FFH owners,

I own a 2009 Camry Hybrid with a planetary gear transmission (PSD) which is nearly the same as in the Prius. I live in Denver and get between 38-42 MPG with the Camry which is better than EPA, but not as good as you guys. The PSD site shows that the reason my camry has to start the engine turning at 42MPH is due to the sun-gear high-speed limit. Ford has a higher limit allowing your cars to go nearly 50MPH prior to engine start.

So, my question is: how does the ford transmission work? Is it similar to the PSD in the Toyotas or is it something new?

Thanks in advance...

 

It's the same PSD, eCVT theory, different layout and design parameters. A block diagram would look almost the same. That speed difference is not much and doesn't affect the mpg. much. The FFH is more aggressive about turning off the ICE and some other tweaks for better EPA numbers but overall mpg. in both cars are pretty close in the real world as befits their similar weight and power.