It is flat for just a sec then uphill, we are able to coast in once we crest the driveway just past the gate.
We work the heck out of the hills when it is warmed up but it just doesn't have the time to warm up to and from work.
Clif

 

This is what I was asking about, there has to be a way to do it and I cannot see the harm in it. I would love to be able to disable the ICE for her to and from but that may not be realistic. They did it in the Insight and I read the article about it for the Prius, some day......
Clif

 

I agree. It would be nice if we could, with a simple button, tell the systyem that I am 1 or 2 blocks from home, will not need the ICE again (so keeping it warm is a waste) so going or staying EV would be ok. I'm sure it is only a thimble of gas, but it bugs me that in the winter, I have to stop at the driveway to open the garage, and have the ICE turn on just as I am about to roll in at 2mph!

Gary, I'm just saying in my view, safety is not about the typical situation but the emergency situation. Have you tried some emergency avoidance tests when you decided you did not need the power assist steering? Did you have to use your bumper or airbags in the last week? If not, why are you "wasting" gas hauling them all over the place for nothing. Keep them at home, save even more gas and just put them in when you plan on having an accident.

Cheers,

rcomeau

 

I don't need the ice to STAY off, just to turn off when I ask it to, basically a replacement for having to either dump it into L or do the double tap exercise, both of which cut down on my coasting ability in a big way.

I don't need to defeat the smog rules, or the 'am I warmed up?' rules even. Like I said, the highlander accomplishes this when I take my foot out of the throttle...


MM

 

You are all looking for the holy grail that most of us have been looking for over the past 2 years now. Since one has been elusive, we have found these work-arounds such as the double tap and the L gear setting. With the L gear setting, your Ford or Mercury Hybrid will perform much like the Highlander, or basically, a go cart with one pedal. Press the right pedal to go, release to stop. Press 1 mm to coast. I really seldom use the left pedal!

Experiment with the L setting on the "gear" select. There is no gear change, but it has a dramatic effect on how the car behaves.

-John

 

Rcomeau, please read what I wrote again. Even John had to admit the airbags work if the key is in the on position. Do you think the Ford engineers thought the airbags shoud be disarmed when the engine is turned off and someone else plows into you? I can't even put a small package in the front passenger seat without the airbag system thinking it's a small child.

The steering feels like power assist while coasting, power assist is needed more for parking when the pavement is resisting tire movement and you don't need the feel of the road. Our steering system is much different than non hybrids and assist is already reduced automaticlly with speed, so you can feel the road better. So your question about emergency avoidance is mute, there is already a steering system in the FEH/MMH that allows you to feel the road without assist like there should be (page 211-15 of the '05 FEH workshop manual).

John also did the big scare thing many times when I found out about "N" coasting over a year ago. He claimed the owner's manual states it would damage the transmission and other things not in the manual like you don't have control, you can't speed up in an emergency, and the Ford engineers told him etc. He now admits in his post he uses "N" coasting.

Key-Off FAS is not for everyone and neither is "N" coasting. Some people new to the FEH/MMH do scare easy when they don't understand how the FEH/MMH works, and someone is also telling them how dangerous a technique is. The FEH restarts within mil seconds, but I do keep my hand on the key to start until restarted. There is no need for my hand to be on the shifter because I stay in "N" during FAS until I restart or go to park at a stoplight to restart.

I got smart with Tim K because I thought he knew what John was doing all this time. Tim putting the blame on both John and myself for me trying to keep John from confusing everyone with his scare technique was wrong IMO. Looks like I over did it with Tim, according to his response back to me.

Anyway, cheer to you also.

GaryG

 

I just dive my FEH. It always gets much better mileage then my other two vehicles, a 2003 Expedition and a Jeep.

For some it may be a contest (with other or themselves) trying to get the highest mileage but I just drive it and I am happy.

 

Hi Gary,

You kind of missed my point about the airbags. The point was that since you seem to drive with the best case or typical scenario in mind when using fuel saving techniques, i.e. you are not planning to ever encounter a situation where you might need to avoid an accident. Given that, you might as well go all the way and toss out heavy items like air bags and bumpers to save weight since you don't expect to need them anyway and it wastes gas to haul them around.

Since you are sort of an "authority figure" here, presenting your techniques (that are outside the intended use of the car) here in public and are encouraging others to use it, I think the onus is on you to show that it is safe when others here bring it up their concerns. Saying it has worked great so far does not mean that everyone will have your luck.

Happy driving.

Roch

 

No, I didn't miss you point, and nowhere did I say I was not planning to ever encounter a situation where I might need to avoid an accident. Your asumptions still seemed to be misguided about me encouraging anyone to do some of the techniques I use. If you think I'm an "authority figure", why are you saying my techniques are outside the intended use of the car? Everyone has an intended use of their car. I agree Ford could not legally recommend one way or the other how to drive the vehicle under all conditions. They also can't assume all the ways people will use their product. If I feel something is a safety issue, what's to say someone doesn't feel it's a safety issue? You were making the asumption that steering was a problem without trying it yourself, but nothing wrong with that. I was just saying to people that I had some experience and what the manuals had to say that may be the reason for my experience.

The original poster of this thread ask a question, and I gave him the only choices there is in my opinion. When others and yourself brought up their concerns with FAS, I tried to answer those concerns. It appears, I am the only one so far with any experience with FAS in the FEH. Others maybe doing it, but no one has posted here about it, however, that still does not make me an authority on the subject.

Each person reading our posts will decide if they will pass or try FAS. At least they have yet another choice to improve FE if they choose. Just because I do it, doesn't mean anyone else has too. If people think I'm unsafe or breaking my FEH, that's their right. Posting things that are not true is wrong in IMO. If I posted anything that was wrong, please help me understand more.

GaryG

 

Excuse me for chiming in, but I would have to say Gary just seems to get off on absolute maximum fuel economy by doing anything up to but not including things that would hurt himself or the vehicle. It's like a religion, an obsession, or so it seems from the casual observer. I do appreciate some of the creative ideas and reports of his experiences as it def saves me the time of figuring the stuff out for myself, so . . . thank you Gary for sharing. I do think you've taken this beyond the realm of the practical and some of these ideas like shutting the power off are starting to sound pretty . . . extreme, to put it bluntly! The other way to improve economy is of course . . to plan your life and use of the vehicle better, carpool, schedule trips to optimize fuel efficiency, walk and ride your bike, and so forth. These things I think in the end will out do the efficiency enhancements one might get from creative use of the hardware.

Anyway Gary, I appreciate the reports so please feel free to share your experiences.