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Ford Escape Hybrid MPG-Real World Numbers

201 messages,  Last post on Jun 24, 2009 at 11:16 AM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Escape Hybrid, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

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#193 of 201 Other suggestions not yet touched on? by fehinjuneau Apr 14, 2009 (9:05 pm)
We bought the FEH 4WD as a meter reading vehicle at the electric utility. It now has 10,000 miles in 10 months and has averaged 19.4 m/g. The first 2 fillups hit 28mpg then it dropped to 20mpg over the newt few fillups. It usually gets 19-20 with a few 22s, a lot of 18s. The worst was 11mpg and a few 15s. Yes, this is Alaska and it can occasionally get cold in winter (35F avg). It is stored outside. We have limited roads and usually won't get to 55mph for more than 2-3 miles because of stop lights. As a meter vehicle it sees a lot of starts and stops but usually stays under 30mph when reading. It sees about 50 miles in a day. Is this the best we can hope for? We also have a Merc Mariner V6 and it is getting 19 life average but it is more of a commuter, not a reader. Any insight to the low mpg would be appreciated. Replies to this message: stevedebi (Apr 15, 2009 1:38 pm) joseph85750 (Apr 15, 2009 2:27 pm) ekiehn (Apr 16, 2009 11:53 am)
#194 of 201 Re: Other suggestions not yet touched on? [fehinjuneau] by stevedebi Apr 15, 2009 (1:38 pm)
Replying to: fehinjuneau (Apr 14, 2009 9:05 pm) "Any insight to the low mpg would be appreciated. "   You are reading meters, which means VERY short trips, continuously through the day? That is the absolute worst scenario for MPG. The FEH gets its higher MPG by various means, but one of the better boosts to the MPG is when the vehicle is either cruising at around 40 - 45 MPG or else decelerating after a decent interval at speed. Both scenarios match traffic patterns on freeways with congestion.   The only thing I can suggest (and I don't know if it will help) is that, if the meter readings are fairly close together in distance - AND the engine is warmed up (that is, it shuts off when you stop the vehicle), leave the FEH turned on when you check the meters. That way you won't have to restart the engine between readings. Turn off the electronics when you leave the vehicle. If you are worried about security, buy the Ford OEM keypad, which will allow you to manually lock the FEH while you are reading the meter. You then enter the number sequence to unlock the driver's door. I find that starting the engine alone reduces the MPG by about .1 MPG for each and every engine start. There are limits to what you can do in this area, because the FEH requires the water temperature to be above 155 before it will stay off; also, the State of Charge (SOC) has to be above 45 or so. There is also a temperature requirement for the catalytic converter. So if you don't use the engine between stops you may find that the engine will not shut off, for one of these various reasons. But it may help some.   Also, you should try and be fairly gentle on the acceleration, keeping to about 1800 RPM until you reach speed, at which point you should back off of the accelerator. Time your lights so that you don't accelerate to a stop light - try and decelerate to a red light (the FEH loves slowing down to improve MPG). You might also buy a scan guage II, which will allow you to see some of the internal workings of the FEH, and may help you reduce fuel usage. For example, I keep my SGII monitoring the Throttle Position Sensor, so I know to back off of the throttle when it goes too high.
#195 of 201 Re: Other suggestions not yet touched on? [fehinjuneau] by joseph85750 Apr 15, 2009 (2:27 pm)
Replying to: fehinjuneau (Apr 14, 2009 9:05 pm) Wow.. that is pretty crappy. As the last poster mentioned, I'd be curious if you're starting starting it, and shutting it off manually frequently-- so frequent that you're never using the electric drive much at all. Compound that with the cold, and I could imagine it might not perform well. You said WE bought it for meter reading. Is there more than 1 person out reading meters? If so, can you leave the vehicle running? I suspect that would help a lot.
#196 of 201 Re: Other suggestions not yet touched on? [fehinjuneau] by ekiehn Apr 16, 2009 (11:53 am)
Replying to: fehinjuneau (Apr 14, 2009 9:05 pm) The previous post had some good advice. On the newer models I believe they have an economode button (mine is putting it in second gear) in either case you are changing the programing, The second gear thing for me means that the deceleration is much more aggressive and pumps more charge to the batteries between start and stop. Cold is an enemy for any vehicle that doesn't get properly warmed up but hybrids will have more of a problem. 10,000 miles is nothing, that's your first oil change, after which I did start getting better milage. Last option, change roles of the 2 vehicles, make the Mariner the meter reader and for the FEH the commuter. Just like you wouldn't have a Mustang pull a boat, a hybrid in cold, start, stop very short drives isn't a good match either. Wish I could offer more encouragement.   Eric 2006 FEH Purchased April/May 2005 69.553 Miles Avg MPG 32.4
#197 of 201 I get 27 winter / 32 summer by escapeforever Jun 19, 2009 (8:31 am)
I have an 06 Ford Escape with 4WD. I bought it used with 65,000 a year ago. Now it has about 80,000. I live in Maine. I get an average of about 27-28 in the winter and about 32-33 in the spring/summer/fall. The most interesting thing is that if I TRY very hard to improve the mileage (babying it to stay in electric mode, for instance) I generally get WORSE mileage, than just letting the car's electronics figure it out. That's been a shocker. The best I ever got was 35.3 and the worst about 25. I love the vehicle and would do another in a heartbeat. Replies to this message: ekiehn (Jun 19, 2009 9:04 am) stevedebi (Jun 24, 2009 11:16 am)
#198 of 201 Re: I get 27 winter / 32 summer [escapeforever] by ekiehn Jun 19, 2009 (9:04 am)
Replying to: escapeforever (Jun 19, 2009 8:31 am) Great to hear, I love mine as well. To bad this message area seems to be dieing out as it would be great to here more from the Hybrid Escape owners. The new ones are so much nicer than the original ones. I did get to test drive a Fusion Hybrid when they first started shipping them. My salesman watched me walk around the car a dozen time drooling before I got my senses back and said not yet. That is one nice looking and great driving car. Replies to this message: stevedebi (Jun 24, 2009 11:16 am)
#201 of 201 Re: I get 27 winter / 32 summer [ekiehn] by stevedebi Jun 24, 2009 (11:16 am)
Replying to: ekiehn (Jun 19, 2009 9:04 am) "Great to hear, I love mine as well. To bad this message area seems to be dieing out as it would be great to here more from the Hybrid Escape owners. The new ones are so much nicer than the original ones."   I'm still enjoying my 2008. My lifetime MPG is just under 30; for some reason the MPG went down this past spring. But it is now going back up to around 31 per tank (calculated, not the FEH computer reading). If you haven't gotten a scan guage II yet, that would be a good investment. I'm using TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) to get better MPG, as well as monitoring the instant MPG, state of charge (SOC), and the calculated water temperature. The combination of SOC and H2O temp tells me if the vehicle is capable of electric only mode.   But monitoring the TPS is what has gotten my MPG back up from around 29 to around 31.

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