hybridbear

Basically what you're saying has to do with the load on the engine. Your hypothesis is that when cruising on the highway the RPMs are too high and thus the load % is too low to be efficient. Possibly this isn't within the limits of the Ford system. Here you can see a simulation of the relationship between MG1 RPM, MG2 RPM & ICE RPM. There are certain scenarios that are not possible. For example, if you're going 70 MPH the ICE RPM must be at least 1432 for MG1 to not be spinning in excess of its limit, more likely in this situation the Prius ICE would be close to 2000 RPM to slow down MG1. The Ford system also has limits. It's possible that the MG1 max RPM requires the ICE to spin faster than you would like. The design can quite likely be improved, but not just with software. Some improvements will require different sized electric motors.

This is great news. I feel like I'm seeing very similar results in our FFH. I've still been averaging around 45-50 MPG in all short city trips starting with a cold ICE these past few days where temps have dipped into the 30s in Minneapolis. Since you put so many more miles on your car in a day and it must stay relatively warm even when you're stopped to work you'll see better MPGs in the winter than other drivers who drive to work, let the car get cold and then drive home. Glad to hear of your improvement! Last winter we averaged just under 40 MPG, this winter I'm hoping for at least 42 MPG average.

The suggestion above about watching the temp gauge for turning on the heater is excellent. Once the coolant temp is above the bottom bar and into the middle range the heater will operate without causing the ICE to run unnecessarily to make heat. If the coolant temp drops below that bar then the ICE will not turn off if the HVAC is calling for heat. Seat heaters are the best option when first starting out. Also, you C-Max should have a block heater. The plug is located under the hood behind the right headlight. Use it. The block heater warms the coolant up to about 40C. 40-45C is the threshold for turning off the ICE and having normal hybrid operation. The block heater reduces the initial warm up time down to virtually zero. It will also allow you to have warm air blowing out of the vents almost immediately. When the air temp is really cold the block heater may only get the coolant up to 35C. Last winter I found that when the temp was below 10F the block heater could only get the coolant up to about 35C. This still is a huge help! Even with temps in the 30s and 40s like we're having right now in MN you should use the block heater as it will make a noticeable impact, particularly on shorter trips. Covering the large grille can also be beneficial to help insulate the ICE and keep it warm longer. Expect to see your gas mileage be only in the 30s this winter. That's what we had last year in our FFH which we got in December. As the car breaks in and you learn how to drive it more efficiently you'll be able to get better gas mileage. This winter I'm hoping for 42 MPG average over the entire winter compared to 38-39 like we averaged last winter. However, during the summer we averaged over 50 MPG and our year round average is above 45 MPG as you can see in my Fuelly signature below. So, don't become disheartened by the poor MPGs you'll see at first in our cold weather. Ideal temps for a hybrid are 70s as then the car warms up quickly but it isn't hot enough that you turn on the A/C. Most of our summer in MN is warm enough for great hybrid gas mileage. Sadly, we had a long winter last year that extended into May and it seems that winter has come early this year so that hurts the MPGs a lot.

I've noticed this issue to with my parents' C-Max Energi. On our FFH the headlights come on when set to auto when the wipers come on. This happens on the Fusions whether you have rain-sensing wipers or manual wipers. It makes sense that the headlights would come on in this situation since that is the law in many states including MN. However, the C-Max doesn't appear to do this. I thought it did and told my parents about how the FFH headlights come on automatically with the wipers. After they got their C-Max they said that the C-Max doesn't behave this way and sure enough it doesn't. I wonder if this is a computer error like the door chime recall.

Congrats on the move to the Energi! I wish we had somewhere to plug in as then we would have a plug-in like my parents do.

Good. Being courteous and calm in your dealings with the dealer in spite of your frustration will yield better results than getting upset will.

Time to start over with a new dealer. I would use a site like dealerrater.com to find a dealer with high ratings for their Service Dept and go there. I wouldn't tell this new dealer about the failed fixes by the other dealer. I would just start new with your list of problems. If you're cordial and courteous you should get good customer service. If you're beligerent and have an attitude you'll get poor customer service.

Exactly! On the FFH the block heater plug is built into the plastic around the left fog lamp. You open a little plastic door and there is the plug. You connect an extension cord to the prongs and away you go. The C-Max design isn't so simple though. Thanks. Tomorrow I will be over at my parents' house and I will look again then so I can show my dad where the plug is.

When I look at this picture I do not see where the plug is on the car. http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=RHUfryxqbX9YAuUL2PewlQ%3d%3d&id=256536447&m=2&search=true&year=2013&make=Ford&model=C-Max

Or you could just run a vehicle health report when the MIL is on which will provide detailed information about the issue. When I had an issue with the purge solenoid in our FFH the VHR told me that it was the purge solenoid based on the stored DTC. When we had an issue with ice freezing in the fuel inlet and preventing the flaps from closing completely the MIL came on again. In this case the VHR said that the issue was that the fuel filler flaps weren't closing completely. Running a VHR anytime you have an issue is very helpful.

I wouldn't go back to that dealer. You could just tell them to close out the open ticket and that you'll take your business elsewhere. Then you can start anew with a closer dealer.

Where is the plug located?? My parents haven't been able to find where the plug is to use the block heater in their Energi. Thanks.

bump

You may want to take a video of it failing to show the dealer in case they cannot replicate the issue when your car is in their possession.

Congrats on the 1 year anniversary

As a Moderator you can see everyone's warning points, regular users can't.

Interesting... Some of that might be because Fuelly is breaking out the Fusion Hybrid & Fusion Energi as separate vehicles now instead of them being lumped under the Fusion and having to filter by engine type. Since this change was instituted a number of FFH Forum users have switched their cars to show up correctly as a Fusion Hybrid. The 2013 Fusion Hybrid as a separate vehicle shows 41.3 Avg MPG http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/fusion%20hybrid I'd guess that if you combined the 41.3 with the 40.3 you'd end up around 40.5 for the FFH. One caveat of Fuelly is how some users report only a few fillups and then stop. Many cars on there seem to include only the first few fillups when owners were complaining about their MPG while going through break-in and learning the car. Many Fuelly members seem to then stop posting their tanks after a little bit which invalidates the data.

I have discovered this too using the XGauge programming you provided in our FFH. Does your SOC # on the ScanGauge have a decimal point? When I put your XGauge code in it does display what I'm expecting except without the decimal...So I see 497 instead of 49.7 for example. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Lots of FFH owners have had a similar issue. There is a multiple page thread here.

Doesn't that seem high to you? For all the electrical components under the hood the cooler the better as heat negatively impacts electronics. In our FFH I took the cover off during the summer because I was concerned about the heat getting too high even though our temp gauge on the dash never went above the middle line and the coolant temp according to ET Mode never went above 93 C. AC does lower the coolant temp because it keeps the grille covers open 100% of the time.

That was my immediate thought too!

Your local department of weights & measures should have a phone number you can call to report this issue. They usually need the gas station information and the specific pump. That way they can go test it and make sure the station owner fixes it. If you know that your receipt gallons is inflated because of this issue then you could adjust your gallons on Fuelly to be more accurate based on what you know actually went into the car before this pump issue.

This is great info on SOC! I think I read this thread before I had an SGII and I forgot about it. Thanks HannahWCU for posting a link to this topic as I have now printed out your post to try on my ScanGauge in my FFH! Thank you! :worship:

It has been discovered that any device plugged into the OBD port will prevent you from running a VHR. The XGauge I use most is the one that shows the amps of current flowing in or out of the battery. I find this very useful while driving to help me maximize fuel economy as discussed in the thread on the FFH Forum I linked above. HVB temp also works. SOC returns strange numbers for me but I found a discrepancy in the set of XGauge numbers I was provided by Linear Logic and what someone else posted on the C-Max Energi Forum in the MTH (math) section of the code. I'm guessing my data has an incorrect math calculation. FSI & FSD (Fan Speed Indicated/Demanded) also work to show when the HVB fans are running. HBV also works to show the voltage of the HVB pack. This is neat to watch how the voltage decreases when discharging and increases when charging. Typically pack voltage is around 280 when driving in EV Mode and about 285-290 when charging through regen braking or when the ICE is on. I have not yet entered the code for the ambient air temperature. I don't think I have seen that coding either. Can someone please post it here or show me where it is available? I probably am just missing it hiding in plain sight, sorry...and thanks!

Did anyone ever get more XGauge codes for the C-Max? I bet the C-Max codes are the same as the FFH. In this thread at the FFH Forum I've shared my SGII observations so far. Since the C-Max and FFH have the same powertrain this data may interest you too.