The last couple of times I've filled up my FEH, I've noticed that the needle doesn't go all the way to the top. Is this usual? If so, is there some fill-up trick you can use to make sure it's really being topped off?

 

http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/gas...lup-t1654.html

Read this thread.

GaryG

 

Thanks!

What is "bumping"?

 

Billy as well as myself have found pushing or bumping the rear of the FEH/MMH from side to side allows the gas tank vapor area to fill higher. When the right front of the vehicle is on a slope down, the vapor area is tilted to allow more gas in the tank. If the right front is tilted up, you can't put as much gas in the tank. When on level ground, or on a slope, bumping allows gas to slosh in the vapor space and allows more gas to be added. The tank fill neck connects to the tank at a lower point than the vapor area so any slope down at the fill neck can cause the nozzle to sense a full tank and shut off. When you start the vehicle, the gauge will show lower than normal. This is why many people here think they got very good mileage just because they couldn't add more fuel.

GaryG

 

ahhh...thanks!

 

That might explain the large variations I saw when I tried to calibrate my Scanguage for fuel....

 

Desertdog (Carl) and I found that we had to adjust "miles" on the SG11 between plus 1 or 2% to better match the factory trip OD. I was coming up with about 1.7% less miles on my Tank reading at fill-up on the SG11 with the default setting. I tried a 2% increase and it was a little to much, and now I'm trying a 1% increase to see how that works out. If people are comparing the SG to the Nav or dash economy mileage average, this might bring them closer together for the first 200 miles. After about 200 miles the Nav and economy gauge starts dropping data and they may never match an entire tank unless you get lucky.

GaryG

 

Since I have been referred to in this post, I will add some new information that may be related to this issue. It seems as if Ford issued a TSB on 10-17-2005 about slow fuel filling-see the link below:
http://www.fordforum.com/ford/make_F..._05184/TSB.htm

From another Escape site, there was a thread on this issue and I have copied and pasted on of the replies:


There was a problem with the 2005 models; maybe it carried on into 2006.

quote: Originally posted by Jeepsbeme
...It appears that Ford is working on a fix for the 2005 models. They recently published SSM 18339 to advise their dealers that a fix is under development:

SOME 2005 ESCAPE, HYBRID ESCAPE AND MARINER VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A SLOW FILL OR PREMATURE FUEL PUMP SHUTOFF WHEN FILLING THE FUEL TANK. THIS CONDITION IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN THE FUEL LEVEL IS BELOW 1/4 TANK, BUT MAY OCCUR AT ANY FUEL LEVEL. ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THIS CONDITION. THIS CONDITION IS OFTEN CAUSED BY SPIDER NESTS OR OTHER RESTRICTIONS IN THE VENT
LINE, OR MAY BE CAUSED BY FUEL PUMPS AT SOME STATIONS THAT FLOW FASTER THAN DOT GUIDELINES. TO TEST FOR RESTRICTIONS IN THE VENT LINE, ROLL A SMALL BALL BEARING THROUGH THE LINE. THE BALL BEARING CAN ALSO BE USED TO REMOVE THE RESTRICTION. UNLESS THERE IS A SPECIFIC ISSUE CONFIRMED WITH THEM, DO NOT REPLACE THE FUEL TANK OR FILLER NECK FOR THIS CONDITION. MONITOR OASIS FOR
UPDATES.

My understanding is that the fuel system has changed significantly for 2005 since it uses on onboard vapor recovery system, so the fix will not affect earlier models.

Original thread (page 2):
http://www.escape-central.com/1foru...ighlight=filler neck&pagenumber=1

Other posters on this site have mentioned something like when you fill your tank with gas, it foams and this action causes premature shutoff. My personal experience is I can get 1.2 to 1.5 additional gallons of fuel after the pump shuts off from back pressure. However, it becomes increasely more difficult to add more fuel during this procedure. Often one can only add .06 to .10 gallons at a time before bumping is required again. This can be a time consuming process so don't do this when the station is busy. You may also inhale some gasoline fumes during this process which is never good.

 

I did my speed via a handheld GPS... assuming that was pretty accurate I ended up with a fuel correction of 6% after a few tanks. My Nav matches my Scanguage for a while pretty well. But if I check the 6 % figure on refills I can get numbers anywhere from 10% down to 2-3%

 

Tim, I set my speed at plus 2% based on the miles I traveled on the trip OD on the dash. After setting the SG11 at plus 2%, I compared how my Tank miles on the SG tracked the miles on the trip OD. The default setting on the SG was about 11 miles under the trip OD on a 600 mile tank.

The SG manual does recommend using mile markers and a GPS to adjust speed, but the bottom line is to match your vehicle's OD. The PCM compares many sensors to determine the vehicles OD reading and you can get a warning if those sensors don't match with each other.

If I set my SG speed setting over 2%, my SG mileage would be much higher than the OD of the vehicle. Have you noticed this with the SG Tank miles with your 6% adjustment? Your Trip OD must be far less than the SG Tank reading at fill-up. This should also cause your average MPG on the SG much higher than your really getting.

I did a comparison and documented it on Hybridcars.com and found for every 15 miles, 2% was adding .1 mile over my vehicle trip. Take a look at the final tank results I posted there.

This is my third and last post on this tank after changing the SG11 default speed setting to plus 2%. Filled-up today and got these numbers before resetting.

Nav
46.8mpg

Dash
trip 635.3
MTE - 0 @ 604 miles (31.3 miles past zero)

SG11 - Tank
45.8mpg average (Final Tank)
22 miles per hour average
2.2 Hrs
28.5 Hrs
50.3 TTE
640 miles (4.7 miles over Dash Trip OD)

The SG11 Tank Trip default setting was 1.7% below my Dash Trip OD miles. Changing the speed setting to plus 2% put the miles over by .74% (4.7miles over 635.3 miles). If you take the dash trip OD (635.3) and divide that by the SG11 tank gallons used (13.9), I got a 45.7mpg average on this tank. BTW, I added 14.09 gallons at the pump.

As you can see, 2% is a little to much, and 1% is going to be to little to match the vehicle OD.

GaryG