ptjones

I'm regularly getting in the 50'sMPG now so you can get 47MPG especially in the summer. I did 71mi round trip so no tall wind or elevation advantage and got 52MPG and outside temp 50deg.F. It all comes down to how you drive the car and outside temp.

I agree with you. My mileage keeps getting better.

Apparently most CMAX drivers don't monitor this forum, I would expect more comments.

They are closed but there not air tight. The ICE warms up about twice as fast with Grill Covers on. The idea was good but doesn't work as well as intended. I noticed all fusion's have shutters. I'm going to be testing Fusion Hybrid tomorrow with my Grill Covers.

BTW I saw my first CMAX on the road couple of days ago. CR lost a lot of credibility when they said CMAX city MPG was 35mpg, If you drive it like a Hybrid your easily in the 40's I do 50's all the time. It sure would be interesting if I could try out one of these poor MPG CMAX's. Wingrider01 have you taken your CMAX to the Dealer and complained about your low MPG's? People are talking about fouled plug problems. I did another 71.3mi round trip today. Outside temp average 50deg.F, 44.3EV (62%), 5.5mi Regen, 50.95MPG, 1.3gal. 97.5% BK. S. and average speed 50-55mph. I'm working on getting a CMAX Meeting together soon. Trying to get it at a FORD Electric Dealer.

CNCGeek you are right the Wolverine Model 9 you can get on Amazon for $56. It's only a 125Watt unit 3" in diameter, the one I had was 4"x5" restricted air flow around oil pan and raised WT by 10deg.F. I didn't want to take grill covers off to compensate for it. The Wolverine wouldn't have that problem and I was hoping someone in Colder area would install it on their car and let us know how much improvement they saw shorten heat up time. If you knew what you are doing you could have it on in 15 min. I could give some pointers if anyone wants to try. Concerning Inverter coolant temps appears to be a non issue, I made a trip when I got back I put my hands on the coolant lines and they were cold, with grill covers on.

I would have thought you would see big jump up at 62mph being able to go into EV good percentage of the time. I know I can stay in EV at 63mph and at least get 50mpg with covers at 70deg.F. I also think CMAX would catch up with PriusV by 50mph.

I checked my inverter coolant lines after a trip by putting my hand on it and it was cold. Good Job Plus 3 Golfer.

I would tell your son that he can only drive it if he gets 50+MPG's, end of story. :)

I thought there would be more people talking to their dealers.

Someone posted a graph for Prius average MPG and there was a variance of 10mpg from summer to winter similar to CMAX . I made a trip out and back yesterday of 72.6mi and averaged 48.5mpg average temp 46deg.F. I did have my grill covers on. From 70deg.F you lose approx. 2MPG for each 10deg.F. drop in temp. Check out mileage topic 3MPG gained with Grill Covers thead, lot of info in there. Also complain to your dealer about poor MPG's, 90% of FORD dealers act unaware of the problem. Apparently most people aren't complaining to there dealers. I have 8600mi on my CMAX.

I'm thinking you might be right on that, That's the way usually do it.

DozerBobs Does ICE charge plugin battery? I made a round trip yesterday very hilly with 38deg.F going out and 54deg.F coming back.The average for both legs was 48.5mpg for 72.6mi with 44.5miEV or 61%. average speed 50-55mph, 5mi regen,1.4gal and 98% brake Score. Check your odometer with GPS, It looks like maybe everyone is getting 1.5% better MPG than actual calculated MPG. I was wondering if anyone has gotten more than 608.6mi on 12.87gal?

I have talked to about 10 Ford dealers and only one sales mgr. was aware of the problem. It is amazing that they don't read auto news stories to keep abreast of current competition, recalls and reviews. It appears that not that many people are complaining about it.

The body doesn't appeared to have changed aerodynamically.

I videoed the shutters and they work off WT starting at 190deg.F in 1/4 steps to fully open at 213deg.F. The shutters appear to be the same as Fusion hybrid. Allen Vigil FORD said that their conference room is busy on Saturdays so no luck there. But I may have hit pay dirt at Gene Evans Ford service mgr. he would try to get answer on coolant temp for inverter and if there is a readout from ICE computer plug. He was going to see if an actual Ford tech could call me. Hope for the best. BTW I put my hand on Inverter coolant lines today after my trip and they were cold with covers on.

I'm going to Allan Vigil FORD to talk to them hosting a CMAX meeting and talk to Hybrid mechanics to see if they have answers to our questions.

MikeB Do you have a ScanGauge? We need to come up with good questions to ask Service mgr concerning Inverter coolant max temps.Is there an output from OBDII interace for Inverter? BTW FORD doesn't need to test Grill Covers , all they need to do is have an Alert message on Smart Gauge telling driver to change or remove Grill covers. Simple All cars mass produced are compromises, We couldn't afford the best. FORD made the best CMAX they could for $26k. The CMAX platform is 5years old and not as aerodynamic as Fusion. We are just trying to see where FORD made compromises that we can improve on. I noticed people are having problems with fouled spark plugs, Grill Covers might have kept that from happening because of shorter heat up time. Another benefit according to one cover owner is it keeps snow from getting in grill opening. We will keep looking for info on Hybrid system.

You need a ScanGauge then you have it all. You would have to drive a CMAX to see how different it is. I've had 2 Escape Hybrids and driven my daughters 2011 Prius. I think the difference is the Lithium-ion battery with twice the range and the aggressive charging. The car feels different to drive and takes some getting use to. I have been able to pulse to 65mph and glide to 60mph and back up to 65mph without causing any problems. Keep in mind that I can go 63mph in EV and have about twice the battery range of Prius which changes the game.

I'm disappointed that FORD didn't take the mileage negative press and turn it into a positive by selling a Winter MPG kit for those concerned about MPG's. 1. It would include a DVD on how to drive your CMAX to get good gas mileage. 2. Grill Cover set with instructions on how to use. Also have Smart Gauge Alert driver to change or remove covers as necessary. 3. Make WT gauge in MyView included digital read out too, so you accurately monitor WT. 4. Oil pan heater to speedup ICE warming up. 5. Make charger unit in engine compartment to plug in to household electricity, so EV Battery is fully charged when you start out. I believe this could help the worst MPG owners by up to 10MPG! I wonder if FORD people actually monitor this forum? :)

The cover have velcro on them so they will stick on the back of seat and not take any space. They are made of Polycarbonate very durable plastic. They can take some abuse, rocks. Is that separate from the radiator? It looks like it is going to the radiator.

My first and 6th tanks averaged 47.3 mpg so I was satisfied that the car was capable of 47 mpg. I owned two Ford Escape Hybrids and the C-Max is more comfortable and nicer to drive so I don't regret buying it! Plus I'm having a lot of fun trying to make it better!

People are finding 2 mpg is an aerodynamic improvement, 3 mpg is a temperature improvement. If you look at the graph the information was there all the time.

Here are the the facts from all the testing been doing. 1. FORD said in Hotline Assistance Request that The Approx. engine Operating Temp should be 202-212deg.F 2. The best MPG temp range is 202-230deg.F 3. Starting with cold ICE and outside temp from 37-70deg.F driving hwy loop of 14.1mi you gain average of 4.MPG with Grill Covers on vs off. 4. 3-4MPG gain city driving. The Grill Covers heat up ICE quicker and keep it warmer than without Grill Covers. There is about a 30-40deg.F WT difference with Grill Covers on and off. Even at 70deg.F outside temp I could only get to 200deg.F occasionally and most of the time 180-190deg.F. range. 5. The Grill Covers really helps short trips 3-10mi because of short heat up time for ICE. Adding oil pan heater improves MPG's another 2mpg. 6. Because shutters open when the CMAX is stopped Grill Covers keep ICE warmer longer than without. As more people get experience with Grill Covers we will add more Post.

Never said where you checked your odometer with portable GPS.