Chris Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 have had a CMAX for about a month in MN. formerly had a civic hybrid with great mileage so I am used to driving a hybrid. Wanted to give Ford a chance. I am getting about 31mpg combined driving. Ford dealer NOW says that is within an acceptable range and not to expect too much in MN winter and to wait for more break-in time but this is really really disappointing. Anyone ever get improvement after such a disappointing start? Tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxJaxon Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 The site admin just added a new tips section a few days ago. All vehicles have reduced fuel economy in cold weather. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/forum/42-hybrid-driving-tips-tricks/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Move somewhere warmer. Seriously, I don't understand why people don't do *any* research before spending $30k on something... Cold weather decreases fuel economy on all vehicles and hurts hybrids more than regular vehicles. Cold is hard on batteries and gasoline engines which are designed to shut off when not in use have trouble staying in efficient temperature ranges. Add to that the parasitic losses from heaters and efficiency drops a lot - we took for granted these past 100 years all that waste heat that engines produce - until we turn off the engine and we get cold... Preheat the car in a garage if possible, and check out the grill cover thread - those may help you significantly in the extreme cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) have had a CMAX for about a month in MN. formerly had a civic hybrid with great mileage so I am used to driving a hybrid. Wanted to give Ford a chance. I am getting about 31mpg combined driving. Ford dealer NOW says that is within an acceptable range and not to expect too much in MN winter and to wait for more break-in time but this is really really disappointing. Anyone ever get improvement after such a disappointing start? Tips? Your problem is the engine never warms up so it is wasting gas to heat the engine. Check out the 3mpg gain thread in Fuel Mileage forum. You have got to close off the grill openings to allow the engine to get to opperating temp (202-212deg.F). Look at your coolant temp gauge, It needs to read in the middle before your MPG's are going to get better.MPG Grill Cover prices are going up soon. They're $50 now but only a few sets left at that price. Each cover set is custom made so I'm losing money at $50ea so the price is going up to $100per set plus S&HWe are using PayPal for payment. My email: paul@star-instruments.com Any questions email me. Thanks Edited January 8, 2013 by ptjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adair Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Chris, I seriously feel your pain. I live in Michigan and we've had some really cold days in the past couple of weeks. (I've also lived in MN.....Duluth....so I know about COLD.) I've had my C-Max since the end of November. My lifetime average MPG is about 38. That said, I've had some trips of 44, 45, 47, and 54 MPG. Is it every day? No. Is it every trip? No. But enough to convince me that it is possible. The cold that we live with, that others can't even imagine, does us in. I'm completely convinced that when the weather moderates that we'll see much better mileage. I've learned a lot from this forum, as well as CMAXchat.com about how to drive a hybrid vehicle. I came to my C-Max from a Jeep Liberty that got 17-21 MPG. I'm sorry that your dealer is now changing stories on you. That's completely not fair. I hope you are able to hang on, read and learn, and come to appreciate and enjoy your C-Max as much as others have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrelld Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 have had a CMAX for about a month in MN. formerly had a civic hybrid with great mileage so I am used to driving a hybrid. Wanted to give Ford a chance. I am getting about 31mpg combined driving. Ford dealer NOW says that is within an acceptable range and not to expect too much in MN winter and to wait for more break-in time but this is really really disappointing. Anyone ever get improvement after such a disappointing start? Tips? Have you ever owned or driven a hybrid before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Darrell have you been drinking? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrelld Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) Darrell have you been drinking? LOL;) Rhetorical question related to how all hybrids are known to perform in cold weather. Additionally you cannot rationally compare different size classes of vehicles and expect similar fuel economy. Edited January 8, 2013 by darrelld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Okay I get where you were coming from with your question. Sorry to accuse of you imbibing <g>. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrelld Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Okay I get where you were coming from with your question. Sorry to accuse of you imbibing <g>.I have been known to indulge in a few Heineken or Samuel Adams occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 YOU two are funny. I had expected this car to perform as well as the Civic which only dropped a few mpg in the winter- even with snow tires. I appreciate all the comments. I have driven a hybrid for years of course, but just visited the ford sites before I bought it so I really failed on the research front. I may buy the grill cover.... have others found that valuable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 The Civic is not exactly a full hybrid, it's electrical system is much less significant to the operation of the vehicle. Basically the Civic has a smaller-than-normal gasoline engine which is augmented by a small electric motor to give power when needed and allow for regenerative braking. The Civic really doesn't shut off the gas motor and run on just electricity the way the Prius and C-Max do. So battery performance is less of an issue for the Civic - but the Civic also posts lower numbers in general as a result however will have less drastic swings in its numbers. This is way over simplified, but it's just not the same type of drive system. The Prius and C-Max should yield much better city economy since they can shut off the ICE completely as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrelld Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 YOU two are funny. I had expected this car to perform as well as the Civic which only dropped a few mpg in the winter- even with snow tires. I appreciate all the comments. I have driven a hybrid for years of course, but just visited the ford sites before I bought it so I really failed on the research front. I may buy the grill cover.... have others found that valuable? I can appreciate your frustration but the C-Max has more mass to move than any other hybrid besides something in the Camry, Lexus 400h, and Sonata class of vehicle. One of my coworkers owns a Civic Hybrid and recently had to fight with Honda for a battery replacement because her mileage dropped so low it was compatible to a regular Civic. She stopped driving it during the summer because with the battery problems the AC wouldn't cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) There was a lawsuit here in the valley against Honda hybrid. The woman was so frustrated with the crap MPG she took the unusual step of taking it to the small claims court and won (less than $10K). I believe she was an attorney as well. Then Honda got whiff of it and then took it up and another battle ensued. One of the reasons Honda hybrids never, ever came into my potential buy list. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/01/business/la-fi-mo-honda-loses-civic-lawsuit-20120201 Edited January 8, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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