Anyone working on a 2009 FEH specific FAQ on increasing FE? Our FEH should be arriving within a week and would love to have something specific to the 09 to print out and hand to her. I've shown her the previous FAQ but, as I understand it, the 2009 is a whole new animal.

Mike
TLM

 

this is where GaryG steps in.....

But don't worry it's really easy....

Take it from me. this is my first Hybrid (other than the 08 FEH I test drove)

I'm at 37.5mpg with "real world" city driving 75% of the time.

 

GaryG has mentioned the 2009 Version more frequently and quickly drops into electric mode when compared to the previous years. This is a vehicle that will improve the milage of "Joe and Jane Sixpack" more than that of the hypermiling expert because it goes into electric mode so frequently without the "driving tricks". That said, I'm sure it is just a matter of time before a few "driving tricks" will appear from the experts.

 

There are basic hypermiling techniques that can be used in any vehicle and those can be found at http://www.cleanmpg.com/ in those article there.

The '09 FEH/MMH has a hard time keeping the engine running without the A/C and below 40mph. It is actually hard to charge the HV battery to much above 42% for me under 40mph. The main thing I do is try to prevent sitting at a stop while the battery is charging to 42%. Understand if you go EV automatically at 42%, your going to get nailed sitting at a stop with MPG while the engine is running to charge the battery. This takes some getting use to and you can forget about it if you don't have a SGII X-gauge with SoC.

Presently, I've broke into the 50mpg SGII Tank average and my Nav Sys average is at 47.2mpg. This is with 319 miles on this tank and my OEM gas gauge is still over half a tank. The real trick is timing stops with enough SoC to stay in EV and fuel-cut. When you let the SoC get below 40.5% coming to a stop, your going to be holding the bag with the engine running some. When I can, I shift to neutral at 40.5% and coast to increase my average MPG. Another trick I'm using now with the '09 is to set the CC under 40mph and when I get a restart for charging, I increase my speed ~3mph (pulse) slowly (1,400 to 1,600rpm's) and glide in "D" for partial fuel-cut to the preset CC speed. I continue this P&G till I go EV automatically. I stay at the CC speed till I get another restart and then repeat P&G. This allows a pre-set minimum speed for traffic behind me and I still get killer mileage averages.

GaryG

 

Took a look at my print out of notes I made from CleanMPG a back in April 08 and tried to remember everything I've read on there, here, blueoval, yahoo ford escape hybrid...etc etc and so on. Wow, my head is spinning and I haven't even been drinking.

1. Here is what I've got so far:
2. Buy a SGII
3. Use FS (Fake Shift) to help force charge the battery and keep RPM's down.
4. LGA to EV not required with 2009 FEH.
5. Set tire presure to 38 - 40 PSI winter, 40 - 44 PSI summer, the lower presure in the winter will provide better snow and ice traction.
6. Keep highway speeds at 65 or less if possible.
7. Draft at a safe and sane distance, 100' to 120' behind big rigs when possible.
8. Use N glide whenever possible
9. If while driving in mall parking lots the SOC becomes too low and the ICE turns on, have the children hop out and push. lol

Did I miss anything?

 

The FS still works great in the '09 FEH/MMH, but only in "D". You will see the Instant MPG go much higher on the SG than previous models which I think is because of more fuel-cut. The RPM's also drop quite nicely, but regen is light. The FS in "L" is completely different in the '09 and seems to be useless as far as regen and charging the HV battery now. Anytime you shift to "L" in the '09, the engine will start and when you let off the accelerator, you will get engine braking and an increase in RPM with complete fuel-cut. The only benefit of using "L" IMO would be when the engine must run for other reasons like exceeding 40mph. I've pretty much switched to using light braking with the brake pedal for all my regen to charge the battery in the '09. Now when I go down a bridge, I just stay in EV and use "D" and the brake pedal lightly for regen and staying under 40mph. I shift to neutral in EV to increase or maintain speed for the Glide, but you have to remember to shift back to "D" in order to get regen when applying the brake pedal. In other words regen is completely eliminated in neutral and the reason why the glide is so much better than in "D". I can feel gliding in EV getting better as the bearings and drivetrain are starting to get broke in a little. I don't expect the drivetrain to get fully broke-in like my '05 untill ~15,000 miles. My advise is to use "N" gliding in EV even if you don't feel it's that much better than "D" now because it is. You will develope a good driving habit that will increase mileage now and much better as the vehicle breaks-in. My advise is do not use "N" gliding while the engine is running. If the battery has enough charge to go EV, the engine will shutdown in "N" below 40mph automatically any way. Using "N" gliding above ~48mph may not be nearly as effective as earlier models. According to the SG I'm getting full fuel-cut with open-loop and 9,999mpg on the Instant MPG gauge above 48mph. This means P&G would be better in "D" while the engine is running in the '09 FEH/MMH.

The Michelin Latitude tires on the new '09 Escapes may not need to be lower than 44psi in snow or ice, this will be something you need to compare.

Drafting at 100 to 120 feet behind a big rig will not be of much advantage. I know the safe distance for me and it seems to work for the truckers also. A great way to find this distance is with the Instant MPG on the SG. You don't have to get greedy for the best distance for safety and good MPG. I find that distance is where the trucker doesn't think your drafting him or her. I will not draft any truck carrying Haz Mat materials period. The best rigs is those flat bed trailers with no load on the back. You have much better visability around the rig and for some strange reason you get better MPG than those high trailers. I think it's because there is less turbulance and the wind rolls on top of the flatbed and is still rolling as you get to it.

 

I'm a noob and haven't read too much on methods but what I've noticed after a couple of days of driving my Escape is that on the streets you can accelerate to around 40mph and then take your foot of the gas and the car will quickly drop into EV and then you can cruise at around 37MPH if the highway is flat or downhill. I only have 200 miles on my car so far but would be cool if once it gets broken I can cruise at 40mph on EV. That would be perfect.

 

Your in luck, soon you will be able to accelerate to 40mph in EV. At about 1,500 miles you will be able to set the cruise control in EV at 40mph on flat roads. The '09 FEH/MMH will even go EV during light acceleration under 40mph which allows you to set the cruise control and automatically go in EV at ~42% SoC and out of EV below 40% SoC. I'm not sure if the AWD FEH/MMH will allow the stronger 40mph EV mode yet.

GaryG

 

nice! I notice that I'll be able to cruise a lot in EV mode at 40MPH in the suburbs where I live. Even at 37MPH I'm not doing bad but I do notice the difference in that 3MPH speed. At 40MPH I'll be able to hold my own and not feel like I have to speed up.