Help Plz! I need someone to try to duplicate this test

[Noel]

Hello All,

 

I have a 2010 FFH w/ 15K miles. 42.4mpg average. Runs great! Yesterday, while driving home from work, I was traveling on a level straightaway for ~ 1/3 of a mile in EV mode at 45mph, behind a truck towing a trailer. He made a right turn off the straightaway, and I decided to pass him immediately after turning right behind him and verifying it was safe to pass. I stayed in EV mode thru the turn, then prepared to step on it to get around him quickly.

 

To my huge dismay, a LARGE amount of white/blue smoke came out the back of my car as I was stepping on it quite hard. After pulling in front of him, I let off the gas and the smoke disappeared. 30 seconds later while still in ICE mode, I decided to step on it again. No smoke this time. The orange engine light on the LEFT side of the display had come on during the smoke, but then disappeared quickly as I was slowing back down to a lesser acceleration, ahead of the truck.

 

I guess one option is a stuck piston ring, allowing oil to accumulate during the longish stretch of EV mode. The other possibilities are:

 

1. I just had the oil changed, and just a second ago I walked out to check the oil level, and it was well above the upper line. Also of note, the last 5K oil change interval showed my oil level had not gone down at all, so it was clearly not leaking oil.

 

2. Is it possible the fuel shut off was not working when in EV, so that unburned fuel accumulated?

 

Anyway, it would be hugely helpful if some could try to duplicate this, before I go thru the big hassle of taking it to the dealer. I am inclined to take it back and demand they lower the oil level though, which I just figured out while writing this may be the culprit.

 

Noel

[lolder]

Hello All,

 

I have a 2010 FFH w/ 15K miles. 42.4mpg average. Runs great! Yesterday, while driving home from work, I was traveling on a level straightaway for ~ 1/3 of a mile in EV mode at 45mph, behind a truck towing a trailer. He made a right turn off the straightaway, and I decided to pass him immediately after turning right behind him and verifying it was safe to pass. I stayed in EV mode thru the turn, then prepared to step on it to get around him quickly.

 

To my huge dismay, a LARGE amount of white/blue smoke came out the back of my car as I was stepping on it quite hard. After pulling in front of him, I let off the gas and the smoke disappeared. 30 seconds later while still in ICE mode, I decided to step on it again. No smoke this time. The orange engine light on the LEFT side of the display had come on during the smoke, but then disappeared quickly as I was slowing back down to a lesser acceleration, ahead of the truck.

 

I guess one option is a stuck piston ring, allowing oil to accumulate during the longish stretch of EV mode. The other possibilities are:

 

1. I just had the oil changed, and just a second ago I walked out to check the oil level, and it was well above the upper line. Also of note, the last 5K oil change interval showed my oil level had not gone down at all, so it was clearly not leaking oil.

 

2. Is it possible the fuel shut off was not working when in EV, so that unburned fuel accumulated?

 

Anyway, it would be hugely helpful if some could try to duplicate this, before I go thru the big hassle of taking it to the dealer. I am inclined to take it back and demand they lower the oil level though, which I just figured out while writing this may be the culprit.

 

Noel

There are warnings that filling the oil above the full mark can damage the engine! See the Owners Guide page 276! You better document this with Ford. Remove the excess! Hope you haven't damaged it. The Owners Guide recommends 10,000 miles or 200 hours oil change.

Edited July 16, 2010 by lolder

[jeff_h]

To my huge dismay, a LARGE amount of white/blue smoke came out the back of my car as I was stepping on it quite hard. After pulling in front of him, I let off the gas and the smoke disappeared. 30 seconds later while still in ICE mode, I decided to step on it again. No smoke this time. The orange engine light on the LEFT side of the display had come on during the smoke, but then disappeared quickly as I was slowing back down to a lesser acceleration, ahead of the truck.

 

This is exactly what happened to me when I was around the 10,000 mile mark and occurred just once -- I was stuck behind someone who wouldn't get out of the way and it was one of those cases where you can finally go and you stomp hard on the gas because this twit has held you up for so long, etc... well after stomping hard (basically flooring it) I heard a small "boom" and saw the same type of blue/white smoke out the back, and the engine light started blinking. I thought to myself "great, that's what I get for being impatient, probably blew up my engine", and the blinking stopped after about 3 seconds. My friend looked through the owner's manual and found:

 

"Blinks with engine running: The light stays on after the engine is started and sometimes blinks. It indicates that the On Board Diagnostics System has detected an engine misfire problem with the engine. While the light is blinking, engine misfire is occurring which could damage your catalytic converter. Drive in a moderate fashion

(avoid heavy acceleration and deceleration) and contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible."

 

Of course I ran a vehicle health check shortly after that and it said all was fine. My guess is that due to the nature of the hybrid system that can shut the engine down with fuel sitting in the cylinder that maybe that raises the chances of such a buildup as you noted, and thus raising the chances of this type of occurrence when you stomp on the gas and shoot more fuel into a cylinder that already has some in there... again this is just my guess. But anyway, that was around the 10k mile mark and next week I hit 40k miles and it has never happened again so I'm not worried about it on my car, and yours may be fine too.

Edited July 16, 2010 by jeff_h

[lolder]

I think the problem was too much oil in the engine. The computer very carefully gets rid of all fuel and hydrocarbon vapors in the cylinders and intake manifold on every shutdown. That way it knows exactly how much fuel to inject for the next start. This is for emission control reasons as this ICE starts and stops at least 10 times more often than a regular ICE.