EV Mode Question
 

New to FEH 2007 135K 4wd. I have a scangaugeII. I live in Virginia. Cold weather really reduced mpg. Now that the weather is in the 60s and 70s, mpg is greatly improved. My last tank full average was 25.6 mpg (the highest 15 minute average on a drive back from Charlottsville was 28.7 mpg). The scangaugeII indicates the tank average is currently 27.2 mostly driving around town. Reset after fillup the navigation display is currently showing 30.4 mpg. The SOC is now around 58% but was around 50% during cold weather with a low of 28% after 10 degree overnight temp (very sluggish starting and for first mile or so).

Now to the question: After warmup I have virtually no EV mode beyond 5 mph. If I pull away from a dead stop with traffic the engine kicks in consistantly at about 5 mph but otherwise all seems normal. Weather does not appear to affect this issue.

Any suggestions, comments or insights?
Thanks,

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Try setting up your scangauge to read the electric motor AMPS. You will see the ICE start when you hit about 50 amps.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Your statements on the SOC are "odd". The vehicle is designed to "hold" 53% SOC. This is not temperature dependent. EV usage will drop SOC and when it hits 40%, the ICE fires up to rebuild SOC. When SOC reaches 53%, MG1 will stop working to increase SOC and this can only be increased via MG2 thru regenerative braking efforts.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

The more electrical accessories are on, having the a/c on, or having the transmission in Low will all reduce how much it is willing to use the ev mode.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Huh? What does the low mode have to do with EV? I've not noticed anything like that on my 2008. Low mode just means it will shut down the ICE faster, basically any time you let off the gas and are under the speed at which the ICE is allowed to turn off.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

If I need to come to a stop, and if I engine brake using Low gear, the engine will run until I come to a standstill. It doesn't matter if I also apply the brakes or not.

If I do the same thing with it in Drive, of course I have to use the brakes, but the engine will shut off long before I come to a stop.

I don't have a scangauge, but the amount of regeneration appears to be the same either way.

So in this situation, and it may be different for other model years, having it in Low decreases the amount of time it will spend in ev mode. I have never seen a circumstance where it will go into ev mode in Low, but not in Drive.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Not on the 2008. L mode simply shuts the engine off sooner than the normal mode.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Hi Steve

Ford changed L gear programming in the '09 FEH, and it does not allow shutdown of the ICE like in the '05 - '08 models. All you need to do is let off on the accelerator to go EV in D below 41mph. At 41mph and above, letting off the accelerator in D will cause DFSO (fuel-cut). So at 41mph and above, I would stay in D while decelerating till I went EV at 40mph. I would then shifted to N for the glide. This gave me fuel-cut until my speed dropped to 40mph where I went EV. This is one reason the '09 FEH is the most efficient FEH ever made.

Remember, I had a lifetime 53.9mpg in my '09 FEH when I sold it with 30,000 miles. Great hybrid, but I'm at 553mpg lifetime in my Energi right now. I will not need more than 2 gallons of gas per year and the manual says I can go two years without a oil change.

Just got back $4,700 from the tax credits of the car and level 2 charger I installed last year. It's nice fueling my car in my driveway at $.70 a charge, and going over 30 miles in EV on that charge. No monthly gas charges, no yearly maintenance and no dealer fees. The next owner will need to break in the engine with my Energi with less than 180 miles so far.

Gary

Re: EV Mode Question
 

I can't imagine why they did that. I find "L" mode very useful in "creeping" traffic; when I let off the gas, the car immediately slows down - and the ICE won't come on until the SOC reaches 40. I can go miles without touching the brake pedal.

I also use "L" mode on winding roads, for more control - same reason, it slows the car immediately when approaching the turns, without the brakes.

Of course "L" mode is not useful for hypermiling, but I don't do pulse and glide.

Re: EV Mode Question
 

Driving in L will reduce MPG according to all my testing. Using L as a brake instead of the pads is great for hypermiling.

I'm sure Ford had their reasons for changing L mode in the '09 FEH, but thank God they changed it back in my '13 Energi. It works the exact same way my '05 FEH did, and I use it as a brake the same way. My lifetime braking score is 98%, and my wife drives my Energi all the time.

Gary