Question,

When accelerating from a stop if I am careful and can slowly cross an intersection I can keep my FEH running on batteries only.

If I cross that fine line and/or if I need to go faster of course the engine turns on.

I think the electric motor is capable of carring the vehicle by itself more quickly from start to across an intersection.

Does anyone out there know if an adjustment can be made either by the dealer or the owner that would change the set point to delay the start of the engine and allow the electric motor to work a little harder and longer?

Thank you for your help.

 

I have the same frustration. I need a feather weight foot to keep all electric. On a good day, with no one behind me and lots of patience, I can get it to 30 mph before the ICE kicks in. More typically, I am lucky to get to 15 mph. I can’t help but think that electric could be programmed for a bit more acceleration.

 

I am guessing by the fact that you both have '07 models and less than 10 posts, that you both recently got your FEH's?? If that is the case, then I would advise patience. Many owners, myself included, noticed that the vehicles are limited in their functionality for the first several thousand miles. When my MMH was new, I could not stay in electric mode past 25mph no matter how careful I was or how hard I tried. After about 3,000 miles I was able to get up past 35mph no problem. You may also notice less than stellar fuel economy for the first several thousand miles as well. Even the manual states not to pay attention to fuel economy for at least the first thousand miles. Presumably, it is during this "break-in period" that the computer is learning how the vehicle performs. You should see a big difference after a few thousand miles due to both the vehicle learning and the driver learning.

As for your actual question, the answer is no. Nobody has attempted to increase the "range" of the electric motors. Mostly because we have come to recognize that the system is engineered that way for a reason. If the electric motors draw too many amps (I think that is the limiting factor) then the engine turns on. There is a limit to the electric motors and exceeding the factory specs is not something I'd advise doing. If you tried pushing the electric motors too hard you would probably end up burning them out or at a minimum shortening their lives. These motors had to be designed and implemented to last 100,000+ miles, so while they may be "able" to drive the vehicle faster and longer, doing so is not something I would consider. Your best bet is to just work on your right foot.

 

I agree with all the above! My FEH went from 26 mph to 28 mph to now nearly 30 mph. I have 2500 miles on it now since new in November. I have read and implemented most of the info here and on other sites to get better mileage. It does seem that the EV mode could support a bit more acceleration thus increasing mpg's. I have a scan gauge and at idle, the throttle is at 12 TPS (total throttle position). When ever it goes past 14 the engine kicks on. Very frustrating when I'm trying to use EV mode the last couple of miles on flat roads back to my house. The wear issue had not occurred to me and maybe a factor in this setting. I still think Ford can do better on this setting.

 

Dontcha hate it when you are feathering the gas to get across the intersection and hit a bump and the ICE comes on?

JG

 

Keep in mind that accelerating on battery power is not necessarily the most efficient way to drive your cars. If you run the batteries down too far they will be recharged directly from the gas engine rather than through regenerative braking, which means that the energy is going through more conversion steps to get from the gas tank to the wheels. Efficiency losses are incurred through each of those steps.

Best practice is to let the gas engine do what it does well, and let the batteries take up the slack when engine efficiency would be very low. For example, acceleration and cruising at length are good situations in which you should go ahead and fire up the ICE. Crawling through parking lots and very slow traffic would be examples of good times to try to run on electric power alone.

 

We all have experienced the breaking in period wondering if and when things will get better trying to keep the ICE off while trying to accelerate in EV. At first, I thought 6,000 miles was a turning point, and my FWD FEH would not get any better. Then at 12,000 miles, I notice things were still getting better. When I hit 16,000 miles, things were still improving, but now at 33,000 miles, I would have to say things just keep getting better for accelerating in EV for me.

If you have lower mileage than the person claiming faster acceleration in traffic in EV with higher mileage, just wait till you get there to compare your vehicle to theirs.

GaryG

 

Yes, but trying to keep the car in EV mode is part of the entertainment value of the car!

JG

 

Brick, when I got my FEH in '05, all I did was charge and drain the battery till a restart as many times as possible. The more I did it, the better the MPG. The FEH had less than a 1,000 mile on it and I was getting 40mpg tanks. Since that time, I've learn many tricks to use regen rather than all ICE charging and am getting much better mileage now. The FEH is much heavier than the Prius and uses much more fuel during acceleration with the ICE. The extra load charging the Prius battery with it's much smaller engine take a heavier hit in comparison.

When Wayne Gerdes and I got together and he drove my FEH, it was clear that the FEH and the Prius have different methods to get the best out of them. They both are great vehicles, but I know I couldn't drive the Prius like I drive my FEH for the best FE. Not sure if there are any hypermilers here with both vehicles that could add to my experience, but all I can say is my battery is on the low SOC side most of the time. The one thing I try to do if I have to come to a stop is, make sure I have enough SOC for a take off in EV before the ICE restarts to charge the battery.

GaryG

 

Strange, but I guess it is what it is. Too bad I'm about 1100 miles from you, because it would be really interesting to see this mode of driving first-hand.