Schmity09 Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Hello, first off I wanted to say I am new to the Hybrid movement. I am in a hybrid for gas mileage, and also trying to be less harmful to the environment. I have some concerns on gas mileage and just wanted some tips on what I might need to change or do. I did read the welcome post. I live in interior Alaska, and getting about 29-30 miles to the gallon. Now I know the cold (5 to -15 at the moment) affects the mpg. I was just a little curious what I could do to get that number up. Also, I drive about 11 miles to work on a road that has a 55-65 speed limit. If anyone can maybe shed some light on what I can do, that would be great. If there is anymore info I can give, please let me know. Thank you, also here is a picture of the new 2013 Fusion Hybrid. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corncobs Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Welcome to the forum and to the hybrid world. Unfortunately your driving condition combination isn't ideal. Cold temps + "a short trip" + 65 MPH don't result in very high MPG. On the positive side it will get better once the weather warms up and I think even in Alaska that's the case ;)I would expect high 30's low 40's in case you have some slower section during your commute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah, I was thinking maybe leaving early and just cruising at a lower speed. It's about 3 miles@55, 2 miles@35, then about 6 miles@65 for speed limits. In the summer we get about 60-80 degree weather. Would you say 30 is about right for the conditions? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corncobs Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Well I will let others be the judges on my prediction but if 30 would make you happy you would be a first FFH owner to say this. As time passes you will learn to make to most of the 2 miles @ 35 MPH and maybe drive it all in EV. Based on your profile I would expect between 40 and 45 MPG but that's just me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah, I'm not too happy, but I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong, when my coaching thing was pretty much all 4 bars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corncobs Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Have you read the "Hybrid driving tips tricks" there are also some very good cold weather tips in the first thread. http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/forum/54-hybrid-driving-tips-tricks/ The heater setting is also a big factor that's usually keeps the ICE running for longer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Question about this "update" how do I know I have it? It seems like my battery kicks off and says fuel due to acceleration after about 42 mph. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeff_h Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Question about this "update" how do I know I have it? It seems like my battery kicks off and says fuel due to acceleration after about 42 mph. If you go to www.etis.ford.com and input your VIN, see if there are 'outstanding field service actions' listed on the left. If the update that's you're talking about is the 13B07 PCM update, IIRC it would still show as outstanding if not been completed. However that was released last August so I expect just about any 2013 would have it implemented by now. I think 2 main things are affecting your MPG adversely: 1) 3 miles@55, 2 miles@35, then about 6 miles@65 == it's 11 miles but the engine probably isn't warmed up until mile 3-5 or so, and any engine gets poor MPG when cold. 2) Your weather is really cold and contributes greatly to #1 above, in summer you will see a big change, as hybridbear or others from the north can attest. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybridbear Report post Posted February 22, 2014 Welcome! Very cool to see a FFH in Alaska! It's a struggle to hit 40 MPG in the winter for us in Minnesota, in the summer 55 MPG is easy. I imagine that you'll see similar results. When we first got our car last winter and were still learning how to drive it, we had a few tanks of 33-36 MPG. This winter the tanks have been a little better because I've learned with time how to maximize the car's efficiency. Check out the link corncobs posted above and also this thread. Following the instructions posted there to skip the first inefficient warm up stage will really help your MPGs. And, like it says in this thread, just because the car can drive in EV Mode at up to 85 MPH doesn't mean that you want to accelerate from 0 to 85 MPH in EV Mode. Accelerating in EV Mode is actually less efficient in most cases than accelerating with the gas engine on. You want to use EV Mode for coasting. Grille blocking will also help. See this thread for more info on that. Pay attention to how often the MFT Power Flow screen says that the ICE is on due to "heater setting". Grille blocking will help reduce that amount of time by keeping the coolant warmer and warming it up more quickly when the ICE is running. Hello, first off I wanted to say I am new to the Hybrid movement. I am in a hybrid for gas mileage, and also trying to be less harmful to the environment. I have some concerns on gas mileage and just wanted some tips on what I might need to change or do. I did read the welcome post. I live in interior Alaska, and getting about 29-30 miles to the gallon. Now I know the cold (5 to -15 at the moment) affects the mpg. I was just a little curious what I could do to get that number up. Also, I drive about 11 miles to work on a road that has a 55-65 speed limit. If anyone can maybe shed some light on what I can do, that would be great. If there is anymore info I can give, please let me know. Thank you, also here is a picture of the new 2013 Fusion Hybrid. 1 corncobs reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acdii Report post Posted February 22, 2014 HB beat me to it, Grill blocking will help you tremendously. Also crank up the seat heater and set the blower on low, with floor and defrost as your settings. Usually about 3-4 bars on the display will help get the most heat you can without robbing the ICE of it. With these tips you may get up to 36-38 MPG on average. In Summer weather, depending on AC use, you should see about 42 or so for your commute. Another factor that can impact your FE are hills, if you have a few of those on your commute, they do take a big hit on FE. Half my daily 35 mile trip have hills, and speed is 55MPH for 2/3rd the trip. We have been seeing temps like yours here too, but daily in sub zero's for all of Jan and most of Feb, and I was seeing about 36 or so with grill blocking and setting the heat low. If I set it to auto HVAC, then I would see 33-34. It makes that much of a difference. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Thank you for all the wonderful tips! Is the a specific place to buy a grill cover? Also, I have this as a trip it was a good warm -05 today with the sun so I wanted to take a drive to Tok, AK from Delta Junction where I live. I did mostly 60. The speed limit was 65 so. Here is the picture. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybridbear Report post Posted February 23, 2014 A number of us have done foam. See the thread linked above for more details. Here is a picture of mine on the Fusion and on our Prius. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Texasota Report post Posted February 23, 2014 HB, it looks like the Fusion gets more TLC than the Prius does. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) Just got home. I did 55-60 on eco-cruise. Got 38. Hey HB, is that guy still selling the ones you had? That clear one? Edited February 23, 2014 by Schmity09 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybridbear Report post Posted February 23, 2014 HB, it looks like the Fusion gets more TLC than the Prius does.It sure does. The FFH has been sitting at home for the last 4 days with this miserable snow storm we got and the now ice covered roads to protect it while we drive the Prius. The Prius is a lease, the FFH is owned, so we want to prolong the life of the FFH by letting the Prius take the majority of the abuse of MN winters. Just got home. I did 55-60 on eco-cruise. Got 38. Hey HB, is that guy still selling the ones you had? That clear one?I got mine from acdii, long back story, but ptjones is still making them and selling them. I find that pipe insulation works much better than the clear plastic though...the pipe insulation is probably less visible and also provides a better seal. The plastic cover is all or nothing, it's on or it's not. With pipe insulation, you can remove foam from one slat at a time as the temperatures warm in your area. Plus, it costs about $1.50 (in the lower 48) for a package of pipe insulation that is enough to do the entire upper grille and also most of the lower grille. Sadly, I imagine that prices are higher in Alaska. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 27, 2014 I bought some pipe insulation 3/4 and 1 think and some zip ties. I'm going to attempt to do this today. Any tips on how to do it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmity09 Report post Posted February 28, 2014 Completed. I tried to go by eye to make it look like HB's. I go into work tomorrow, so I will see how it does. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corncobs Report post Posted March 1, 2014 Looks good! Let's see what kinda improvement you will see. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybridbear Report post Posted March 1, 2014 Completed. I tried to go by eye to make it look like HB's. I go into work tomorrow, so I will see how it does.Looks good! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
