I AM NOT going to adopt the new FE improvements

[catsailor]

No way am I going to be the beta tester for this programing rewrite. I am getting +46 mpg running full AC right now in the middle of the east coast heat wave, I drive 50/50 hwy and city so tell me how is this change going to help me get more juice outta of the fruit.

 

Jus or Matt go be the first adapters and tell me what your getting and I will follow but I may not make a change, I especially don't know about EV at up to 85 mph, seems that the ICE won't re-charge the batteries, I would have liked a top limit of 70 mph for EV and not 85 what gives. To me these changes are to help the masses that have NOT figured out the C Max or for the folks that refuse to adapt to the driving style required to get 47 combined. Your thoughts please.

[Tom]

I'm inclined to be very careful here.  I got 55 MPG on my trip back from the Skyline Drive over the weekend with AC going the whole time.  I want to see what the downside is to these modifications before I take the plunge.

[RachelnLa]

I got the hatch update and noticed right away my mpg improved. When taking off from the red light I stay in EV mode much longer. I also noticed I flip to EV much easier when battery is full. I don't have to feather the gas to force it into EV. My steering is not so loose. I am thrilled. Oh! And the hatch opens and closes with one kick. My radio will sometimes be on AM when I start the car.

[Recumpence]

I have mentioned this in another thread, but I will repeat it here;

 

I am all for a 85mph limit for EV and here's why;

 

On a hilly road above 63mph, the engine stays running even down hill. That is a problem because the engine is still using gas. It would be far better for the engine to shut off running high speed down hill to save the gas. I bet that on a flat road at 85mph, the engine will run pretty much all the time. It is the decents that will shut the engine down.

 

Matt

[Jus-A-CMax]

As I was mentioned, I already expressed my concerns with the 85 ev in the other thread..so I will wait and see, aka do a Laurel :dance:

Edited July 19, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[Adair]

I'm kinda with  you guys on this. I'm getting 45.6 on this tank of gas. If you take away my SYNC issue, I could not be happier with my car, the mileage, the ride.....I'm not inclined to tamper with that until someone else tries it first....preferably someone who already has 3.5.1 but is not getting the better mileage yet. I know it's summer and all, and maybe I'll change my tune when it gets colder again, but for now I'm content to sit this one out for a while.

[Smiling Jack]

I got the hatch update and noticed right away my mpg improved. When taking off from the red light I stay in EV mode much longer. I also noticed I flip to EV much easier when battery is full. I don't have to feather the gas to force it into EV. My steering is not so loose. I am thrilled. Oh! And the hatch opens and closes with one kick. My radio will sometimes be on AM when I start the car.

 

How on earth did getting the hatch operation fixed have any effect on mpg?

[Adair]

How on earth did getting the hatch operation fixed have any effect on mpg?

She can't answer right now, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the dealership probably did the 3.5.1 upgrade at the same time as the hatch fix. That's the way it went with most of the rest of us.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Adair

[nsteblay]

My kids and I have named our C-Max "The CARDIS" after the Dr. Who TV Show's TARDIS.

 

It's always a fascinating journey to drive in The CARDIS.  It appears larger on the inside than it looks on the outside, its got a strange and funky mix of controls, displays and lights, your never quite sure where the GPS will bring you, it doesn't always listen to you, it needs to be tweaked occasionally to run properly, and somehow it always leaves you satisfied after a trip. 

 

I wouldn't miss the next journey it will take us on after FE upgrade!  I say upgrade and enjoy the journey.

[armoredsaint]

i strive to have the lowest MPG

[fotomoto]

You folks up north are closing in on or are at your peak driving conditions that are conducive to good fuel economy.  Word.

[RachelnLa]

How on earth did getting the hatch operation fixed have any effect on mpg?

These are things I noticed after the hatch update. So I am not sure if they tweaked anything along with the hatch update. I also figured they retrieved info from my car also. I am enjoying the changes tho!

[Jus-A-CMax]

My kids and I have named our C-Max "The CARDIS" after the Dr. Who TV Show's TARDIS.

 

It's always a fascinating journey to drive in The CARDIS.  It appears larger on the inside than it looks on the outside, its got a strange and funky mix of controls, displays and lights, your never quite sure where the GPS will bring you, it doesn't always listen to you, it needs to be tweaked occasionally to run properly, and somehow it always leaves you satisfied after a trip. 

 

I wouldn't miss the next journey it will take us on after FE upgrade!  I say upgrade and enjoy the journey.

Finally SOMEONE knows about Dr.Who. :yahoo:

[Riddley]

If you are happy with your current Fuel Efficiency results, there is no reason to rush to your dealer to get the update. It is probably prudent to wait and see.

 

That said, the sky is not falling people. For those who want better FE results, there should also be no huge concern about getting the August service update for FE.  My reasoning follows.

 

The people who created the August system update are the same people who created your original car. In the case of your original car, they were introducing new technology - never before made available in production, and with a relatively low amount of real-world testing. But they went for it and created the car that you all are driving or waiting to drive. They didn't get it perfect. We are all aware of the hiccups along the way. But they made a very good beginning.  Version 1.0 was released to Manufacturing.

 

You have a nice car. Many of you love your car.  Was all this luck?  Did the stars align?  No. This was engineering. Good engineering by a company that has been at it for a hundred years.   

 

Fast forward 9 months. Lots of time for feedback and real-world testing on the Version 1.0 C-MAX Hybrid. 

 

Ford has a lot more feedback and telemetry now than they had at the start. They probably have many terabytes of data. Ford engineers have been analyzing that data and identifying system weaknesses. They understand so much now that they may have known less about at the beginning. It is also true that there are things they knew weren't ideal at the beginning, but didn't have time to fix before launch. That is they way it always goes with new product launches.

 

The system fixes Ford is preparing to install will have been tested thoroughly, on hundreds of cars. There is a part of me that believes they have already released *some of these fixes* in recent production runs. I have no evidence to support this. But I think fair weather and sage advice alone doesn't explain the fantastic first tank results some of the new owners are reporting. New owners are not driving around in conditions radically better than Southern California or Arizona in the winter.  

 

Ford is far from perfect. They haven't fixed all of the glitches in V01. But on balance, they have been steadily moving the mark forward. As successes, I count the lift gate tweak, the GPS replacement (which I still need to get), and 3.5.1 (for many known MFT problems, if not all). I never had a battery issue, so I didn't pay too much attention, but suspect that the battery situation has also improved.

 

These results have given me sufficient confidence in what Ford has been doing to not have any qualms about getting the August FE update. I drive a lot at freeway speeds. I think there are some things in the mix to improve MPG there. I live in a climate that will eventually turn cold (not freezing, but reasonably cold). I look forward to the tweaks for warm-up time. Anyone who uses AC a lot should probably look forward to some of the tweaks for that system.   

 

In the end, I will not avoid getting the update in August. My car will be due for an oil change and I do need to get the GPS module.  So I'll report back after it happens. But I am not worried about the sky falling.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Cool...we have a very good bunny going into the kiln :stirpot:

 

:dance:

[Riddley]

I have <20K miles on my car, so it will be challenging to separate FE improvement due to the August update VS the improvement I would normally expect to see over the first 20K miles. But my data will continue to be logged Fuelly for anyone curious.   

Edited July 20, 2013 by Riddley

[RachelnLa]

Well said riddley. It's HOTT here. Really hot. My mpg plummeted when the temp rose. It's even hotter now than it was then and my mpgs are at the best they have ever been. Maybe they won't have model updates. They will just reprogram the existing cars. Kidding! My dad had this update too so I told him to keep an eye out on his mpgs.

[Jus-A-CMax]

 

A couple of other thing to keep in mind: 

1. Many of us have <20K miles on our cars. As we all know, the C-MAX will steadily improve in FE over the first 20K miles.  So, how do you separate FE improvement due to the August update VS the improvement you would normally expect to see over the first 20K miles?   If you can make such a distinction, you will certainly have my attention.
2. My FE results from one tank to the next are far from a smooth curve. It usually has to do with whether I was able to drive alone for the whole tank, VS driving with other people in the car (who - I imagine might not appreciate more delicate driving - long slow stopping, long moderate takeoffs, etc.).  The variability in FE results from tank to tank will also make assessing the impact of the August update difficult at best.  

 

...then why bother to get the update at all, if you can't tell the difference. lol. ;) 

 

:flyaway:

[RaPieR]

Most likely, this update will have a greater impact on winter driving.  After reviewing my fuelly data, all my winter driving is under 40MPG while pretty much everything after winter is above 40MPG.

[salsaguy]

the problem is that if none of the users here on the forum do the update none of us will know how it works and if it's better or not.we need someone with a good baseline and steady routes so they can compare apples to apples.

we can't just let the non forum users get it and be in the dark.

 

As I was mentioned, I already expressed my concerns with the 85 ev in the other thread..so I will wait and see, aka do a Laurel :dance:

[salsaguy]

well said Ridley.i agree they have a bunch of test cars at Ford and they have been logging data for sure I'm also sure many of the engineers and employees own cmaxes as well who can also provide data to them. this will have been tested for sure.no way they will allow themselves to get a 2nd black eye regarding fuel economy. the only question now is if it will make the FE better or worse for those who already get 45+ mpg now

 

[bigalpha]

We've got 11 fill ups on ours so far.  After the alarm install tomorrow, and if everything gets installed fine, we'll set an appointment to get the 3.5.1 update.  We'll drive on that for a while then get the FE update once other people guinea pig it :D

[joe]

When I bought the C-Max, I realized that with so much technology built into the car, that it was becoming no different then my computer.  And computers can be updated to improve performance.  That's what is happening now.  Ford is updating our systems.  I just hope its updating to a Windows 7 and not to a Windows Vista.  But remember, we have an 8 year warranty.

 

In the old days (40 years ago or more), the only performance enhancements were sparkplugs or putting on radial tires.  What ever else came with the old car, you were stuck with.

 

I consider my C-Max a Tardis, just like member nsteblay.  I have a small "Tardis" name plate on the rear window.  My grandkids refer to our C-Max as the Tardis.

 

nsteblay said it best, "It appears larger on the inside than it looks on the outside, its got a strange and funky mix of controls, displays and lights, your never quite sure where the GPS will bring you, it doesn't always listen to you, it needs to be tweaked occasionally to run properly, and somehow it always leaves you satisfied after a trip."

 

[Riddley]

...then why bother to get the update at all, if you can't tell the difference. lol. ;)

 

:flyaway:

 

 True Dat! 

 

 Sorry for cutting some of the words out from under you JUS. I thought my unedited addition was a little too snarky.  

[Wingrider01]

Finally SOMEONE knows about Dr.Who. :yahoo:

 

Know Dr. Who quite well, just never had much of a urge to watch after William Hartnell left. An Unearthly Child is still my favorite episode, must have watched 1000 times over the years

 

I will be first in line at the dealer for the enhancements, hopefully will get better mpg then what I average now. Already talked to the service manager and volunteered to be first

Edited July 20, 2013 by Wingrider01