Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

I was a bit fearful after reading some of the user MPG's or lack of, but stuck in a ton of traffic I managed 29.6 MPG and it seems to be steadily climbing. Coming from a RWD only 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee that on a great day was lucky to get 20 MPG I am thrilled! I will get some pics up when I have some daylight, but it's a nice ride with 101k miles and only thing I know I am going to do is filter replacements, oil change with 5w20 semi synthetic and get an alignment done with a bit more PSI in the tires. It already has a nice Pioneer dual DIN head unit in it and I am thinking of adding headrest monitors as it keeps the kid happy and replacing the stock speakers with some decent 6.5 components. My only question is with this being my first hybrid will the factory charging system be okay with adding a small say 400watt RMS amp to give a bit better sound as I am stuck in my vehicle a ton and sound is important to me. Thanks for any advice or info!

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

It's now showing 31.3 and hoping to be over 32 by tomorrow but lots of mountain driving tomorrow, but learning I can coast in N might help out some

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

Currently at 35.6 over the week I've had it

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

That's excellent mileage.

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

Nice job. Hybrids are definitely the way to go, especially in CA with our $4/gallon gas!

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

I just got my first one, too. 2006 AWD. My mileage is terrible! Like 20mpg or less! I've only put about 115 mile on it since I got it, but I am already through half a tank of gas. I've checked the oil and it is above the max fill line, so this is my first step - to drain a little oil.

I bought the 2006 with 50,000 miles for $10,800. It was a service car at an airforce base and is in great condition. No fancy video screen with cool info and gps but otherwise really nice.

I will keep people posted, should anyone else take an interest.

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

Yep, sounds like something might be wrong, or you've got a real lead foot. I get 23-25 mpg during the coldest spells in the middle of our Minnesota winters. My present tank is running around 34 MPG. Hope you find out what's wrong.

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

It sounds like you do occasional short trips. This is the worst scenario for mileage with these hybrids. They are set up to keep the catalytic converter hot, which is done to minimize exhaust pollutants. So every time you do a cold/cool start, it will burn lots of gas just to get the catalytic converter hot. This may save pollution, but it hurts mileage that you can't make up without doing long drives.

In fact, if I have to drive a few blocks, I will use our less efficient vehicle instead of the hybrid.

The second thing is that if you fill up the tank, and compare the amount of gas you bought to the tank capacity, you'll find that when the gauge said you had half a tank, you actually had more than half a tank. When ours reads at the empty mark, I still have about 20% of a tank left.

With time, you'll also get better at the mileage game. One thing you should avoid doing is shifting into "L" to slow down. Just use the brake pedal. And make sure the tires are well inflated. I'm running mine at 40ps, some are running considerably higher pressure.

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

What's your reasoning on that? I tried it both ways but it's hard to tell which way is more efficient, but recently I've been shifting into L to slow down.

Re: Just bought first hybrid 06 AWD FEH
 

Shifting into L is completely different in the '09 FEH than the older models. I had to just use the brake pedal for regen in my '09 also. The Energi uses the old system of heavy regen in L, and I like it much better for braking than the older FEH. I don't know why Ford changed in '09, but glad they changed it back in the Energi.

Gary