fbov

I'd ask the dealer why they're suggesting unnecessary service! Paul's got the right items. As to brake fluid, the stuff is "hydroscopic" or water loving; it will suck moisture through the brake lines and turn black. That's a big problem if your brakes ever get hot. The water will vaporize and you'll lose your brakes. No one will let you on a race track without brand new, clear brake fluid. Yet it's not on the list. The brakes aren't supposed to last that long, I guess! Have fun, Frank, who just hit 60K and is doing none of the above (only 5K miles on the oil, awaiting report)

Yeah; 10K miles is more like 16.7K kilometers, but a year is always a year. Adding it up, you're pushing 15K Km at 10 months, so it's probably distance triggering it. I get my oil analyzed, at 10K changes, so look for a thread. At least one high-mileage member is using extended intervals. I just sent in a sample, so I can tell you the oil reset procedure: - turn on/push and hold button for 2 sec. - press both pedals and hold for "in process" then a long wait, then "completed" messages. Have fun, Frank

I got a chuckle out of that... Mileage drops because the engine is colder when you start it, so it must run longer to reach minimum operating temperature. It continues to run whenever necessary to maintain internal temperature, unless your average speed is high enough to keep the engine warm. This is the kind of thing you might expect, as the ambient temperature varies. Note that the first winter, I took the expressway. Air density does increase, but only 10% from 77 to 32F, and aerodynamic losses are less than 10% at 54 MPG. You won't notice a 1% effect. HAve fun, Frank, who has driven cold enough to not charge (below 32F) as well as not EV (below -5F). The car deals with it by running the ICE.

Folks get confused by polarity, and there are two polarities at work here, with all four combinations allowed. The quote above refers to electric polarity: "The shaft always spins the same way." The only way to go from generating to consuming electricity is by changing the direction of current flow: "The 'change of direction' is in the flow of electricity." The quote ignores rotational polarity. The electric polarity above only applies to one direction of rotation. Turn it the opposite way, and you get the opposite direction of current flow, but it remains a motor or a generator. The idea is as simple as hooking up a DC motor the opposite polarity to get it to reverse direction (although these aren't DC motors). Finally, Plus 3 has done a great job summarizing operational modes, made possible because only 2 of the 3 units are constrained, one by road speed, the other by fuel consumption. That's why the third unit requires a +/- 10,000 RPM operational range. HAve fun, Frank

We non-plug-ins only get EV+ when we're close to home, work, or any other place we routinely stop the car (it learns after ~11 times). It's under GPS control, no button. Frank

Mary, your enthusiasm is very welcomed; things are getting quiet here, now that new-car sales have ended. New voices are refreshing! You've asked about one of the issues with plug-in hybrids, and Plus 3 has provided a link talking about the other; long term impact of keeping the HVB fully charged. Both issues are easily avoided by occasionally not plugging in, especially after short trips. Lithium ion battery technology is far superior to prior batteries, but it's not perfect. It's strength is life when used in a partially charged state, as it is in our hybrids. It's weakness is life when stored for long periods fully charged, like a plug-in that's kept plugged. It may seem counter-intuitive to avoid "topping off" the HVB, but you'll make it happier if you do. And this insures you'll have opportunities to use some gas, so it doesn't get stale either. Seems like a win-win. Have fun, Frank

What you describe is normal. It's due to the need for the tire to slide a little to generate lateral friction. The trail edge of the tread block bends, so it wears less. That creates an edge you only feel when you rub the right way. Now, this is also subtle, while real suspension issues cause more obvious wear. I use it to check tire placement when swapping snows and summer tires. At 50K I also needed a link replaced, so you may also at your mileage. I didn't have odd tire wear. HAve fun, Frank

Glad you enjoy the car. Sorry you're not pleased with the handling, but you're kind of stuck with it without resorting to after-market suspensions (Focus fits). I don't see tires helping with speed bumps. They're low-frequency inputs where vehicle response is related more to wheelbase, shock tuning and bump profile. Tires just roll over the bump. Tire construction does matter for road noise and rough-road response - high frequency inputs. In general, tires optimized for traction in corners have very poor ride quality, and vis versa. If you want an appreciably softer ride, put 60-series tires on 16" rims. 215/60-16 is a diameter match (my snows... which ride no softer because they're a 97 load rating with stiffer sidewalls). Being narrower and taller, cornering response will decline, although ultimate grip may not. Which gets us to tire characteristics - what makes a car fun to drive? I like linear response. Wheel inputs that are directly mirrored in the car's direction, with little change in arc with increasing speed. The downside is untoward behavior at the limits of adhesion. Most tires trade linearity for better behavior at the limit. However, the best tires are matched to the car. Ford did a very good job here; when the tires start to let go, the entire car drifts. If you have experience at speed, drifting a well-balanced car is a very controllable cornering mode that needs little driver input. If you live in the snow belt, you have opportunity to practice. And if you still want recommendations, look at Tire Rack's reader data and test reports. The former are subjective, but give you some idea of relative quality. Have fun, Frank

This may seem odd, but the higher your mileage, the greater the benefit from pure 93 fuel. The benefit of about 8% is just about instantaneous, if you're already getting 50+ MPG. It's minuscule if you're getting 40 MPG. I never saw an effect in highway driving, only lower-speed rural driving. Frank

Why, is something else wearing out? I've had Volvos dissolve around a good drive train... but you're not in the rust belt. Sky's the limit, perhaps?

I'd be curious what you see when swapping summer tires. My Michelin X-Ice 3 snows had zero impact on mileage. Cold weather still did it's thing, but I saw no difference in mileage over the tire change. In your case there may see a slight improvement... that disappears as it gets colder. Frank

You can look at it that way. The problem is the "center of the wheel" is defined as the plane that's half the distance between the rims. The offset datum is unrelated to rim width, but you'll find it very hard to measure without measuring the rim's width, too. I don't want to argue, but you asked a simple question, so I gave you the simple answer. We are using different criteria. You have only preserved clearance on one side. "...so my tires actually stick out (toward fender)..." To match the OEM tire location in the wheel well (equal change on both sides): Add (or subtract) half the rim width difference from the OEM wheel offset when moving to a wider (or narrower) rim. Example: I went from 7" to 6.6" rims, a 12.7 mm change. Half that is 6 mm (rounding to integers) I have 55 mm offset so 49 mm is equivalent, and Ford makes them 50mm. The one thing we can agree on: 2 mm difference in offset is not a significant change. However, I have purchased tires whose marked section width was actually the tread width, making for a 20 mm difference. Clearance didn't matter with these because they were also 50-series tires in an era when 70-series "wide oval" tire were "high performance." Times change. HAve fun, Frank

Looks like you used a different oil last time... Bov Oil Data 180822.pdf Starting at the top... and noting your car's first sample occurred at 2x my highest mileage. - I see 2x the wear products (Al, Fe) in my car's first 50K than you did in your car's 3rd and 4th (your data runs ~100-200K odo mileage, right?) - Mb is the first sign of different oil; your latest matches mine with Ford and Generic oil, while it used to match Mobil1. - Are you using oil or fuel additives containing Mn? Your oil has 15x my levels!! - Ca and Mg clearly show a different oil with a different additive package. - Odd that Ba popped... up to my early levels. We had both seen 0 several times, even as this level remains low. And really odd that your oil viscosity is very consistent... at a higher level than my oil. Of course you've put 2.5x more miles on the oil, just comparing ICE mileage. I again wish you had consistently measure TBN; oil pH matters! Your oil's chemical age is unmeasured. No engine failure modes evident, but no conclusions can be reached on oil life either. My oil hit 12 months in June, but I'm holding out on a sample until close to 5K miles. I plan to change it at 10K miles, regardless the calendar, unless the 5K report indicates otherwise. This will also fill out the matrix on my flash-point/fuel-in-oil issue. I've got 5W20 in now, and will see if there' less fuel in the oil with a (minutely) heavier base oil than 0W20, when driving short trips. I already showed that extended high-speed runs in Summer will drive out the fuel. Prior data used short trips, so I need a short-trips-with-5W20 data point. HAve fun, Frank

I'm up to three... the last one, I tried not pulling the fuse to shut it down. Got a dead battery for the first time... ever. No fix known, just the band aid (fuse). Frank

If your 215/55-17s are on a 6.5" wide rim, your offsets are functionally equivalent. My Ford steel 16x6.5 wheels have a -50mm offset, and fit perfectly with 215/60-16 snows. Once upon a time, the rear axle pushed while the front axle steered. Most wheel offsets were positive because there were no technical issues, and people liked deep-dish wheels. Ever seen "chrome reverse" wheels? Lots of flexibility because the bearings transmitting torque were mounted in a solid axle. Enter FWD, and now the bearing wants to be near the plane of the tire. Offsets become large and negative to accommodate a mounting flange that's a lot farther outboard than in RWD days. I have lots of Volvo wheels my kids can't use on their newer cars (my last car was a 1994 Volvo 940.). Have fun, Frank

I would have to disagree. I'm at 59K. Rear brakes warped before 50K. Front rotors rusted out at 52K. The braking surface was flaking off, it's not mechanic BS. Rears are starting to go again. My regen score is about 95%, but I was commuting in the rust belt, so I'm not surprised the fronts died. I didn't expect the rear brakes to be as involved with regen braking, but it makes sense. Regen only works on the front axle in our cars, so hydraulic brakes have to balance that out. Anyone who has experienced the feeling of brake failure entering a turn has experience brake balance failure. That feeling disappeared when I got the rears fixed. As always, YMMV, Frank

"Invoke" how? If you're giving it more pedal, you'll see worse mileage. If you're giving it more time, less pedal, so less power and longer to reach speed... it also has longer to charge the HVB. This made a big difference. Have fun, Frank

Funny, you both talk like you have a choice... software upgrades don't allow it. Every time you drive off in a cold C-Max, you can only use EV power. The ICE cannot be forced to provide torque under any circumstances, even though it is running. After about 15 seconds, the start-up mode ends and ICE begins to make motive torque. I first noticed it after the 2014 PCM upgrade, so I assume it's part of Ford's attempt to lengthen tranny life. The easiest thing to look for is the charging state; you're discharging with the engine running in start-up mode. I drive uphill from home, so I notice a big increase in engine noise when it starts pulling and EV flips to charging mode. It's always near the top of the hill. You can see it in one of Paul's video's, too.... Frank

My 2013 was spec'ed for 5W20, not 0W20 as you note. A great similarity in specs for 0W vs. 5W, combined with the uproar over MPGs, led to a change that not every souce picked up. That said, I've gone back to 5W20 because I had high fuel levels in the oil with 0W20. I'll be testing soon, and will report back what I find. Have fun, Frank

I've been looking at tires and reviews since Goodyear introduced the "Wingfoot," now known as the Eagle GT. I have never seen a tire test SO BADLY in wet conditions as the P4 Four Seasons Plus. Wet stopping distances are 30 ft. greater than the other tires, while cornering force is 20% less and lap times 4 seconds slower. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=228 Yet they have received some very good subjective ratings. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?clearSize=true&type=ST&VT= Have fun, Frank

Amazon? Search "MOTORCRAFT-XO0W20QSP-SAE-0W-20-GF-5" and you'll find it.

It's hard to beat how well ICE and EV complement one another! EV torque is current-limited at low RPM, while ICE torque peaks at high RPM. You can't lose when you punch it! Frank

Wow, I'm just another 59,000 mile car getting 44 MPG!

Funny how we all love the car... me too, by the way. It was a big shift from a RWD Volvo, but I've come to dislike low cars with poor visibility. Old Volvos were upright for their day, but this thing's placement between the larger SUVs and sedans is a perfect fit for today's "me." I've gone looking... Hydrogen is the long-term answer. From an ecological standpoint, it's hard to argue with water exhaust. From an energy standpoint, turning it into Helium will take care of the energy balance issue. Of course, we don't know how to do that terrestrially yet. Details, details. Have fun, Frank

I've used anti-seize on wheel studs for decades. Of course, I do most wheel changes manually, and my mechanic uses torque limiters on his impact wrenches. Without limiters, I can see how an impact wrench could get you into trouble. Frank