driving close to 62 mph

[neod192]

This is true, it isnt until I am about 9 miles into my trip that I start to recover the lost miles from cold start and acceleration. It takes about 5 miles before the car settles down to where I can stay light on the throttle and hold the speed, and its not just the FFH, but also the Flex that does it. Just drive it as any other car the first 5 or so miles, then go hybrid on it. Dont get crazy stupid racing around though.

That makes me wish my commute was longer, lol.

[tombarker13ffh]

My mpg definitely goes down on the highway. On my school commute this morning I got 47mpg and then 51mpg on the return trip, about 55mph. On my slower 40-45mph work commute I can get 55-65mpg as of late. Got 72mpg today but I had a 10mph tailwind ;)

[tombarker13ffh]

But it definitely doesn't take me 9 miles to 'go hybrid' on 'er. I can get up to 55mph and start EVing within a mile from my house, if not less. I bet that first mile would show 15-20mpg though if I turned the key off then. I bet 3-4 miles later it averages out to mid-40s.

[neod192]

But it definitely doesn't take me 9 miles to 'go hybrid' on 'er. I can get up to 55mph and start EVing within a mile from my house, if not less. I bet that first mile would show 15-20mpg though if I turned the key off then. I bet 3-4 miles later it averages out to mid-40s.

Yours has a key ? :hysterical3:

[tombarker13ffh]

Pretty lame, I know. Beats the fat 2012 keys though. I had two of those on my keys before I got the ffh. What a pain...

[keybman]

This is true, it isnt until I am about 9 miles into my trip that I start to recover the lost miles from cold start and acceleration. It takes about 5 miles before the car settles down to where I can stay light on the throttle and hold the speed, and its not just the FFH, but also the Flex that does it. Just drive it as any other car the first 5 or so miles, then go hybrid on it. Dont get crazy stupid racing around though.

 

 

My mpg definitely goes down on the highway. On my school commute this morning I got 47mpg and then 51mpg on the return trip, about 55mph. On my slower 40-45mph work commute I can get 55-65mpg as of late. Got 72mpg today but I had a 10mph tailwind ;)

 

It's like there are multiple versions of this car. For example, on the short commute, mine is much more like Tom's...EV starts less than 0.5 mile from home and would go for miles in EV mode if I didn't have to hit the highway. Short trips are often in the high 50s-low 60s. Add the highway and it the average will drop to the low 50s.

 

When I read different owner experiences in the FFH forum here, it keeps reminding me of the old parable of the "blind men and the elephant", with each man having his version of truth as to what an elephant is ("each was partly in the right, but all were in the wrong"). But, the problem I keep running into is that we seem to have multiple elephants rampant in our experiences, so there is no one absolute truth that can describe any one elephant accurately. What works for one 13 FFH, doesn't work for the next...Some of what works for other hybrids might or might not work for some 13 FFHs, etc.

 

So, I guess my question is... Is this situation unique to this particular 2013 FFH production line? Or, is this a common problem of consistency for all automobile brands and/or lines?

[acdii]

Where Tom lives and I live, though same state, very different in elevation and temps. The one I had, when it was above 40* would go EV in a short distance, but the roads by me are 55 MPG rural roads, and lots of inclines. It took at least 6 miles or more before the 13 would warm up enough to turn white before I put grill covers on, then it would warm up much quicker, but the MPG never improved. This is why mine take longer to reverse the negative and start to go positive, even my 2010 is like that, mainly due to the roads I travel. And you can see my 2010 is doing quite well now, got 44.7 on this last tank.

[hybridbear]

That makes me wish my commute was longer, lol.

Me too...that's why I try to avoid driving the car to work as much as possible since I only live 1.3 miles from the office. And if it's too cold to walk often my wife will drop me off at work. Driving 2.6 miles instead of 1.3 makes a huge difference in fuel economy.

 

But it definitely doesn't take me 9 miles to 'go hybrid' on 'er. I can get up to 55mph and start EVing within a mile from my house, if not less. I bet that first mile would show 15-20mpg though if I turned the key off then. I bet 3-4 miles later it averages out to mid-40s.

Me too. On my 1.3 mile drive to work it takes about .5 miles at 25-30 MPH for the ICE to first shut off. And that's at temps below freezing. Now that the weather is warming up where it's been in the 40s in the morning it takes .3-.4 miles before the ICE will shut off the first time. So basically when I drive to work I go 1.3 miles with .8-1.0 EV miles but my MPG is often only in the 30s according to the trip computer.

 

Yours has a key ? :hysterical3:

That's mean :drool: :cry:

 

It's like there are multiple versions of this car. For example, on the short commute, mine is much more like Tom's...EV starts less than 0.5 mile from home and would go for miles in EV mode if I didn't have to hit the highway. Short trips are often in the high 50s-low 60s. Add the highway and it the average will drop to the low 50s.

 

When I read different owner experiences in the FFH forum here, it keeps reminding me of the old parable of the "blind men and the elephant", with each man having his version of truth as to what an elephant is ("each was partly in the right, but all were in the wrong"). But, the problem I keep running into is that we seem to have multiple elephants rampant in our experiences, so there is no one absolute truth that can describe any one elephant accurately. What works for one 13 FFH, doesn't work for the next...Some of what works for other hybrids might or might not work for some 13 FFHs, etc.

 

So, I guess my question is... Is this situation unique to this particular 2013 FFH production line? Or, is this a common problem of consistency for all automobile brands and/or lines?

Highway driving does kill the MPGs. That's why I've starting trying to avoid the freeway whenever possible on shorter trips. It might take a little bit longer through the city but I can get 50-65 MPG instead of 40-45 with the same origin and destination.

 

Since hybrids are so sensitive to driver input I'd guess that your observation would be true of most, if not all, hybrids. I'd guess that mild hybrids would not be affected like this, but that any full hybrids like the TCH or Pious or our cars would be similar.

[acdii]

Makes me wonder if after a year of driving it every day the throttle will become less sensitive and be easier to keep it in its sweet spot like the 10 has. One more MPG and I hit city EPA :)

[Fynack]

Causing massive swings in the battery can shorten the life of the battery and lower MPGs. Just put it in cruise and have a nice day.

[Eliotmal]

But it definitely doesn't take me 9 miles to 'go hybrid' on 'er. I can get up to 55mph and start EVing within a mile from my house, if not less. I bet that first mile would show 15-20mpg though if I turned the key off then. I bet 3-4 miles later it averages out to mid-40s.

Don't get me wrong, I can get into EV mode right away too. But all that does is keep the gas engine cool or cold, when you start the gas engine is cold, it starts to warm up, but every time you go into EV mode it starts to cool off again. In that way it can take a long time and several miles for the engine to get to full operating temperature. So every time you are running on the gas engine you get poor milage. It can take up to half or more of a 10 mile trip for the gas engine to get fully warm if you keep switching between gas and EV. I think that is why shout 10-15 mile trips tend to do worse mpg wise. I put the temperature gage on the right side of the my view screen (the left I have the bar graph of fuel history). you can watch the temp go up and down in those early miles. I would bet that people doing lots of short trip (separated by some time) are getting worse mileage that people with longer trips (other things, like % of highway driving, being equal).

[fusionTX]

My daily commute is 12 miles, mostly highway, and the minimum mileage I get is around 43. I do use ACC and it seems perfect for my commute. Speed limits are 60 and 65 on the highways I use. Traffic is such, that for parts of the trip you are going slower than speed limit. This is tailor made for the car to go into EV during these portions. Setting the cruise between 58 and 62, depending on how heavy the traffic is, does the trick for me. I am quite happy with 43 or 44 MPG. Sometimes it is higher. Even when traffic is light, I still manage mid forties with cruise set at 62.

 

If I take the back roads, the commute becomes 10 miles, and a couple of days ago I got close to 60 MPG. For my purposes, I don't see how going faster would yield a better MPG. And most times, I catch up to the cars that passed me as traffic increases.

 

There are other highways in Houston that have higher overpasses (45 north to my dealer), and I've noticed that cruise is not as efficient in all these frequent high flyovers. Luckily, in my commute the flyovers are not that high.

[hybridbear]

Don't get me wrong, I can get into EV mode right away too. But all that does is keep the gas engine cool or cold, when you start the gas engine is cold, it starts to warm up, but every time you go into EV mode it starts to cool off again. In that way it can take a long time and several miles for the engine to get to full operating temperature. So every time you are running on the gas engine you get poor milage. It can take up to half or more of a 10 mile trip for the gas engine to get fully warm if you keep switching between gas and EV. I think that is why shout 10-15 mile trips tend to do worse mpg wise. I put the temperature gage on the right side of the my view screen (the left I have the bar graph of fuel history). you can watch the temp go up and down in those early miles. I would bet that people doing lots of short trip (separated by some time) are getting worse mileage that people with longer trips (other things, like % of highway driving, being equal).

You touch on a good point. When the ICE can't warm up fully it burns more fuel every time it turns on in comparison with when it is warm. That is why you will see better gas mileage in the warmer weather even if the percentage of miles driven in EV mode doesn't increase. I also like having the temp gauge on My View and it is crazy to watch how fast the temp falls in the winter when driving in EV mode. Now that the weather is warmer this drop is much less which leads to a more efficient ICE when it does run and thus higher fuel economy.

 

If I take the back roads, the commute becomes 10 miles, and a couple of days ago I got close to 60 MPG. For my purposes, I don't see how going faster would yield a better MPG. And most times, I catch up to the cars that passed me as traffic increases.

 

There are other highways in Houston that have higher overpasses (45 north to my dealer), and I've noticed that cruise is not as efficient in all these frequent high flyovers. Luckily, in my commute the flyovers are not that high.

What's the length of time for the trip between back roads and freeway?

 

What do you mean by the "high flyovers"? Do you mean that the road elevation is going up and down a lot?

[tombarker13ffh]

Don't get me wrong, I can get into EV mode right away too. But all that does is keep the gas engine cool or cold, when you start the gas engine is cold, it starts to warm up, but every time you go into EV mode it starts to cool off again. In that way it can take a long time and several miles for the engine to get to full operating temperature. So every time you are running on the gas engine you get poor milage. It can take up to half or more of a 10 mile trip for the gas engine to get fully warm if you keep switching between gas and EV. I think that is why shout 10-15 mile trips tend to do worse mpg wise. I put the temperature gage on the right side of the my view screen (the left I have the bar graph of fuel history). you can watch the temp go up and down in those early miles. I would bet that people doing lots of short trip (separated by some time) are getting worse mileage that people with longer trips (other things, like % of highway driving, being equal).

I can see this in cold weather. I will run on EV til I'm out of charge and the ice will kick on and say 'engine cold' and run for a bit, but its not done that in 40+ temps for me. Sure its colder and a 5-mile trip will be better than a 3-mile trip for me, but a 10-mile trip will not be better than a 7-mile trip. There's a point now in those 5-7 miles where I am maxed on the trip average and I am EV'ing as much as I can to keep it there. There is no gain for me driving 20 miles over 10.

[tombarker13ffh]

Unless of course the wind is pushing me along and I get trips like that 17-mile 71.7 mpg I got last week...

[tombarker13ffh]

The point I was making though was that it didn't take long to get to the minimum temp that EV mode can be used. Unlike in winter when it took more like 2 miles before the ICE would even shut off...

[fusionTX]

 

 

What's the length of time for the trip between back roads and freeway?

 

What do you mean by the "high flyovers"? Do you mean that the road elevation is going up and down a lot?

Freeway, going to work is usually 15 to 16 minutes.

Back roads will take a minimum of 25 minutes, coming and going.

 

Freeway, coming home is more unpredictable, and will sometimes take longer than back roads.

 

Yes, some overpasses on Houston highways are quite high, so instead of a flat highway, it's like drivingin rolling hills.

Interstate 45 is pretty bad this way, but that is not partof my route, but it is my route to the dealership.

Last time I did that route, I think I ended up at 42 MPG, but a lot of the mileage was made up after exiting the freeway.

[GrySql]

Yesterday we had a funeral to attend, then a road trip up Hwy 101 to the central coast of CA, 350 miles or so total.

In the morning my mileage was not so hot because I was hustling along at 75mph most of the first 120 miles to the first stop.

After that the traffic was heavy and I was pushing again up to Santa Barbara for dinner break.

Finally, with the pressure off, for the last 150 miles we were in light traffic and I calmed down and started experimenting with the instant mpg ideas and different speed settings.

 

For my car, using ECOcruise, on the highway without many slow downs 65mph seems to be the magic number.

With the rolling hills, low elevation and light traffic and keeping the speed above the EV limit lets the HVB charge on the downhills and assist on the uphills.

My mileage climbed from the mornings fast driving 35-37mpg to this section of road at 65mph to 45-47mpg.

It was also very relaxing because portions on Hwy 101 are speed traps for the CHP and I could ignore all that.

 

These cars do amazing things, drive it like you stole it and you get 35mpg, or, sit back and relax and the mpg's go up and the trip becomes peaceful and profitable.

Either way, I'm happy.

Edited May 13, 2013 by GrySql

[Allegany]

Well on Friday I had to head to the big city of Rochester. Got on the freeway and put the cruise at 62. Barely had anyone pass me and went 52 miles total and got 56.8 mpg. The same trip home I got 41. Difference is between down hill going uphill coming home. But still the average for the trip was 48.9MPG When I filled up the car the computer said my average for the tank was 44.9, after filling it up the calculated mileage was 44.6. Pretty close. So the bottom line for me at least is that the computer must be pretty close and my long term average since I got the car is now at 39.9, I have 10600 miles on it and around 4500 electric miles. Running good so far. Got a service bulletin from Ford stating that they had installed the wrong shifter in the car and to see the dealer to get it replaced. I like the cheaper shifter but since I paid for the more expensive one I might as well get them to change it. One other thing, its snowing and the lawn is turning white. Back to winter.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Allegany

[acdii]

 

Back to winter

 

There was frost on the ground this morning, and the forecast for tomorrow is over 80*. Whatsupwiththat?

[neod192]

There was frost on the ground this morning, and the forecast for tomorrow is over 80*. Whatsupwiththat?

Ditto! I think we lost some tomato plants overnight ... :cry:

[corncobs]

Ditto! I think we lost some tomato plants overnight ... :cry:

Hopefully or last minute effort @ 10:30PM covering our plants with frost blankets saved our flowers; I had ice on my rear window this morning ?

I would have had another 50+ MPG commute today but the cold temps killed it only got 46 MPG.

[acdii]

My daughter kept asking, when are we going to plant flowers, I told her after the 15th, that is when frost is least likely to happen. You hear me Mother Nature, No more frost after Wednesday!

[hybridbear]

That's crazy that it's so cold in IL. Is that where you are too Neod? It got down to about 35 in Minneapolis, but not below freezing. Tomorrow is supposed to be 95 here after it was 35 this morning!

[neod192]

That's crazy that it's so cold in IL. Is that where you are too Neod? It got down to about 35 in Minneapolis, but not below freezing. Tomorrow is supposed to be 95 here after it was 35 this morning!

Nope, i'm in Detroit ...