I was speaking to another member today and he mentioned he had the computer reflashed in his '05 to the latest version. The last time I asked my dealer service department about this they told me there was no newer version than the one it came with. This was some time ago.

Now that I have been driving both for over a year, there are obvious differences in the performance of the cars, mainly in regen and EV mode, both controlled mainly by software.

Has anyone else had their '05 (or '06 for that matter) reflashed? Any noticeable differences? Problems? Improvements in mileage, etc.?

Thanks.

Ray

 

Is it possible for you to get the dealer name and location ( you don't need to reveal the owner's name if they don't wish ) so other's can confirm this is do-able?

I was told this was not possible unless there was a recall and safety issue.
If it's being done elsewhere, I'd like my dealer to talk to that dealer!

TIA
-John

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitramjr

I was speaking to another member today and he mentioned he had the computer reflashed in his '05 to the latest version.

Now that I have been driving both for over a year, there are obvious differences in the performance of the cars, mainly in regen and EV mode, both controlled mainly by software.

Has anyone else had their '05 (or '06 for that matter) reflashed? Any noticeable differences? Problems? Improvements in mileage, etc.?

Thanks.

Ray

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpsman1

Is it possible for you to get the dealer name and location ( you don't need to reveal the owner's name if they don't wish ) so other's can confirm this is do-able?
-John

John - It was me that Ray was talking to about the re-flash. Sorry I am not going to give out my dealers name (might get them in trouble and I wouldn't want to do that).

I guess it all started with creating a good rapport with the guys in the service department from the get go. Every time I would come in we would just shoot the breeze about the FEH and I would even tell them some things that they didn't even know about. Well I was in for a regular maintenance service and mentioned that from this site I had noticed that the '06's were getting 1.5 to 2 MPG better than the '05's. They look on their computers and didn't see any TSB or anything related to an upgrade etc to the VSC/PCM but after showing them the numbers on this site they said 'What the heck'.

I went back to their FEH Tech that was doing the check-up and he agreed that it wouldn't hurt and they did have the latest '06 software form Ford loaded into the computer and since he had it all hooked up all he had to do would not really take him any more time or effort - so he did what he does best.

As I told Ray - it could have been just a mental thing but I swear but it seemed that I was able to stay in EV longer and when called upon to give a little more power - say for climbing a small slope - it would stay in EV and the ICE not kick in as quickly/easily as before.
As far as the MPG goes - I can't really say. You know with driving techniques changes, the more miles on the vehicle the better it gets, etc - but my MPG has gone up.

So I can't really say that re-flash did everything but I do know that it was done - I was standing there.

 

Well, I guess its high time to go to my dealer and get buddy buddy with my soon to be good friend, the hybrid service Tech.

Phillp, was this before or after your wife's neck was getting whipped around from the "L" FS? Ray has said that regen was not as heavy in his '06. What did you think after the reflash about this issue?

I can already climb big bridges in EV in my FWD, and I don't know if I want to give up the heavy regen ability.

GaryG

 

Thanks Phillip.
I was going 0 - 40 MPH in EV from the get go ( 2wd ) and do get better MPG than most... so while curious... I'm a bit leary about messing with a good thing.

One thing as of late is... I do not think I'm dropping into N every time I shift to N.
Don't know if this is a hardware or software issue. Or if something has broke with wear & tear. The past two days, I swear my car speeds up 1 MPH when I press the brake pedal 1 or 2 mm. Almost like I do not get a N unless I tap the brake first.

???
-John

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryG

WPhillp, was this before or after your wife's neck was getting whipped around from the "L" FS? Ray has said that regen was not as heavy in his '06. What did you think after the re-flash about this issue?

I can already climb big bridges in EV in my FWD, and I don't know if I want to give up the heavy regen ability.

GaryG

Well Gary - you know I have not really heard her say to much about the whiplash since I got her the HANS (Head And Neck Support) securely connected to the headrest support and the NASCAR five-point harness - though I do see her eyes bulge out a bit sometime when I let off quickly in 'L' .

OK – had to look over on CleanMPG to see where that came from – knew I had read it somewhere.

Honestly - on looking back at that point – I would have to say that the regen is probably just as heavy as before. So like I said – I honestly don’t if the change was just in my mind, driving techniques or a real change in the way the control computers did things.

Alluding to a comment over in another thread – You mentioned “Phillip says he is limited to about 30mph in his '05 AWD in EV.” Well that was true and you quoted me correctly, but as of late I have been able to nurse it up to 35+ on a level road by backing off a bit and then slowly increasing the pressure and even get to around 40 if going down a slope before the ICE kicks in. So who knows what is going on – it changes from day to day.

I mentioned here or somewhere, and to Ray, that lately I have notice that before everything is warmed up good and the HV battery is still putting a big hit on the ICE , about how my ‘Instant MPG’ readout changes quite a bit depending on which ‘gear’ the lever was in. Say I have gone just a mile and put it into ‘N’ it might read 25 MPG, ‘D’ 40 MPG, ‘L’ Maxed out. I don’t really see that much, if any change in the RPM to account for the differences. The only thing I notice is the regen drag increase between all three. Any thoughts on this?

 

On both the ScanGauge and built in display, I ALWAYS get higher MPG readings when coasting in D vs. N.

D slows you down a bit more, but maybe fuel is cut totally off and the car's momentum is turning the engine?

In N, maybe an amount of fuel = to idle is being burned to keep the engine spinning, since in theory, the wheels should be disconnected from the engine in N.

My $.02 but yes, I have seen this all along over the past several months.

-John

 

This is a good point and it brings a kinda related question that I have wondered about in my F-150. I always coasted to stops, but I would put the clutch in, or throw it in neutral, trying to keep RPM's down. But if you have a scan tool hooked up and monitor the data, it's like a 25 percent load to keep the idle up. So, I wonder if it uses no fuel at all to engine brake? When I get a scangauge I should be able to see which method gets better economy.