Turn Your Hybrid into an Energi (Plug In)

[Geremy13]

Turn Your Hybrid into an Energi (Plug In)......

 

Can we do this? Has anybody accomplished this thru modifications? I know that the battery is a little larger and that the MG2 is a little larger but is there anything out there that will alow this to occur?

 

Any aftermarket possibilities?

 

I've only owned our car for 1 week but now realize that my daily driving habits (3-10 mile trips thru-out the day and most likely the life of the vehicle).... would be more advantageous if the car was able to be plugged in.

 

We considered the Energi seriously, but the extra cost was something to consider.... and since this car was going to get 47MPG anyway we went with this one. However, you simply do not get 47MPG in 3-10 mile trips...

 

So, I would be willing to plug it in, even though I know it won't go the 21 miles that the Energi does,,, but I don't need that anyway for 3 mile trips. So what would this consist of? Plug it into the wall and then thru a converter to change the voltage and charge that battery up so that it's a FULL CHARGE when I enter the vehicle.

 

This could work. Does anybody have any thoughts on this. This would be really nice to be able to modify our vehicles to give us great mileage on short trips.

 

All help appreciated...... thanks.

 

[murphy]

The Energi has a built-in battery charger that is matched to the battery capacity. Charging Li-Ion batteries is almost an art form. Overcharging a Li-Ion battery will let the smoke out as well as fire and possibly an explosion. It would definitely void your warranty.

 

There are (were) a lot of rebates on the Energi.

3750 tax credit on 2013 tax return

1500 Ford rebate

750 Ford private cash

1000 grant from the state of PA

50 payment from power company for telling them I bought a PHEV

 

7050 off the price of the car

[Aquineas]

It really would be nice to be able to plug in our FFHs so that at the very least the EV battery could start off in an optimal (charged) state. Ah well, next time perhaps..

[lolder]

The Energi HVB is a LOT larger. I think MG2 is the same, they wouldn't make two different ones. The Ford MG2s have always been big and powerfull. The power of the HVB is the limiting factor. Ford might someday convert them but it is not a task for anyone else. Charging your FFH would only get you a couple of miles at best.

[Geremy13]

The Energi has a built-in battery charger that is matched to the battery capacity. Charging Li-Ion batteries is almost an art form. Overcharging a Li-Ion battery will let the smoke out as well as fire and possibly an explosion. It would definitely void your warranty.

 

There are (were) a lot of rebates on the Energi.

3750 tax credit on 2013 tax return

1500 Ford rebate

750 Ford private cash

1000 grant from the state of PA

50 payment from power company for telling them I boug

ht a PHEV

 

7050 off the price of the car

 

I think this must have been a great deal. BUT..... I already bought my car..... any ideas?

[murphy]

 

I think this must have been a great deal. BUT..... I already bought my car..... any ideas?

With my 2010 Fusion Hybrid I could force the engine to run in park until it fully charged the battery.

I don't know if that works with a 2013. I do know it is much harder to keep the engine running in Park on my 2013 Energi.

 

You might want to disable EV+ since that will run the battery lower than normal as you approach home.

[Geremy13]

You might want to disable EV+ since that will run the battery lower than normal as you approach home.

 

Don't I want to run on EV as long as possible? Also, I've been thinking about how to get the engine to warm up before leaving the house so it can kick into battery mode sooner and also I believe a warmed up engine offers better MPG than a cold one. My idea is to start the car, put in in 'Low' thereby causing the engine to run... and just sit there with the brake on until engine temp reaches normal...

 

Any ideas?

[murphy]

EV+ will keep the car in EV mode when you are close to home. This means the battery charge may be lower when you park the car than it would be without EV+.

 

Have you verified that putting the car in low causes the engine to run? I would not expect that to happen.

[Waldo]

Idling the engine to charge the battery is the dumbest idea ever if you're goal is to burn less gas. The computer is going to run the engine to warm it up whether you plug the car in, let it sit in the driveway or whatever you do. Warming the engine will burn roughly the same amount of gas whether you are driving or parked. If you're going to burn that gas warming the engine, might as well use the power created to charge the battery.

 

So what I'm saying is that given the engine is going to have to warm up at some point in your trip, even if you've plugged in and have a fully charged battery, you're going to end up burning the same amount of fuel anyway, so the plug-in would be virtually worthless.

[vangonebuy]

A block heater may help.

Ford does have them.

Dealer can install.

 

But the exhaust O2 sensors will still need to warm up.

[expresspotato]

http://enginer.us makes kits - but not for the 2013 Fusion Hybrid.

[vangonebuy]

The patch will fix.......

Shorten the time it takes for the engine to warm up by up to 50 percent, providing electric-only power more quickly after cold starting

 

 

from this article.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1085595_2013-ford-c-max-fusion-hybrids-to-be-modified-to-boost-mpg-in-real-world-use

 

Seems that this software patch can do anything short of pigs flying.

[Geremy13]

Have you verified that putting the car in low causes the engine to run? I would not expect that to happen.

 

Just verified it. You are correct. It doesn't happen. I just noticed ealier when accidentally putting in 'Low' that the engine was running when I didn't expect it. But tried it on purpose and the motor doesn't start.

 

Idling the engine to charge the battery is the dumbest idea ever if you're goal is to burn less gas.

 

Sorry Waldo, didn't mean to insult you. The theory is that a warmed up engine get's better MPG than a cold engine. (not simply to charge the battery)

[Waldo]

The theory is that a warmed up engine get's better MPG than a cold engine. (not simply to charge the battery)

 

This is certainly true. In fact modern engines will intentionally dump excess fuel in an effort to warm up the engine and more importantly warm up the catalytic converters. But my point is that idling and burning gas just to warm up the engine will consumer far more gas than the slight loss of driving on a cold/inefficient engine

[apm]

I owned a 2010 FFH until ealier this year when I traded it in for a 2013 FFE. I experienced the same issue of very low milage on short trip. I usually would take about 1 mile for the car to go into EV, and my usual trip was about 1.6 miles each way. So by the time the engine was hot enogh I would be arriving at my destinatuion and by the time I got in the car to home the car would be cold again and the process would repeat. My milage was in the high 20's low 30's for those trips. I could get high 30's low 40's on longer trips.

 

Now with the Energi all those short trips are 100% EV. I only use gas during the weekends on longer trips. I'm still on my second tank of gas after 2800 miles.

 

Regards,
APM

[Geremy13]

Now with the Energi all those short trips are 100% EV. I only use gas during the weekends on longer trips. I'm still on my second tank of gas after 2800 miles.

 

Regards,

APM

 

Oh No,,,,,,,, The more I read the more I am second thinking my purchase. We thought long and hard and almost purchased the Energi..... Really wanted it for the same reason... Now, it's too late. And I have always read that Hybrids get better gas mileage in the city.

[Waldo]

 

Oh No,,,,,,,, The more I read the more I am second thinking my purchase. We thought long and hard and almost purchased the Energi..... Really wanted it for the same reason... Now, it's too late. And I have always read that Hybrids get better gas mileage in the city.

 

They do get better mileage in the city, much better than conventional gas powered cars. Any car with a gas engine has to burn roughly the same amount of fuel to heat up the catalytic converters. So short trips will always result in lower fuel economy numbers when a gas engine is involved. But just remember a 3 mile trip at 20mpg is still burning less fuel then a 10 mile trip at 45mpg.

[apm]

 

They do get better mileage in the city, much better than conventional gas powered cars.

 

This is absolutely true. Before the 2010 Fusion Hybrid, I owned a GMC Envoy. I used to get 10 or 11 miles to the gallon doing the same type of driving. When I bought the 2010 FFH I was extremely happy I was getting high 20's instead of 10 or 11.

 

Regards,

APM

[Geremy13]

 

They do get better mileage in the city, much better than conventional gas powered cars. Any car with a gas engine has to burn roughly the same amount of fuel to heat up the catalytic converters. So short trips will always result in lower fuel economy numbers when a gas engine is involved. But just remember a 3 mile trip at 20mpg is still burning less fuel then a 10 mile trip at 45mpg.

 

Waldo, Thank you for your post, and I certainly do appreciate it.

 

BUT, you got to remember that I'm traveling several 3 mile trips daily. So no 45MPG for me (as advertised). Or I should say 47MPG as advertised.......

 

Other than that I love the car.

 

But also Hate it... because I already have cars that do 20MPG on 3 mile trips.

 

It's a Love, Hate relationship. ;) .... Darn, I really wish this car could do 47MPG.

 

Someone please help!

[Geremy13]

I owned a 2010 FFH until ealier this year when I traded it in for a 2013 FFE. I experienced the same issue of very low milage on short trip. I usually would take about 1 mile for the car to go into EV, and my usual trip was about 1.6 miles each way. So by the time the engine was hot enogh I would be arriving at my destinatuion and by the time I got in the car to home the car would be cold again and the process would repeat. My milage was in the high 20's low 30's for those trips. I could get high 30's low 40's on longer trips.

 

Now with the Energi all those short trips are 100% EV. I only use gas during the weekends on longer trips. I'm still on my second tank of gas after 2800 miles.

 

Regards,

APM

 

Damn, Damn, Damn,,,,,, You are confirming exactly what I am experiencing. I have no idea how this will work to trade in a 2 week old decked out Titanium for a decked out Energi,,,,,,,,,

 

Only purchase a car every so often and may have made a BIG mistake thinking I was going to get 47MPG......

 

Thank you so much for sharing. Energi should have been my purchase and I passed it up..... screwed up thinking 47MPG was good enough but not even coming close.

[clummus]

I am getting less mpg in my hybrid in the city (or anywhere, for that matter) than my boyfriend's gas only altima. one of my patients ha a Camry old enough to be.an antique, he said, and it gets ,32. I'm definitely having buyer's remorse.

[hybridbear]

BUT, you got to remember that I'm traveling several 3 mile trips daily. So no 45MPG for me (as advertised). Or I should say 47MPG as advertised.......

 

Other than that I love the car.

 

But also Hate it... because I already have cars that do 20MPG on 3 mile trips.

What cars get 20 MPG on those trips? Any gas car will also get way under EPA city mileage on such trips because the ICE will never warm up. In all cars the ICE is less efficient when it's cold and uses more fuel during warm up to heat up the emissions components. My parents do a lot of short trips and that's why they got a C-Max Energi. In their 2005 Murano with a city EPA rating of 18 MPG they get 13-15 only per tank usually because they drive so many short trips. That equates to between 72% and 83% of the EPA mileage. That would equate to between 34 MPG and 39 MPG in a FFH. With an Energi you don't pay the premium of waiting for the ICE to warm up and burn more gas while it's warming up. My parents have had their Energi for a month now and they've used less than 1/4 tank of gas in about 700 miles of driving so far.

 

A lot of dealers have a 30 day return policy where if you have buyers' remorse within 30 days you can return the car for a refund minus a cost for the miles you drove. I hope you can work out something similar with your dealer. Have you tried calling and asking them about that yet?

Edited July 25, 2013 by hybridbear

[apm]

 

Oh No,,,,,,,, The more I read the more I am second thinking my purchase. We thought long and hard and almost purchased the Energi..... Really wanted it for the same reason... Now, it's too late. And I have always read that Hybrids get better gas mileage in the city.

The Hybrid will definetely get better milage in the city than a regular gas car. You save gas everytime you get to a red light and the engine stops. In the 2010 Hybrid, the engine would cease to run if the car was completely stopped, even if the engine was cold. This would make the fuel economy of the hybrid better than a gas car even in very short trips even when you don't get any saving by driving EV.

 

By the way, had I not owned a hybrid before I probably would have gone the same route you went and bought a Hybrid this time (probably the MKZ) instead of the Energi. The main reason I bought the Energi is because I already had the experience with the hybrid on short trips and I knew it would fit my driving habits perfectly.

 

I was very happy with the 2010 Hybrid. It was very reliable, I went to the dealer 4 times in 3 1/2 years for oil changes and tire rotations and spent about $120 in maintenance over the period.

 

I have been to the dealer more than that since I bought the Energi in April for various reason but at least I haven't spend any money yet, and I won't spending any money on maintenance in the future because, as I wrote on the Energi Forum, Ford gave me the 4 year/48K miles premium maintenance plan for free to compensate me because my normal dealer did not want to do the TSB for the sagging trunk lid.

 

Regards,

APM

Edited July 25, 2013 by apm

[Geremy13]

What cars get 20 MPG on those trips? Any gas car will also get way under EPA city mileage on such trips because the ICE will never warm up. In all cars the ICE is less efficient when it's cold and uses more fuel during warm up to heat up the emissions components.

 

A lot of dealers have a 30 day return policy where if you have buyers' remorse within 30 days you can return the car for a refund minus a cost for the miles you drove. I hope you can work out something similar with your dealer. Have you tried calling and asking them about that yet?

 

Thank you hybridbear for your post. On the 20MPG: I have a 2003 Sonata with 2.7L V6 that gets 20MPG consistently over the last 10 years with this exact driving that I do everyday. (Get's 30MPG consistently if traveling long distances, but we rarely travel long distances). You do bring up a good point on the warm up though..... Each morning my wife and I leave for work I have to wait in the car at least 15- 20 minutes for her to finish getting herself ready. During this time the car was always running (therefore warmed up by the time she got in.)

 

In the Hybrid ,, I am afraid to even listen to the radio without it running because of the poor MPG I will get.

 

30 Day Return Policy?.......... Hmmmmmm. Never heard of this one.

 

Thanks again for the input.

[Geremy13]

The Hybrid will definetely get better milage in the city than a regular gas car. You save gas everytime you get to a red light and the engine stops. In the 2010 Hybrid, the engine would cease to run if the car was completely stopped, even if the engine was cold. This would make the fuel economy of the hybrid better than a gas car even in very short trips even when you don't get any saving by driving EV.

 

By the way, had I not owned a hybrid before I probably would have gone the same route you went and bought a Hybrid this time (probably the MKZ) instead of the Energi. The main reason I bought the Energi is because I already had the experience with the hybrid on short trips and I knew it would fit my driving habits perfectly.

 

I was very happy with the 2010 Hybrid. It was very reliable, I went to the dealer 4 times in 3 1/2 years for oil changes and tire rotations and spent about $120 in maintenance over the period.

 

I have been to the dealer more than that since I bought the Energi in April for various reason but at least I haven't spend any money yet, and I won't spending any money on maintenance in the future because, as I wrote on the Energi Forum, Ford gave me the 4 year/48K miles premium maintenance plan for free to compensate me because my normal dealer did not want to do the TSB for the sagging trunk lid.

 

Regards,

APM

 

Cool, Thanks for sharing the info. I really did want to buy the Energi but our local Ford dealer is NOT Energi authorized or certified or what have you. And I thought the 47PMG would be good enough. I just had no idea that 47 city, 47 highway= 30 something.

 

I understand that EPA estimates (at least on the highway) are generally best case scenarios. But when you are told average for ALL driving that's what you accept and try to accomplish it. (At least in my case since I wanted to get ahead of rising fuel prices.)

 

Other than that the car is Fantastic!... with a big question on the MPG.