Engine "Revving" on 2015 FFH

[Monkeywrench Mystic]

Hello! We just bought a 2015 FFH with 30k. After about six weeks, the engine begin to rev like the transmission was trying to shift but could not. When you accelerate the car it does gain speed(sometimes slowly, sometimes the electric seems to kick in and it goes faster) but the revving sound(like you have it in neutral) gets worse.

We took it into our dealership but they wanted us to leave it for two days just to diagnose it. Any ideas what the problem could be? My first instinct, of course,is that it is a bad transmission. But I thought perhaps the EV might have something to do with it(if the charge gets too low?)

 

Thanks and yes, I am a noob. My first post.

 

PS I have sent a couple of Health reports and there have no been no problems flagged.

[md13ffhguy]

Welcome! This might be normal behavior. The eCVT has no gears, so the "revving" of the engine sounds different than a "normal" car that shifts gears. The ICE can be a bit on the loud side during harder acceleration, but that's normal for this car. There have been some bad transmissions in earlier models, but it doesn't sound like you're describing any of those symptoms. Seems like you may be focusing on the sound of the engine, and since you've assumed it's a problem, you notice it more and assume it to be getting worse. Perhaps you could test drive another FFH and compare?

[mwr]

The only thing that doesn't seem normal in your description is that you noticed a difference after six weeks, instead of from the beginning, so maybe something is wrong. But as was noted above, the ICE "revs" unlike "normal" cars. The ICE rpm is controlled by a computer which sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. I've had my FFH for 1 1/2 years and I still can't always predict when the engine will "rev".

[lolder]

I assume you have insured that the transmission is not in "L".

[Monkeywrench Mystic]

Hi again! I have never had the vehicle in "L". I guess we heard the revving when we first got it but it didn't seem as loud or intense at that time. Perhaps it is the normal sound and we are just over-reacting since the noise is new to us. One other thing-we did a Master Reset on the Sync because the car had a previous owner, any chance there was a setting or something there that I changed(re: EV)? Also, I have noticed our mileage is getting lower. Thanks for the quick replies I will keep the board posted.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Monkeywrench Mystic

[lolder]

Your mpg peaks at about a temperature of 90-95º F. After that, AC load starts to lower it. The mpg decreases about 2 mpg for every 10º F. temperature decrease. There are many factors that affect mpg and the car has many ways to display that very accurately. When you are getting 40-50 mpg, that is very little fuel flow and you will notice things that didn't make a difference in a lower mpg car. Headwinds cost about 3 mpg per 10 mph wind. Heavy rain and standing water in the road can subtract up to 10 mpg. Heavy high speed freeway traffic can add up to 5 mpg because the vehicles can create a tail wind. Noisy roads can cost a few mpg. Don't worry about trip to trip variations, particularly short ones as the beginning and ending HVB ( high voltage battery ) SOC ( state of charge ) has a big effect.

[Timewellspent]

Did your active noise cancellation get turned off?

[Monkeywrench Mystic]

Interesting..I hadn't thought of that. Will check it out. Thanks!

[md13ffhguy]

Lolder gave you a pretty comprehensive (if not a little confusing) rundown of factors that affect MPG. I'll mention that I believe his figures are ballparks, since you can always add an "it depends" with this car. I'll also add another significant factor - passengers. Usually, the first passenger doesn't seem to have a significant effect (probably depending on their weight), but adding a second or third passenger really drops my efficiency. Fortunately (for efficiency's sake), most of my driving is solo, with no passengers.