Fusion Hybrid: Fuel Saving Tips and Tricks

[Fusion Hybrid Guide]

We've added this new section so that other Fusion Hybrid members can share their driving tips & tricks that have improved their mileage.

 

Please feel free to share your driving methods that you've used to maximize your Fusion's efficiency! :superhero:

 

Bill

[acdii]

While I cant say it works on the 2013, cause it doesn't work in mine, nothing does at this point, in cold weather, I make sure I shut the HVAC off before I start the car. Turn on the seat warmers, put on some gloves and dont breath heavy, and drive. If your windows start to fog, turn the defrost/floor on with low blower. This minimizes heat drawn from the engine so it warms quicker and gets you into EV mode faster. When you are on open road above 45, then you can turn up the heat since the engine at that speed is on all the time.

 

In summertime, if you have sunroof, open all windows and the sunroof for a few minutes, then close the front windows, set the sunroof to the vent position, and close the rear windows until there is about an inch gap. Unless it is really hot and humid, this actually keeps the car cool so you dont need to run AC. I gain at least 3 MPG during the summer on the highway this way.

[coach81]

thanks for the info!

[GrayStrider]

Got my best trip MPG today (56.3 mpg!). Outdoor temp was 57 for the trip over to my folks' house. Had it in Empower mode so I could really concentrate on my acceleration, and although a good amount of the driving was slightly downhill, I had pretty good results. The return trip, three hours later, wasn't as good (33.9 mpg), partly because the engine/battery needed to warm up before I could get into EV mode (47 degrees) with 4.6 EV miles of the 10 mile trip.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2013 by GrayStrider

[coach81]

Going to add you to my friends list on fuelly.. in anticipation of my vehicle.. next week..

 

Thanks for the info...

[GrayStrider]

Wow, sounds like a beauty once your car arrives! Don't have the driver assist (that's the lane changing system, right?) but kinda wish now we did as I think it includes front park assist and that would be really handy - have a hard time knowing where the front end of the car is and have multiple times driven too far up in a parking spot and hit the air dam on the concrete stop thing in the space. Hoping not to crack the front end as I've heard some people have.

[hybridbear]

I agree with the comment about minimizing HVAC usage when cold. It is very cold in Minnesota, but we try to just use heated seats at least the first few minutes and only turn on the HVAC once the windows start to fog up. That helps us get around 40 MPG avg even with daytime highs only around 15 and lows around 0 each day. Most of our trips are less than 10 miles and then the ICE never even warms up

[coach81]

While I cant say it works on the 2013, cause it doesn't work in mine, nothing does at this point, in cold weather, I make sure I shut the HVAC off before I start the car. Turn on the seat warmers, put on some gloves and dont breath heavy, and drive. If your windows start to fog, turn the defrost/floor on with low blower. This minimizes heat drawn from the engine so it warms quicker and gets you into EV mode faster. When you are on open road above 45, then you can turn up the heat since the engine at that speed is on all the time.

 

In summertime, if you have sunroof, open all windows and the sunroof for a few minutes, then close the front windows, set the sunroof to the vent position, and close the rear windows until there is about an inch gap. Unless it is really hot and humid, this actually keeps the car cool so you dont need to run AC. I gain at least 3 MPG during the summer on the highway this way.

Awesome tips!

 

Wow, sounds like a beauty once your car arrives! Don't have the driver assist (that's the lane changing system, right?) but kinda wish now we did as I think it includes front park assist and that would be really handy - have a hard time knowing where the front end of the car is and have multiple times driven too far up in a parking spot and hit the air dam on the concrete stop thing in the space. Hoping not to crack the front end as I've heard some people have.

Thanks!

 

I agree with the comment about minimizing HVAC usage when cold. It is very cold in Minnesota, but we try to just use heated seats at least the first few minutes and only turn on the HVAC once the windows start to fog up. That helps us get around 40 MPG avg even with daytime highs only around 15 and lows around 0 each day. Most of our trips are less than 10 miles and then the ICE never even warms up

Yes, great tip, I plan to use it also.. both in the winter, and summer.

[lolder]

One technique that is rarely mentioned is to minimize go pedal movement. Every time you change that pedal, the computer has to recalculate the new operating point. It does it very quickly but it's more efficient when you keep steady pressure. I notice when my wife is driving that she's on and off the throttle all the time. She doesn't seem to have a good sense of closure rates on the vehicle in front of her. In the FFH, this causes more stops and starts of the ICE. There is an energy penalty in starting the ICE which is not recouped when it is shut down; unlike the regenerative braking energy recovered from the original speed acceleration. The Prius ICE doesn't shut down as aggressively as the FFH ICE and that may be one of the reasons it's mileage is less affected by driving style.

[acdii]

Feathering is OK, but on and off the pedal, I agree with. That confuses the system into thinking you are coasting. Even after 7400 miles I still havent quite found its sweet spot for smooth transition to EV without backing completely off the pedal. It's there, but havent found it's point.

[ptjones]

2013 FFH AC doesn't run off the ICE so there isn't as much a penalty for using AC.

[neod192]

AC uses power from the high voltage battery, so it'll deplete quicker and the ICE will kick in to charge it.

[hybridbear]

One technique that is rarely mentioned is to minimize go pedal movement. Every time you change that pedal, the computer has to recalculate the new operating point. It does it very quickly but it's more efficient when you keep steady pressure. I notice when my wife is driving that she's on and off the throttle all the time. She doesn't seem to have a good sense of closure rates on the vehicle in front of her. In the FFH, this causes more stops and starts of the ICE. There is an energy penalty in starting the ICE which is not recouped when it is shut down; unlike the regenerative braking energy recovered from the original speed acceleration. The Prius ICE doesn't shut down as aggressively as the FFH ICE and that may be one of the reasons it's mileage is less affected by driving style.

 

Great point about the Prius ICE shut down in comparison to the FFH ICE shut down. I would add that the TCH ICE shut down is also less agressive and that may also contribute to it not being as affected by driving style.

[acdii]

The 2010-12 FFH is very similar to the Toyota systems, but can EV up to 45 instead of 42 in the Toys. It transitions smoother than Toyotas do.

 

The 2.5L engine used is more fuel efficient at sustained highway speeds than the 2.0 that is in the new Fusions since it has to run above 45 MPH with very little assist from the EV side. Makes me wonder why Ford chose a smaller engine when the proven 2.5 does very well at highway speeds. If the tech used to get up to 62 MPG EV is used with the 2.5 wouldn't it be even more fuel efficient?

[hybridbear]

The 2010-12 FFH is very similar to the Toyota systems, but can EV up to 45 instead of 42 in the Toys. It transitions smoother than Toyotas do.

 

The 2.5L engine used is more fuel efficient at sustained highway speeds than the 2.0 that is in the new Fusions since it has to run above 45 MPH with very little assist from the EV side. Makes me wonder why Ford chose a smaller engine when the proven 2.5 does very well at highway speeds. If the tech used to get up to 62 MPG EV is used with the 2.5 wouldn't it be even more fuel efficient?

 

I have wondered the same thing. In the 2012 TCH Toyota increased the size of their ICE. Toyota said that this was part of the improvement in overall fuel economy for the new generation of the TCH. They did the same thing with the Prius. They have found that increasing the size of the ICE can actually improve fuel economy. Before we bought our Fusion I had asked the dealer about this, they of course have no clue. If there had been more time in that Fusion Hybrid lunch interview thing with Gil Portalatin I would have asked him about this as well. It seems like the 2.0 ICE, especially being Atkinson cycle, ends up less efficient because the power demand is too high at freeway speeds which counteracts the normally increased efficiency of the Atkinson cycle compared to a normal Otto cycle ICE

[GreenAussie]

I thought that the Atkinson cycle was just a change in the talve timings (i.e. open for part of the compression cycle). If that's the case then direct valve actuation via a solinoid, could make that programable and you could get the advantages or both. I guess 2 cams would work too. I guess this is too expensive to implement.

[acdii]

Atkinson is more than valve timing, it also has a longer stroke. If the valve closes normally then pre-detonation would occur, and you would need 110 octane av gas to avoid that. As for a larger engine being more efficient, it does hold true in some respects. When you have so much HP and torque to weight/wind resistance ratio, the larger engines will be more efficient since it doesn't have to work as hard to move the vehicle. Thats the premise behind the Ecoboost engines, more power in a smaller engine that can get the vehicle moving, then be efficient at cruising speeds. Works with the V6, but doesn't appear to work well with the I4.

 

To me Ford went backwards in the new Fusion. It is so much easier to get decent MPG in the older FFH at highway speeds. The engine isnt working as hard in it.

[alpha754293]

I've noticed already that you CAN kinda coax it into going into EV mode if you lift off the gas pedal although I'm still trying to figure out the nuiances of driving the FFH. Interestingly enough, one of the questions that I get asked a fair bit by my coworkers is "how does it know when to start the gas engine?" and some other basic questions about how it works. lol...it's funny how the new guy (< 2 months) who's bought it knows more about it than people who's been here for years. *shrug*

 

Unfortunately, there are times when I can't do that because it won't be to safe to do so on Michigan roads. (I'll get rearended or tailgated.)

[corncobs]

I was talking about this with riggo in the MPG Happy Talk thread and everyone is welcome to pitch in.

 

Here is what I found very helpful and efficient when driving on highways at speeds between 45 - 55 MPH. I don't believe it's very efficient to charge the HVB as high as possible before going into EV mode. If you can keep a constant speed here is how I handle the transitions between EV and ICE.

 

Once the SOC is so low that the blue threshold on the Empower screen is at the first marker the ICE kicks in. You can get it lower than that but let's keep this example.

 

 

Now if you maintain the demand the HVB will be charged and your are holding speed; as soon the blue threshold bar reappears and is visible I kick it back into EV.

 

Doing that will provide you with a EV threshold between the first and second white bar. Like the following pic;

 

 

I believe this way the ICE is running as hard to recharge the HVB from a low SOC but you still get a very good EV mileage out of the charge; on the other hand you are also not spending extra time while trying to get the SOC so high that the EV threshold reaches the second white bar.

I think it's like P&G but not in terms of speeding up to speed limit +5 and dropping below speed limit while in EV.

 

Let me know what guys think and if you try it out how it works out.

[Riggo]

So when you say "kick it back into EV" do you mean release your foot off the gas and allow your speed to drop until the EV kicks in and then try to maintain EV as long as possible? That's how I normally drive, it's a bit of a hassle but that's how I get the 45 mpg to work each day. Any other way and the numbers are in the low 40s.

The only way I can hold a steady speed in EV doing it this way is on flat or downhill terrain. Any slight incline and the ICE will kick back in if I want to maintain the current speed.

[corncobs]

Yes that's what I mean and do; foot of the gas completely. That shuts down the ICE instantly and enables the EV mode. Now I touch the has again so that the blue EV bar stays within the threshold frame.

I can usually do this with very minimal loss of speed even in hilly terrain but it's very sensitive. It was actually very hard to take the pics since I would change the has pedal position just so slightly that it would kick it into EV before I wanted or vice versa.

Now I don't know the area you are in but we have some "hills" around here too and with a little practice; a little speed loss and a decent SOC I can manage to get uphill without ICE help.

As stated by others the gas pedal is very very sensitive; the slightest change can change the power demand drastically.

 

The other thing I have tried is to reduce the power demand on the ICE while charging; I have seen 10 MPG instant display difference when you lift your foot just slightly so that the white bar stays at the first cross marker. The higher the SOC becomes the higher the instant MPGs climb just like on the interstate; "fully" charged and you can see 50+ instant MPG.

[hybridbear]

You don't have to take your foot off completely, you can "feather" the pedal and let it kick down to EV without taking your foot off the pedal all the way

[corncobs]

You don't have to take your foot off completely, you can "feather" the pedal and let it kick down to EV without taking your foot off the pedal all the way

Yes but when I accelerate from a stand still I do it in very normal fashion mostly even above the second white marker and slightly past the speed limit; take the foot of the gas and coast for a bit before I continue in EV mode.

[acdii]

Something interesting I found in the Flex, and may relate back to the 13 Fusion. If I take my foot completely off the gas, the car goes into downshift mode, where it thinks since you took your foot off you are planning on braking. If I leave just a very slight pressure on it, then it doesn't slowdown, yet the IFE gauge is fully blue. The moment I remove the pressure I can feel the car slow as if its dropping a gear. I should hook the scangauge up to it and see what the tps reading is, as it barely does anything RPM wise. I dont think the pedal moves any more than 1/16th of an inch if that.

 

Since the new Fusion is slightly different than the old one and the Flex(the 10 FFH and Flex are very similar above 45 MPH), the pedal pressures needed to feather are quite different, that was one of the most difficult things I had to contend with going between the two cars, took 8000 miles before I found the key differences. In the 10 FFH when the foot is taken completely off, it coasts, doesnt go into full regen but captures some energy as it freewheels. The 13 when you release the gas goes into the same type of anticipation of braking mode and starts to full regen, which is why I can feel a huge difference between the two and why my brake scores were low. Where I would take my foot off and coast in the 10, I needed to keep on the throttle in the 13 and brake later, and that timing was a bitch to contend with.

 

For example, on the rural roads, the best place to release the gas is when you get to the sign warning of the stop ahead, and I would coast maybe half the distance then apply brakes. The regen in the 10 slows the car pretty quick. The 13 however if I lift my foot at that sign the car has slowed too much so that by the time I reach the stop sign I am 10 feet behind it. Other times I am past the stop sign and have to use the service brakes, which instantly kill a good score. Occasionally I can release the gas at that sign and lightly rest my foot on the brake so it starts to regen, but then I am crawling the last 30 feet to the stop. Totally different between the 2.

[corncobs]

I remember you saying that about the poor coasting abilities in your 13. Mine is completely different; when I take the foot of the gas it really coasts for a long time without really slowing down much at all; in CL on 14 between lights at 35 MPH I can take me foot of the gas at one traffic light when I see the next one red and still need to use the brakes when I get there.