Forums

My 2014 Energi runs great but the battery has about half its life left.  Typically 8-10 miles at best.  I use forscan and all the cells are balanced and no errors so I don't think there are any issues. I spoke with a dealership and a "rebuilt" battery is the only option from them and they want $15k for one.  Yikes.   As I understand it, these batteries have 84 Panasonic 3.7 Volt NMC cells with somewhere between 24-26 AH each.  The newer 2019/2020 Fusion cells I understand are 30AH. I'm tempted to try to source 84 new cells but hoping that I can get 40-50 AH each with the same dimensions as the stock cells. My question is, if I successfully replace all 84 cells with new ones that are say 40 AH, will the BMS be ok with that?  And I presume these cells have to be 3.7 NMC with the same demensions.  There's no way as far as I know to replace the current cells with LiFePO cells as they run a different voltage and such.  The goal is to swap 84 3.7 volt cells for 84 3.7 volt cells with hopefully higher AH so it can be sort of plug and play. Guidance, thoughts, considerations?  Anyone know if a reputable supplier?  I'm looking and the only options seem to be Aliexpress or Alibaba and thus I fear it may be impossible to find good safe accurate cells.  

Remember, the guess-o-meter is based on your recent driving.  If you have a lead foot, it might think that you only have eight miles of juice.  Follow cr08's instructions, that will get to what you really have available.

I'd first start by getting the actual capacity of the battery currently. The estimated range is practically useless as a health indicator as a lot of factors can impact the numbers. Here's the test you need to do:   1) Fully charge the car 2) Drive it in EV mode ONLY (avoid things that can cause the ICE to start, ie: No highway driving, no cabin heat, as few active accessories as possible) 3) Drive until the plug-in charge is depleted. 4) Once the plug-in charge is used and it falls back to hybrid operation, safely stop somewhere and shut off the car. The trip summary on the left screen will list the kwh used. This is the number you need. 5.5kwh is the brand new plug-in capacity from the factory. Anything above 4.0 is still in good territory.

It's normal for there to be more noise when the engine turns on vs running on the battery only. You can post a recording here of the noise if you think it's a problem.

8 miles seems a little low for 34k miles on the car.  Maybe there is a problem with the battery pack.  I would get it diagnosed before getting it replaced. Or just drive it as is, a new battery would not add a lot of value.

Hello, thanks for the approval. I got my first hybrid a couple of months ago, a 2014 C-Max SEL, after I had to give up my beloved Fiesta because Mrs. H won't drive a stick and Mom H. had trouble getting in and out of it.   Love the C-Max, it's a funky little contraption and great for the commute. Now officially christened the "Possum Hybrid" in memory of Red Green's Possum Van. Wonder how he would have built a hybrid?

I have a ridiculously low mileage 2013 CMax Energi (34,000 miles). Really. I am the original owner, purchased the car new in December 2013. Love it. I live in an excellent climate for this car, never freezes here, temps over 75° for just a few days a year. The battery is now just charging to 8 miles. Is it time to replace the batteries? I am 77 years old, would like this to keep this as my toes-up car and not buy a new one. 

nogoodbum - i believe the air intake for the HVB comes from the passenger side rear wheel well.  so, if very hot outside, that could be a problem for cooling.     we have a 2016 energi.  i was curious about the recharge on hills after reading some conflicting and confusing information on the internet.  i took the car skiing, and on the way back down the hill it managed to charge the HVB to nearly a 1/4 charge.  i did not need to pull over or turn anything on or off, i just went down hill gently using the brake.  (i didn't know about the hill mode then).   we plan on driving half way across canada this summer.  some of those mountains are really long climbs/descents.  i'm interested to see how full the HVB can get.   in any respect, i was pleasantly surprised to see that the HVB does indeed charge up on hills.     cr08 - i'm curious to know how the battery gets stressed by being charged/discharged on the highway - do you mean heat, or something else?   i was hoping to drive on the highway in EV auto mode, trying to keep it in that sweet spot of a bit of gas, a bit of electric power at the same time.  i'd at least like to get some cruising along for free after we come down a large mountian.

before i dont have problem when press on gas paddle , run so smooth and accelerate so fast no hear any sound ,  (i believe it run on electric ) now when i press on ga paddle , make a lot of sound , ev mode switch to engine mode,  gas MPG dropped to 45 to 40.1   car still running ok, but make alot of sound on engine mode, when it back to electric mode no sound, when back to engie mode hear loud noise., Did anyone have this kind of problem? really appreciate any info    

From my research the remote start fob is also a different frequency. 433 MHZ for the non remote start model and 315 MHZ for the remote start key. I have used Forscan and enabled the remote start in the IC but have not updated the antenna with the remote start model. I was a senior master Ford tech for 26 years and in theory it should be able to be done with software but I haven't made it there yet.