Help with battery question, just bought a new Energi

[Scott Tran]

Hi everyone, I just picked up my new 2013 Fusion Energi titanium a couple days ago.  I love the car so far but have a concern and question about the battery charge.

 

I know on a full charge the battery is suppose to give you 21 electric miles.  The problem is that when I start the car it only shows that I have 17 available. This is after a "full" charge of about 9 hours or more.  Did anyone else have this problem?  I'm hoping it is just a glitch, break in period, or something and there is nothing wrong already.

 

Thanks ahead for any help/advice.

[TX NRG]

Try making sure Automatic Climate control and AC are off and adjust fan speed down and temperature up to turn AC compressor off. It doesn't turn off when you just turn the AC button off (there are threads about that). Turning off the AC compressor can change my starting estimated EV miles by 3-6 miles instantly.

 

The EV range is calculated based on current load and recent driving efficiency history. When new, we tend to sit with the vehicle idling, maybe the AC is on, trying out all the cool tech toys and showing others our new car. Not the most efficient use of the EV charge. The computer uses a 'past history is an indicator of future results' type of algorithm for the projected EV range in miles. You should gradually see the range go up past 21 miles over the next few days of regular use as it gets more regular miles on it. If after a week or so it's still on 17 miles fully charged, and the blue battery isn't charged to the top, then ask your dealer to check it out.

 

Enjoy your car, and welcome to the forum. There is a wealth of information here to reference and many helpful people.

[Russael]

Hello, and welcome to the forums.

 

To reinforce what TX NRG indicated, when I first got my ride, it didn't give me much in terms of mileage either.  I think I was at 18 the first day, 23 the next, and after about a week, I got up to about 28.  It takes the car some time to learn how you drive, what your commute looks like, where your destinations are, etc.  It will eventually re-estimate what your battery range is after about a week of daily driving, and it should exceed 21 unless you take the car on the expressway.  Higher speed travel chews through the battery pretty quick (faster you go, more energy required, etc).  If you do expressway travel, unless your speedy commute is brief, most of us will encourage the usage of 'EV Later' mode, which puts the car back to Hybrid mode (it'll float the battery charge where you last left it, even if you see the estimated range change) and use EV Auto or EV Now for city commuting.  I have found that the car is most happy, while in EV mode, to be at 40MPH or less.  I currently have a 33 mile estimated range (realistically, I've gotten up to 27 out of it).  My round trip commute to the office is 10.6 miles, all surface streets.

 

I am an individual who doesn't use climate during the summer months.  Or if I do, it's because it's raining and unbearably hot and humid.  Enabling A/C on the car will reduce your estimated EV range by 5 to 7 miles.  Pre-conditioning your car can help lessen that impact a bit through the usage of Go Times or using the remote start feature, and you can help keep the A/C efficiency higher by using recirculation mode.  Since we're also heading toward the colder months, the heater will also reduce your EV range by about the same since that is electrically driven.  I really dislike cold, so I will definitely be using the heater a lot. :)

 

You can increase your range through a significant change in driving habits too.  The best way I can describe in terms of driving this car to maximize range is to drive it as if it's the middle of winter and it just snowed.  Accelerate slowly and smoothly, brake steadily and smoothly, and watch your top speed.  You CAN drive this car just like any other without worrying about efficiency, but let's face it... I'm assuming you got a Fusion Energi because you're concerned with efficiency.  There is a driving coach that you can bring up in your left screen by going to Fuel Economy and Driving Coach.  The more you can fill those bars, the more range you're going to get.  The easiest ones to control is acceleration and top speed.  Braking, unless you've memorized your route and know when the lights are going to change, is a little more difficult to manage.  Another thing you can do, if you got the navigation system, is have the car show you an 'eco route' to your destination.  I believe it analyzes the top speed of each road, how many intersections you may need to cross, etc, and picks the most efficient one.

 

Hopefully that wall of text will give you some ideas on how to drive more efficiently and increase the range of the battery pack.

[Depauwler]

Yeah, basically what they said.  The car learns how you drive and, if you drive well, will adjust the estimated mileage accordingly.  The 21 is just what they can claim.  It'll be different depending on the driver and the conditions.  I usually see 30 without A/C.

[Scott Tran]

Wow, thanks so much for the helpful information.  I wish my salesman told me what to expect and was more infomative.  Over the past day I looked over many of the posts here and learned a lot just from that.  It seems like the right place to be if your an Energi owner.  I love all the cool gadets to play with and the coaching, effeciency leaves, etc.. Its funny how just over the few days I'm braking much smoother trying to acheive 100% energy return.  This is my first electric car and I must say I really enjoy it so far.  Kudos to Ford!

 

Thanks again for the help on this topic, it saved me from having to call Ford.

[easyv]

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the world of PHEVs! (that's plug in hybrids electric vehicles)

 

IF you really want to get the most out of you Fusion Energi, you need to educate yourself about the car. A good place to start are the Ford Owner videos on You tube

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/fordowner/videos

 

Also, don't forget that you probably just earned your self a federal tax break, as well as possibly a state one....

[mdNergi]

The outside weather also seems to affect the projected range of the HVB. Today morning it was a bit chilly out here (low fifties maybe) and the battery range had reduced by 2-3 miles from what I usually see.

[shaggy314]

You also have to keep in mind that Ford sells a lot of Trucks and not a lot of PHEVs, so you can excuse your salesman for keying in on the 98% of his business. I was constantly giving my salesman selling points and facts that he hadn't picked up. Heck I had to show him the MFT iOS app. Even the big dealer I bought form was selling 3-4 a month at best, I'm jsut happy they wanted to be an EV dealer so they have a public facing charger I stop at form time to time. >:-)

[murphy]

My dealer has a public facing charger but they always have cars parked in front of it so it isn't available. 

Ford said they had to install it but didn't say they had to let anyone use it.

[markb]

It is important to understand regenerative braking.  Think of it as two braking systems with a computer controlling which to use.  If you apply the brakes gently and smoothly you will be using just regenerative braking (which is running the electric motor in reverse so it becomes a generator which, of course, slows the car down).  The generated energy recharges the battery.   If you apply the brakes harder you are using the traditional brakes or maybe both but not as good.  

 

You really need to think about this so, for example, suppose you are coming down an incline and you need to slow down as is often the case because there is a stop light at the bottom or you just don't want to go too fast.  Apply the brakes GENTLY and keep them applied the whole way down.  I know you were taught not to "ride" the brakes but that doesn't apply here with gentle braking and it will generate a surprising amount of energy, you may even see your estimated distance go up.

[ChuckJ]

Hi everyone, I just picked up my new 2013 Fusion Energi titanium a couple days ago.  I love the car so far but have a concern and question about the battery charge.

 

I know on a full charge the battery is suppose to give you 21 electric miles.  The problem is that when I start the car it only shows that I have 17 available. This is after a "full" charge of about 9 hours or more.  Did anyone else have this problem?  I'm hoping it is just a glitch, break in period, or something and there is nothing wrong already.

 

Thanks ahead for any help/advice.

After a week or so of driving, re-set your lifetime and you'll see it go up as it's based on past history and at the beginning you tend to sit with it idling checking things out.

 

ChuckJ

[mdNergi]

Should the estimated driving range matter? Afterall its just an estimate based on historical and current usage data. A fully charged HVB has the same capacity (after few charge cycles for the initial break in), Drive in a manner to get most out of the battery and you will automatically get the best range. Not having a range anxiety is the best part.  :)  Enjoy the ride..  :shift: