cbislander

I have a 2010 Fusion Hybrid that is 2 years old. The driver's door sometimes sounds like it is moving clicking against the body. After the first attempt to fix it, the clicking sound did not get any better, but then there was a vibrating or rattling sound from the door. The dealer claimed the problem was resolved again. It wasn't. It seems to be coming from the top corner of the door. The dealer said it adjust the catch and lubricate the seal. The sound only occurs at lower speeds (city driving) and does not happen all the time, but most of the time. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

Last year Ford sponsored a Fusion Hybrid endurance event of sorts. Using professional drivers and engineers, they used hypermiling methods to get the most out of 1 tank of gas. Ofcourse, it was much more than what anyone else would get. Here is the hyperlink below, in case you did not read it. http://www.thefordstory.com/green/ford-hybrids-racking-up-sales-and-mileage/ One trick that they used was "pulse and glide". You accelerate your car to get a good momentum and ease off the pedal so the EV mode would kick in. At that point you apply enough pedal to keep within the EV mode range to keep the speed up. Once the battery is fallen below half, try to use the gas engine to both charge your battery and drive the car. It is one method that I am still trying to master. As I have said before, the weather and my short commute has had some impact on my results.

My drive to work is usually 8 km (5 miles). The EV mode usually kicks in on level driving and will last depending how much inertia the car has and how often I have to stop. It will not stay on for an extensive amount of time unless you are going slowly downhill. If the EV mode has to do the work, your battery level will fall fairly quick. The gas engine or ICE will kick in to drive the car and recharge the battery. My best average fuel economy has been around 5.7l per 100km (48MPG Imperial or 40 MPG US). Under current winter conditions and with snow tires it is around 6.8l per 100km (40MPG Imperial or 33MPG US). I am still learning how to drive it more efficiently. I am quite happy with the results so far.

The Sync turn by turn is not available for Canada, it is only in the US.

My subscription expired in November and I have received some mail-in offers for a discounted rate for the first 3 months. The problem is I am still getting all the Sirius channels, so why bother?

I have had my Fusion Hybrid since May and my fuel economy was around 5.7 litres/100km in the summer. When you switch the gauges to MPG, you are using the US Gallon, not the Imperial Gallon. Add 20% to your figure to get the proper MPG in Canada. It should be 40 MPG, not the 61 MPG City/ 54 MPG Hwy that they advertise. The cold weather has been reducing my fuel economy as well. Along with the winter tires, the EV light may come on when I almost at the end of my 4km drive to work. The means the ICE has been working the whole time with poorer results. To make matters worse, my teenage son uses my car and he sometimes has the AC on for no reason. I have found that the AC and heating system makes the ICE stay engaged. I do not see why this should happen for the heating system. The EV system should be able to run the heater, but it usually does not. My current average is 6.8 litres/100km. I have over 13,000 km on my car. I am still trying to figure out how to maximize the EV use. Sometimes, my car is going downhill and the battery is almost full yet it is still in ICE mode. There are some areas where the EV does kick in. It usually happens when I am on a fairly level surface with a very slight upward slope. Following the advice that I read somewhere, you apply pressure on the gas like you are pressing on an egg shell. If you know of any other techniques that can improve the fuel economy, please let me know.