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The car has traction control in three directions: - when braking, we call it ABS - when accelerating, we call it traction control - when turning, Ford call is RSC. All three use the same sensors and control logic, because all three are just modulating the brakes based in sensor input. I know they're connected because I lost my RCM module shortly after Ford issued safety recall 13S04 (RCM). When the RCM is disabled, you lose all three aspects of traction control, and gain a much brighter dash as a result of all the MILs. More to the point, have you observed this behavior? It happens on a regular basis, now that I'm sensitized. Have fun, Frank

+1 I love EV+, it's true, partly due to the stuff in Plus3's excerpt, partly because it fits my situation. Coming home, I crest a hill within the last half mile. My goal is to crest that hill with minimum SOC, just enough juice to make it close enough to home and sustained EV+. Arriving at work, I have a long gentle downhill slope the last few miles. I try to minimize SOC as I get close, knowing EV+ will let me maneuver through campus to a parking spot. In both cases, EV+ allows me to tack on EV miles at the end of regular trips that would be very hard to access otherwise due to the ICE threshold at low SOC. That it also gets the HVB in a very stable charge state for long term storage is icing on the cake. But I'd still like to have that EV button, so I could "+" whenever I wanted to. HAve fun, Frank

I'd say most of the other differences are due to the two big ones you mentioned. As to ratings (PZEV), that's more marketing than engineering. I give it the same weight as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It does seem odd that a Honda with fuel cut off gets the same designation as a full hybrid. The back of my car gets dirty, as the tuft test said it should. Can't say it's darker than normal... The Energi is heavier, due to the bigger battery, thus the larger friction brakes. I didn't know about the exhaust manifold, neat bit of engineering, and the Energi also has an independent transmission pump. Have fun, Frank

In general, I find it better to display ignorance when dropping a car off for service. Let them do their job, but when they're done... you know what to look for. It's possible we have different problems with similar symptoms. Frank

I've activated traction control, and this is decidedly different. I would never call traction control subtle. Plus, you're going too slow to break traction.... Have fun, Frank

Yep! Mine did that for months. I finally got it to malfunction for the dealer. Been fine since. The repair order lists: TSB14-0037 R/R GPSM

First off, congrats on the purchase and welcome to the asylum. Lots of good stuff to be had here. I'm going to back up to your arrival home. You drive up this long, steep hill, ICE running, battery charging, and can't bleed off the HVB in the 1 mile to your house. In the AM, you therefore start out with a high SOC on the HVB, but can't keep the ICE from coming on during that 1 mile drive to the hill. One option is to lose charge on your way up, a la SnowStorm, so your EV+ kicks in and gets you home with lower SOC. It'll recover overnight, but still have more capacity than it does now. Another is to drive more gently leaving home, so ICE doesn't come on. That's part foot learning, part set-up. Keeping ICE off requires shutting it down in a configuration that won't start ICE immediately. I leave the heater set to 60, AC off. That's about it; the dash-cam is always plugged in. Lately, mine has been behaving differently. It runs on HVB with ICE on when I start up... odd to have the ICE going, but see a big blue bar, even though I park with low SOC. No problem EV'ing up the hill out of my house, albeit with the ICE on. Things return to normal in a minute or so. Perhaps it's part off a recent update (I'm current up to 15B04). Have fun, Frank

Interesting... I see a just hint of the shift your data shows right around freezing! If you extend your warm weather trend to lower temperatures, all the cold weather data falls below the trend line. I wonder if that's fuel reformulation, or something in the car's warm-up/run temp requirements? I see the same thing, but I also put on snow tires... this for a 15 mile, 30 mph commute, both AM and PM. Have fun, Frank

Yes, I get this on a regular-but-rare basis. I would describe it as more of a reduction in braking than a surge (increase in speed). Reminds me of dropping the clutch to downshift going into a turn. When the clutch opens, you lose engine braking, so the car feels like it's surged into the turn, but it didn't surge. Listen to the drivetrain. My sense is there's no sound associated. Extending the clutch analogy, it's as if the traction motor stops braking once you start turning. Now that I think about it, it's about the opposite of the braking surge in wet weather, if you've ever noticed that one. Note that if you've ever gotten into RSC, this is positively subtle by comparison. When RSC intervenes, there's no question, no subtlety, you're just a passenger in the drivers' seat. This one's more of a "shiver - hey, what was that?" Have fun, Frank

I think the towing thing is more about the development process, somewhat akin to the cooling system capability. If a vehicle is rated for towing, it has to carry the rated load up a mountain in the desert in June with AC on, without overheating. I see nothing in a CVT drivetrain that precludes it. I see lots in the "hybrid corporate mindset" that does, at least when it comes to funding the qualification work. If they skimped on EPA testing, you think that's the only place? Have fun, Frank

Tell Volvo... their 4-cyl RWD chassis were rated for 3300lb.... they could tow one another. You are in for a treat! And my wife would love the same, just in the other direction. The car's too tall for someone with her arthritis issues. You can't please everyone! Have fun, Frank

Do a search for "headlights" and you'll find a bunch. This is the one you want, I think. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/360-xenon-bi-xenon-hid-headlights/ Frank

It helps to remember that we're actually the new kids on the block... http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/glossary-take-ii-3505.html Frank

Build date is 19.09.2012 for ours, delivered the first week of October. We've had no issues with the battery, and have only been stranded due to our own actions. Lots of recalls, lots of time at the dealer, but I've yet to pay for anything but oil changes. HAve fun, Frank

Well, it may not be related, but I'm seeing a new cold-engine run mode, sort of an EV-. After a cold boot, when engine has just started, I don't see any torque coming out of the ICE, it's all EV. This continues for about 30 seconds, the time to my first turn, then EV shuts down and it's normal ICE-only until the engine warms a bit. I call it "EV minus" because it's very similar to EV+ in that you have access to a full 2-bars of EV thrust, and Engage tells me It's all blue bar; the ICE is doing none of it. . What I wonder, is if this slight change to power flow during warm-up might reduce wear on a certain transmission bearing? No idea how long this has been happening, but I only noticed since things warmed up, and I have had recalls done this Spring, too. HAve fun, Frank

Have you looked for sensors? My '13 has a little dark strip on the inner side where the index finger lands, on all 4 doors. I have had problems with mine, but usually the drivers' door. Back door's my backup, lest I have to reach into my pocket an press a button! Can't have that inconvenience, now that I'm fully spoiled. Frank Ain't no stinking dark strip on the inner side.... must have been a shadow.

Input bolded. Act on this as you see fit, but the 12V is the only one I'd worry about if I had an SE and/or 12V battery issues. Frank

It wasn't on etis yesterday...

Time to check ETIS! Sure enough, 15B04 joins 12M02 and 14B03..."15B04 - 12 VOLT BATTERY TEST AND MODULE SOFTWARE UPDATE" As an SEL owner, whose battery's been fine, I'll try to keep the queue open for all those SE owners out there. Too bad etis still thinks my 2013 Hybrid is a 2014 Energi... I'm thankful for small favors. HAve fun, Frank

You can do this with the trip odometer, but it's manual; you'd need to reset at the start of every segment. I see the time continue to update when I record the data, so I'm assuming the rest of the display is live when you're moving. I've flashed the trip odo when driving, but never left it visible long enough to see it update... HAve fun, Frank

A couple things... Toe-in/out, when I was learning decades ago, was measured to the RIM, not the tire. This seems intuitively obvious when one realizes how easy it is to defect a tire sidewall by 1/32". Accurate measurements can only be taken between hard points. Assume a 8.5" radius when calculating the angle. Statis toe-in must be >0 or you will drive with toe-out. The implied 0.1 degree toe-in is the nominal you should target unless you've replaced all your front bushings with urethane. If a car does not have static toe-in, you will have toe-out on the road, when all the suspension parts are loaded, all bushings deflected, and both front tires slightly behind their rest locations. . Don't get me wrong, toe-out can be a lot of fun. It was a cheap autocross tricks (if you didn't drive far), as a car with toe-out wants to turn. The car is dynamically unstable, just what you want in competition, with trained, experienced drivers, and should avoid in day-to-day driving. But I'm darn impressed with the rear specs; more like semi-trailing arms... HAve fun, Frank

No. All the MPG displays I've found are integrated ICE/EV readings. You're asking what's the engine's actual fuel consumption rate when it's running, compared with ground speed. I calculate that based on the actual mileage and the EV/ICE ratio, but the car won't. HAve fun, Frank

I had this fail before the recall when I hit a good pothole. The RCM includes accelerometers that I believe are the root of the issue. I lost antolock braking, roll stability control, and likely seat belt tensioning upon impact. All I saw were a bunch of dash lights; the lack of RCM was never obvious otherwise. As Plus 3 noted, parts in short supply; mine took a week or two. Frank

Ask your dealer? Any pending or incomplete recalls will be listed here. Just enter your VIN on the "Vehicle" tab and ignore 12M02 and 14B03 under "Outstanding Field Service Actions" www.etis.ford.com Frank

And route. Effectively, I measure at 30 MPH and 50MPH average speeds,based on route length/transit time. The slope is higher at lower speed, more like 3MPG for every 10F, and closer to your 2.4MPG for 10F at the higher speed. HAve fun, Frank