Recall 13B07: The Guinea Pig Thread

[mikekoz]

EV plus is for 1/4 mile from your destination.......not for the whole route. So turn on/off 11 times at destination ....home, work, gym, whatever.....that you want to have EV+ recognize. Before mine went away with the update, I had 4 locations. Some reported 3.

 

 

 

  Thank you! I will try that. For the life of me though, since that is the case, I do not see how EV+ is going to make a noticable difference in gas mileage. In my case, it is just going to add a half a mile of EV driving a day! :sad:  

[Adair]

Well, if you drive between 2 or more EV+ locations in a day it could add up. And, depending on where you are in your tank of gas, it could flip you up to the next tenth of a mile mpg or more

  Thank you! I will try that. For the life of me though, since that is the case, I do not see how EV+ is going to make a noticable difference in gas mileage. In my case, it is just going to add a half a mile of EV driving a day! :sad:  

[Camijomo]

13B07 Rocks!  :yahoo:

 

Got the headliner and Powertrain Control Module update done yesterday, and what a difference in just what I've seen so far.  The ICE does seem to run at higher RPM's at times, but since I almost never had the tach visible I can't give actual stats. Battery has higher charge more often. EV mode at 65+ mph.

 

I filled up the tank before driving around town yesterday evening, and I was seeing MPGs of high 40s and low 50s for almost the first time ever. After about an hour of mainly city driving the dashboard MPG is at 48, and when I got to work this morning, it was at 48.2.  Nice improvement, as I'd been seeing around 43 before the update.

 

Go now and get the 13B07 update done on your C-Max! 

 

Also regarding the headliner, I can't see any evidence of the additional padding, or tampering with the headliner, so don't worry about it. 

 

 

[dweiser]

Accelerate to 65 mph or higher, let up on the accelerator and see if it drops into EV.

Thanks but there has to be a better way than that to know if the upgrade "took".

I'll keep reading in the forums to see if there is.

Don

[RaPieR]

Actually, it sounds like "hige ICE" is working the same as before. If you cruised at 50-55 MPH on a pancake flat road, it would go into high ICE since it would never go below 1 bar. I have seen this on the extremely flat backroads around the Saginaw Bay (Michigan). It's just more difficult to go below a bar at higher speeds, even if the road is not completely flat.

After driving a bit after reading your comment, yes you are right it is behaving the same as before. The difference now after the update is if you reduce load and enter EV mode, you have to blip the throttle to go back into negative split mode. This is up to the 85MPH limit. It is not like before where you can set eco and never worry about dropping into EV if you were driving above 64MPH.

[dweiser]

Ok, as promised here is my pic from my morning commute.  It was raining a little and muggy so there was a little AC use and it was not the best driving day with lights and traffic, but still broke my previous record handily.

 

 

 

In addition, I took a picture of my return trip home.  It was pouring, muggy as all heck, I lost count how many times I got cut off and had to hit the brakes then use the ICE to get back up to speed, and traffic was a bear.  I've had worse days with worse mileage, but my normal for driving home is around 45 mpg so this was a little disappointing.  I'm sure on a better day I will do better.

I'm fairly convinced m.p.g. on the C-Max is linked to the color of the vehicle.

;) 

Don

[dweiser]

Starting the ICE at high speeds is normal - it turns on and off smoothly while going up and down hills at 70+ mph on the highway all the time.  The MG1 spins as necessary to start the ICE for whatever speed the MG2 and the wheels are turning.

I think you miss WAB's point.  He's concerned about a COLD engine starting up at 50+ m.p.h.

Don

[dweiser]

Had mine updated yesterday.  Hmmm...I had 45.5 mpgs for the tank when I went in.  And the first thing I noticed is that my mileage started dropping...FAST!  I really want to get at least one 45 mpg tank, so I'm trying to baby it until I can fill it up. 

 

I noticed that driving one direction to the store I got 38 mpg.  Driving home I got 51.  And the car feels completely different.  My EV + was gone (no big deal) and the Eco cruise was off, had to turn that back on.

Update done yesterday (8/14/13).  Just looked and my Eco Cruise is ON.  Is that proof the update didn't take?

Thanks,

Don

[RaPieR]

I think you miss WAB's point.  He's concerned about a COLD engine starting up at 50+ m.p.h.

Don

It still to do a minimum warm up time when you first activate the engine and it is still cold. So the engine won't be completely cold when you run at higher speed. The only difference is they seem to have shortened the cycle vs before the update

[bigalpha]

My EcoCruise was still set to ON and my update took.

[dweiser]

True, I guess I started with it because this is my first hybrid and just haven't changed it.  Any recommendations for what I should replace it with in myview?

I like Empower.

Don

[dweiser]

Before the update I had to manually feather the throttle to use high ice if I was driving below 63/64mph. If I used eco cruise it would immediately kick into ev mode. Maybe the roads I was driving was downhill but recently I used eco cruise to hold ice at 60 mph where before it would switch to ev automatically.

I hate to appear stupid but why would anyone prefer to be in ICE mode as opposed to being in EV mode?

Don

[MtnMarty]

I'm fairly convinced m.p.g. on the C-Max is linked to the color of the vehicle.

;)

Don

 

 

Perfect!

[SnowStorm]

I hate to appear stupid but why would anyone prefer to be in ICE mode as opposed to being in EV mode?

Don

Maybe to save "wear" on the battery - oh, but then you're adding wear on the ICE. :headscratch: Or maybe to avoid seeing 20 mpg while recharging (even though you get infinite mpg in EV).  I really don't think we can outsmart the cars algorithms relating to use of ICE versus EV (except where we know upcoming road/traffic conditions).  I've never really bought the "high ICE" thing but I'm not trying to argue the point either.

[RaPieR]

I hate to appear stupid but why would anyone prefer to be in ICE mode as opposed to being in EV mode?

Don

This only applies when driving on the highway for extended periods. Using high ice is more efficient than using ev then charging with ice when the battery drains and repeating. I haven't tried using drain and recharge method on the highway since learning about high ice, but with the increased ev speed I do let ev come on for short periods if the load is below 1 bar.

[dweiser]

This only applies when driving on the highway for extended periods. Using high ice is more efficient than using ev then charging with ice when the battery drains and repeating. I haven't tried using drain and recharge method on the highway since learning about high ice, but with the increased ev speed I do let ev come on for short periods if the load is below 1 bar.

Thank you RaPieR, now it makes sense to me.

Don

[mikekoz]

Just turn the car on and off 11 times.

 

 

    That seems to have worked! I did that before I left work and when I got home yesterday. EV+ kicked in when I got near my workplace this morn. I am enjoying this update! It seems that not only am I getting better mileage at higher speeds, but the battery seems to charge quicker and it is easier to keep the car in EV mode. I am getting more consistant gas mileage at lower speeds also!!

[dweiser]

You all might want to have a look at this new posting.  Ford no longer will advertise 47 m.p.g. and we get a check for $550 according to Fidelity.com

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2783-ford-lowers-mileage-rating-for-c-max-and-heres-a-check/

Edited August 16, 2013 by dweiser

[Bruce Z]

Just got our max back with the new upgrade and so far really enjoying it. I do a lot of highway driving to and from work about 120 Kim's with the speed limit of 110 km/hr so it was all ICE driving but now it should be easier to get into EV. It will be interesting to see how this changes my AVG L/Km usage over the next little while. Also got the lift gate update and it is working like a charm with one kick now.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce

[viajero]

I think you miss WAB's point.  He's concerned about a COLD engine starting up at 50+ m.p.h.

Don

 

That was my point.  A cold engine starting at 50 mph is no different than a cold engine starting at 0 mph because the second motor generator allows the computer to start the ICE and warm it up at whatever rpm it wants, regardless of what speed the wheels are turning.

[JohnnOhio]

Just got mine back with the reflash today.

 

First Impressions

 

I've noticed is that the tork is a lot lower. The RPS rev way up while excellerating. It seems to me that the engine has to work harder to get up to speed. Once there though EV seems to engage more often.

 

Before the update I got 40-45mpg at 70mph on the instant mpg gage. Now ICE rpm's are higher and the instant mpg gage shows mid 30,s at 70mph. I can kick it down into EV mode for a very short time. Hope I don't regret getting the update.

 

Befroe the update I was getting 46 to 48mpg on the freeway at 70. I'll have to see what happens.

 

Here is what I was getting on my trip to work before the update. ( 30 miles on the freeway at 70 and 1.5 miles on city streets and 1.5 on highway at 55.)

[ScubaDadMiami]

I go for my 13B07 update in the morning.  I am bringing my 3.6 loaded thumb drive, and I plan to do the update during the drive to the dealership.  I figured that I would give it a try for doing the 3.6 update, and that I can just get Al Packer Ford to do it, in the event that there is a problem.

 

:worship:

[nsteblay]

 

First 120 miles after 13B07 update.  Commute trips to work and around town at traffic speeds.  By far the best mileage I've seen.  

 

Double what I get in my Honda CRV.

 

17% better than the official EPA of 43 MPG without even trying  ;)

 

More than half the miles in EV.  I attribute that to the new 85 MPH threshold.  Actual ICE MPG was 22.4.  Obviously wasn't getting into Negative Split Mode often.

Edited August 17, 2013 by nsteblay

[Jus-A-CMax]

I got Maxine back this evening. Driving from Galpin to the golf course, 48MPG via the freeway. Driving back from golf course...back to home....35.5MPG. I was doing 68-75 mph, trying to get the negative split mode aka ICE High MPG with the eco-cruise turned on....would not work, start stop typical bloody LA traffic....and some moron who decides to do 62 mph in the #2 lane and hog the lane with 1/2 mile of open lane. Dunderhead. 75% charge, doing 68mph and double tapping puts it into full EV eco...watch the battery run down REAL FAST.

 

I ain't seen too much :love_shower:  yet with the update...gonna hit the surface street on Monday and see whats that done. Temps not an issue, > 90F this evening.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[Adair]

I'll be hitting the freeway in about 45 minutes for the first time since I got the upgrade. Jury is still out.