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New Ford Escape Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report

125 messages,  Last post on Nov 01, 2008 at 10:17 PM

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#108 of 125 Hah! by loveak Jan 26, 2008 (7:21 pm)
#109 of 125 ahah! by loveak Jan 26, 2008 (7:49 pm)
Glad to hear I'm not the only one. Sadly to say but trust me it will only probably get worse. In the summers we usually get about 26-28. The dealerships generally speaking do not have techs who are experienced enough in these vehicles and hence the responses we get ie, "give it a few more miles it'll get better" (nope) "you have snow tires" (well duh!) "it's parked in a garage at night" (yep) "it isn't parked in a garage at night" (nope) "you drive it too far" (nope), "you drive it too fast" (nope, wife's car and has a fit if you go over the speed limit) and my personal favorite-"well you have to remember it's a one person car"-Huh? Say what? "Oh and by the way that'll be $90.00 because we couldn't find anything wrong with it. Which is amazing because it went from 11mpg when we took it in to 20 afterwards on the next tank. (Thanks Cal W. for nothing.) Have them reset the computer that seems to help especially when the weather changes, I have no idea why. These FEH really do not do well in cold weather, But I will say this-my wife absolutely loves the car. For her it has AWD and she loves the way it handles. For me-last night on the way to a movie some moron in a rice Honda pulled out without looking-(during the summer I Autocross/solo) what this thing did on glare ice was astounding.(swerve, brake, swerve) I though for sure we had him. I had to look to see if we had paint swapped, hang in there they are great vehicles despite the faults Randy-Alaska
#110 of 125 Re: Ford Escape Hybrid - terrible mileage problem [lbones] by smiley317 Jan 27, 2008 (3:19 am)
Replying to: lbones (Jan 26, 2008 11:41 am) I have an 08. In cold weather the mileage drops drastically...usually around 24mpg. Last week with wind chill we were -40 in Iowa. Normal cars also drop in cold weather. Hang in there. It is still better gas mileage than a regular car. In cold weather the electric does not kick in like in normal weather. In cold weather, even when not running the defrost, you will see a drastic drop. The batteries are cold soaked and the gas engine is trying to warm everything up. You will not get battery assist like in normal weather. It is a great mpg vehicle in tepid weather, not too hot...not too cold.   The RPMs is also normal. The transmission does not shift like a normal car. It is doing what it is suppose to do though. Many times, I am up around 4000RPMs. It may sound like it is revving, but this is where the computer is telling it it should be to get optimal performance. Trust the CVT transmission.   signed, still happy with my 24mpg 2008 FEH
#111 of 125 Re: Ford Escape Hybrid - terrible mileage problem [lbones] by dguild Feb 05, 2008 (11:35 am)
Replying to: lbones (Jan 26, 2008 11:41 am) I am having very very similar problems. I went from 36+ MPG in September to 26 MPG in December. In my estimation the problem is mostly related to the regenerative braking not working for the first 5-15 minutes of driving. It eventually starts working but when I shut off the car and restart it a while later the problem reoccurs. I find that using "Low" gets it charging at low speeds. When it is really cold I sometimes have the high RPM and slow speed 35-40 mph problem. Also dropping the transmission into "Low" going downhill sometimes causes the RPM to increase dramatically and bounce around. I absolutely loved the car until October/November when this all started happening. The dealer doesn't have a clue! I would appreciate any help as well. Replies to this message: mecheng1 (Feb 06, 2008 9:39 am) dguild (Feb 06, 2008 1:42 pm)
#112 of 125 Re: Ford Escape Hybrid - terrible mileage problem [dguild] by mecheng1 Feb 06, 2008 (9:39 am)
Replying to: dguild (Feb 05, 2008 11:35 am) Hang in there. Your performance will come back when the weather warms up. You are probably also fighting the first 3000 - 5000 mile "conditioning" period that has been programmed into the vehicle (not advertised by Ford, but reported by many owners) to fully condition the battery system. Once that is done and you have adjusted your driving habits....next Spring and Summer should be a pleasant surprise. Replies to this message: dguild (Feb 06, 2008 1:42 pm)
#113 of 125 Re: Ford Escape Hybrid - terrible mileage problem [mecheng1] by dguild Feb 06, 2008 (1:42 pm)
Replying to: mecheng1 (Feb 06, 2008 9:39 am) Thanks for your response. Actually my best mileage occurred between 3000 and 4500 miles. I am at 6600 miles now. I have been searching on line for others having similar problems and it seems there are at least some. The regenerative braking issue seems to be common with Toyota (and maybe Honda) hybrids as well. It seems that the battery cannot be charged at a high current when temperatures are below 35-40F or so. The colder it is the slower it recharges.
#114 of 125 My Experience In the Canada Cold by maksime Feb 06, 2008 (5:57 pm)
I bought a 2008 FEH 4WD with 11000 miles and now it’s at 13000 miles. I live in the Ottawa Valley, ON, Canada and the last couple of days, temperature was around -15 to -25 C (5 to -13F)   START UP I had no problem with startup, only that the normal sounds during startup were louder and became quieter as the vehicle warmed up. (i.e. CVT, ABS unit, click from the battery vent, engine was actually very loud...etc) Instead of the vehicle starting with 1500 RPM, it would reach 2200-2500. The display screen was not as responsive, LCD screen was probably frozen.   DRIVING It would take at least a good 10 min of normal driving around for the engine to run at the normal 1500. I did not put the defroster and left the climate control on ECON and 68F. It took longer trips (i.e. 8-10 miles) to get the electric propulsion. I believe the shortest distance I’ve driven before EV mode was around 5 miles, driving a long stretch, not too much stop and go, -5 C (23F).   So far, I got on average between 22.3 to 25 mpg (Gas tank full/mileage recorded since fill up). Lower that I would have expected but very decent compared to non-hybrid sedans given these temperatures. I can’t wait for the warmer days to see how it will behave.   One thing I would like to see the threshold speed for EV to HEV propulsion go up. Now, every time I reach 31 mph, the vehicle goes in HEV.   Is there anything that can be done to raise the threshold speed i.e. disconnecting the low volt battery in hopes to reset the vehicle controller, owner’s manual p. 224? What about PHEV conversions? Anybody?   Bottom Line, I love my FEH. Replies to this message: mecheng1 (Feb 07, 2008 8:16 am) dhuang2 (Feb 07, 2008 1:26 pm) mecheng1 (Feb 08, 2008 7:08 am)
#115 of 125 Re: My Experience In the Canada Cold [maksime] by mecheng1 Feb 07, 2008 (8:16 am)
Replying to: maksime (Feb 06, 2008 5:57 pm) Resetting the PCM (vehicle controller) will have the opposite effect. It will erase things stored in the memory and your FEH will re-enter a kind of "break-in" period that allows even less EV mode. When you start to experience less extreme temperatures you will probably learn how to get the vehicle to stay in EV all the way up to 40 mph - use the L gear at appropriate times, switch between L and D, etc. That's about all we can hope for until the Li-Ion battery PHEV retrofit kits come down in price. Then we will be able to go 30 to 50 miles in EV at all speeds before the ICE kicks in. Replies to this message: dhuang2 (Feb 07, 2008 1:26 pm) mecheng1 (Feb 08, 2008 7:08 am)
#116 of 125 Re: My Experience In the Canada Cold [mecheng1] by dhuang2 Feb 07, 2008 (1:26 pm)
Replying to: mecheng1 (Feb 07, 2008 8:16 am) mecheng1, Thanks very much for your many inputs for this forum. Could you provide some EASY steps how to switch between L and D for maximizing MPG? What'd be most efficient RPM range for 2008 FEH?   It looks like I am getting 1~2 MPG boost when I use L for stop and go condition.   Thanks, Replies to this message: mecheng1 (Feb 08, 2008 7:08 am)
#117 of 125 Re: My Experience In the Canada Cold [dhuang2] by mecheng1 Feb 08, 2008 (7:08 am)
Replying to: dhuang2 (Feb 07, 2008 1:26 pm) You will want to type "hypermiling the ford escape hybrid" or "Low gear advantage" into your favorite search engine and read through all the various reports of tricks and techniques that can be used to improve FE. THEN, you want to practice with the ones that work for you on your particular routes. I find that keeping RPM between 1800 and 2200, during times when the ICE is on, returns well over 30mpg. (but is hard to do 100% of the time and still keep up with traffic)   An immediate boost can be gained from running 40-44psi in the tires, BUT NOT during the winter in cold climates where you need the traction. Good Luck and Be Safe.

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