Feathering throttle...

[bdillahu]

Just got a new C-MAX... Had a 2006 Prius and drove it into the ground (155K+) - never a problem until the end, at which point had one issue, and a Toyota dealer I couldn't trust. Had a real-life average of about 49.5 MPG over the life of the car.

 

Love the cars, hate the dealers... anyway, now a Ford guy again :-)

 

On the Prius it was a good technique to "feather" the throttle in certain conditions. You could just barely press the gas and it would let you "coast" freely, no drag for braking, no acceleration by either the gas or electric. Handy down a hill in traffic, or whatever. Did it often.

 

Is there such a trick in the C-MAX? I seem to always either be charging the battery (braking) down a hill, or using the battery or gas (accelerating) - can't you coast this thing? :-)

 

Thanks for any advice.

[BIG ROCCO]

Shift to neutral maybe?  I do that...

 

Question:  If you had a Prius for 155K miles and never had a problem until the end, and averaged nearly 50 MPG, why didn't you just get a new Prius?  I think a C-Max might go 155K miles, but not without a problem and not getting 50 MPG.

[Bill-N]

Just got a new C-MAX... Had a 2006 Prius and drove it into the ground (155K+) - never a problem until the end, at which point had one issue, and a Toyota dealer I couldn't trust. Had a real-life average of about 49.5 MPG over the life of the car.

 

Love the cars, hate the dealers... anyway, now a Ford guy again :-)

 

On the Prius it was a good technique to "feather" the throttle in certain conditions. You could just barely press the gas and it would let you "coast" freely, no drag for braking, no acceleration by either the gas or electric. Handy down a hill in traffic, or whatever. Did it often.

 

Is there such a trick in the C-MAX? I seem to always either be charging the battery (braking) down a hill, or using the battery or gas (accelerating) - can't you coast this thing? :-)

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

I shift into neutral.  But you must be careful to not accidentally hit reverse.  (I've suggested it would be nice to be able to shift from drive to neutral without pulling the "trigger".)

[Riddley]

I shift into neutral.  But you must be careful to not accidentally hit reverse.  (I've suggested it would be nice to be able to shift from drive to neutral without pulling the "trigger".)

 

IMHO, It is never a good idea to shift the car from drive into neutral while traveling - for exactly the reason you mention. Consider the modest possible gain (I'm still trying to identify any possible advantage) against the possible damage you could do with one very small overshift (into reverse). Now - perhaps Ford has some override function in the transmission that would prevent damage (someone will let us know I'm sure), but all things considered, why would you even risk it?

 

On the Prius it was a good technique to "feather" the throttle in certain conditions. You could just barely press the gas and it would let you "coast" freely, no drag for braking, no acceleration by either the gas or electric. Handy down a hill in traffic, or whatever. Did it often.

 

Is there such a trick in the C-MAX? I seem to always either be charging the battery (braking) down a hill, or using the battery or gas (accelerating) - can't you coast this thing? :-)

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Regarding coasting bdillahu, the C-MAX has a wonderful feature you'll come to appreciate: it is called ECO Cruise. It is not enabled by default, but easy enough to enable. Give it a try. The car travels at a relatively constant rate of speed (similar to coasting), and to disengage it, you simply tap the brake or accelerator.  

 

Did I miss something?

[bdillahu]

Shift to neutral maybe?  I do that...

 

Question:  If you had a Prius for 155K miles and never had a problem until the end, and averaged nearly 50 MPG, why didn't you just get a new Prius?  I think a C-Max might go 155K miles, but not without a problem and not getting 50 MPG.

 

Because 1) the "improvements" to the interior of the Prius are downgrades in comfort, to me, and 2) (the larger one) as usual the Toyota dealer was rude, pushy and standard car dealer like... I am well past dealing with those kind of folks. The Ford dealer could manage to be reasonably polite.

 

Someday, maybe, car manufacturers will figure out that customer service counts. I would buy more cars (replace more often) than I do, except I so hate the process.

 

I hope its reliable... we'll see. If you felt the Prius was a better choice, why did you get a C-MAX?

Edited May 23, 2013 by bdillahu

[bdillahu]

IMHO, It is never a good idea to shift the car from drive into neutral while traveling - for exactly the reason you mention. Consider the modest possible gain (I'm still trying to identify any possible advantage) against the possible damage you could do with one very small overshift (into reverse). Now - perhaps Ford has some override function in the transmission that would prevent damage (someone will let us know I'm sure), but all things considered, why would you even risk it?

 

I assume the C-MAX is like most vehicles and you can shift from drive to neutral without pressing the button (although maybe not, will have to check that out), which keeps you from bumping into Reverse.

 

That said, I agree, I generally don't think that's necessarily a good idea.

 

Regarding coasting bdillahu, the C-MAX has a wonderful feature you'll come to appreciate: it is called ECO Cruise. It is not enabled by default, but easy enough to enable. Give it a try. The car travels at a relatively constant rate of speed (similar to coasting), and to disengage it, you simply tap the brake or accelerator.  

 

Did I miss something?

 

I have ECO Cruise enabled, and that's fine... the Prius feathering technique is a bit different... it's more something you would use in stop-and-go traffic when you need to roll forward a few carlengths or something.

 

Not a biggie, just a habit I seem to have formed, and wondered if the Ford did something similar.

 

Thanks All!

[Bill-N]

IMHO, It is never a good idea to shift the car from drive into neutral while traveling - for exactly the reason you mention. Consider the modest possible gain (I'm still trying to identify any possible advantage) against the possible damage you could do with one very small overshift (into reverse). Now - perhaps Ford has some override function in the transmission that would prevent damage (someone will let us know I'm sure), but all things considered, why would you even risk it?

 

Icy hills.

[Bill-N]

Alas, this is not so.  It's exactly what I would like to be able to do.

I assume the C-MAX is like most vehicles and you can shift from drive to neutral without pressing the button (although maybe not, will have to check that out), which keeps you from bumping into Reverse.

[Recumpence]

As for coasting with the Max, I just give it a tiny bit of throttle, enough to not be regenerating and slowing down, but not enough to drag the battery down. That technique shows the battery arrow pointing down (discharging) but not running the battery down enough to notice.

 

Simple!

 

Matt

[bdillahu]

Alas, this is not so.  It's exactly what I would like to be able to do.

 

Yep, right you are... first vehicle with that limitation I think I've encountered, but its the first hybrid with a "standard gearshift" I've used, given the Prius had their little electronic control.

[bdillahu]

As for coasting with the Max, I just give it a tiny bit of throttle, enough to not be regenerating and slowing down, but not enough to drag the battery down. That technique shows the battery arrow pointing down (discharging) but not running the battery down enough to notice.

 

Simple!

 

Matt

 

Yep, probably not enough difference in the grand scheme of things to matter... and I can keep using my well ingrained habit. Not going to hurt anything, regardless.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Shift to neutral maybe?  I do that...

The Owner's Manual says that neutral does not provide any charge to the battery, from what I recall.

[fotomoto]

The Owner's Manual says that neutral does not provide any charge to the battery, from what I recall.

 

Nor will you get regen in Nuetral.  

 

As a former prius owner, I can say the CMAX it's much harder to discern when feathering the throttle puts you in a glide.  Like recumpence, I try to get the EV display activated with the blue power bar just barely showing.  

[wab]

Both the charge > discharge < arrows disappear at times, maybe with a lot of effort you could perfect the technique to keep them off.

 

Or my eyes/brain may just be playing tricks :confused: , taking a snapshot of the missing arrows and I think they're gone for a while?

[Adair]

Both the charge > discharge < arrows disappear at times, maybe with a lot of effort you could perfect the technique to keep them off.

 

Or my eyes/brain may just be playing tricks :confused: , taking a snapshot of the missing arrows and I think they're gone for a while?

No, no tricks. I've seen that too. Seems to happen on the flattest part of my route when I'm on the x-way.

[fotomoto]

Both the charge > discharge < arrows disappear at times, maybe with a lot of effort you could perfect the technique to keep them off.

 

Yes, that indicates no energy, either in or out, is being transferred but it's damn near impossible to achieve and maintain with the throttle alone.

[BIG ROCCO]

Because 1) the "improvements" to the interior of the Prius are downgrades in comfort, to me, and 2) (the larger one) as usual the Toyota dealer was rude, pushy and standard car dealer like... I am well past dealing with those kind of folks. The Ford dealer could manage to be reasonably polite.

 

Someday, maybe, car manufacturers will figure out that customer service counts. I would buy more cars (replace more often) than I do, except I so hate the process.

 

I hope its reliable... we'll see. If you felt the Prius was a better choice, why did you get a C-MAX?

Oh - thanks for the response, and I didn't say the Prius was a better choice, but I do think it will be a little more reliable, a little more durable, and get a little better fuel mileage.  I like the looks of the Prius V, and it seems good on paper, but I never seriously considered it or any other _ap car.  I have bought many electronic products from that country, such as Sony TVs, Nakamichi tape decks, Yamaha stereos...back when they were actually made there, and they were so far superior to US made or branded products that I thought there was just no way to justify anything else.  I do try to patronize American companies and products whenever possible, and do consider today's US cars to be in the same league as Asian imports...maybe not exactly the same, but close enough...that's why we got the C-Max and never even test drove a Prius.  Nowadays, it seems nearly all consumer goods are imported, mostly from China.  Cars are one of the few things still made here.  Yes, I know a lot of C-Max parts come from Mexico and China and elsewhere, but at least some of the parts are made here and it is assembled here, so that's better than nothing...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.