Winter Mileage and Regenerative Braking Questions

[randylb]

Two winter questions:

 

1. Now that it has gotten cold in the midwest my mileage has plummeted. Driving the same routes that got me 42mpg average in the summer I've dropped all the way to around 31mpg. Some trips are short and I know that is hurting because EV doesn't start until over about 2 miles. I know it's even going to get worse when temps drop from the 30's to 0. Longer trips, 5 - 10 miles plus and I get good mileage but not enough to bring the averages up. Seems like averages go down very quickly and very very slow to come back up, if at all. Anybody else in the same boat???

 

2. Also since it got cold my regenerative braking does not activate for the first several stops when cold then starts working normally. I find that odd, seems to be related to the engine warming up but I wouldn't think regen braking should be turned off until a certain temperature. Anybody else having this issue???

 

Thanks!!!

[Davidoo]

Although we don't have much of a winter here in Phoenix, I have noticed a definite drop in mileage as we have dropped into the low 40s over the last few days. Nothing drastic but my long term mileage has dropped by a half a MPG over just the last 2 days driving the exact same route. I'm sure it is the result of the engine running more to keep it up to the proper operating temps.

[Oman]

I lose about 5MPG, but most of my trips are over 30 miles. It would be more if I were doing short trips. The car needs to warm up before it is efficient. If it doesn't get to warm up it will get crummy mileage. The cold weather is only part of the problem. In cold weather states the gas is reformulated in the Winter and contains less energy per gallon. Add up the denser air, less energy in the gas, having to roll over ice and snow, and cold engine and it hurts.

 

Jon

 

 

Although we don't have much of a winter here in Phoenix, I have noticed a definite drop in mileage as we have dropped into the low 40s over the last few days. Nothing drastic but my long term mileage has dropped by a half a MPG over just the last 2 days driving the exact same route. I'm sure it is the result of the engine running more to keep it up to the proper operating temps.

[funny]

I agree with all of the above but will mention another hybrid-unique factor causing a mileage penalty in colder weather...even after the car has had a chance to warm up, the engine temperature can drop significantly in city driving esp. when idling in EV mode with heater on. if the engine temp. drops low enough the ICE will kick in even at a dead stop. That said, I am surely still getting better mileage than if I were driving a non-hybrid. Even so I try to use the heated seat alone instead of the HVAC heater as much as possible in city driving.

[MrMikeL]

Agreed with all of the above. I noticed too that regenerative braking does not engage until the car seems to be warmed up a bit. I'm not worried.

 

No matter, I'm getting better mileage than I used to get :-)

[randylb]

Agreed with all of the above. I noticed too that regenerative braking does not engage until the car seems to be warmed up a bit. I'm not worried.

 

No matter, I'm getting better mileage than I used to get :-)

 

 

That's a relief to hear, I was thinking that something might be wrong with my regen braking....

[Kelly Trusz Urban]

first winter with mine and its doing the same thing, i chalked it up to the cold. upside is that 2 miles of ICE running gives me nearly 100% charge to when it goes into EV it goes forever!

i just did 78mpg over a 9mi trip.

[escapingwinter]

I have the same issues but I chalked it up to changing to winter tires . Will be interesting to see if the mileage goes back up come spring time

[joeyc1960]

Weather in the 20,s now my milage is down to 31 mpg, from my summer avg. of 38.

[carltj]

In coastal CT I have gone from averaging 47 mpg in the six warmer months of the year to 37 in November and December. This morning got 18 mpg on a 1.3 mile trip ( half of which is downhill) on a cold start. I really like my MMH, but would have looked at the Volt in light of the Father Obama'sincredibly generous tax credit for his automobile company and my number of short trips. I knew I would take a hit in the cold weather, but not like this..

[lolder]

Most of the hit is the cabin heater. It keeps the ICE running all the time on short, cold start trips.

Edited December 29, 2010 by lolder

[mirak]

Most of the hit is the cabin heater. It keeps the ICE running all the time on short, cold start trips.

 

This is true. If you're that serious about mpg, don't use the heater. (But you could use your heated seats instead, if you've got those. Doesn't seem to have much impact on the battery).

 

Bottom line is, as most have noted, hybrids don't perform as well in cold weather. This isn't something unique to Ford. They still perform better than their non-hybrid counterparts. My long term MPG has dropped from 42 to 38 over the past few months, and it will probably go as low as 35, just like it did last year. When the weather warms up, so does the mpg!

Edited December 29, 2010 by mirak

[Jaradel]

Bottom line is, as most have noted, hybrids don't perform as well in cold weather. This isn't something unique to Ford. They still perform better than their non-hybrid counterparts. My long term MPG has dropped from 42 to 38 over the past few months, and it will probably go as low as 35, just like it did last year. When the weather warms up, so does the mpg!

 

This is good to know. I just bought my FFH at the end of November (and it's been fairly cold around these parts), and was worried that I was just a bad driver because my long-term mpg has been hovering between 33.0 and 33.5. But from what I've read on here, I should see gradual improvement as the weather gets warmer, so I'll just look forward to spring. B)

[Fuze-ion]

I have seen my average drop from 38 mpg to 31 mpg, with my 12 mile commute. I drive to work at 5:00 am, and most of the last two months, the temperature's have been in the 20's. Unfortunately, I don't have leather, so no heated seat option. I use the heater, and suffer with the lower mpg. It's still much better then the 15 mpg, I get with my Expedition.

[CometFlash]

Don't feel too bad, guys. My F-150 gets a measely 13.6 MPG in the winter. In the summer, if I drive like a grandfather, I can get a tip-top max of 16.4MPG. Driving normally it's about 15.4MPG

 

So an FFH getting JUST 33MPG in the winter sounds pretty damn good to me! :yup:

[dogo88]

I have seen my average drop from 38 mpg to 31 mpg, with my 12 mile commute. I drive to work at 5:00 am, and most of the last two months, the temperature's have been in the 20's. Unfortunately, I don't have leather, so no heated seat option. I use the heater, and suffer with the lower mpg. It's still much better then the 15 mpg, I get with my Expedition.

 

I'm getting similar mileage her in Central NJ. With this cold weather it's dropped. But as noted by others, it's still way better than the 17-19 I was getting on my old Buick.

 

Dan

[tmdata]

I've noticed the same thing as everyone here; my Long Term fuel economy has dropped from 39.5 to 37.8 with the cold and that the regenerative braking is not indicated when the engine is cold. I see that my mileage is generally very low on my short trips 25 to 35. Luckily, my wife trips average 20+ miles and the long term mileage stays up. My take on the regenerative braking is that the ICE is running hard enough during the cold start-up to fully charge the HV battery, leaving the regen brakes without enough potential to add anything to the HV battery. At first I thought something was wrong with the brakes but then I noticed as the ICE warmed up the regen symbol was back on. The regen was back on even before the EV mode was available.

[mirak]

I'm now down to 36.5. Maybe all the "global warming" has spoiled me, but it seems like this been a really COLD winter here in the heartland!

[Noel]

My peak summer cumulative (for 6 months or so, since the last spontaneous reset) was 45.8mpg. I bottomed out so far this winter to a low of 40.4 (haven't reset for about 10 months or so), now I'm back to 40.9 with some recent warming we've had over the prior months. It's just the way batteries work, since they are chemical they are affected by ambient temperature. I do try hard to maintain mileage during the winter, so as others have suggested I will avoid turning on the heater in favor of using the electric seat heater and gloves, until the engine has warmed up. Even in temps around 30 the car does go into EV mode within a mile or so, as in when I come to a stop. I also keep the A/C at a fairly high level during hotter periods here during the summer--set it at around 76 or so degrees when is high 90's or above ambient.

 

I'm still struggling w/ the decision to buy or not buy extended warranty policy w/ Ford. There are so many features on this car and I'm guessing they will be very pricey to fix, it makes me wonder if it wouldn't be wise. So far, knock on wood, so good. I've got around 24K miles on the car now.

 

Noel

[lolder]

The cold weather hit is not the HVB, it's cold, dense air and wet cluttered roads. Stiff lubricants, cold tires, warming up several hundred pounds of ICE, higher headwinds. So far at 70,000 + miles in the government test by Idaho National Laboratory's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity, two FFHs have had no problems. That's only two cars though. Two 2005 FEHs completed their 160,000 mile tests with a lot more maintenance. See: http://avt.inl.gov/hev.shtml