grggwlkr

to start the car you must have foot on the brake or else you go into accessory mode..   to turn off the car you must have your foot off the brake or you will go into accessory mode.

Fully depress brake + press start button= start car and get ready to drive message

foot off brake + press start button= accessory mode

to turn off car you must have foot off brake or it will switch to accessory mode if you press start/stop button.

EV+ mode came on yesterday on the way home from work. The blue band in empower mode nearly doubled in size. By the way "destination home/work" works like a charm.

Regarding EV+ not activating.  I performed a lifetime reset after "my" first fill up.  Dealer topped off first tank.  After some reading in the owners manual (I think) a lifetime reset also clears  all of your destination data. I wanted to start fresh since car had nearly 300 miles on it. It originally was delivered to a dealership in Huntsville, AL and was apparently driven to the dealership in Murray,KY where I bought it. MFT still does not understand me or I am not using correct syntax.  Maybe I have more "drawl" than I think I do.

Update 3/1/2013: On the drive home from work yesterday it was 34 degrees, light snow falling roads were damp eco cruise set at 55mph.  45.3 mpg!!  for a 47 mile drive.  This car is the so awesome.  I can't wait until it warms up!  My last ride, F-150 super crew '07 V-8 maybe got 17-18 mpg in winter, 19-20 in summer. The only creature comfort the F-150 had more of is leg room. I'm 6'7".  

I pull the toggle, say "navigation" then say "home" or "my home" and MFT asks me who do I want to call.  My home address has been inputted into my home.  Am I missing a step? I can manually select the destination but not by voice. Now, I know where I live, it's not like I'm lost. I'm trying to get EV+ mode to activate primarily.  I have been driving from home to work to home to work.... for about 3 weeks now and still no EV+ near home or work?

Valkraider I'm glad you get it..  Wish list stuff.  Press brake too hard spinny wheel turns red.  Wasting kinetic energy. Dog runs in front or car pulls out, who cares slam that petal down.  Not everyone has 20 year old sensation in their feet.

I do.

If Ford doesn't want you distracted while braking, why put the blue regen graphic in the display at all.  I don't think blue to red when brake pads engage is that much more distracting.. In an OH CRAP moment, who is looking at the dash anyway? 

Thanks for the reply!  I have been coaxing the EV on the down slopes by toggling the cruise paddle.  It just seems it results in a net loss in mpg because invariably to insta gauge reads 20 of less on the up slope while it recharges the battery. If it were not for 10-15 minutes of the 1 hour commute (1 way) being town driving, I do not think I could achieve to 40 mpg lifetime number.  Temps have been 20-40 last few weeks, thus the pipe insulation grill mod. This helped with ICE temp per MY VIEW or at least slowed temp loss in EV mode. Enjoying the heck out of this car though. With all the playing with screens and techniques that hour commute passes by really quickly. 

Maybe they could make the blue circle symbol turn red when brake pads engage?

I have had the car for OD 1100. Really enjoy the ride. 100 mile round trip to work from Murray to Paducah, KY.  Life time 40 mpg.  Most of drive is divided highway with 55mph limit over what I would call rolling hill terrain. I have noticed that I typically enter EV going down the grade then switch to ICE when starting back up. This cycle is repeated appox 20 times to or from work. Same route.  It seems that what I gain from EV on the down slope is lost from ICE on the up slope because the car is recharging the battery on the way  up and registering no more than 20 MPG by the insta gauge.  I am typically using ECO cruise driving 56-58 MPH. The car seems too biased to charge the battery back up and does not sense that it is under a climbing load while it is doing so. So,  you folks with more miles under your tires, is it better to avoid the downhill EV? Maybe this isn't the place to ask questions.  Anyway, I have enjoyed reading all the posts.  I use the 2 dollar pipe insulator trick for the 2 grills and increased tire pressure to 44.  Knock on wood, no 12v battery issues or gas cap issues.