EV+ Hybrid - Maybe Not So Great?

[asb]

I've noticed a marked decrease in my mpg which seemed to coincide with EV+ showing up for home and work this week.  Now my car always runs the ICE while driving the first mile or two upon start-up in the morning.  

 

It might be time to shut the EV+ off....

[joe]

Interesting.  Although I've had ICE kick in when leaving home since activating the EV+, I've also noticed the EV kick in when going up slight inclines when previously the ICE would kick in.

When you get home, observe how much energy you have in the battery.  IF its low, it might explain why you'er starting out the next day in ICE.

 

I've been using the EV+ mode for the past month and have observed improved mpg numbers.

[asb]

I've had EV+ turned on the entire time I had the car.  But the car didn't start utilizing EV+ until this week - which coincided with a decrease in mileage.  I may just turn the feature off and see what happens.  For instance, it took me an hour to get home today - bumper to bumper traffic.  I had been getting 50 mpg on the way home from work.  But today (and the last few days) I only got 42.

[Tdefny]

As I understand it EV+ does two things. The better known feature is that it allows you to run a little longer in EV to get you home. The other is that it pays for the extra battery power by actually runing the ICE when you are about 1/2 mile away to charge the battery up a bit and it allows the battery to run slightly lower at the end of the trip (but still within its safe limit). There is some smoke and mirrors going on, but it is nice to glide into the driveway on electric.

 

As for the engine running at start-up, once it starts it is required to run until it has fully warmed up so the emissios controls come up to temperature. EV+ shouldn't affect this anyway, but shutting it off probably won't hurt your MPG any.

[Tree63]

_{Battery charge level at start up seems to be key for me.  I've driven for several minutes in EV after start up in 40F and 0F weather from a cold start.  Most times ICE kicks in at first sign of load (going up the hill on our street) and most times battery level is near bottom.}

 

_{But I agree - coasting silently to start and end trip home is a great reminder of hybrid nature of the C-Max.}

Edited March 13, 2013 by Tree63

[Chinto]

ICE will run at start up if you have your heater on at start up. This is because the ICE will warm the radiator fluid to supply the demand for heat even if you don't need it.  If you shut off you heater at start up and you have some battery reserve, EV will run at any temperature until battery level depletes forcing ICE to run.  You will find that the radiator will not warm until the battery demands charging.   I originally thought that EV would only work at operating temperature.  That is not true.   EV will run at any temperature if you have no demand for radiator heat.  I realize you are in Florida but I would guess your morning temperature is still lower than the ICE operating temperature.   Try keeping the heater off at first start up and wait until ICE has reached operating temperature because of battery recharge before you turn on the heater.    

 

My EV+ has finally learned where I work and has been switching to + both going home and to work lately.     

[asb]

I don't run the heater much.  But once in awhile, the car is cold.  I'll try to keep a better eye on it.

[mbedit]

I've had the EV+ on since I got mine. If the battery was run low then yes the ICE will start in the morning, however, its always colder right now in the mornings where I live, so if the ac/heat is on it will run the ICE to generate heat. Typically if I leave it off the ICE won't run.

[Hatchman]

Yes, when we leave the garage in the morning, if we don't turn on the heater/ac, the car will be in EV mode till you hit the street and accelerate up to speed. I love  to back out of the garage in the morning on EV, it's so quiet, and you can't hear the car leaving from inside the house.  This is great when you have to go to work super early and don't want to wake any one else up.   We use the seat heat instead of the heater, and parking in the garage keeps the car around 60F instead of 30F outside.  So driving on a cold morning with just seat heat is fine when the car is "warm" from being in the garage all night.  No ice on the windows either, so don't have to use energy for the defrosters.  

 

I would think conserving energy on heater and defrosters will help to be in EV mode longer.  

[mbedit]

I would think conserving energy on heater and defrosters will help to be in EV mode longer.  

 

I would agree.

[mtberman]

I would think conserving energy on heater and defrosters will help to be in EV mode longer.  

 

Yes, this is the key to EV+. Whether or not a person will benefit from EV+ depends mainly on heater demand.

• If you tend to not need the heater when you first set out with a cold engine (i.e., you have a garage or live in a warm climate), then EV+ won't really impact your mileage. It may even lower it slightly.

   

• If you need heat in the morning and tend to leave the climate system on, you'll benefit more from EV+. This probably includes anyone who uses remote start, since remote start is literally antithetical to this car's design. The car is going to run after start-up  to meet the driver's demand for heat, so it doesn't matter if your battery is empty upon cold start if you're this driver. The engine has to run anyway, so EV+ cleverly takes advantage of this situation to re-charge the battery. Hence the idea that it's OK if the battery is empty when you park it at night.

[asb]

This is all true.  Except for those of us in warm climates.  I used to hit 50 mpgs on the way home from work due to being in traffic most of the way.  The minute the EV+ started showing up on my screen, I stopped getting that mileage.  It could be coincidental, but I'm not sure.  So now I get 45 mpgs on the way home instead of 50.  And on the way to work, it does vary because it is cold, so I'm not counting the mileage variance for that.  

 

I've had EV+ turned ON the entire time I've had the car.  But the day the car finally learned my route and showed me EV+ on the screen - the mileage dropped - on the way home - with the temps in the 70s.

[RachelnLa]

Have you tried turning it off to see the reverse? EV+ only comes on once I turn on my road. It's 25mph so I know I will be able to keep it in EV mode until I reach home. I am curious now if it will make a diff.

[mtb9153]

I'm leaving EV+ off since the car seems to run better with it off and is more predictable.  Plus and this has got me some flack from one owner, but with it off I'm seeing much higher mpg numbers almost immediately.

[RachelnLa]

I am thinking thd EV+ must always keep a bank of battery for that 1/4 mile when you are close to home. Do you see the battery drain more?

[Jus-A-CMax]

I'm leaving EV+ off since the car seems to run better with it off and is more predictable.  Plus and this has got me some flack from one owner, but with it off I'm seeing much higher mpg numbers almost immediately.

Thats sad to hear, why the hell would an owner over here should effect how you drive - it's your car and at most, the posters here just give their opinion. This is suppose to be fun on the forum and to learn from one another. However, there are always certain individuals who will be negative towards everything. Just put that person on your IGNORE preference - wallah. 

 

I'm leaving mine on. Works for me to get the extra juice as I climb hill to get back to my house, gotta pay for the panoramic view you know  :) 

 

Rachel - the battery does drain a little more but it will always switch on ICE when it has to - smart Ford. I know personally saved a ton of gas using my EV+.

[mbedit]

The EV+ seems to work for me as well. As my engine is breaking in, or maybe because its getting warmer, I'm seeing an increase in MPG. I want to say the 1st few tanks of gas came in around 38, 39 MPG, and my current one is clocking in at 42 MPG, and on a short 15 mile trip it report 52 MPG  today. So my replacement C-Max is def working much better then my 1st.

[Recumpence]

EV+ is like any aspect of this car; it works for some people and not for others. I think much depends on your roads and driving technique.

 

I have to add one thing that I disagree with others regarding........    Temperature DOES indeed affect the EV. I live in northern Illinois. If the weather is lower than about 15 degress outside, the available amperage for accelleration goes WAY down to almost nothing. This is normal for LI batteries. I work with electric bicycles as a side business. That is the way these batteries behave. The internal resistance goes way up and the available amperage goes down. However, once the battery cycles a couple times, the core temp of the cells increases and the battery performance goes back up.

 

I can tell you I like the EV+. However, I have to hit the gas once in a while in EV+ to force the engine to run if I sense the voltage getting low enough that I know the engine will start immediately the following day.

 

Some of the mileage of this car is related to when you time the engine to run. For instance, if I want to go one direction from home in the morning, I know I have some open road to drive before I have to stop. In that direction, I will let the engine start because I am driving anyway and it can warm up while I drive. If I leave in the other direction, I get to a left hand turn stop sign that normally requires alot of waiting. If I decide to go that direction, I do my best to keep it in EV mode until I can turn left. Otherwise, the engine will run to warm the emmission controls while I sit there doing nothing. That drops my mileage tremendously for my first trip of the day.

 

There are many little tricks like that I have found help with this car.

 

I have many other things I have learned to help the MPG. But, I do not want to drift this thread too far off topic.

 

Matt

Edited March 20, 2013 by Recumpence

[Hatchman]

I actually watched the EV Plus work the past few days. 

 

While in Empower mode, when the car was 1/4 mile from home, even without using the nav to navigate to home, the available power outer bar / EV to ICE threshold outer bar grew to past the second mark almost tripling the available EV energy/threshold.  It was fun to watch, I was actually accelerating in EV mode, yet the available EV power band, the outer band in Empower mode, was actually growing more and more as soon as I hit the 1/4 mile from home mark. 

 

Pretty cool to watch, and it shows that EV Plus reserves more than enough energy to get you home over the last 1/4 mile. 

 

Go to Empower mode and check it out!

 

Also, I noticed it is pretty hard to keep the car from switching to ICE about 1/2 mile from home.  I had to slow down to about 15 mph and finally, even coasting down to less than 15 mph, ICE kicked in no matter what I did.  But I only stayed in ICE until about 25 mph and then coasted to let it switch off again. 

Edited March 24, 2013 by Hatchman