Won't run in EV mode, ICE kicks in immediately.

[mpb]

Ours just started doing this after replacing the tires. Timing, I'm certain, but very much a coincidence. Unless we're at a full stop, in drive, with the foot on the brake and stopped, the hybrid cycle does not seem to work. When lifting off the brake, the engine kicks on. Gas mileage is down from 38+ to just over 31. NOT acceptable.

 

Dealer says they've been told by FORD not to do anything without further instructions. I'd been thinking of getting the new Escape Hybrid, but with this event, I think I'll hold off and see how they handle it. I did have my airbag replaced early last year. The car was parked for 3 months while we had a loaner. We also had to sign the paperwork stating that we would not drive the Fusion. There were no other instructions given.

 

This is very frustrating. I bought a hybrid to act like a hybrid.

[mwr]

17 hours ago, mpb said:

Ours just started doing this after replacing the tires. Timing, I'm certain, but very much a coincidence. Unless we're at a full stop, in drive, with the foot on the brake and stopped, the hybrid cycle does not seem to work. When lifting off the brake, the engine kicks on. Gas mileage is down from 38+ to just over 31. NOT acceptable.

 

Dealer says they've been told by FORD not to do anything without further instructions. I'd been thinking of getting the new Escape Hybrid, but with this event, I think I'll hold off and see how they handle it. I did have my airbag replaced early last year. The car was parked for 3 months while we had a loaner. We also had to sign the paperwork stating that we would not drive the Fusion. There were no other instructions given.

 

This is very frustrating. I bought a hybrid to act like a hybrid.

What model year is your FFH?

[PaulGo]

I am frustrated that Ford after all the owners complaints and finally recognizing the problem months ago is taking so long to come up with a fix.  It would appear that the fix is of low priority.  Meanwhile an increasingly number of owners now get lower gas mileage and increased engine wear from the increase engine on time.  It appear that all 2010 to 2012 Ford hybrids have this problem.  I wonder if the newer models also have this computer programming flaw that will curtail hybrid use after nine years.  

[lolder]

On 1/9/2020 at 11:47 AM, Kwm_55 said:

I have the same problem with my 2010 Milan. My car was stored for a year and was driven only occasionally. I started driving the car again daily in Dec of 2017. However I didn’t have this problem until after I had the air bag replaced in June of 2019. If the problem was from improper storage, why did it take a year and a half to manifest? The car has 144,000 miles so maybe the info above about shorted cells applies. What is the average HVB life?

You need to do the software HVB age reset as described in several threads. There's probably nothing wrong with the HVB. 

[ToyotaFan]

My Mercury Milan hybrid was built in December of 2009 and developed this problem in January of this year. It has 38000 miles but is driven frequently and has had no repairs other than a throttle body replacement. Local Ford dealer says his diagnostic gear can not make this change in settings and that he was unaware of the problem. He also says he has only seen 6 battery failures in over a decade and that included older Escapes and an accident. He advised trying the fix before buying a new or reconditioned battery. I will try to do the reset from my iPhone using FORScan, will let folks know if it works. 

[Jazz62]

I'm finally getting ready to do the battery age reset. Will be buying an OBD2 reader tonight. I have a question about using the FORscan software. I have downloaded version 2.3.29 for Windows and installed it, but I did not obtain a license key. I expected that I wouldn't be able to open the program without a license key, but it opened no problem with a double-click. Am I missing something? Will it not ask for a license key until my vehicle is connected via the OBD2 reader?

[PaulGo]

You need the license to implement the change needed to reset the age of the HV battery.  Without the license you will not be able to do it. 

[murphy]

Only some functions require a license key.  I had to get a license to be able to enable the Daytime Running Lights (DRL) in my 2013 Fusion Energi.  Use the program.  If you try to do something that needs a key the program will let you know.  It's been a couple of years since I did that but my memory is that reading data is allowed.  Writing to the car needs the key.

[Jazz62]

17 hours ago, PaulGo said:

You need the license to implement the change needed to reset the age of the HV battery.  Without the license you will not be able to do it. 

 

17 hours ago, murphy said:

Only some functions require a license key.  I had to get a license to be able to enable the Daytime Running Lights (DRL) in my 2013 Fusion Energi.  Use the program.  If you try to do something that needs a key the program will let you know.  It's been a couple of years since I did that but my memory is that reading data is allowed.  Writing to the car needs the key.

 

Thank you both! For a reliable OBD2 reader, the original one linked to in this thread is no longer available. Can anyone recommend one that I can trust to work without issues?

Edited March 1, 2020 by Jazz62
info

[murphy]

I use this one to connect to my laptop via Bluetooth.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ScanTool-OBDLink-Bluetooth-Professional-Diagnostics/dp/B006NZTZLQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=MX+OBD2&qid=1583089101&sr=8-3

 

Anything by OBDLink is a good product.

 

[Teddy]

I had a local shop in Simi Valley, CA perform the reset and it worked completely as advertised!  My car's behavior before the reset was similar to others' in this thread:

EV Mode would only come on while braking or at a complete stop (it would go off of EV as I eased off the brake just before a complete stop).  There were times where the EV Mode seemed to work correctly, but the power was very low.  I thought my batteries were just getting old and weak.  Also, since I "suffered" through this condition for a number of months, my brake pads are down to 30%.  With proper regenerative braking, the brakes should last indefinitely.  

After reset, the car runs just like it used to.  I have 120K miles and am getting over 45 MPG combined vs 35 MPG before the reset.  Much of my driving is between Thousand Oaks and Hawthorne, via the PCH and 405.  Possibly even more important is the smoother ride and lack of frustration.  The reset works!  

[Jazz62]

Finally got around to ordering an obd2 scanner and made the change to my 2010's battery age. Had some trouble getting the scanner to connect, but it finally did. The change was instantaneous. Drove a short distance around our neighborhood, maybe 4 miles total and once the temp gauge was in the green, MPG went from 23.9 to 38.5!, and our neighborhood has a lot of steep hills. Speaking of hills and just as important to me as the improved MPG, NO MORE ACCELERATION LAG WAITING FOR THE ICE TO KICK IN!!! That alone is quite literally a lifesaver.

 

Thanks again to everyone!

[mwr]

Wow, great result. Does anyone know if the "battery age" issue also occurs in 2013 and later models?

[Dpete15312]

Did anyone get this figured out? I had this problem in that the EV only came on at stop signs, then went off as soon as I accelerated, never to be in EV again until I was going down hill or came to the next stop. I found out it has to do with the 10 year battery age programmed in by Ford which leaves the Hybrid battery charging and assisting somewhat but in a very minor way. I had someone download Forescan program and went in to the Ford program in my vehicle, reset the battery age to "0"  and the 2010 Fusion Hybrid appears to have sprung back to life in the EV mode. I baby the accelerator as best I can but often can keep the vehicle in EV mode at speeds less than 40mph. As a result I am at combined mileage of 39 mph on the most recent tank after getting the "fix" 2 weeks ago. I invite your comments or questions as I would believe that there are some out there that they have to buy a new Hybrid battery to remedy this situation. I am not endorsing this specifically as the remedy for your Fusion, only that it worked for mine. Now this is a great vehicle again.

[billford]

7 hours ago, Dpete15312 said:

Did anyone get this figured out?

 

 

 

[Fusion_Hybrid]

The following service bulletin has now been issued. I was the first to have this fix (software update) installed at my local dealer. Not sure why they charged me $175.00 for a problem Ford should own but I will take that up with the service manager.

 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10174404-0001.pdf

[IrisD]

On 6/16/2019 at 2:09 AM, allen84 said:

Here is a detailed post I made on how to fix the issue:

 

https://www.fordfusionforum.com/topic/19361-my-instructions-on-restoring-the-hybrid-ev-function-on-the-ford-fusion-hybrid-approaching-the-89-years-mark/?tab=comments#comment-109239

Let me add my thanks to the many others who have also implemented this fix. Thanks for the clear instructions - worked like a charm! Happy to have my baby performing just like them it was new! (2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid)

 

[Reddreads21]

On 10/29/2019 at 11:37 AM, Gskrk said:

Huge giant thanks to Allen84 and all the poster folks here!!!! Literally saved me $25K, because I was afraid my 2010FFH HVB was bad and my car might not start and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere. So I was going to trade it in on a 2018 SUV....just not interested in dealing with the uncertainty, loss of reliability, and new HVB costs more than car is worth. Yes I had the same problem as most others here - car would not run in EV, HVB indicator near 100%, ICE only stops when brakes applied at full stop. I followed Allen84's instructions and voila - it works!!! I reset my battery age to zero and when I hit 'load' (or whatever its called) in forscan, I too heard the HVB click, as others have reported. Car now acts like new - EV at 35 mph or better, HVB at 50%, two bars of EV power, 42 mpg, heck I got 53 mpg just running a few miles to the drug store.

 

So the next challenge is to figure out when the HVB will fail, and what if any indications/symptoms/warnings there might be in advance. Also, what FMC is going to do for us FFH owners, now that they have been outed for leaving us all in the dark on this.

 

Just had a thought...if the car is say 10.5 years old and if the HVB will last 15 years, then it might make sense to program the battery life to say 6 yrs so that when the life reaches 9 yrs (in the computer) the EV will stop to prolong the battery to keep the ICE starter working. Any thoughts on this basic approach idea?

 Hey can you post Allen's instructions or email them too me his link just goes to the Ford Fusion homepage now. miamimac2121@gmail.com 

[markwilson66]

Just a quick update, I reset the battery age back to 0 years about 15 months ago.  Things seemed OK for a while and any reduced MPG I noticed I attributed to letting my teenager drive the car on a regular basis.

The past several months my fuel economy has been down around 33MPG.  No problem going into EV mode and staying there up to 47 MPH with a light foot.

Now today the car will not go into EV mode at all!  Not at idle, not in Park, not in Neutral, nothing.  The ICE is on 100% of the time and seems to idle pretty high, around 100RPM.

I'm at a loss for what to look at and have zero confidence in my local Ford service department.

[murphy]

I forget, does the hybrid have oil maintenance mode?  My 2013 Energi does and once it goes into that mode the engine runs until the maintenance process is complete.

[markwilson66]

2 minutes ago, murphy said:

I forget, does the hybrid have oil maintenance mode?  My 2013 Energi does and once it goes into that mode the engine runs until the maintenance process is complete.

I don't believe so.  I've gone through 3 drive cycles and the HVB is at full charge.  
Might try the battery age reset again.

[Cnaroach]

I reset my battery age to 1 (not 0) in August of 2019, so I'm at 16 months now and EV mode still works fine.  My average is down to around 37 mpg, but I'm think that's mostly because it's cold outside. 

[Automate]

12 hours ago, markwilson66 said:

Now today the car will not go into EV mode at all!  Not at idle, not in Park, not in Neutral, nothing.  The ICE is on 100% of the time and seems to idle pretty high, around 100RPM.

How long has it been doing this?  It may be doing an automatic battery reconditioning

[markwilson66]

1 hour ago, Automate said:

How long has it been doing this?  It may be doing an automatic battery reconditioning

I tried it again last night and it seems to be back to normal so I think you are right about the reconditioning. 

Although in the past when it went through the reconditioning cycle, I recall that it made a lot of clicking noises from behind the back seat. I didn't hear that this time but I'm not the only one who drives the car. 

[burstonj]

Is there a working link to how to Forscan reset the EV battery age parameter for Ford Fusion hybrid?  Mine is 2011 with a whopping 30K original miles and two months ago starting acting like it no longer wanted to be a hybrid (high idle, lower mpg, no help from Ford telling me that all was "normal").