stevedebi

Seat comfort doesn't, but the entire point of VW software deceptions was to allow for higher MPG when the car was in real world conditions - achieved by allowing more emissions. It gets off into tangents because those same modifications allow better performance in real world conditions. That is how the discussion sometimes goes over into other aspects of the cars.

Was that 2014 rental a diesel? It makes a difference to the driving dynamics. It is going to be VERY interesting to me to see what VW does to fix the Passat TDI problem. I have no idea what they are going to do with their Jetta/Golf - it doesn't have AdBlue installed for past years, although I think they added it for 2016 (even before this stuff blew up in their faces). Hard to believe they will attempt a retrofit.

Well, I don't disagree it is "apples & oranges" - the Passat is far better to drive and much more comfortable than our C-Max, and gets better MPG at high speeds. It is also lighter, if I recall correctly. You should note that the VW diesel system will not allow the vehicle to run if it runs out of AdBlue fluid, so I don't see that part of your post as being valid. I expect VW to get the problems fixed, and I expect a degradation of performance, and maybe MPG. Time will tell. To each his own. I love our diesel, and so does my wife who drives it daily. The only thing I don't like about it is that the roofline is a bit low and I have to duck to get inside.

I can vouch for that, my C-Max Energi gets 36 @75-80 MPH, our Passat gets around 42 on that same trip and speeds.

Speaking as a Texan, they won't likely care. Not even a CARB state. I think they will hold off anything drastic until VW tries a real fix. I note that they use OBD-II only unless the car is 1995 or less.

They are drastically different cars, despite being on the same platform. The C-Max has more room and vastly better MPG, but the Escape has the higher ground clearance and AWD capability (if needed). They have some visual design features that are similar, but really, this is two different vehicles.

I just read a newspaper article that said VW has implemented a fix in the 2016 diesels, but they are still being held at the port because the fixes have not been tested. They would retrofit these fixes to earlier models. I presume that means for the AdBlue models, but the article wasn't that specific.

Different engine, they changed in 2009, and then again in 2015.

The VW TDI engines allow only 5 percent bio diesel. I had stopped on I-40 near Kingman for a good price on diesel last summer, only to find it at 20% bio and cannot be used. Got a nice lunch and a great price on some T-Shirts though. But I had to go on to Kingman to fuel up.

My favorite VW commercial was in Germany way back in the '70s. The words "Der Wagon Der Wagon". It means "the car of cars", but looked great in German.

VW USA has instructed dealers to stop sale of all VW TDI models, from what I have seen. The 2016s will not be certified by the EPA unless this is resolved.

They have pictures. They have pictures. Vehicle A appears to be a Golf Wagon, Vehicle B is a Passat. Not sure about Vehicle 3, but I think it is a MB 320. The Golf got the worst grade. The Passat was less bad, and even had normal emissions on flat terrain. EDIT: Just saw in the letter that it was a Jetta, not a Golf.

Yeah, I'm from Texas. It cannot beat the desert or south Florida for winter conditions. It really isn't that humid in most areas away from the coast, but it gets pretty cold in most parts of Texas north of San Antonio.

My wife has a 2014 Passat TDI. She is a bit worried. Obviously the cars can pass emissions, because they do when connected. I suspect they will simply enable the controls continuously, probably with some performance hit. With her TDI, it could lose 20% of it's engine power and still be vastly superior to a gas car. My question is what will happen to the MPG, which is currently about 43 on her daily commute.

Both of those share the platform, but have different styling (similar, but not the same). They were able to take the Euro platform and simply import it. They were attempting to make a "Prius killer", but it didn't quite work out for them. To do that they needed a platform that was unique from other existing models.

Back on the topic, after my experience with my Escape hybrid, I will always be using LRR tires on my C-Max. When I switched tires part way through my ownership (severe tire damage to one of the tires), the grip was exceptional, but it lost around 6% of its MPG. When the OEMs on the rear wore out, I simply replaced them all, and immediately noticed a change. The extra performance wasn't worth the MPG hit IMO. Everyone has their own preferrence, of course. This was just my experience.

That's what I thought! Thanks for the clarification.

HB, First, sorry I missed the main quote; when someone provides a quote in a thread I'm following, I don't usually read it, because I would have already read it. I see now that you were using the gray quotes to indicate you were quoting an outside source. I'm not used to that, since that gray area generally indicates one has hit the "reply" button to a post. Second, the statment from the manual does not tie in the rear brakes with the regenerative braking. In the first paragraph. I believe they are describing the EBD process, which would apply after the regenerative braking has been used - in fact, later paragrahs say that sometimes the physical brakes may not be engaged. It is that second sentence in your summary that doesn't seem to jive: "Rear brake pads are used first since regen happens only on front axle." EDIT: However, the EBD does explain why the rear brakes will have more wear, very important for the OP.

I actually think that I would have preferred to have some of the options from the Fusion Energi / Hybrid, like adaptive cruise, lane departure, air conditioned seats, climate controlled steering wheel, etc. Of course, the FFE can reach 45K when outfitted like that!

Do you have a source for that statement? I don't believe this is the case. I should think that none of the brake pads are used during regen, unless additional braking force is needed, and I think in that instance all brake pads would engage. Why whould the rear brakes be used when the eCVT is doing a good job of slowing using regen? Traction control is not used in braking, and antilock brakes are only used when the actual brakes are engaged. So I don't think those systems are impacting anything. It would be nice to hear from the forum members who have access to the advanced documentation on the car.

Interesting. It is possible that you need to do a bit more hard braking periodically. It sounds like the rear rotor is not getting used much, resulting in rust damage. Just a thought. If it were the regen, the brake pads would also be worn.

Just a side note: the amount of battery you see displayed in the left hand driver window is not the actual battery percentage. It is the percentage of the operating range, which Ford limits so that the battery will last longer. I beleive the lowest the battery will go is 20%, and the highest is around 70% of actual capacity. I'm sure someone will post the actual numbers once they see this post...

The physical brake pads are not used unless you brake really hard, or for just the final stop. The regenerative braking is used otherwise. On my FEH, I never replaced the brake pads. I had it for 80K miles.

I realize it happens... but not when answering a call in a C-Max (assuming you are doing it right). CD... hmmm, yes, there is some kind of slot up there above the radio. I haven't used mine once. I assume it works.

Look away to end a call? There is a button on the steering wheel that does this; I never look at it either to accept or hang up. The two "thumb" controls are indented for a reason - it makes it very simple to know exactly where the "up/down/left/right" are located.