My take on U-Hauls rating system is that you have the Horsepower, brakes, & structural integrity to haul their trailers. The issue of whether you ruin the transaxle is your problem as they see it.

My take on the transaxle is that Ford under rated it with the 1,000 lb weight limit. So what's the real limit? I suspect its on the order of the weight limit for their straight up 4 banger version.

As I've learned more & more about this car and its transaxle I believe it is vastly under rated by Ford. Since its a first of the brand car and Ford wanted to ensure they didn't get very many guaranty claims they over-engineered it by a significant margin. They did this to learn about this kind of vehicle and get on with producing more variants.

Keep in mind that the V-6 version has something like a 3,500 lb limit. So, my take is that if U-Haul will rent something to you, then if you gentle down the road, it'll handle most anything you might do.

 

I think the issue is power on extended grades. Once the battery is depleted, you are down to the basic power of the ICE.

We don't hear much about CVT failures here and I'm sure that if they happen, the owners would not be shy about telling the world about it. I also heard from the durability engineers that the CVTs required a lot fewer change outs than a conventional transmission on the durability prove out. Vehicles are run basically night and day over bumps, salt baths and various road surfaces to try to simulate a life time of use and abuse within a a few months. It is common to go through a couple of transmissions on a single vehicle to keep them going. The CVTs held up.

 

Before I first towed I did a search and asked the specific question on depleting the battery on a long climb. The take on this across the board here is that the FEH does not deplete the traction battery in a steady state climb.

My observation towing is that it does not use traction battery assist in a climb. You will be limited to the available power of the ICE.

Regarding the Prove Out Testing: I keep hearing snippets like yours. This reinforces my own observations of how well this seems to be engineered & built.

 

On a recent road trip I did indeed deplete the traction battery several times. It was on secondary roads that had about 200 ft hills. I did not notice any depletion on the interstate roads. The FEH does not hesitate to take the engine over 6K when the battery is depleted - and it is charging the traction battery while maintaining speed. I had 5 people and a full load in the rear, but the FEH kept up the speed (which was 65 - 70 on those roads).

Anyway, the FEH WILL deplete the traction battery under the right circumstances.

 

What SoC are you reaching when the battery is "depleted"?

 

40 SOC. That is the point on my 2008 at which the engine takes over propulsion while simultaneously charging the battery up to about 53 or so.

Those same points are used in my daily driving (especially in the morning warm up, when the battery goes into that weird "cold" start state). For the morning drive, I would prefer that it simply used the engine normally; it seems to use a lot of gas getting that SOC back up to 53.

 

One can always construct a scenario that will prove your desired answer, that's what bothers me about hypermiling.

The specific thing I was talking of in my post was a steady climb over a long distance.

Second I was concerned about so depleting the battery on such a climb that one became stuck.

Going down to 40% SOC and then being able to recharge, while still climbing, is not the scenario that should concern one.

Getting the traction battery to parade rest is.

 

It doesn't concern me at all. The little engine will pull quite nicely up to redline, so even with a depleted battery one will not get "stuck". On most gradual grades I did not observe the battery being used. It was those secondary roads with the hills that caused the battery to go down.

 

Give it a rest will ya?

You've actually made my point along the way.

 

It sounds like we are in violent agreement.

The 1000 # towing limit is most likely due to the capability of the engine to pull up a long grade, as opposed to braking, suspension or transmission capability.