Just joined because I bought a 2008 FEH AWD last week. I admit I didn't do as much homework as I should have but that ship has sailed. So far I really like it. Several questions-


1- What is the REAL expected mpg hwy with this vehicle? I will be using this for 99% hwy commuting about 140 miles round trip. This is not daily so don't worry.


2- What is the first thing you would recommend besides an oil change as I don't know when it was last done prior to me owning it?


3-How can I maximize the mpg on the hwy? Besides a little more PSI in the tires, driving slower, using cruise control instead of constantly varying speed, what else can I do?


4-Are there any aftermarket parts or performance chips that will actually help with mpg?


I bought this assuming I could get really close to the advertised 27 mpg hwy. Hopefully I'm not screwed. I filled up today and the dash said 25 or so miles to E. It only took 10 gallons and change. Huh? I know I can't actually put the full 15 gallons in but I guessed I'd get closer than that. My 2003 explorer routinely gets filled over 21 gallons on a 22.5 gallon tank.


Thanks in advance for my FNG questions.

 

I'll let 2008 AWD owners weigh in on their mileage. I have a 2007 FWD and in summer get about 33 mpg at 65 mph. Short trips and cold weather take their toll on the mileage. Higher speeds also decrease fuel economy disproportionately.

The first thing I'd check is fluid levels, belts, tires, brakes. Lift the front end and rock the tire to check tie rod ends, wheel bearings and ball joints. There are YouTube videos on this if you don't know how.

As mentioned above, slow down, take off roof rack, keep tires inflated - I add 5 PSI, accelerate slowly, anticipate traffic lights to avoid stops.

I'd forget about chips. A SCAN gauge is good to be able to see your instantaneous fuel economy and also key parameters like battery temperature, state of charge (SOC).

The fuel gauge is very conservative. On empty, you still have a few gallons of gas.

 

Bottom line, me thinks, is that the FEH will beat a regular gasser similarly equipped by a few miles per gallon, maybe 5 or so, if you drive just like you've alway driven a car. My wife and I both have Ford Escapes. Mine a hybrid, and hers in a regular gasser. In the winter when the hybrid advantages are not so apparent, she'd get 23 or so mpg while I'd get 28-29 mpg. That's the bad news. The good news is that I have never seen a vehicle that will produce such enormous mpg gains by just altering your driving habits a bit.

I can't speak exactly about the 2008 AWD (I have the 2009 FWD FEH which is quite a bit different power train wise), but traveler is right in saying that higher speeds decrease fuel economy disproportionately. You don't really say what kind of highways you're talking about, but if it's interstate highways, drop back to 65 and on two lanes, drop down to 55 and you'll get better economy. As for temperature, mine really doesn't start performing well until the outside temp is around 40. When it gets really cold, it will take most of my 10 mile commute to get warmed up well. Also, keep your foot off the brakes to the extent possible. That means start slowing down a bit sooner at stops by lifting off the accelerator, and also slowing sooner for curves. Not only will it save your brakes, but you'll be lessening the time the engine is sucking gas. When you take your foot off the gas and coast, the computer cuts the fuel off to the engine. Then when you're leaving from stops, don't be such a jack rabbit and use as much battery as possible to delay the engine start. Finally get yourself a scan gauge. If nothing else, it will help you understand what your FEH is doing. When the battery falls below 40% State of Charge (SOC) the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) will always start. It normally won't go very high into the mid 50% SOC. Also when your speed is above 40 mph, the engine will start. I think you'll easily beat that 27mpg just by doing those things. The FEH really excels in the 30-40 mph range, so if you drive any smaller two lane roads, you can put the shifter in neutral as you're going down hills (until you're over 40 mph when the engine will start, so then put it back in gear to grab some energy to charge the battery), use the cruise running off the battery on flat stretches, and utilize the pulse and glide technique which is described in some earlier posts. You have to pay a lot more attention to what your FEH is telling you, but in the 30-40 mph range it's really easy to get into the over 40 mpg range, and into the 50s is not uncommon.

 

I sold mine last year, it was a 2008 AWD FEH with 80K on it. I got about 27-29 in town and around 26-27 on the highway (but this was at 78 MPH or so). Actually, if you want the best highway MPG, cruise control is the last thing you want to do - it is best to go light on the uphill and let it gain speed on the downhill, sort of like the semis do. There are a number of good posts here on MPG.

I didn't do any of that; I just ran up the cruise control and set it. As I said, usually around 75 or higher on the interstate.

I could get over 30 in secondary road driving, around 60 MPH. Speeds above 60 are a MPG killer in the FEH due to the high profile.

To get the best in town mileage, you have to be gentle with acceleration, and try to brake gradually, to put energy back into the main battery.

 

Steve-how do you like the c-max Energi?

 

It is great, but a totally different car than the FEH. It has a very small amount of trunk space due to the large battery back there. But I can go 20-25 miles on electric only each day. With my commute being small, I can actually only fill up about once a quarter - except that I'm currently taking a 200 mile trip twice a month.

It gets about 40 on the highway.

 

OregonFEH, I have a 2008 FWD FEH and I get an average of ~34 mpg in southern CA. I've owned it since new and my daily commute is 32 miles roundtrip on the interstate. I drive more local roads on weekends and running errands, but I would estimate my driving mix is 75% highway 25% local. For your FEH, at this age, I would recommend the following checks:

1. Engine air filter / cabin air filter / battery air filter. All are easy to check and replace. Fairly cheap. You can find the part numbers in this forum and how to change them on Youtube. Battery air filter is the highest priority here in my opinion.

2. Brake pads thickness and brake disk condition. Check it either at your local shop or by yourself if you're comfortable. I have 92K miles on mine and still running comfortably on my first set of pads/disks. However, your car's previous owner may drive very differently.

3. High voltage battery blend door actuator. This is a small part that could potentially mess up your battery. There was a TSB in '08 or '09. Check it at your local shop (or dealership). Make sure it's working fine.

4. Steering components recall. This just happened last year. Check your VIN at Ford's website or at your dealership.

5. MECS Pump recall. Also happened last year. Check your VIN with Ford.

 

OregonFEH, here's my list of driving tips to maximize your fuel economy, but this is just what I've found works for me. This is not gospel. Try them (or don't) at your own discretion. Since you drive 99% highway, I'll skip the local-driving stuff that are irrelevant.

- Let's get this one out of the way. Drafting. This is BY FAR the biggest contributor to fuel economy during highway driving. Also, definitely not advised. That's all I'm going to say about that.

- Pump my tires up to 39 psi. My sidewall max is 44 psi. Your tires may be different though, so be careful here and monitor tread wear regularly.

- Never use cruise control. I slowly accelerate on downhills to get more momentum on uphills where I slow down a bit. I tend to fluctuate between 62 and 68 mph rather than staying constant at 65 mph. On big downhills, I put it in neutral and let it go...during one part of my commute, I can reach 78 mph on neutral.

- Always avoid using the brake. I am much more observant now compared to when I was driving a regular car. I now pay attention to 3 cars ahead of me. I try to avoid slowing unnecessarily as much as I can. Helps a lot on the highway. Every time I have to tap the brake a little due to some funky traffic ahead, that's fuel wasted. If I look farther ahead, I can take my foot off the accelerator and let the car slow down itself. This doesn't mean I always try to keep up my high speed while in traffic, just swerving from lane to lane to avoid slowing down. That's dangerous.

- When cruising to an off ramp or red light, I actually slow down a lot in the beginning using either the brake or in "L" mode. When my speed gets to about 41 mph, I do a quick double-tap on my brake pedal. The engine shuts off immediately, I then shift to neutral and roll into the stop. I find that this practice saves me more fuel than just letting the car slow down naturally like what regular cars do.

- When accelerating from a stop, go as slowly as practicable. It's best if you can get all the way to 40 mph before the engine kicks on. This won't happen often due to traffic conditions (and my lack of patience), but the slower the better.

- If the AC is needed, I use "econ" mode. This allows the engine to turn off like it normally does when slowing or stopping. No AC at red lights and stop signs, but that's ok with me, better mpg.

- Lastly, the roof racks are insignificant in my experience, but summer gas versus winter gas does show a ~1 mpg difference in my fuel economy.

 

Deprotinator's 2 posts just above are right on.

I will comment further to say that I'm a western Washington driver, and see you're probably an Oregon man. That said, your lower speed limits will encourage you to behave the way your FEH likes you to: somewhat slower than most others. Seriously. If you drive western and Columbia valley you'll need to become far more of a tachometer driver, and less of a speedometer driver. Your FEH burns noticeably more fuel as you get around and above 2500RPM. Also, take your foot off the gas and coast up to those exits, stoplights, traffic, etc.. I've got over 200k miles on my original brakes because I've always been a "let your engine do the braking" guy. My FEH turned me into a barefoot driver, which for me was insane,,,, but now normal. Yes, it IS legal in OR and WA, and probably everywhere despite the disinformation. Slower (less harsh) acceleration / deceleration is a lot less stress on the entire vehicle, not just the fuel situation.

It should be a great car for you. I love mine, both of 'em.

 

I have a 2006 FEH purchased new in Dec 05, have well over 100k on it.

Regarding the "Real, Expected MPG"

I get about 25-27 hwy mpg. The aerodynamics of the FEH are like a brick so if you do interstates alot you won't get the advantages of the hybrid feature. The FEH is in its best environment around town, sub-40 mph, start & stop type driving.

You can improve things when climbing a hill by tapping down the speed control to keep rpms below 3500. I tap it down when it hits 3500 and get it to below 3000. Then tap it back up when over the top. This makes a real difference in mpg for me on the Hwy.

You're going to see various people posting such things as increased tire pressure and yes, doing that will increase mpg. But it will also wear out the center of your tires faster. Ford calls for 35# & I've seen people who run 45#. Bad for the suspension, wears out tires faster, changes handling characteristics, etc. I just don't agree with doing that.

You'll see various strategies for mileage improvements. Don't bite. some have posted readout pictures of 50 & 60 mpg. You can always fool the computer and get it to show such readouts. I've asked them to post their total fuel consumption across an extended interval (say 10,000 miles) but they won't post their numbers. IMHO if you can't show such numbers, it ain't true.

You'll also see things like pulse & glide where people put their car into N after getting up to speed, then coast for awhile. I consider that dangerous as it puts you in an unusual configuration where you have to remember you're in N before doing something else in an emergency situation where your first reaction is to punch the gas pedal...

There was one time I was climbing the "Gangplank" heading west out of Cheyenne, WY, with a very strong headwind. My fuel consumption went through the roof with both climbing and a strong headwind. Remember the aerodynamics of an SUV such as the Escape are like a brick. Its a fact of life, get over it.

In the end I have Mustang with a 4.6 L engine (& far better aerodynamic shape) that gets very similar mileage with twice the engine... the utility of the SUV (non-aerodynamic) shape of the Escape Hybrid has a cost in mpg. Like I said: its a fact of life.

As to what to change out? Assume everything was at its changeout interval and change all filters, oils, coolant, etc. You might even consider bleeding the brakes to get new fluid in the lines. With regard to filter, there's a cabin air filter. It wasn't installed in early FEHs. So put one in, the holder is there for it.

You'll see a guy who calls the transaxle a "sealed unit" that doesn't ever need its oil changed. I don't agree. When your mileage is over 100k change out the transaxle ATF & you might think about it at 50k.

While it true that there is not the same wear pattern as with a conventional transaxle, there is still wear. I do oil analysis and when I once approached 100k on my FEH transaxle oil the analysis showed a serious degradation in TBN (Total Base Number). Keep in mind if the oil goes acidic the insulation on the electrical wiring inside the transaxle starts eroding... quickly.
Yeah... that's a big deal.

Finally, if you're in a cold region for the winters, get a block heater installed. It'll shorten up your warmups and save a chunk in gasoline. My winters get down to -20ºF to -40ºF. The block heater makes a real difference with mpg and I saw it immediately after first putting it in.
A block heater needs about 3-4 hours on time in temps like that to affect mpg & warmup times.

BTW if you get a full FEH Block heater installed it includes a heater for the traction battery (the heating element is built into the traction battery & in earlier FEHs the wiring to it is already in the cars harness). This can get you onto the battery far more quickly since the traction battery must be up to temp to go on the battery.

In the end I'm very happy with my FEH.