howardbc

Thanks, everyone, for the great feedback. I turned on the enhanced option for Trip2 and I can already tell that it is really going to be very informative. Today I drove 32.7 miles - of which 25.7 were EV miles. Yes, I can get all that info later if I feel like using My Ford Mobile and my calculator, but using the trip meter is much better. I will note the daily trip statistics for maybe a month and then do an average for how far I normally drive every day and for how many of those miles are EV. I can't find that kind of info anywhere else, can I? Thanks again.

I received the same letter. Safety Recall Notice 14S21 / NHTSA Recall 14V-597. It refers to "restraints control module." Why can't they use laymen's English? Is that the seat belts? An airbag restrains you but not like the seat belts. I thought the Tanaka airbag recall didn't apply to our cars. Am I incorrect? I'm hoping our helpful Ford moderators will give us the straight scoop on this. Thanks.

I tried using the Trip2 trip meter yesterday and would love to get some tips or feedback from other owners of the 2013 FFE on their experiences with the trip meters. It wasn't super easy to find/activate the trip meters, to begin with. I tried using a Voice Command like "Trip meter," but that didn't work. I eventually found it just by pressing the buttons on the left side of the steering wheel. But is there a simple voice command to turn one of the two trip meters on/off? Then I looked in my owner's manual and was again so disappointed at how hard it is to find anything in it. In the Index at the back of the manual is where one should be able to find anything, but as I've already learned, this is not the case in our owner's manual. So I spent a lot of time looking through the whole manual until I found just a page or two about the trip meters. Really not much help. I know I can do a Search in the on-line manual but I've found it to be difficult to access and save. I was able to use Trip2 for a bit but am wondering what the best setting is for the trip meter(s) so that one can also see other important things. It still showed me my MPG(s) when I turned off the car, so that was good. I mainly want to use the trip meter so I can get an idea of how far I go using the initial battery charge. I know I can look that up on-line after I get home, but thought using a trip meter should give me instant numbers. By the way, I usually use EV Auto. Thanks for any tips or feedback.

hi, dlb92. What year Ford Fusion Energi do you have? Is it the Titanium or the SE model? I have a 2013 Titanium FFE. It has the sensors that will make quite a loud beep if I parked too close to something, or when I'm first backing out of my garage. I can't even recall my car making any sounds at all when I press the "On" button except maybe a low whirring/groaning sound coming from under the hood. Also when I first put the car in Drive, I have sometimes gotten the rolling chime warning sound and a pop-up saying the front sensor needs to be cleaned (even though it doesn't). When you hear the loud piercing beep, is there an accompanying pop-up on your display? There are a lot of really knowledgeable people on this forum and I bet one of them will know what you're describing.

Before I bought my 2013 FFE, I was talking to a handyman who is also an electrician. I asked him about the energy required to charge a Fusion Energi. He said it might be comparable to the energy needed to power a refrigerator or freezer in one's garage. Is this a fair comparison? I am not questioning the handyman, but I liked the comparison. Some people keep an extra refrigerator or a freezer in their garage/carport and I bet they usually don't think twice about the power it consumes. I have used this analogy when trying to educate a skeptical ICE-owner who says "Yeah, but I bet it costs a lot to charge your car." I can tell them x cents or x kilowatts, but I think the average person understands the extra fridge/freezer story better. But I'm wondering if the refrigerator or freezer would consume even more power since it is plugged in all the time - whereas a FFE is only plugged in for maybe 5-6 hours. In my case, I just use a standard 120v wall outlet. I plug my car in after 9PM. That also got me to thinking about the energy required to run a water heater. Everyone has one of those in their garage or inside their home. I know it depends on the size of the heater and the temperature setting, etc. But would, say, a 50-gallon water heater use a comparable amount of energy over a 24-hour period? I'm always trying to think of easier and better ways to explain my car.

Kybuck, you're correct of course, but I use "MPG" when talking to ICE owners because that gets their attention. If I said things in MPGe, their eyes would glaze over even faster.

But I bet your average MPG is still very impressive. The first couple of months I had my FFE, I took a 550+ mile road trip with no charging and still had an average of 68MPG. I loved watching people's jaws drop open when I would tell them. Then I reset my Lifetime Summary when I knew I wouldn't be taking another road trip any time soon. It's still a mystery to me why the general public is so negative towards plugin cars. I've just progressed to the stage where I won't spend a second trying to convince them if I catch any hostile vibes. If they don't want to save money or care about the environment, then the heck with them. It's a waste of my personal energy.

Hi, Neil. In another forum I posted that I too got a survey but mine was from Consumer Reports. They wanted to know my MPG but the form wouldn't take more than 2 digits. On the solar panels, just an FYI ... I have them and my electric bills are pretty much zero except for the 3 hottest months out here in Arizona. If you have a roof, it wouldn't hurt to talk to 2-3 companies. Basically the ROI seems to be around 7 years. I had a first bunch installed about 8 years ago and then had more put on last Spring. So my FFE runs mostly on the solar panels. I buy excess kilowatts from a company that provides wind power for an extra 2 cents per kilowatt hour. There's a company here that makes an umbrella-shaped solar panel array that one could put out on a sunny patio. I bought my rooftop solar panels for the same reason I bought the FFE - for the environment as well as to save money. Plus I have always been interested in new technology.

Since I bought my 2013 FFE in April of 2013, I have gotten a Lifetime low of 92MPG and a Lifetime high of 139MPG. That is city/town/some-highway driving. So that is an average of 115MPG. But when I just now tried to fill out a survey from Consumer Reports, it wouldn't accept a 3-digit figure for MPG! So I had to make it 99MPG. I told them I would accept a follow-up email/phone call. so hopefully I will get the chance to tell them they need to change their survey criteria for plugin hybrids. And what about for pure EVs? The survey was focused on new car window stickers and how to make them more accurate. I am very pleased with the mileage I'm getting, but I only drive around 25-45 miles each day. By the way, I just filled up the tank after 2+ months. I got 1072 miles out of my last tank and that's with the a/c blasting in Arizona's extreme Summer heat. I do also have a Lifetime brake score of 90, so I take every opportunity to coast and brake gently. It makes a huge difference.

Thanks so much, Kim. I have saved the link to that site. I guess I need to do the updates and then try everything again. I have only done an update once in the 18+ months I've had the car. It would be nice if one could get reminders when/if an update is available. Is it possible to sign up for something like this? Thanks again.

I checked with the Ford dealer close to me and was very pleased to learn that they WILL accept the Ford Ownership Advantage Rewards that were sent to me by the dealer I bought from - which is 80 miles (r/t) away. This closer dealer is also electric certified. So everyone, it wouldn't hurt to just check with the dealer you prefer to have your service done at.

Thanks, Neil. $169? Wow. I think I'll just start using my phone's map app instead. Even if I bought the new Nav version, it might be out-of-date (in many places) by the time I installed it. It's a shame the Nav system I paid for is almost obsolete, but roads, etc do change often. I go to a medical center that wasn't even built when I bought my car. It's on a road that didn't exist in 2013. It should be so easy for Nav updates to be sent wirelessly to Sync. I'd consider paying a reasonable fee to have an option like that, but it would depend on the fee, because I can always use my phone's map app.

I has taken me a long time to get comfortable with the Voice Commands. I can change the radio station very easily, and can also find an established destination (if it exists in SyncVille) okay. Thanks, Neil, for the tip about linking voice commands together. I have never been able to find anything using POI. And yes, I've tried selecting the number or option that comes up. Nothing has worked. It should be possible to just say something like "POI - Whole Foods grocery store on Mayo Boulevard at Scottsdale Road, Phoenix." It already knows my location. I guess I have gotten spoiled by the great voice tools on my iPad and on my Android phone. 'Sure wish my Windows 8 PC had something as good. It does have something but it's as difficult to use as a certain well-known "naturally-speaking" expensive product. I bought my 2013 FFE in April of 2013. Shouldn't there be an update for Navigation by now? Last time I checked I was told no. Also, when an update is available, what is the cost to load it?

My 2013 FFE has over 9k miles on it. I haven't gotten any kind of notice about it, but I was thinking that I probably should get my tires rotated and/or balanced as with a regular car. I know when I go into the dealer, they're going to try to talk me into an oil change too. We've been through this before. The service adviser seemed unaware that the FFE doesn't need an oil change for 20k miles. I don't do dirt-tracking or climb Pikes Peak. I've gotten emails that I have some kind of "Rewards" points worth around $63, so I thought I'd take it in. I'm assuming the Ford dealer closest to me will honor the Rewards points regardless of where I bought the car.

I agree. It's a very nice and unexpected to hear from a Ford rep some times. My previous car was a Toyota Prius and I never saw a post from Toyota in the 5 years I was on that forum, although maybe they have added that perk now too. So, Ford reps, you are appreciated.

I took a 2nd look at the results I got when I put my VIN # in on safercar and I don't think the airbag problem is one of the recalls for my car ... yet. But the language they use is so confusing. The 1st recall mentions "restraints control module" and "the deployable restraint systems and other systems that use inertial data from the RCM may not function as intended, increasing the risk of injury." Good grief! If the recall concerns the seat belt, why can't they just say that for the benefit of the consumer who may not have a degree from MIT. And if it's the air bag - why can't they just say so?!? Sheesh. I can understand them using technical "shop talk" for the mechanics, but they know that these recall notices are going to be read by the consumer. That being said, the whole process whereby the car manufacturer notifies the consumer about recalls is getting better. I appreciate being told something - even if I may not understand it.

I tried all day but the URL in my local newspaper was no good. When I clicked on something where I'd put in my VIN, it said the page was no good. But I kept trying different things and unfortunately it eventually came up with 3 different recalls for my 2013 FFE. Of course the descriptions must have been written by attorneys, but one sure sounds like the air bag problem. Another appears to be about the power train. I have received no notices of recall in the mail so I'm sure if I call the dealer, he will tell me to wait until I get the recall notice. 'Sure hope I don't have a wreck before then! I'd almost rather have the airbag not deploy at all than explode with sharp metal pieces that can hit one in the throat. People have died from this problem. By the way, everyone, try searching beginning with www.safercar.gov first. That's where I was finally able to find a link that let me put in my VIN #. I would appreciate any feedback on these recalls. Thanks.

Thanks, Rexracer. Glad I'm not the only one who found the FFE's horn to be hard to activate. But now that I know where it is, I will have my palm on it the next time I'm driving through a parking lot. Also good to know about the Camry's back being plastic. I guess that's true of most cars these days.

Thanks, murphy. Yes, I know the mirror pops right back into place. I wish I'd noticed it though when the other drover was saying she didn't hit me. I live in Arizona and I don't know if it's a no-fault state.

Today I was driving very slowly through a shopping mall parking lot (I had the right of way) when a woman in a Camry suddenly just backed into me! I laid on my horn as fast as I could, but she just kept coming. She definitely hit me right in the charge port area. I noticed later than part of her car had also hit my driver's side outside rear-view mirror hard enough to push it inwards. But there is no visible damage. I did get her name, number, driver's license number, and name of her insurance company. I didn't call the police and hope that wasn't a mistake. Wondering if I should report it to my insurance company, or would they count it against me, even though it was definitely not my fault. I was so shook up I forgot about things like taking a photo of things. I was just wondering if there could be any later complications due to the area around the charge port being hit. Again, there is no visible damage but it is very upsetting. I've found the horn on the 2013 FFE to be difficult to sound in an emergency like this. It's not right in the middle of the steering wheel like most cars I've ever driven. But now that I know where it is, I will try to remember that it's almost at the bottom of the steering wheel hub. Does anyone have any advice for me? Especially about any later complications. Thanks.

Thanks, Crystal. I've only got 8762 miles on the car. I know I'm not due for an oil change for a long time so maybe I'll take in just for the squeak, although it's not at the really irritating stage yet.

Thanks for the feedback. At least I feel better knowing that I am not the only one. It can't be ice since I live in the desert. And yes, it has done it for the 18 months I've had the car. I will just point it out the next time I'm at the dealer. By the way, I always do a search on this site to see if someone has already asked the same question. When nothing like it comes up, that's when I post a new topic. I hate to clutter things up but don't know what else to do. Any tips on doing a search on all forums would be appreciated. I'm very familiar with doing this on Google. I always try different key words. But as always, I really appreciate the patient and helpful feedback.

My 2013 drives like a dream, but an occasional squeaking sound coming from behind my main display screen has become more persistent, I know it's caused by something behind the display because when I press on the middle bar (has "Sony" on it), it stops. I will mention it to the Ford service tech the next time I go in to the dealer, but was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and if the dealer was able to fix it. I'm a little nervous about the whole display panel being removed because it contains so many functions. Thanks.

Almost since I first got my 2013 FFE Titanium in April of 2013, when I'm stating to drive forward after pulling out of my garage, I get a warning that I need to clean the front camera. There is the series of rolling chimes and then the small window pops up to the left of the speedometer - something to the effect that the front camera needs to be cleaned to improve visibility. Other than the built-in sensors around the front part of the body, I don't know what the system is talking about. I know there is a camera behind the rear-view mirror but it can't be reached to be cleaned, as far as I know. This warning chime/pop-up does not appear again after I've driven a few feet forward. I keep my car clean and would certainly wipe off any debris over any of the sensors or in front of the camera behind the rear-view mirror. The warning collision avoidance system works great if a car is turning in front of me and the system thinks I might not be slowing down fast enough. And all the sensors work great when I'm parking. Anyone have any thoughts as to why this "clean front camera" warning comes up almost every time I leave my garage and head out? It doesn't happen when I've already been out, parked, and then driven the car again. So it must be something triggered by the car being parked in my garage overnight. Thanks.

Thanks Murphy!