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Ford Escape Hybrid MPG-Real World Numbers

124

Comments

  • exbexb Member Posts: 2
    Without question my previous car (a 2002 Ford Focus) got poorer mileage in the winter. I tracked the mileage on the Focus the way I track the mileage on the Escape. My hope was that hybrid power would somehow improve winter mileage, too. This week I got a pleasant surprise. When the windows started to fog up, instead of running the defroster, l set the temperature control to 75 degrees on the economy setting and cranked up the fan a few notches. I was not uncomfortable and the windows stayed clear. The engine started using the HV battery sooner than it had all winter. So far I have driven 220 miles on this tank and the fuel needle is straightup at half full (or half empty depending on your outlook). The mpg reading on the panel indicates between 30 and 31. I'll know for sure at the next fill up when I make my own calculation. Here's hoping!
  • baysailorbaysailor Member Posts: 15
    All cars, both hybrid and non-hybrid, get worse milage in cold (below freezing weather. The use of ethanol & other smog-cutting additive, the longer time to get to operating temperature, and the general cruddier conditions combine to reduce your milage. My ride, a BMW, drops 10-15% in milage during the winter. My F-150 truck is 15-20%. At least it uses regular unleaded.

    So if you add the inefficiencies of cold batteries and electric motors, the need to keep the batteries, the Catconverter and the human warm, its no suprise you take another 10-15% hit in milage with the Hybrid.

    The FEH still gets better gas mileage, even cold, than the non-hybrid version of the same vehicle.
  • tomgentomgen Member Posts: 6
    Hi,

    I have had an 08 for about 8 months. I bought it in the spring, so I got the benefit of high mileage in the warm weather. I calculated between 31 & 32 mpg until the temp dropped. I live in the Chicago area and this winter has some bad cold snaps. My mileage started dropping when the temp went below 40. When the temp was hovering around 0, the mileage was down to about 25 mpg! While 25 mpg is good for an Escape being driven in the city, it is still quite a drop.

    The temp is back around 0, so the RPMs stay in the 2500 range for the 1st 30-45 min the engine is on. If the engine shuts off at a stop, it is only for about 30 secs and that is after everything has warmed up. The battery really suffers in this weather and appears to need quite a bit of changing after sitting in the cold all night. I keep my vehicle in the garage, so I can't imagine what the battery performance would be if the vehicle spent the night outdoors! The good news is that as the temp goes up, so does the battery performance. I expect my mileage to go back up when spring arrives.

    Regards,

    Tom

    P.S. I drive about 90% in the city/burbs.
  • mackrismackris Member Posts: 4
    Thanks Tom,

    This is very good to hear as I bought our 08 FEH at the end of January and have pretty much been in the 22 - 26 MPG range. I've been wondering weather I bought a lemon or not, but have been told to just wait till the weather warms up. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

    Thanks, John
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    Wow, been away to long, lots of great conversation going especially on the Cold Weather front.

    Good to see less talk about lemons when the mileage drops. When you put it in perspective though, 22-26 MPG in the winter for an Escape is still good mileage. Spring will come and mileage will go up (just when gas prices go up as well) and with every price increase you'll be smiling at the pump.

    BTW don't forget to factor in the 10,000 mile oil changes/maintenance instead of every 3 to 5. This just piles on your overall savings. :)

    Eric
  • baysailorbaysailor Member Posts: 15
    This is one area that I'm still leary about, regardless of the vehicle. Engine oil is an expendable fluid that directly impacts how long the engine will running without a rebuild. Considering all the gunk and dirt and grit contaminates that oil picks up, and the fact that when the filter gets packed up with this stuff, a blowby valve opens to keep the oil flowing, regardless of how polluted it is, makes me really skeptical of the "benefit" for 10 kmi oil benefit. I really like the truck, and the way it's put together, and I want to keep it for at least 200 kmi, as I typically do. I wouldn't put it past an unscrupulous finance group at FMC to "stretch out" the oil change intervals in order to save a couple of bucks on factory-financed service, with the long term impact of reduced engine life, especially since I don't believe the standard oil used is a full synthetic. In my mind, regular oil changes are cheap insurance for longer engine life. Same thing with engine coolant, but to a lesser degree.

    Does anyone closer to the automotive community have thoughts on this? Also does anyone know if there is any particular sensor that monitors the down-stream oil pressure from the filter, or the pressure drop thru the filter on the MMH? Would be reassuring to know. Otherwise, I'll probably stick with my own rule of oil changes every 5 kmi, regardless.

    Cheers,
    Rich
  • warlok2warlok2 Member Posts: 9
    Most wear and tear on an engine is from idling. Where the oil is not fully pumped throughout the engine cylinders compared to when the RPMs are at optimum. The hybrid, through design, does not idle anywhere near as much as a standard ICE vehicle. Thus the reduced demand for oil changes. I have a 2006 hybrid 2wd. I have had the owner's manual suggested 5k, 10, and 20k changes. No more, no less. Ford has put millions of miles on their test vehicles. Do you think they would put something in their manuals that could lead to non-support of hybrid vehicles because of engine damage? They had to get everything right with this vehicle. I think they have.

    The only problems I have had is with a low tire pressure sensor being a little too sensitive in the winter time when its <40 degrees outside.
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    I agree, the book says you can go 10K (depending on driving conditions). I have always followed the stated recommendations in my manuals for oil change intervals and have had no problems. My '98 Ford Windstar has close to 170,000 miles on it by following the manuals recommendations.

    I do periodically do a visual inspection of the oil and so far it looks good (I know looks can be deceiving) but if I saw contamination or a serious degradation in the appearance I would change it sooner.

    With my Windstar I typically go to those Quick change sites, but the Hybrid I do take to the dealer (doesn't cost much more but does take longer) but I figure the certified tech gets to look at it each time it comes in and more time than not he's tweaked something that has helped optimize performance (I guess I'm lucky on that front). :D
  • girimurthygirimurthy Member Posts: 2
    I have a quick question about the MPG shown in the car and the actual mileage I get by hand calculation.

    In the below table the Avg. MPG is my hand calculation and the Given MPG is from the car. I reset all of them everytime I refuel. Why is there a difference between what is shown and the actual? Is there anything I am doing wrong?

    Mileage Between Filing------------Gals filled------Avg. MPG---------Given MPG
    401-------------------------------------------14.5-----------27.65517241--------- ----28
    465.4----------------------------------------13.609--------34.19795723----------- --34.8
    470.9----------------------------------------13.656--------34.48301113----------- --36
    448.5----------------------------------------13.721--------32.68712193----------- --34.7
  • mecheng1mecheng1 Member Posts: 161
    This phenomenon is well documented by many FEH owners (as well as owners of other vehicles from other mfrs). Your numbers are the most accurate...especially if you fill up at the same pump every time. The slightly higher mpg reported by the vehicle has to do with how the software is designed - Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) and such. I am not as concerned with an absolute number so I use the vehicle's numbers to compare tank-to-tank on a relative basis. :D
  • bjcarterbjcarter Member Posts: 28
    Fifty something dollars every 500miles isn't bad in the current market especially for a decent sized vehicle...
  • softpedalsoftpedal Member Posts: 12
    Just did a 300 mile trip from SoCal Pacific coast into Anza-Borrego desert interior crossing two mountains, and back again. Averaged 33.2 mpg on this journey, starting from about 27 mpg from just driving around OC traffic, mostly short hops. Not too bad from a 2 1/2 year old 2006 AWD FE Hybrid, with about 23K miles on it. The trick to keep decent mpg on long trips is to 'glide' rather than power full throttle. It makes for a nice driving experience too, not shy of going full speed limit, or over 70 either. Nice little SUV 4X4 wheeling in desert sandtracks too, at times outside GPS range. Fun!. :shades:
  • richquickrichquick Member Posts: 1
    Dear mackris,

    I am considering a new FEH and have wondered how the tax credit works. Can you give me some information about that?

    :)
  • mikesbamikesba Member Posts: 3
    It's fairly simple. You can find out from the IRS website, the current $$ amount of the Tax Credit. The credit is available only for a certain number of Ford escape Hybrids (for the 2007, the credit lasted until Ford sold 60K FEH's).

    It is a Tax credit available only in the tax year of purchase. If you end up with little or no taxable income, then the credit isn't applicable for a refund or to use the next tax year. I found out the hard way....lol.

    I bought my '07 FEH in July 2006. My credit was available for for my 2006 Tax Return and not in 2007.

    I would keep checking the IRS website for Official Memo's which it issues at intervals to confirm the $$ amounts of the various auto credits and the number of vehicles each manufacturer has reported as sold for each model year.

    Good luck
  • supercub43supercub43 Member Posts: 6
    I bought my 07 2 wheel FEH a year ago........during last summer the mpg settled in at around 36.2 and then during the winter dropped to about 34.2. In the last few weeks, it has steadily climbed and now is about 37.1.........I've seen as high as 37.2 I've doubled checked the figures when I fuel up and on average are very similar. It's the only car I own, besides an RV, by the way, I tow my FEH behind my RV and works great. I drive it to work 5 days a week and it's a round trip of about 65 miles, of which 15 or so are in town, and the rest freeway. I typically cruise at 60-62 mph on the freeway.......in the right lane with the truckers......put the cruise on, and relax.....no fighting traffic. In the first year, I've driven 20,000 miles, and I love the car......not one thing has had to be fixed on it.
  • jimt2jimt2 Member Posts: 7
    Just had it 2 weeks so far- so its not 'broken in yet'- I drive from suburban nj to new york city or to bus or train stops daily. Its a mix of city and hilly highway. So far I have averaged 26 -27MPG. That is what I expected and better than my Honda CRV by 5MPG and better than the regular V6 Escape.... So I am happy with it.
    I went a week and used 1/2 tank of gas. My CRV, 1 week- 3/4 of a tank...
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "Just had it 2 weeks so far- so its not 'broken in yet'- I drive from suburban nj to new york city or to bus or train stops daily. Its a mix of city and hilly highway. "

    Is yours AWD or FWD?
  • rnargrnarg Member Posts: 27
    I have quit spending so much time and attention driving my FEH AWD like a turtle for better gas mileage. I have owned and been driving it for 7 months now, and it currently has just turned 6000 miles. For about the 1st 3-4 months average mileage was up and down but has now seemed to level off at 29 MPG. I have had no problems with the vehicle or the dealership where I ordered. I now drive as I do my conventional vehicles, EXCEPT for one thing,---------when applying pressure to your accelerator try to imagine that you have an egg (uncooked, still in the shell) between the bottom of your shoe and the accelerator, and apply pressure accordingly. This is also a good method to use for better gas mileage in conventionally powered autos.

    One observation made while purposely driving my hybrid to get good mileage is that most of the other jerks on the road drive as though they must get to the speed limit as fast as possible ------in other words, get to each red traffic light before I do, and guess what, they in fact do, and they beat me to each light by about .001 of a second.

    Drive your vehicle diligently, but don't go overboard trying to pay too much attention to too many methods of squeezing out more mileage. Your time will be better spent paying attention to your tire pressures and most of all to driving with safety in mind. Drive diligently and your vehicle will eventually average reasonable miles per gallon (Enjoy driving your hybrid , don't make it a chore)

    Also, if for what ever reason your mileage drops 3-4 miles per gallon less than what is advertised, and that's the only thing you can find "wrong" with your vehicle, don't declare your vehicle to be a "lemon" like some have done in these FEH forum subjects. Those who consider their vehicle a "lemon" because of a drop (significant or otherwise) in gas mileage simply have no idea what the meaning of "lemon"is when it comes to automobiles.------Don't panic, it will eventually get better.
  • tomgentomgen Member Posts: 6
    Hi,

    I am the original poster of this message. It's spring and excellent mileage has returned! It's back in the 32 MPG range again for nearly all city driving. :)

    Regards,

    Tom
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "I have quit spending so much time and attention driving my FEH AWD like a turtle for better gas mileage. "

    I don't do it for the MPG - it is fun, and part of the challenge is NOT to impede traffic. I don't always accelerate like a turtle. At this point I'm still experimenting with the proper way to increase MPG. I don't use any of the "extreme" tricks listed on "hypermiler' sites. So far it appears to me that the FEH has to be driven carefully, and that the best performance depends upon the SOC (state of charge) of the battery. I am finding that the charge level of the battery when accelerating calls for differing approaches. I can't be more specific because I'm still gathering experience and data.

    I have 750 miles on the vehicle, and so far I'm right at 30 MPG, about 90% city. I have a 2008 FEH AWD. I expect to do a bit better once the engine breaks in.

    29 MPG is respectable, I'm assuming you are driving an AWD?
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    I got my vehicle July of 2007.
    I get 35-37 MPG. This is driving mostly to/from work every day, about 25 miles each way. The trip is mostly city, with a small stretch where I can go about 50 mph.
    I was surprised how little difference there was during the summer when I ran AC a lot, compared to the winter where it never runs.
    In the summer I got closer to 35 MPG.
  • gjandtjsmomgjandtjsmom Member Posts: 1
    I received this email from a local dealer:

    Thank you for your interest in the Hybrid Escape. Unfortunately, they are in very, very short supply. There are only 6 in the state of Florida . We are out of them and don't for see any coming in due to the fact that Ford is shipping 95% of them to the West coast of the U.S.
    Because the air conditioning in them requires the gas part of the engine to be running for it to work, you don't get the benefit of the Hybrid engine because we have to run A/C here in Florida all the time, where is California and Washington, you don't.
    Ford feels that the best use of the vehicle will be in those climates and not the southeast so that is why there are none available. Dealers that do have one left from earlier in the year are asking over the sticker for them!
    You would be better off with just the regular 4 cylinder model if you are concerned about fuel economy. --

    Would love to hear from FL drivers with an Escape Hybrid.
    Thanks!
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    Interesting. I live in Tucson, AZ, and run the AC a LOT. I got my FEH last July and ran the AC all the way through October. I got about 35 MPG during that time. During this winter season, I've been getting about 37MPG. I was amazed that there wasn't too much of a difference, but I think it has something to do with the heated air vs. the cooler air as well. Either way, it does great in the summer with AC.
    So, unless you're a total psycho driver who has to floor it when the light turns green and slam on the brakes at the last minute when the light is red, you'll see a benefit from the hybrid in the summer too.
    I wonder how those Florida statistics were calculated. Obviously not from reality.
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    Well I've been driving mine since 2005. In fact I went to a Ford Road Show in Orlando to test drive one in 2004, went back to Stuart, FL (2 hours South on the East Coast) and put in an order for one. They ran out of 2005 models and I got a 2006 in May of 2005 (second one in town, a Former Ford Exec living here got one of the last 2005 models).

    Is it worth it in Summer, YES. I still get decent MPG and don't have to trade off to a 4 cylinder. So I don't get the 36 MPG high's that I sometimes hit in Winter and end up hovering more around 32. I still haul a lot of stuff and with over 50,000 miles on the vehicle I love it.

    Here's the scoop so you can decide. If you drive mostly to and from work during the morning,evening, you'll be fine- expect good milage if the drive is 15 minutes or longer (engine has to warm up for best efficiency). If you go out driving during the heat day, say out to lunch or off on to job sites (which is what I often do) it will depend upon the speed at which you are driving. With the air set to the economy mode, the gas engine will usually shut down below 30, like heavy traffic or a stop light. At this point if you have not been driving for a while to cool down the interior, it can get warm fairly fast. Since most stop lights are around 2 to 4 minutes in duration, I usually give it a couple minutes, if it gets two warm a quick flick of a switch and the gas engine starts and I have air conditioning. Remember when you start to drive almost everytime the gas engine will start so you get air anyway. So it's no big deal with the heat, it's manegable and I still remember the days living in Florida when my car didn't have A/C. MPG isn't killed unless you are at stop lights all the time and are running the Gas engine at the same time.

    Basically right now most hybrids are in short supply and the dealers know it. Maybe Ford is shipping more to California and the NorthWest as the climate there is optimum for the vehicle, but it by no means fails in the hot humid SouthEast. Do the math, if you hang onto your vehicles for long enough and you know gas prices will always go up, the premium may get paid off sooner than you think (mine did).
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    Short simple article. Too bad most people can't figure this out:

    http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/579/
  • baysailorbaysailor Member Posts: 15
    The dealer is making excuses, and poor ones at that. Yes, the models are in short supply, and you may have to dig around for either an Escape or a Mariner, but I highly doubt that Ford's distribution is based on such a hair-brained consideration. As you will see with other posts on this site, the impact of A/C while driving is very small. Driver performance has a much bigger impact, which is why I can get 35 mpg regularly, and my wife only gets 31 on the same car, covering the same route. I shut up after "trying to help" got me "the look."

    My bet is the dealer is at the bottom of the sales performance list, and he's not getting any, or he can't sell the conventional Escapes he'll need to take for every hybrid he gets.

    Keep looking, they're out there.
  • jimt2jimt2 Member Posts: 7
    I have an AWD. Have gotten between 25 and 30 MPG depending upon traffic. Less traffic- lower milage....
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    We took a trip 2 weeks ago from Tucson, AZ to Omaha, NE. After reaching Omaha, the MPG reading was around 33. After returning to Tucson, it was 31.1. This would indicate the return mileage was around 30MPG. I'm not sure why it was lower on the return trip. It might have been due to a different return path, different gas octane, or the elevation increase on the return trip. Total miles driven was 3292. In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, there were times when we were driving up hill, 70MPH, with the AC running. The RPM of the engine would sometimes reach 5500. According to Ford, this is within normal operating range.
    Overall, I thought it performed quite well on the trip!
  • baysailorbaysailor Member Posts: 15
    There are too many variables to pin down a single reason, although elevation would be a big part of it, since the last time I checked Tucson is much more mountainous than Omaha. The engine revving to 5500 RPM is certainly in the operating range but should be an indication that the truck is running really hard. You may want to try different driving styles in a situation like that and just back off the power to ~3000 RPM and let your speed drop off, you'll save a bunch of fuel that way. In hilly sections I disconnect the speed control and drive manually, letting the speed drop off on the hills and ensuring that you get a full head of steam up going down the other side. You don't get to you destination noticably slower, and you allow the truck to deliver it's potential 33+ MPG on the road.

    Cheers,
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    I guess it was just nice not having to be manually adjusting my speed throughout the mountainous area. It would only jump to 5500 for maybe 5 seconds, so it wasn't too bad. Curious that the tac doesn't have a 'red zone' for RPM.
    On a related note, it would be nice if there were a sort of 'cruise control' that was based off RPM as well. So, one could set the speed at 60, and the RPM to a max of 4500. Then, if RPM reaches 4500, the speed is automatically decreased.

    As I'm driving with the CVRT, I can't help but wonder what other peoples' standard transmissions are doing. I see these little 4 cylinder Toyotas, going up the hills, and I'm thinking that car must be in 2nd gear at 6000RPM to make that climb. Don't people care when their standard transmissions are constantly shifting in/out of overdrive on such terrains?
  • 2manymiles2manymiles Member Posts: 1
    Hello group,
    My wife and I are considering a new 08 FEH. Wife drives the mileage in the subject line annually. A majority of the mileage is highway. Do any of you good people out there drive a lot of highway miles?? If so, what kind of MPG are you getting??

    I live in CA, the central valley. Hi temps in the 100's, lows in the 30's. The highway mileage is Hwy 99 through I5 into Los Angeles.
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    I drive about 50 miles/day round trip to/from work. It's about half city half highway (highway only about 55MPH though). In the winter I was getting 37MPG, and in summer closer to 33.
    You drive 70-100 miles per day? I'd say you're a good candidate.
    However, to get the most benefit-- you can't be a psycho driver.
    Here is a good article to explain how to get great mileage:

    How to get good mileage
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "My wife and I are considering a new 08 FEH. Wife drives the mileage in the subject line annually. A majority of the mileage is highway. Do any of you good people out there drive a lot of highway miles?? If so, what kind of MPG are you getting??

    I live in CA, the central valley. Hi temps in the 100's, lows in the 30's. The highway mileage is Hwy 99 through I5 into Los Angeles. "

    Ouch, you are going over the Grapevine!

    If you NEED an SUV, the the FEH will probably get the best mileage, but I'm not sure about those elevation changes. It might be better (for similar MPG) to get a Honda CR-V, which is considerably cheaper. If you can keep the speed down to about 65, the FEH will probably yield 30 MPG, while the CR-V might yield 28 MPH.

    The reason I hesitate is that the FEH cannot do too much to increase MPG on the road, and hills can really hit the MPG unless you are willing to slow on the uphill and go faster on the downhill. If you set the cruise control it will drag down the MPG.

    If you can get by with a smaller car, then a HCH or Prius will yield very good mileage, probably around 42 - 45 MPG at those same speed (maybe more). But you might also consider a small car like the Honda Fit, which will yield 38 MPG or so over that route - at a CONSIDERABLY lower cost (around 10K lower).
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    2008 FEH, AWD. No cross bars on the roof rack, side steps installed.

    LA to Solvang, CA. The trip involved a lot of hills at either end of the journey. On the way up to Solvang I registered 33.3 MPG on the freeway. Then we went uphill in a MAJOR WAY for about 20 miles and I ended up at 31. On the trip back to LA it was at 32 MPG when we hit the big hill at Camarillo CA (about 6% grade for maybe six miles). The FEH went down to 31.2! The engine was wound up to 4K for several minutes.

    By the time I got back to LA, the mileage was back to 32. I have tooled around town for the rest of this tank and am just about ready to fill up, and the mileage meter is back up to 32.4.

    My mileage meter is generally about .5 MPG too high, so subtract that from the above totals.

    I was travelling at 65 MPH on the freeways, about 50 MPH on the secondary roads (but the big uphill going to Solvang was around 40 MPH due to the twisting road and posted limits).
  • cjcarlbergcjcarlberg Member Posts: 1
    Thank goodness others are experiencing the same things. For those of us who aren't in the auto industry and who only came upon the internet about 10 - 15 years ago, we weren't aware about the loss of mileage in the winter. And since none of the documentation that comes with the car mentions it, I thought something had gone wrong with my car.

    2008 FEH front wheel drive. started out at about 30 - 32 and am now at about 25 - 27mpg. I was really bummed out. I worked so hard to drive well and it never got better.

    One thing I notice, however, is that I can't for the life of me get the car to run on electric for more than a few hundred yards. This makes the last mile of driving impossible to stay elec to maintain max performance. It's also hard to keep on battery going faster than 20 MPH or so. I have worked really hard at this and still come up empty. Any thoughts? I do teh tap tap down shift to kick into elec. I do the slow accel and L gear braking. Yet no such luck. Can't seem to beat 32 average, even in best of circumstances. That's with no radio or AC either. And I drive 60 now.
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    It Tucson it doesn't get that cold, but I noticed a drop in mileage as well. During the winter months when the temperatures were in the upper 30s, I was getting about 30-32MPG. The best mileage I get is in the spring and fall-- about 36MPG. In summer it's about 33MPG, with the AC running a lot.
    It REALLY makes a difference how you drive, too. Most people are very very very very bad at math, and insist on flooring it when the light turns green, and accelerating right up to the red light and slam the breaks. It's amazing. If I had to guess, I'd say about 8/10 people drive this way. This is a good article which seems to hold true for me:

    ====> Drive Smart
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    Don't give up on it. Believe me when I say that I could have written word for word what you said about not being able to get the electric to run more than a few hundred yards or to keep the electric running over 20MPH.

    4 years later I don't even think about it and easily run on electric to 30MPH plus, and run on home that last mile on electric. It jst sort of grows on you, one day there is that aha moment and it works.

    Model: 2006 (received delivery April 2005), Millage 69K+, Still Smiling every time I go to the pump.
  • fehinjuneaufehinjuneau Member Posts: 1
    We bought the FEH 4WD as a meter reading vehicle at the electric utility. It now has 10,000 miles in 10 months and has averaged 19.4 m/g. The first 2 fillups hit 28mpg then it dropped to 20mpg over the newt few fillups. It usually gets 19-20 with a few 22s, a lot of 18s. The worst was 11mpg and a few 15s. Yes, this is Alaska and it can occasionally get cold in winter (35F avg). It is stored outside. We have limited roads and usually won't get to 55mph for more than 2-3 miles because of stop lights. As a meter vehicle it sees a lot of starts and stops but usually stays under 30mph when reading. It sees about 50 miles in a day. Is this the best we can hope for? We also have a Merc Mariner V6 and it is getting 19 life average but it is more of a commuter, not a reader. Any insight to the low mpg would be appreciated.
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "Any insight to the low mpg would be appreciated. "

    You are reading meters, which means VERY short trips, continuously through the day? That is the absolute worst scenario for MPG. The FEH gets its higher MPG by various means, but one of the better boosts to the MPG is when the vehicle is either cruising at around 40 - 45 MPG or else decelerating after a decent interval at speed. Both scenarios match traffic patterns on freeways with congestion.

    The only thing I can suggest (and I don't know if it will help) is that, if the meter readings are fairly close together in distance - AND the engine is warmed up (that is, it shuts off when you stop the vehicle), leave the FEH turned on when you check the meters. That way you won't have to restart the engine between readings. Turn off the electronics when you leave the vehicle. If you are worried about security, buy the Ford OEM keypad, which will allow you to manually lock the FEH while you are reading the meter. You then enter the number sequence to unlock the driver's door. I find that starting the engine alone reduces the MPG by about .1 MPG for each and every engine start. There are limits to what you can do in this area, because the FEH requires the water temperature to be above 155 before it will stay off; also, the State of Charge (SOC) has to be above 45 or so. There is also a temperature requirement for the catalytic converter. So if you don't use the engine between stops you may find that the engine will not shut off, for one of these various reasons. But it may help some.

    Also, you should try and be fairly gentle on the acceleration, keeping to about 1800 RPM until you reach speed, at which point you should back off of the accelerator. Time your lights so that you don't accelerate to a stop light - try and decelerate to a red light (the FEH loves slowing down to improve MPG). You might also buy a scan guage II, which will allow you to see some of the internal workings of the FEH, and may help you reduce fuel usage. For example, I keep my SGII monitoring the Throttle Position Sensor, so I know to back off of the throttle when it goes too high.
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    Wow.. that is pretty crappy. As the last poster mentioned, I'd be curious if you're starting starting it, and shutting it off manually frequently-- so frequent that you're never using the electric drive much at all. Compound that with the cold, and I could imagine it might not perform well. You said WE bought it for meter reading. Is there more than 1 person out reading meters? If so, can you leave the vehicle running? I suspect that would help a lot.
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    The previous post had some good advice. On the newer models I believe they have an economode button (mine is putting it in second gear) in either case you are changing the programing, The second gear thing for me means that the deceleration is much more aggressive and pumps more charge to the batteries between start and stop. Cold is an enemy for any vehicle that doesn't get properly warmed up but hybrids will have more of a problem. 10,000 miles is nothing, that's your first oil change, after which I did start getting better milage. Last option, change roles of the 2 vehicles, make the Mariner the meter reader and for the FEH the commuter. Just like you wouldn't have a Mustang pull a boat, a hybrid in cold, start, stop very short drives isn't a good match either. Wish I could offer more encouragement.

    Eric
    2006 FEH Purchased April/May 2005 69.553 Miles Avg MPG 32.4
  • escapeforeverescapeforever Member Posts: 4
    I have an 06 Ford Escape with 4WD. I bought it used with 65,000 a year ago. Now it has about 80,000. I live in Maine. I get an average of about 27-28 in the winter and about 32-33 in the spring/summer/fall. The most interesting thing is that if I TRY very hard to improve the mileage (babying it to stay in electric mode, for instance) I generally get WORSE mileage, than just letting the car's electronics figure it out. That's been a shocker. The best I ever got was 35.3 and the worst about 25. I love the vehicle and would do another in a heartbeat.
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    Great to hear, I love mine as well. To bad this message area seems to be dieing out as it would be great to here more from the Hybrid Escape owners. The new ones are so much nicer than the original ones. I did get to test drive a Fusion Hybrid when they first started shipping them. My salesman watched me walk around the car a dozen time drooling before I got my senses back and said not yet. That is one nice looking and great driving car.
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "Great to hear, I love mine as well. To bad this message area seems to be dieing out as it would be great to here more from the Hybrid Escape owners. The new ones are so much nicer than the original ones."

    I'm still enjoying my 2008. My lifetime MPG is just under 30; for some reason the MPG went down this past spring. But it is now going back up to around 31 per tank (calculated, not the FEH computer reading). If you haven't gotten a scan guage II yet, that would be a good investment. I'm using TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) to get better MPG, as well as monitoring the instant MPG, state of charge (SOC), and the calculated water temperature. The combination of SOC and H2O temp tells me if the vehicle is capable of electric only mode.

    But monitoring the TPS is what has gotten my MPG back up from around 29 to around 31.
  • videoguy1videoguy1 Member Posts: 2
    Hi, All !

    I'm seeking to find a realistic mpg figure on this (I'm looking to buy a 2008) before I spend the money, and I cannot get Ford to help project it. Maybe someone can tell me as accurately as possible!

    I need to make a change from my Explorer E.B., which has everything and I love, but it only gets 17-22 mpg (city / highway). I'll be getting married, and due to economics will need to be living 50 miles from my office (100 per day), about equal city and highway. And, I do need something that size, at the smallest.

    BUT here's the kicker that I need to determine. In addition to myself, I will ALWAYS need to be carrying about 250 pounds of my equipment, and in addition, I live in Texas and will almost always need to run the AC.

    Anyone have lots of "real" experience with a very similar circumstance? With the factory recommendations saying not to use the AC and not carry extra weight (literally, not even a "bike rack"), that sure raises a flag! If my situation is going to knock it down to 25 MPG, it may not be worth spending the money, only to gain 5 MPG.

    Thanks so much!!
  • softpedalsoftpedal Member Posts: 12
    About 'realistic' MPG for FE Hybrid carrying extra load, maybe this will be helpful.

    Last summer, my wife and I drove our (2006) FEH 4WD cross country from LA to NY, loaded with us and our luggage, and we averaged about 30 MPG overall. We also traversed ALL of Texas from El Paso to Dallas, to Texarkana, summertime July hot hot hot, so our aircon was on most of the way, and our mileage did not suffer much. My experience is that in steady highway driving with aircon, my mpg drops about 2, (worse in city traffic if aircon is on max). But after 8,257 miles across the country and back, we were generally very happy with our fuel bill, which worked out to be a little over $750 total. The car's performance was flawless!

    Hope this helps. Good driving if you get one. :)
  • ekiehnekiehn Member Posts: 33
    I have a 2006 FEH, has about 78,000 miles on it live in South Florida and end up driving with Air on almost all the time. Here is my real life experience.

    Fully loaded vehicle with 3 people (2 of which total around 250+lbs) fully packed back end, car topper fully loaded, bike rack on the back, traveling up and down I-95 to Georgia, South Carolina, fairly heavy on the pedal I get around 27MPG.

    Closer to home, much more similar to what you want to drive, typical milage is around 29 to 30MPG.

    Slightly different driving (lacking the extended highway driving) around 32 to 33MPG.

    Note the last two options do not include the Car topper or Bike Rack or people but often the back loaded but probably not 250lbs.

    Overall it's always a balance, if I am conservative on the highway and keep in the 75 to 80 MPH range I can keep it in the 29 to 30MPG range, so if I'm feeling cheap, I drive more conservatively and hence better milage (usually less stress as well).

    Finally, don't forget to factor in the other savings, mainly in service. Per the manual I service the vehicle every 10,000 miles (in spite of what the local dealer would like to do) and so basically I pay for an oil change ($20) and occasionally an oil change and air filter ($60) and so far 2 tires (the other 2 are now due for replacement ($210 or so). So my total maintenance for the vehicle over 4.5 years has been around $390 not counting wiper blades :)

    Also have saved a lot of money at the gas pump over that same time.

    I love the vehicle and will buy another once I wear this one out (if I ever do).
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    A few months ago we drove from Tucson to southern Utah in our 2008 FEH. A lot of this is pretty hilly. My average MPG was 32.5. I drive about 50 miles/day total going to work and back, and my average for that changes with the seasons. In Fall and Spring it's about 36; in Winter and Summer it's about 33.
    It really does matter how you drive, too. If you're a psycho driver who has to floor it when the light turns green and all the way up to the next red light, your mileage will suffer as well.
  • videoguy1videoguy1 Member Posts: 2
    Hey, softpedal, ekiehn, and joseph85750 !!

    YES, all 3 of you did VERY comprehensively address my specific questions, with excellent responses, and yes, it did help! So, thanks!!!

    Based on the EPA numbers and some of the earlier comments made by others in general (about their mpg problems, not getting nearly what they expected), I'm actually a little surprised that you 3 are getting that much with the weight and AC on, but if that's the case, I'm glad to hear it, and it would probably still pay to make the switch! (And, actually, no, I'm not a maniac off the line----those hotrodding aports car years are over at this stage!!!!!) (-:

    Once again, I really appreciate the time you took to write all that out in such a full, descriptive manner!!!! Happy cruisin' to y'all too!!!!

    Enjoy,
    Les
  • joseph85750joseph85750 Member Posts: 22
    Glad to help! Here's another article I forward to people interested in improving their mileage (and driving safer):

    http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/579/
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