ptjones

If that is what you are worried about it would seem like buying a used one makes more sense that hasn't had any battery issues as opposed to taking a chance.. IMO :) Paul

My car was built in Oct2012 and I haven't had any significant issues so I would recommend go for SEL and look at service report. If the CMAX hasn't had any issue by now I would think that is a good sign. Look at lifetime Fuel mileage. IMO :) Paul

I think maybe they aren't motivated enough, LOL Maybe if we offered a prize. I had my first 600mile tank in one month and sixth fill up, with all the good information in " Hybrid driving Tips and Tricks" anyone can get to 600miles on a tank. Come on 2014 Owners you can do it. Gee just thinking salsaguy if you hurry up and get your CMAX you could be the first. LOL IMHO :) Paul

I have my bike rack on most of the time, only take it off when I go on trips and not carrying the bikes. I don';t think the bike rack hurts MPG's much, but bikes do 2-3mpg maybe. :) Paul

I just do it automatically on my IPhone.. I take a pic of trip gauge then zero it out and Empower Average then compute actual mileage (GPS) then divide actual gallons used. Then load it up on Fuelly, takes a minute or two. I also post notes, where I filled up and conditions, A/C,heater, weather conditions, Temps,rain, snow or wind. That way I or anyone can go back and see why my gas mileage varied. :) Paul

My numbers are 45.1 vs 45.9mpg. :) Paul

I have to figure out how to get more memory to post more pics. :) Paul

I have a saris three bike rack on my CMAX. I think I have only had two bikes on it. No problems after 1 1/2 years. :) Paul

I have a Saris three bike rack on the back of my car that works well. You should be able to get at least 40mpg's on the HWY and better if congested. As you can see my life time on Fuelly is 45.1mpg with 80% HWY. I would recommend SEL over SE. IMO :) Paul

I do have Grill Covers,Wheel Covers,Gas Pods, 49PSI tire pressure and Scan Gauge which all together is worth about 4-5mpg. I have some more aero improvements that should be worth 1-2mpg's. :) Paul

To get great mileage you need to P&G a lot and be in the 40-60mph range. That's how I got my two 65mpg tanks. It does take some practice, time and patience, but it can be fun. :) Paul

I guess I would hate to waste the time and inconvenience for all of that. FORD knows they have problems and the Dealer can only do what they tell them to do. Good Luck :) Paul

Unfortunately drafting only works if the wind is coming at you or from the behind at speeds less than 20mph. Most of the time winds were cross winds so there is very little benefit in drafting. To give an example when I was coming back I gassed up in El Paso and the winds were gusting to 30mph from the west. Within an hour I was up to 49.8mpg and it made very little difference if I was drafting or not going between 70 and 80mph. Within two hours the winds had shifted to strong winds from the south and drafting was useless and I was getting high 30's so that tank ended up getting 43.1mpg. The best results for drafting occur when winds are slight or coming from the front. :) Paul

I would recommend jumper battery until they figure out the problem. I had my car outside for 5 days and it started and the ICE came on immediately so I think the 12v battery was getting weak, but I didn't think to check my volt meter to see what my starting voltage was, ouch. :) Paul

Does anyone know of an instance of someone hypermiling and having an accident? I don't know of any and I sure haven't. BTW hypermiling is worth 3-20mpg depending how aggressively you do it. It is obviously not for everyone, but it can be fun to improve your mpg's. IMHO :) Paul

I thought I would mention I got 45mpg average on my 5K mile trip to San Diego and back with A/C and strong winds. I think I would have gotten 47mpg without A/C and Winds. :happy feet: :shift: Paul

In my 35yrs of drafting experience I only draft larger vehicles that can't stop as fast as I can. I stay very aware at what is going on in front and back of me and work on future adjustment plans with current traffic conditions in mind. I drive one to two semi lengths behind and anymore than that you are losing the draft. I usually don't draft cars because it is unsafe to drive close enough to get much draft unless there is a line of cars. Also they can stop as fast as you can and at six car lengthens there isn't much draft to work with. Now to add some reality to this discussion, everyone on this forum drafts unsafely if they drive on congested HWY's, if you are paying attention to what is going on in front of you, increasing the gap in front of you as cars keep filling it up, it's the guy on your back bumper you need to worry about. You can't slam on your brakes without him hitting you so you have to apply your brakes moderately so you don't hit the car in front of you and the guy behind you doesn't hit you! Drafting takes full time attention to do it safely and if you can't do that then you shouldn't do it. IMHO :) PS: I drove to San Diego and back, about 5K miles With A/C on most of the time and strong winds and averaged on the Interstates 45mpg. Without the wind and A/C it looks like I can average 47MPG and They said it couldn't be done. LOL :happy feet: :shift: Paul

Well I finally did it Jus! LOL AZ people know the long up hill grade going south out of Camp Verde on I17, I got the over heating Message at 247 degrees F as I was cresting the hill going 65mph, OT of 93*F. I actually hit 249*F for about 2 seconds and 5 seconds at 247*F. I had the A/C on and the temps drop very quickly when you let off the accelerator, down to 230*F in 30 seconds. Most of the time car runs cooler with A/C on because of fan running all the time. The fan is very strong and will suck the cover out of your hands when installing it with the fan on. Most of the time with the A/C on the WT is in the 190's with lower cover on and 170's with it off, so I leave it on. Also I didn't notice any significant difference with lower cover on or off with the A/C out put. I did put three 1.5" holes in lower cover to improve cooling going up long uphill climbs, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. :) Paul

When I heard the noise it wasn't coming from the HVB fan, but under the car maybe fuel pump. :) Paul

I'm On trip across the country and have done some testing. The lower Grill Cover is worth 15 degressF drop in WT. Strangely the low cover doesn't effect A/C very much at all. I'm suprised lower cover would lower WT so much. I'm thinking of drilling some holes in cover to control temps better. :) Paul

I think what is going on here is you are trading speed for gas mileage. The slower your average speed, the better your gas mileage. If you wait longer with the two bar method before you start the Ice so you end up with the same average speed as 2000rpm method I woulld guess you would have atlest as good of gas mileage. Two bar method is a lot easier to do too. IMO :) Paul

When you got home did you hear anything running when you shut it off? If you got home late at night there was less time for the battery to run dead you would think. Can you check the battery voltage when you shut it off? And also check it in the morning. Either the battery is not charging very well or something is drawing a lot of amps. Sure is frustrating, I would put a trickle charger on it to see what happens, if still goes dead then some thing is drawing more than the trickle charger can put out. ;) Paul

Gas is $3.62 to $3.79 now in Atlanta Area. :) Paul

We are going into Summer so your should pickup around 6MPG over Winter. I filled up yesterday and got 53.6mpg with 50% Hwy. You just got to love Grill Covers. LOL :) Paul

I remember the late 60's and 25 cents a gallon and it was a lot of money because I only got 10-14mpg and I couldn't go very far on a tank. Prices keep inching up to the $4 mark, It motivates me to keep working on MPG mods to improve gas mileage. :) Paul