raadsel

Yes, as a general rule I always keep recirculate on when the A/C is running (the exception was the long trip I took). Houston's heat is often deceptive, since most summers there aren't many days over 100, just that you have very high humidity (often between 90 and 100% in the morning hours). I've been keeping late hours this week, so at 2 am it is still 82 degrees and "only" 82% humidity, which gives a feels like temperature of 90.

With this summer (see comments in fuel economy thread), I really wish they'd do something with the top of the dashboard -- in particular have it a lighter color. It seems like that dash, when it sits in the sun during the day, becomes an enormous heat sink when it sits in the sun. It also seems to be the A/C vents could be better placed. I'd also, particularly after my long trip, would like to see more comfortable seats.

Personally, I just use Fuelly, I am really happy with the various options and often I update it right at the station. I keep wondering if I should post about this but I'm curious if there is anything I should check. My fuel economy is killing me this summer. Granted, many of my trips are short (under 10 miles) in the afternoon, but in July I had a couple of fill ups where I averaged 35 mpg. On these daytime trips, I often get 30 mpg or less; a trip yesterday of about 8 miles and I got under 35 mpg -- this is a trip I can typically get 45-50 mpg. I'll admit this has been a hot summer -- feel like temperatures have been in the 105 to 110 range most of the time, so I do suspect most of the issue is how hard the A/C is working, particularly when the car has been in the sun. To give you an idea, as I type this at 7:30 pm, the outdoor temp is still 95 and the feel like temp is 109. After dark, even with the A/C still running (actual temps still over 80 degrees), I am back at my usual 40-50 mpg (depending on the trips). I've had the A/C checked and was told it is working fine. Any thoughts -- or is this just how hot is has been? One other note, I recently returned from a long trip with my C-Max. I drove the speed limit -- which for at least half the trip was 75. On the way there, roughly 1500 miles traveled and was 5,000 feet higher at my destination than at the start, and the car claimed 39.9 mpg (per the Trip Odometer). On the return trip, based on numbers I have in Fuelly, I got 39.3 mpg. I'm pretty happy with those numbers considering the speeds I drove, I largely just set the cruise control (Eco Cruise).

Congrats on the C-Max. And if you could eat an onion burger for me.... ;)

It shows up for me, as well, on the owner.ford.com site, for my 2013 C-Max SEL. I suppose my question is if you have My Ford Touch or just the base Sync system -- if you have MFT then your car should be covered by CSP 12M02. I'd suggest checking at owner.ford.com to see what recalls there are for your vehicle. You don't need to create an account, you can just type in your VIN to see the current recalls for your car. As scottwood2 points out, you can also perform a Vehicle Health Check on your car to see the open recalls.

Insurance seems like such a scam anymore. If you have no accidents you pay in and they make a bundle of money. If you have one accident (at least for most plans) you pay through the nose and they still make a bundle. It is a reminder to look for a plan that offers some type of "forgiveness," that still offers good service and comparable rate plans.

I know the A/C seems to be killing my gas mileage in Houston, we've had very high humidity this month with highs in the 90s. If I go out at night, my gas mileage is 40 or above but going out, in the afternoon, I'm getting low 30s or worse on the same short routes (often under 5 miles).

Except the government test vehicles seem to disprove the idea that it is caused by highway miles. From what I've read, these cars have been used to transfer court documents around the Phoenix Metro area, so these cars don't have a lot of pure highway miles. I suspect that the idea that it is caused by highway miles has more to do with most cars with transmission problems, because they typically have put in a large number of miles in a few years, have mostly done highway miles. Of course, this might point to heat being the factor in the transmissions -- that driving a large number of miles per day in Phoenix (with their heat) puts the same type of strain on an engine as driving long distance on a highway. It would be interesting if we could find a taxi service that has used the C-Max and what their experience has been.

Congrats! Glad to hear you are enjoying it!

The other side of that, some cities require businesses to use "alternative fuel" vehicles for their fleet vehicles. Not sure if a hybrid would qualify, would likely depend on the city and their laws.

I know Hyundai is touting their new Ioniq will have a thermal efficiency of 40%, and the Kia Nero will have the same engine. I know Hyundai/Kia are using an Atkinsonized version of their GDI engines, which is part of how they get the thermal efficiency.

My C-Max has both the low and high beams on when switched to high beams.

This seems like what I've seen from most cars, though maybe that is just my age showing. Regardless, since high and low beams are meant to illuminate different parts of the road, it does make sense to me that low beams would stay on when you turn on high beams.

The item that Plus 3 Golfer mentioned, that increasing the speed limit only changes the mean speed of traffic by 25% of the change in speed, is exactly what Utah is seeing. They increased the speed by 5 mph, from 75 to 80 but are only seeing the average speed of traffic increase by 1.5 mph. To further combat this, they are largely doing away with the cushion (10% or 5 mph) that the highway patrol has previously given speeders -- instead they are pulling people over if they are above 81 or 82 mph. Instead, they are finding traffic tends to run at a more uniform speed. It is an interesting point about the study done when the speed was lowered to 55, compared to the studies Utah is doing. It is true that Utah's studies are very limited -- by design. Basically, Utah is requiring a study to be done, each time, before permanently raising the speed limit of a particular stretch of highway. As such, the study is only for a limited section of road and takes into account the actual speeds drivers are traveling. Additionally, the US study was much broader, including not only rural Interstate Highways but two lane roads, urban driving, etc. One other issue is the technological differences in the 30 years since the US study was done -- cars typically can drive higher speeds more safely than 30 years ago, particularly with advances such as Electronic Stability Control and, as they become more common, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and other automated driving technologies. Of course, the flip side of this is that Utah is talking crashes being reduced, I haven't seen them address fatalities. And there are some interesting arguments about what the speed limits should be, particularly in western states where Interstate highways run through long stretches that are very sparsely populated. For example, you have about 200 miles of I-15 in Utah with minimal towns (maybe 10), and only one of those towns has a population above 3,000 and none with even 5,000. This was a major issue when the 55 mph speed limit was passed, with drivers in the Western States claiming it ignored the empty stretches of highway the frequently drive by forcing them to the same standard used on the much more populous East Coast. It is an interesting debate with some strong opinions on both sides. Of course, with technology advances, it seems like it would make a lot of sense to have variable speed limits, where the speed limit is posted on electronically controlled signs, with speeds that vary, based on weather conditions and even time of day. One of the things I've found odd is how states, like Texas, are getting rid of night time speed limits, at the same time they are raising speed limits to speeds that are unsafe to drive at night.

I've read some of what Utah has released from studies done as they've raised the speed limit on their freeways. They have found, with raising the speed limit to 80, that it seems to actually be making things safer (less crashes).

Out of curiosity, what kind of mpgs are you getting when you drive at 80 and 85 mph? Also, how does the C-Max handle at those speeds?

Cooler weather *sigh*. I'll have to wait until November to see that.

Perhaps your car was too upset that they aren't going to be producing the C-Max there much longer -- kind of like a kid whose parents are getting a divorce. ;)

You can check if there are any open recalls (software updates) on your car here -- just enter your VIN.

You are one of the few people here that has Eco mode on your C-Max, as it is a new feature on the 2016s.

Actually, Athens is well to the north of Phoenix. Athens is much closer to (and still north of) San Francisco, in terms of latitude. Athens is 37°58'N and San Francisco is 37°47'N. Phoenix is at 33°27'N, Baghdad is about the same latitude at 33°20'N; and both are a bit north of Dallas, Nagasaki, Japan( both 32°47'N), and San Diego at 32°43N. Houston is at 29°46'N, making it a bit South of Cairo, Egypt (30°3'N) and a bit North of Kuwait City (29°22'N)

I've been really happy with my ProClip mount. I have the one that attaches between the MFT and the climate control, towards the passenger side, and that seems to be a great placement. I have a Nexus 6P, which is a "phablet" (basically the same size of the iPhone 6 Plus) and the phone sits in a position where it does not block any controls, or my view of the MFT screen. If I decided I wanted run Forscan frequently, I might buy a ProClip mount that attaches to the pillar between the small triangular window and the driver's window. The ProClip mounts are also somewhat expensive, particular since you buy the base (the part that attaches to the car) and the mount you place your cell phone in separately. The advantage, though, is that they are very secure, both in how they attach to the car and how they hold your phone. While they "permanent" mounts, they are easy to install (just takes a few minutes) and to remove.

I'll be doing a long road trip this summer with my C-Max, including some driving in the Rocky Mountains. I'm even considering driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. Any tips for this type of trip -- particularly with many roads having 75 mph speed limits. Also, any tips for taking the C-Max up and down mountains?

From what I understand about this lawsuit, I think it needs to be thrown out of court. This reminds me of the warning that are now "required", such as not to touch the bottom of the iron while it is on. If I understand it correctly, this is similar to a Tesla owner suing that his car stopped on the freeway because his he ran out of power in the battery, or a Ford owner suing because his Explorer ran out of gas on the freeway and the car stopped. As has been stated here, the i3 is an EV -- not a hybrid -- so you have to have battery power. While the ICE in the i3 can charge the engine in an emergency, it is meant to extend your range, not to power the car when you deplete the battery.

I'm really curious how Hyundai/Kia's new hybrids will do without a separate 12V battery. It is this type of situation that hopes it works well and that other automakers can adopt similar systems in their hybrids.