Up until bringing in my '11 FFH, I had a long term average of 38.1 MPG for the ten month. Not bad! I was routinely getting 38 MPG on trips to a frequentl location 20 miles away and 42 MPG on the return; difference being up/downhill. I usually set the cruise control to obtain those mileages, and my average speed is about 62. I was routinely getting 27 MPG on my morning commute about three miles away and 24 MPG on the return. I was a pretty happy camper with all of those numbers.

After my Ford dealer worked on my car in September, I noticed the MPGs have gone down dramatically. The long term average is now 36 and declining. The trips I cited above are now decreased both ways by about 3 MPG. I've also noticed the motor is working harder - as evidence by the "empower" bar meter which now typcially shows about 75%. It used to hover around 45% or so. The motor is also alot louder when in gas mode - I hardly ever used to hear it. In fact, my wife asked "what's that noise" a couple of days after your work. I have proof positive in my gas fill-up log, that I have kept since day one. The graphs show a big drop coincidently the first fill-up after the dealer's work.

I'm a scientific kind of guy, so tried to figure out what could be the issue. Tire pressure, brand of gas, driving method, travel route, climate control, trunk and passenger loads and weather conditions all have not changed since I bought the car. In fact, our weather is milder than last November, so the car should not be working as hard. Yet the MPGs still are going down. The only other variable I can think of is some adjustments to the motor and/or power conversion settings.

Anyone else experience this kinda thing after taking their car in for the first time?

Thanks - Jeff

 

Why was the car worked on in September? What "Empower" bar meter shows 75 %; ACC, PWR ? Neither one should be above 1 or 2 divisions steady state out of the 7. Mild acceleration puts my PWR only to about 3.

 

Among the various display options is one called "Empower." This is a two-column bar graph; one the left is battery power, on the right is engine power. Before the work, both sides may have gone as high as 3-4.

The car was taken in for its 10,000 mile oil change.

It almost seems like the car is idling too high. When I was at a stop light this morning, the right side was up to 1-2 units.

 

There are four dash modes; Inform. Enlighten, Engage and Empower. It sounds like you are in "Engage" mode. Mine goes that high in that mode. These are selectable in the dash Set Up menu. Check your oil level on a level place at least an hour after shutdown. It should be below the upper of the two lines. It is easy to see in good light after you clean the stick and re-insert and remove it. It must not be over filled and bold face type warns about it in the Owners Guide. If it's over filled even a little, have the dealer drain it. Regular Fusions call for 5.3 qts but the FFH calls for 5.0 qts. Do not let them talk you out of it. Make sure you're not in "L", it's easy to do. As cold weather approaches and you call for heat, the mileage will decrease. You can enable an "Engineering Test Mode" ( ETM ) on the right side of the dash by holding both "Reset" and "Set Up" for 5 seconds while turning car on. You can then cycle through 10 screens of data with the "Reset" button. The 5th one shows RPM. Mine idles at about 1290 when it does it's first warm up checks. Make sure they replaced the fairings underneath the front of the engine when they changed the oil. They should have only loosened the oil drain and filter covers. ETM can be turned off by going to a blank screen with the "Info" button and holding reset for several seconds or it goes off when you shut down. I don't normally drive in "Engage" mode but it might be possible to have a higher engine load if the HVB is low and it's charging heavily.

 

Appears I am indeed "Engaged." Per above, the ETM shows 1292 RPM, so that's good. Oil measures about a quarter-inch from the top mark within the hatched area of the dipstick. Only once drove in "L" and that was last year's snow storm up our driveway.

I appreciate all your great suggestions. Again, I have not driven any different nor strayed from any of the other variable mentioned since the oil change two months ago. I have the dealer looking into the issue, but so far no explanation.

Thanks again. Other opinions or observations welcome.

 

I see you posted in another forum that I frequent that has a lot of activity. You may get some more responses there. There are really no adjustments that affect the operation of the FFH. EVERYTHING is controlled by computers and failures are almost always announced. If you've had the car ten months, you started in the winter and this is the first time you have entered a colder season. Your mileage should have been continually improving as you left winter and your driving techniques improved. As the weather gets colder, windier and wetter and you call for cabin heat, you will take big hits in mileage no-matter what. The 10th page of the ETM shows DTCs. Are there any there? Some are minor. The dash message center should announce problems. We have had only one owner with an unfathomable problem and he finally got another car in a trade in deal. The 3 mpg loss described can be easily attributed to the items I listed. I reset my "Long Term Fuel Economy" displayed at the bottom of the Trip summary on shutdown at the 10,000 mile oil changes in the Set Up menu. I reset the "Avg. MPG" at every fill-up from the Information screen. I display the 6min/ one hr. bar graphs instead of the leaves. All these, the trip summary, the instantaneous gauge and the Dist. to E give you a wide range of views. Wet roads and wind can each cause 10 mpg. losses.

 

I didn't realize the LT mileage average could be reset. I just turned 12,000 miles a couple minutes ago. Perhaps I will reset it and see what happens. There were no other messages during the ETM. I bought the car new on 11/1/2010. We had a humongous (for us) snow storm on 11/22 and the car plowed through like a champ. I always keep the cabin at 70/70 so even that has stayed constant.

Let's see what the FFH Forum has to say, along with the dealer.

I really appreciate your feedback.

If you're ever out in Washington State, dinner's on us!

Regards - Jeff

 

Front wheel drive eCVT hybrids do well in winter, even the Prius. It suffers from lower ground clearance so deep snow is a problem for it. The even torque is probably the reason. Braking may not be as good as the regen braking uses only the front wheels but maybe the ABS figures that out. Read some of mine and others posts over there. Most questions have been figured out already.

 

The reduction in MPG could be associated with an issue related to the fuel injectors.
My FFH had 3 fuel injectors fail after about 45,000 miles and I found out that short trips, continuously starting or stopping an engine, etc., cause certain components (like the fuel injectors) to fail. Since our CVT hybrid system continuously starts and stops the gas component, that action will lead to an accelerated build up of debris in the fuel injectors which will cut down the MPG over time. I would recommend a more frequent use (or some use at all!) of fuel-additive cleaners. Worked for me and pushed mine up from 35 back to 40+

 

Short trips, stopping and starting an engine do not make injectors fail, if in fact they did. Injectors operate millions of times and hybrids are designed to stop and start tens of thousands of times. Debris does not collect in injectors unless you have been using exceedingly bad fuel. Hybrid cars require no tuneups or additives and generally only need oil changes. Question where you got this information. If you got it from a dealer, change dealers.