After the PCM software update/recalibration - observations by Hybridbear

[MaineFusion]

Tesla recently released a video showing their final QA process before cars leave the factory. Since the Model S is electric they can do their testing indoors unlike most manufacturers.

 

When we picked up our FFH it had 12 miles on it. I wondered why so many when the gas station used by the dealership is their next door neighbor on the same street. When my parents picked up their C-Max Energi it had about 25 miles on it...I remember when test driving a Toyota hybrid while comparison shopping that it had only 2 miles on it before we drove it. And the first FFH that we drove before ordering our car began our test drive with less than 5 miles on the odometer. Since both our FFH and my parents' Energi were special order vehicles they shouldn't have been used for any test drives or anything, yet they still had miles on them...

 

I picked mine up the same day it arrived to make sure they didn't have time to let someone take it for a test drive. It arrived to the dealer in the afternoon, so all they had time to do was prep it and fill it with gas by the time I got to the dealer after work.

[hybridbear]

 

I picked mine up the same day it arrived to make sure they didn't have time to let someone take it for a test drive. It arrived to the dealer in the afternoon, so all they had time to do was prep it and fill it with gas by the time I got to the dealer after work.

When you special order a car they shouldn't let anyone take it for a drive. The day ours was delivered off the truck there was a major blizzard/ice storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on top of a layer of ice from freezing rain so driving out there to pick it up that day wasn't an option. It arrived at the dealer on a Friday. Even Saturday it wouldn't have been wise to go as the snow continued falling. Thus we waited until Monday evening to pick it up.

[Eddie Sessum]

When you special order a car they shouldn't let anyone take it for a drive. The day ours was delivered off the truck there was a major blizzard/ice storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on top of a layer of ice from freezing rain so driving out there to pick it up that day wasn't an option. It arrived at the dealer on a Friday. Even Saturday it wouldn't have been wise to go as the snow continued falling. Thus we waited until Monday evening to pick it up.

 

My car was a special order for someone else but I think because of the price they used it as the test car for anyone special ordering. They were suprised tho that they didnt have the car sit for over a year. They actually had a 2012 mkz hybrid sitting in the back that stickered around 50k that nobody wanted.

[majorleeslow]

Mine was a " Clearance Special" Order lol. it had 300 miles on it and no one other than me wanted to take it home. It was specially broken in so that I didn't have to go through the pain.

[majorleeslow]

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Edited September 7, 2013 by majorleeslow

[Eddie Sessum]

lol, well i already had a xplan and all those good things.

[terryb]

OK, having done the ECM update July 29th and still running tank averages around 36, I did the hard reset and did a tank fill this morning. The 82 mile round trip to the owners meeting here in Houston returned a 43.6 mpg. Mostly tollway and freeway. Very pleased with high hopes for further improvement with car remapping going on.

[fusionTX]

I pulled the 12v battery for ~10 minutes yesterday. Clearly enough for it to reset some things like clock, and EV+ locations. I haven't had a chance to drive it on the highway yet but I can already tell its acting different. Warmup finished and the ICE started charging the HVB before I left my subdivision instead of 1/2 a mile after leaving. On a couple trips up to 45 mph that I normally would get 45-50 mpg I am getting 52-56 mpg. The car also seems to coast longer and doesn't feel as draggy when letting off the gas.

 

I noticed the same thing where coasting is concerned. It definitely does coast now, whereas before there was a drag.

[Eddie Sessum]

The drag before was charging the battery. Its the simulation of engine braking that normal automatics have.

[B25Nut]

OK, having done the ECM update July 29th and still running tank averages around 36, I did the hard reset and did a tank fill this morning. The 82 mile round trip to the owners meeting here in Houston returned a 43.6 mpg. Mostly tollway and freeway. Very pleased with high hopes for further improvement with car remapping going on.

 

Now we don't have to feel like stepchildren to some of the overachievers around here. I say that with the greatest respect for the aforementioned.

Edited September 7, 2013 by B25Nut

[B25Nut]

I pulled the 12v battery for ~10 minutes yesterday. Clearly enough for it to reset some things like clock, and EV+ locations. I haven't had a chance to drive it on the highway yet but I can already tell its acting different. Warmup finished and the ICE started charging the HVB before I left my subdivision instead of 1/2 a mile after leaving. On a couple trips up to 45 mph that I normally would get 45-50 mpg I am getting 52-56 mpg. The car also seems to coast longer and doesn't feel as draggy when letting off the gas.

 

I thought that someone would have questioned you about this before now, but did you only disconnect the 12v battery? If so, the "reboot" proceedure will be a lot less scary to perform for a lot of drivers. Keep us updated on the mileage you are getting.

[MaineFusion]

It looks like the hard reset is showing lots of promise of correcting the under performers. Another thing to check on is making sure the 12 volt battery gets properly charged. See: http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7521-just-about-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-the-ffh-battery/

[dalesky]

Made a part of my 1st road trip of any length, from Murrells Inlet (Myrtle Beach area) thru Charleston, up 95 to Orlando. At speeds under 70 it was easy to get the EV running, and average around 45. Once on the freeway the average dropped to 42 for most of that portion. Not unhappy at all, since I like getting over 40 at those speeds. No problem seeing the EV at 70 or over. never exceeded 73, but using eco cruise the EV came on quite a bit. AC on auto, outside temp 90-93, and air set at 73 deg. What really impresses is how solid the car is, quiet, smooth, and tracks like a bb in a tube. With the lane assist on I definitely felt the car pulling me in a straight line, and once in a while I got some haptic feedback which is pretty impressive. Not sure how it keeps you in the lane, but it does!

I'm sure I could have driven the whole distance on a tank, which is significant given the 13 gallon tank. 465 miles or more, I love it!

[hybridbear]

OK, having done the ECM update July 29th and still running tank averages around 36, I did the hard reset and did a tank fill this morning. The 82 mile round trip to the owners meeting here in Houston returned a 43.6 mpg. Mostly tollway and freeway. Very pleased with high hopes for further improvement with car remapping going on.

Did any of the other owners drive your car or did you drive theirs to see if you can tell a difference with yours and why your mileage has been low?

[terryb]

Did any of the other owners drive your car or did you drive theirs to see if you can tell a difference with yours and why your mileage has been low?

Sorry no we didn't do anything like that. Compared configurations and I showed everybody the process for the hard reset. We saw a couple of badge errors, one trunklid which won't support the spoiler and several that will.

[hybridbear]

Sorry no we didn't do anything like that. Compared configurations and I showed everybody the process for the hard reset. We saw a couple of badge errors, one trunklid which won't support the spoiler and several that will.

Is there a thread somewhere that you guys are sharing your experience with us? I'm curious about the badge errors but don't want to ask you to repeat yourself if that info is already available somewhere else unbeknownst to me. Thanks!

[terryb]

Is there a thread somewhere that you guys are sharing your experience with us? I'm curious about the badge errors but don't want to ask you to repeat yourself if that info is already available somewhere else unbeknownst to me. Thanks!

Go to owners club topic, south central region, Houston, etc. Sorry can't figure out how to link ion my Android Tablet.

[DrewFM]

While my inspiration may have been my android phone's LI battery, I'm starting to think that everyone that has done the hard reset, may be on the correct thinking of what is actually causing the improvement in mpg. My thoughts were that it was changing some parameter with the SOC of the HVB battery. I'm more inclined to believe that other forum members are correct in that, the battery disconnect is actually resetting some learned tables stored in memory. The whole discussion on dealer test drives totally makes sense! Anyway, I'm still thrilled that so many of us have seen the same great results, even if it was discovered by accident! I guess the only question left is, is it the 12v, the HVB, or both and for how long? I noticed Eddie Sessum did not have the same improvement, but not any worse either, but he is driving a MKZ and not a FFH according to his profile, so aerodynamics, weight, wheels, tires, etc, etc, could be why?

Edited September 8, 2013 by DrewFM

[SteveB_TX]

I noticed Eddie Sessum did not have the same improvement, but not any worse either, but he is driving a MKZ and not a FFH according to his profile, so aerodynamics, weight, wheels, tires, etc, etc, could be why?

 

I too drive an MKZ. No better. No worse. Go figure! :cry:

[corncobs]

I did the the hard reset last Friday as well but didn't notice any different behavior. Not that I'm unhappy with my MPG results but I was just curious.

 

I disconnected both batteries for about 10 min but I didn't loose any settings not even the clock was reset. Now based in that I have been wondering if 10 min is enough time even if DrewFM only disconnected for 5 min.

 

Maybe the difference is only noticeable with really screwed up parameter tables if this is even the cause for the underachievers? Even if it makes the most sense.

[DrewFM]

Sorry no we didn't do anything like that. Compared configurations and I showed everybody the process for the hard reset. We saw a couple of badge errors, one trunklid which won't support the spoiler and several that will.

Please make donations to: DrewFM. lol j/k!

[DrewFM]

I did the the hard reset last Friday as well but didn't notice any different behavior. Not that I'm unhappy with my MPG results but I was just curious.

 

I disconnected both batteries for about 10 min but I didn't loose any settings not even the clock was reset. Now based in that I have been wondering if 10 min is enough time even if DrewFM only disconnected for 5 min.

 

Maybe the difference is only noticeable with really screwed up parameter tables if this is even the cause for the underachievers? Even if it makes the most sense.

If your clock didn't reset, I'm doubtful that it worked for you. Something is not right about that as far as anything being cleared or reset.

[Eddie Sessum]

My clock didn't reset unless I just didn't notice a difference it got it back from the gps. I did notice ev+ locations gone, when it first booted up the fuel gauge had a red x for about 5 seconds. My key fob didn't work for the touch entry or the trunk button to close the trunk until I started for about 30seconds than everything began to work again.

[corncobs]

My clock didn't reset unless I just didn't notice a difference it got it back from the gps. I did notice ev+ locations gone, when it first booted up the fuel gauge had a red x for about 5 seconds. My key fob didn't work for the touch entry or the trunk button to close the trunk until I started for about 30seconds than everything began to work again.

Same observations for me (EV+ etc. ) and I was also thinking that it might reset the clock by GPS but then it also change the clock when traveling between time zones.

[fusionTX]

I just did the disonnect and am very encouraged. My city mileage has always been decent (low 40s), but my highway is usually mid thirties.

I did a quick test drive after the disconnect and it did seem like the car goes into EV mode easier now at highway speeds and for longer periods. Keep in mind this is one quick test run, so I can't fully draw conclusions.

 

My clock reset. I lost EV+. i also noticed that the DTE went up to like 495 initially. It was around 400 before.

I did not lose my trip statistics.