Smiling Jack

This procedure does not seem to ever get to any corrective action !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?????????????????

Understood. The thig that several of us were remarking about is that once the defrost mode is selected and the A/C has come on, then if we push the A/C button to turn the compressor off, the indication will respond to that, and it will say "A/C OFF," but in fact it will still be ON.

FWIW: In my 2013Energi the A/C appears to be on whenever the Floor/defrost mode is selected. In this mode, the A/C On or A/C Off indication can be toggled to on or off with the A/C button, but even when the indication is "off" the A/C remains on as I observe form the EV Range or from the power draw. So i do not think that anyone's car is "broken." I think that the manual is wrong. This was a surprise to when I first noticed the effect on the EV range. No that I know how it works, it is not a big problem. When I really need to de-fog the windshield I do not mind the A/C coming on with the defrost selection. In fact I probably would have been turning it on al lot of times anyway, because in this climate (not very cold, but often extremely high humidity) I have always found (in my previous cars) that the de-fogging works much better with a little A/C. The combination of heat and A/C produces very dry air, which aids the de-fogging action. And in these situations, I am well-willing to tolerate the power draw in order to clear the windshield. The only inconvenience is that I need to remember to de-select the defrost mode when the windshield has been cleared.

Many thanks to Dave for posting this. What an education ! Everyone should read the link. I would favor a swith so that the driver could turn such stuff on or off according to preference and situation (as we do now have with most traction control systems).

To clarify: I am familiar with the ordinary problem and the usual solutions. The noise to which I refer is ten times worse, and it seems to come from the speakers, and it seems plausible that it is from the noise cancellation system - as other have posted. The point of my post was to confirm that I had experienced the thing that others had posted about and to relay my observation that it did not quit when the sound system was turned off.

FWIW: From my experience yesterday: 1. At highway speed with a rear window opened a few inches, there is very definitely (as others have posted) a loud, horrible, low-frequency, pulsing sound. 2. The sound is just as loud and horrible with the audio system off as with it on.

A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Try this: Turn climate control on with a low temperature setting, A/C off and defrost off. Set fan speed manually. If the outside temperature is not too cold, this might get you some air circulation without forcing ICE on. If this does not clear the windows, try turning the A/C on for a short time. A/C-on will blow some cool dry air and clear some fog - sometimes more quickly than the heat would do the job. The A/C will use some battery charge, but it will not automatically start the ICE. This works for me at temperatures down to the high 30s (F). I have not had the opportunity to try it at colder temperatures yet.

And I can comfortably wear my (Charlie Daniels style) cowboy hat.

Does anyone know how the EPA treats PHEVs in the CAFE requirement test? They test in charge sustaining (Hybrid) mode and in charge depleting (EV) mode. How do they combine these for CAFE calculations?

I am fairly sure that if I were to run the question past my old Logic Professor he would say that "not great" means everything other than "great." To be sure, the phrase "not great" may be very commonly used to mean what the English professor says. That does not mean that it can no longer be used literally. I think we should extend to Kellytoons the courtesy of allowing him to use the phrase literally if he chooses to, particularly since he has taken the trouble to explain at length not only what he meant but why he chose to express himself in the particular way that he did.

I do understand all of that. Nevertheless, I find the disparity in classification remarkable. In fact, I always found the disparity in classification between the C-max and the new Escape a bit strange. The interiors of the two vehicles are very similar, to say the least. And from a straight-on side view, most people would not be able to tell whether a car parked across the street was an Escape or a C-max. The only real differences are a bit of ground clearance, a corresponding bit of overall height and the fact that the Escape has more cargo space. The difference in cargo space is the only real difference that I could understand as being some kind of justification for the disparity in classification. And even though the MKC may have been derived from the Escape, it is actually is much, much, more similar to the C-max in regard to cargo space, making the difference in classification even harder to understand. BTW: While the MKC is supposed to have been derived from the new Escape, is it not also true that the new Escape was derived form the European C-max? (It certainly resembles it.)

I find it remarkable that they list the MKC as a "utility" and list the C-max as a "car." The two vehicles have the same form factor and the interior volumes are virtually the same.

Avoiding gasoline altogether is a useful idea, but the goal here is to minimize gasoline use while still getting the necessary driving done. One tank a year is just one convenient benchmark to demonstrate what is possible (sort of like the 600 mile per tank club). With minimizing gasoline use as the goal: some choose to live close to everything they need - work necessities, entertainment, recreationsome use alternate fuelssome go for high mpg.I went for all of the above. If one were to drive every day, and use a tank a year, my guess is that one would probably need to do all of the above. I am hoping to find out how many others have done the same or better.

Yeah, these C-max's are really great cars. Even if we drive them mindlessly, they still give great mpg in spite of the driving style. The cars care even if we don't.

Re-phrasing from my post above, I drive mine every day and I'm currently using about one gallon a month. And I have company. Gary G drives a lot more than I do and uses about the same.

Obob, Thanks very much for posting. I was not aware that there are a couple of ethanol-free stations in the Houston area.

Paul, Thanks for that. I thought you would know ! BTW: I do not agree that you are somehow "cheating" by avoiding ethanol. On the contrary, I think that you are to be commended for avoiding it. IMO: Taking a source of food and turning it into a motor fuel that gives us worse fuel economy has to be one of the stupidest things the human race has ever done. Those of us who do not have access to ethanol-free fuel are simply GREEN with envy.

Paul, Do you attribute the grille cover benefits mostly to heat retention or aerodynamics?

Paul, I have noted also your tire pressures and your previous posts on heaters. In my years with the Camry Hybrid, before I went to the aftermarket plug-in conversion, the three best things I noted to improve mpg were tire pressure, 0w20 synthetic oil and a block heater. A cold engine is a real mpg killer, because of the overly rich mixture that is run to compensate for fuel condensing out on the cylinder walls. In case you have not yet noticed, the block heater is nearly as much help in the summer as in the winter. Here in Houston I saw nearly as much effect on near 90-degree summer mornings as I did on 40-degree winter mornings. So, don't forget to plug in those heaters in the summer !

Paul: Great tank !!! Thanks for posting. Go for the full synthetic 0W20. I saw a difference of several mpg with it (in my Camry Hybrid) over all types of driving. One time the dealer put their regular blend in by mistake and I saw an immediate drop of 4 or 5 mpg on the highway. I have not yet needed to change the C-max oil (waiting for the car's computer to tell me to do it), but when I do I will definitely go for the 0w20 full synthetic. I bet you will do the 1000-mile tank.

Brother Mike, No one driving a Hybrid less than the 600 or 800 miles per year has yet reported in - although I suspect there are some. I would also like to know their pattern. Gary G drives an Energi about 1000 miles a month but uses only about a gallon a month. I also drive an Energi. I do only about 200 miles a month, but lately I also use about a gallon a month. I drive to work every day and do the usual ordinary errands, but the office, the grocery, downtown Houston, church, family, the post office and several shopping centers are all well within the EV range. Where I use the most gas is traveling to the airport or to certain client offices or some friends' homes all 20 to 30 miles away. On those trips I usually have the entire return on gasoline.

Update: Gary G posted elsewhere that he had gone 15 months on a tank.

Rick, Thanks for sharing. Any way you don't use gas is a good way! You get a class B membership. Calss A is for any C-max used as a regular daily driver.

Last year I started a practice of filling up (and re-setting trip 1) on Jan 1 as a way of keeping track of fuel use for the year. On July 1 I fueled up and reset again. Yesterday morning when I filled up for the six month period of July 1 through Jan 1, I noted that I had used less than a half a tank (5.82 gallons per trip 1 and 6.2 gallons per the pump). Then it occurred to me that having used less than half a tank in 6 months, I might be using less than one tank a year; so , I quickly went back and checked my fuel use for the first half of the year. Sadly, I had used 9 gallons Jan 1 to July 1. So I missed out on the-one tank-a-year club membership this time. But - hey - I'm on a roll now, and this winter I'm already being smarter than I was last winter about not letting climate control force the ICE on when it's really not cold enough that heat is needed. I probably have a good shot of making it for July 1 2013 to July 1 2014. Anyone out there who has already gone a year on one tank of gas or less? Club is open to all, e.g.: Hybrid drivers who are in the 600-mile tank club and who drive less than 600 to 800 miles a year.Hybrid drivers who get EPA mpg or worse but who drive less than 500 miles a year.Energi drivers who plug in twice a day for a regular commute of 20 or 30 miles each way and may so do 10,000 or even 15,000 miles a year without using a tank of gas.Energi drivers like myself who drive only a few thousand miles a year and occasionally use a bit of ICE but only for a small fraction of their total miles.