stale fuel, I sometimes can barely get 36mpg. That being said, the 33% premium you pay for high octane fuel, isn't going to get you 33% higher mpg, but more realistically closer to 7% at best, depending on what fuel you get.

Depends on area you live and how long you drive. If your trips are sub 5 mile trips, mpg could be very horrible, as all you'll do is charge the battery, for it to deplete some overnight. The key is long hours of driving, preferably in hot places. Not sure if elevation matters, however if you drive mainly suburbs (45-55mph) without many red lights, it's not that difficult to raise your mpg beyond 50. Occasionally I can do trips above 60mpg, where the gas engine pulses me to 50mph, and the electric coasts me until depleted (and repeat) in one straight trip.

Aside from the usual: tires, oil, transmission fluid (100k miles with ford certified fluid), engine and cabinet filters (cab every 30k miles, engine every 50k miles, though I think they can last 100k miles in clean environments), and tires, I have replaced the 12v battery not because it was bad, but because a $200 lithium battery on Amazon was a much more fitting replacement for this car. Likewise the led headlights, and window tints. I've also replaced the stock 235/50 r17 tires with 235/45 R17 tires, for an even quieter ride. Speedo off about 4% (not significant).

No. The charger may charge the battery higher than the battery can handle, however the battery bms should protect the battery from doing that. The way to test it, is to measure the battery voltage (at the poles) while charging. I believe, but am unsure, that the ffe has a ~310v battery. Your charger should charge below 330v. Not charging your battery will lower the mpg, but allow the car to sort out battery voltages. I'm thinking there's a possibility that the battery lost some capacity, and the charge voltage from the charger is too high. I would recommend reducing the max charge level to 80%, down from 90%, like explained here: https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/electric-vehicles/ev-range/how-do-i-set-the-maximum-charge-level-for-my-electric-vehicle/

My 2019 ffh se had 30k miles on when I purchased. The stock tires lasted about 50k miles. Hot weather causes premature wear. As far as age goes, your 5 year old tires now are better than brand new tires we drove in the 80s and 90s. You'll know when your tires need changing, when the rubber starts cracking on the outside. If you're just driving safely, your tires may last you another 5 years. If you plan on racing with it, swap the tires, and put the old ones back on when driving at normal (legal) speed limits.

2019 ffh se, used to do 75 nearing 80mph on electric, but started declining rapidly after complete battery draining by mechanic (turned ac up to max, and left car on) at 94k miles. At 115k miles, the battery now can only provide enough power for 60mph on electric. The electric range has also declined a lot. To compensate, I put on 1inch larger tires, pumped at 45-49PSI (rated for it, causing less road noise, yet same mpg as stock tires). I then replaced the 12v battery with a lithium SLA (deep discharge) type of battery. It allows for much more efficient charging. I did have to manufacture a 2 way diode (2 diodes in parallel redirecting the current in opposite direction), to allow the car to think its a standard lead acid battery. The diodes cause a voltage drop of 0.6V (both ways), as the car charger sometimes exceeded the max charge voltage for the lithium battery, and the bms would just cut out. Now, the battery sees 14.1V charge voltage instead of 14.7V, and the car sees 12.7V instead of 13.36V from the battery. The battery is a "12V" (>13.3v) 50Ah battery. I first tried with a 10Ah ups battery, with 20Ah peak current for up to 10 seconds, but that battery wasn't able to start the car. I would estimate, the car needs at least 35Ah (also sold on amazon), but I went with the largest battery that would fit (50Ah). The new battery increased my electrc driving range and overall mpg by about 2mpg, by reducing the load on the high voltage battery. Works mostly when I'm driving longer distances (most of the time exceeding 45 mpg); while short distances are ~40mpg now. My estimation is that my high voltage battery will last about until 133k miles, before mpg will drop from 48mpg new, to ~45mpg now, to 40mpg.

I would start by looking at the fuse box. See if it's got any water in, bugs, dirt or grime. Next, I would check the 12v battery voltage. Any readout below 11.7v and the battery needs replacing. A lot of electrical gremlins show up with just a low voltage battery.

Sounds like a fuse or 12v charger issue. Your prior lead acid battery went dead, more than likely because the charger fuse blew. Your car turns on with the new 12v l/a battery, because it's running on that battery, not on the high voltage battery. To verify, open the trunk, and measure the lead acid battery voltage. Should be around 11.7 to 13.3V. Now turn on the vehicle (break and press start), and measure again. If the voltage is the same, or lower, you got an issue in the controller and need to visit a dealer or a mechanic that can work on hybrid vehicles. With the car on (engine doesn't need to be running), the battery charge voltage at the connectors should read between 14.4v and 15V peak. The hybrid vehicle by default never starts the engine, but you can force start it by pressing brake while turning on the car (standard starting procedur, and while still in park, press the throttle about halfway in, to all the way in. That should start the engine. If the high voltage battery has enough charge, the engine will stop as soon as the throttle is released. If the battery needs more power, or the engine is very cold, the engine will continue running for a while, before turning off.