Mileage and the short commute

[tombarker13ffh]

Was it cold/warm out? Seems to me like your car is having to use more gas/juice to maintain speed than mine does. Like youre going uphill or something.

[elle]

Hm. I put a new tank of gas in my car last week and am now struggling with the mileage the way acdii is. I had this same experience with my Prius, where some tanks seemed to be high mileage tanks, and some didn't. Could there be that much variation in quality of gas? Will try adding some higher octane gas and see what happens.

[expresspotato]

So I'm now on my 3rd tank and the results are at least getting better:

- 7.3 L / 100KM (32.18 MPG)

- 6.9 L / 100KM (34.04 MPG)

- 6.1 L / 100KM (38.51 MPG)

 

Definitely due to the warmer weather!

[tombarker13ffh]

35 degrees, windy and snowing today and i got 39.8mpg on my way into town with cruise on 60, i went to my inlaws which is closer, 10.7 miles, if i went to work it wouldve been over 40 still. Only 1.9 miles was on EV. I usually get more EV cruising through town to work. And on the highway, for that matter.

[acdii]

Was it cold/warm out? Seems to me like your car is having to use more gas/juice to maintain speed than mine does. Like youre going uphill or something.

It was in the 20's, and that road has a lot of hills, not shorty ones, but gradual climb/decents. Not enough downhill to charge the pack, but plenty of uphill to suck up gas. I found if I can keep the pack full and stay above 60 on this road its a lot easier.

[Fynack]

Based on my experience with owning a Prius and then a 2010 FFH and now a 2013 FFH, I see very little difference in the amount of time it takes to warm up and to start using EV.

I cant speak for the prius but the 2013 es300h warms at 32f in 1.6miles while the 2013 ffh warms up in 5 miles. Thats huge difference for short commuters.

[Fynack]

My wife has a 2.5 mile commute to work so round trip is around 5 miles. She has been plugging in the car

most of the time at home this winter. She averages about 24 mpg on her daily commutes. I don't think the engine

heater is helping much since the engine still is not getting warm enough in 2.5 miles to operate even close to efficently.

Our lifetime mileage is 31.8 with almost 4,000 miles driven. Short trips in cold weather will kill mileage in any car.

She got around the same MPG's on her work route in her previous 2010 Fusion (non hybrid) 2.4 liter. We also are getting

about 34-36 MPG's on interstate (70-75mph) which is very close to what we were getting in her old car.

The car wont get warm in cold temps untill youve driven 5 miles so your wife will never see EV untill prob the spring and even then she probably wont see if for a few miles. This is information Ford/dealers needed to provide so people can make the best choice. Insteading just telling everyone "oh you'll see 47mpg, its amazing!!!"

[hermans]

My wife drives 4.3 miles to work and she sees EV going both ways with temps in the low 30s.

[hybridbear]

My wife has a 2.5 mile commute to work so round trip is around 5 miles. She has been plugging in the car

most of the time at home this winter. She averages about 24 mpg on her daily commutes. I don't think the engine

heater is helping much since the engine still is not getting warm enough in 2.5 miles to operate even close to efficently.

Our lifetime mileage is 31.8 with almost 4,000 miles driven. Short trips in cold weather will kill mileage in any car.

She got around the same MPG's on her work route in her previous 2010 Fusion (non hybrid) 2.4 liter. We also are getting

about 34-36 MPG's on interstate (70-75mph) which is very close to what we were getting in her old car.

 

Having the Block Heater plugged in should allow the car to start up warm enough that it will go into EV mode right away, unless you turn the HVAC on. The EBH heats everything up to around 50 C according the Engineering Test Mode on our car. At 50 C is where the ICE will turn off and allow the car to run in EV mode. It takes about 60 C for the ICE to turn off with the HVAC running.

 

My wife also has a short commute to work of about 7 miles with an average of 38.8 with about 800 miles logged. We haven't taken a trip yet to see what it can do on the interstate.

 

That's very good for such a short trip in winter. Expect to see that increase in the summer.

 

I cant speak for the prius but the 2013 es300h warms at 32f in 1.6miles while the 2013 ffh warms up in 5 miles. Thats huge difference for short commuters.

 

Fynack, you FFH had a build issue which is why it didn't warm up, just like acdii and others whose cars were built that week. Your experience is NOT representative of the car and what most owners are experiencing.

 

The car wont get warm in cold temps untill youve driven 5 miles so your wife will never see EV untill prob the spring and even then she probably wont see if for a few miles. This is information Ford/dealers needed to provide so people can make the best choice. Insteading just telling everyone "oh you'll see 47mpg, its amazing!!!"

 

That isn't true. When I drive to work it is 1.3 miles each way, starting from cold, not plugged in EBH, on all city streets max speed 25-30 MPH. The ICE is warm enough to shut off in less than a mile. Today it was around 20 degrees and snowing and the ICE came on leaving the parking lot of our apartment and had shut off after about .7 miles. I cruised the remaining .6 miles to work in EV mode without the ICE turning on again. Watching the coolant temp in ET mode I saw it reach 50 C, at which point the engine shut off, when I parked at work the coolant temp had dropped to 44 C, but because I didn't need the ICE on again for HVAC or acceleration the car just cruised in EV mode.

 

My wife drives 4.3 miles to work and she sees EV going both ways with temps in the low 30s.

 

Those who are having issues with temperature and thus with their MPGs have defective cars. It isn't a problem with all FFHs

[hybridbear]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=506827049359434

 

 

This is how mine has to be driven to get 40, drive it any other way and its below 40. If I can get the battery fully charged and stay above 60 and not use any EV I can get it above 40.

 

Your car is not representative of the rest of us. You can give it a rest now...we all know about your issues and frustration and continuing to bombard every single thread on the forum with comments about your experiences do not add any value.

 

My wife has a 2.5 mile commute to work so round trip is around 5 miles. She has been plugging in the car

most of the time at home this winter. She averages about 24 mpg on her daily commutes. I don't think the engine

heater is helping much since the engine still is not getting warm enough in 2.5 miles to operate even close to efficently.

Our lifetime mileage is 31.8 with almost 4,000 miles driven. Short trips in cold weather will kill mileage in any car.

She got around the same MPG's on her work route in her previous 2010 Fusion (non hybrid) 2.4 liter. We also are getting

about 34-36 MPG's on interstate (70-75mph) which is very close to what we were getting in her old car.

 

Scott029 - your car was built during the same time period as all the other cars that are getting very poor MPGs. It appears that you also got a lemon. All of us here certainly hope that Ford will acknowledge and fix the cars from that build period that are experiencing poor MPGs. It would be interesting to know if you are seeing fouled plugs and other indications of an issue like acdii has noticed.

 

We can only hope that Ford is studying this issue and that they will fix it soon.

[hermans]

Having the Block Heater plugged in should allow the car to start up warm enough that it will go into EV mode right away, unless you turn the HVAC on. The EBH heats everything up to around 50 C according the Engineering Test Mode on our car. At 50 C is where the ICE will turn off and allow the car to run in EV mode. It takes about 60 C for the ICE to turn off with the HVAC running.

 

 

That's very good for such a short trip in winter. Expect to see that increase in the summer.

 

 

Fynack, you FFH had a build issue which is why it didn't warm up, just like acdii and others whose cars were built that week. Your experience is NOT representative of the car and what most owners are experiencing.

 

 

That isn't true. When I drive to work it is 1.3 miles each way, starting from cold, not plugged in EBH, on all city streets max speed 25-30 MPH. The ICE is warm enough to shut off in less than a mile. Today it was around 20 degrees and snowing and the ICE came on leaving the parking lot of our apartment and had shut off after about .7 miles. I cruised the remaining .6 miles to work in EV mode without the ICE turning on again. Watching the coolant temp in ET mode I saw it reach 50 C, at which point the engine shut off, when I parked at work the coolant temp had dropped to 44 C, but because I didn't need the ICE on again for HVAC or acceleration the car just cruised in EV mode.

 

 

Those who are having issues with temperature and thus with their MPGs have defective cars. It isn't a problem with all FFHs

I agree, I just have a problem with people with issues painting all of our cars the same as theirs. To do so is less than honest.

[hybridbear]

I agree, I just have a problem with people with issues painting all of our cars the same as theirs. To do so is less than honest.

 

Exactly, and some of you might believe that Ford has been "less than honest" but until it is proven that they pulled some trickery like referenced in the article below, I'm willing to cut Ford some slack.

 

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082956_gaming-the-epa-gas-mileage-tests-well-europeans-are-worse

[acdii]

Whoa guys, dont lump me in with Fynack, I am not going around bashing the car. Someone asked for a video, I obliged but gave that disclaimer that mine doesn't represent the good majority. If I wasn't convinced I got a bad one and the later ones are OK, I would not have gone ahead and ordered a replacement! Yeah, I am taking a beating on depreciation, but I would rather than than worry about this down the road.

[GrySql]

Short commute? Works for me.....

Love this car!

 

Oh yeah, had four big bags of redwood yard chips and a 20lb bag of birdseed in the 'small' trunk too.

Edited March 18, 2013 by GrySql

[neod192]

Short commute? Works for me.....

Love this car!

 

Oh yeah, had four big bags of redwood yard chips and a 20lb bag of birdseed in the 'small' trunk too.

Sure, but isn't it already in the 70's in Cali? :) We're still dealing with 32* temps in SE MI ...

[jeff_h]

I think I have a good illustration of how the short commute and the ICE and cabin warming up make a difference.

 

I had to run an errand at lunch today, which was 2.5 miles from my office, and it was about 34F so as shown below the MPG took a hit on the drive to the appointment.

 

But it was a short appointment and so 10 minutes later I was back in the car, which was still pretty warm. Took a slight detour to hit a drive-thru for lunch, so it was 2.5 miles out and 2.9 miles back, note the MPG difference:

 

 

 

 

 

[GrySql]

Sure, but isn't it already in the 70's in Cali? :) We're still dealing with 32* temps in SE MI ...

You caught me....

I wouldn't be spreading wood chips in the Spring-time garden and feeding the birds if I was freezing in SE MI.

May your weather warm, your garden bloom and your mpg's multiply!

 

I was in Costco the other day and as I returned to the car I watched a woman ahead of me pushing her cart past my FFH.

She stopped, looked the car over and continued on, looking back occasionally. I liked that, but before I finished packing away the merchandise in the trunk another person stopped.

He and his wife asked all kinds of questions and said complimentary things about the FFH's appearance.

I love my car. ;)

 

Edit: Jeff, you have better Brake Scores than me, you're a smooth operator.

Edited March 18, 2013 by GrySql

[hermans]

Daffodils are springing up in my yard - right now it's sleeting and snow is on the way. Wife got 45.6 mpg on her trip home, cold start 4.3 miles.

Edited March 18, 2013 by hermans

[B25Nut]

Whoa guys, dont lump me in with Fynack, I am not going around bashing the car. Someone asked for a video, I obliged but gave that disclaimer that mine doesn't represent the good majority. If I wasn't convinced I got a bad one and the later ones are OK, I would not have gone ahead and ordered a replacement! Yeah, I am taking a beating on depreciation, but I would rather than than worry about this down the road.

"I am not going around bashing the car". It's been a while but you have used the term POS in describing your FFH several times. Acdii, with your years of hybrid experience, you are a great asset here. Many of us, however, get irritated when you constantly repeat your "poor MPG" theme in so many threads. On my computer, at least, it takes too much time to navigate from one thread to another. It has gotten to the point that if the main page shows you have a new response, I ignore it and hit "Mark this forum read". I know that I will sometimes miss some good advice by doing this, but I don't have the time to waste rereading your repeats.

In marriage, you can't express every thought and expect a long relationship. Please follow that rule here. Most of us know you're a good guy. Sometimes strange, but good. Just don't make the majority of your responses appear to be directed at first time readers of this forum.

Edited March 18, 2013 by B25Nut

[jeff_h]

Edit: Jeff, you have better Brake Scores than me, you're a smooth operator.

 

98% lifetime.... when I have to stop short at a red light or in traffic I look at the dash and say "ughhh there goes my brake score"... a couple weeks ago traffic stopped quickly in front of me, 51% braking... I think that's the lowest I've had, most of them I try to plan ahead.

[hybridbear]

98% lifetime.... when I have to stop short at a red light or in traffic I look at the dash and say "ughhh there goes my brake score"... a couple weeks ago traffic stopped quickly in front of me, 51% braking... I think that's the lowest I've had, most of them I try to plan ahead.

 

We're also at 98% lifetime and I get disappointed every time I have a trip that doesn't say 100%...

[tombarker13ffh]

98% lifetime.... when I have to stop short at a red light or in traffic I look at the dash and say "ughhh there goes my brake score"... a couple weeks ago traffic stopped quickly in front of me, 51% braking... I think that's the lowest I've had, most of them I try to plan ahead.

 

I would be lying if i said i havent rolled halfway into a few intersections cuz i wanted the brake score to hit 100% lol

[acdii]

I gave up on the brake scores after a while. For some odd, really weird reason, if I am slowing down nice, and gradual and at the end its a smooth stop, and thinking cool 100%, I look, 98%? eh? Other times I think oh great 90%, look down 100%. What I did find is if I have to tap the brake at the end to stop it, thats when I lose 2%.

 

Why is it all stop signs are at the bottom of hills? I have this one road near my office thats all downhill and 25 MPH, so I am riding the brakes all the way down and can usually get a full charge by the time I get down, but dang it, I have yet to get 100% at the stop sign.

 

I also found the brakes on the 10 are nothing like the 13, a few times I caught myself not applying enough brake on the 10. WHOA! Got too used to the hard regen on the 13 and didn't really notice the 10 isnt like that, until I got off the freeway this morning, and slowing down noticed, hmm not really slowing down much, OH CRAP LIGHT! Yeah service brakes did some grinding on that stop, had some rust on the rear rotors, not anymore! LOL

[hybridbear]

I would be lying if i said i havent rolled halfway into a few intersections cuz i wanted the brake score to hit 100% lol

 

I've done the same thing!! My wife will give me a look when I do that...

 

I think our Lifetime Brake Score would go higher than 98% except that my wife and I share the car and whenever she's driven if I look at the coaching bars they're always down a ways, both on acceleration and braking. She says it's because I've learned the timing on the lights near our house and in other parts of Minneapolis so I am better able to anticipate light changes than she is...

[ketel0ne]

Short commute 40 degrees outside. Car was had been sitting over night. Have 18 inch wheels and a 12-21-12 build date.