I GOT MY 2009 FEH (or MMH)

My '09 left the factory Friday so it should be here soon!

Good idea Billy!

While my youngest son (almost 17) is out of school, I may be able to have him even take pictures of my EV top speed. Maybe even pictures of the Max sidewall psi on those new Michelins. Anything anyone wants matter of fact, just ask here.

Those rear tire spoilers may work on older models also, so details may help others. We can make that happen!

I'm jumping up and down: I GOT IT! I GOT IT! Am I the first? My MMH '09 was delivered to the dealer today Monday, July 21, and low and behold, the saleman hand-delivered it tonight! We did all the financing over the phone and he brought the paperwork to sign along with the car! My husband is traveling out of town for 5 days, so this was the only way it could be done before he left town. I couldn't bare the thought of waiting until Saturday.

Saleman got here around 9 PM, so I haven't even been able to check out the color (it's silver). I will take a picture tomorrow and see if I can post it.

The dealer thinks mine really might be the first one in the country delivered and sold, but I think that would be hard to really know. Maybe Ford tracks that kind of thing.

oopss forgot to log in previous post was me

Hey GaryG,

I'm also ggirl over on another board...so I'm one in the same...

I did track with ViperPilot. It shipped out Monday 7/14 and I got it yesterday, so that was a week from factory to "in my possession." I'm in Georgia.

Cougar,funny about the dealer sticker...they dropped the "L" off of Lincoln on my sticker, so it will forever be misspelled!

Still chomping on the bit - no teeth left. Argh... Ford status shows that it has been shipped on 7-10 (on the train) thats a long time ago, and days before gehilinger's. The dealer manager says it never takes this long on the train- he made a call to his region rep and got a cryptic response about a very short "hold" on vehicles to allow for a nation wide or regional simultaneous release of the 09's or somesuch B-S .... now, I love my dealer, they have been very straight all along - but I am left now in a fog - who is the puppet here and who is holding the strings - Georgia is WAY furthur from the assembly plant than Denver -- and so is Florida, Both GaryG and I had our orders in the system way way back on the very first day it opened. Seems to me that UPS can track a package containing a fruit cake tin - better than Ford can track a $40,000 car.... I need to relax -Whoosaaaa... Yoga? Nawww, I think I will pull the cover off and go burn some pricy dino and smoke some rubber in my ole Mercury 351 Cobra Jet - Cougar XR7 convertable. It gets about 9 mpg. AND NO, it does not have a SCAN GUAGE! The object IS to burn as much gas as you can. no FAS, no Double tap, no Pulse and glide... ALL PULSE, then cram on the brakes and repeat. . (but only a few times a summer for medicinal purposes)

Happy waiting guys! I am excitied for you all... I remember how it felt when my '08 FEH came in. I'd be interested in comparing the updates between the 2 years... seems to be quite a few changes.

Hi Evlar

The heater core bypass prevents the 180 degree engine coolant from circulating within the heater core and cabin duct system. This allows the A/C and vent air to stay cool longer as it circulates in the ductwork and the cabin. In other words you take the constant heating element (heater core radiator) heat out from the cabin A/C duct system. Now when the A/C compressor is off during EV, the air stays cooler longer as the climate fan circulates the air through the duct system. Also, the outside air comes through the duct system without being heated by the heater core when you turn on the vent.

The way I bypass the heater core is so that it can be reversed in a matter of minutes to the stock installation. No cutting the factory hoses and I use the factory clamps for the bypass. Also, I don't drain the coolant when I do the bypass or undo the bypass. I catch a little coolant in a small container as I remove the heater hoses at the firewall and replace it back in the coolant system when I'm finished.

Ford knew I did the bypass because the tech reported it to them when I was having problems with relays. The tech ask me about it and he confirmed he figured that it was done to keep the A/C air cooler longer. Since the bypass had nothing to do with the problem I had with the relays, the tech said nothing about voiding any warranties. If I was having problems with the A/C, I would reverse the bypass before taking the vehicle in for repair under warranty though.

The parts I get are 2 5/8" 90 degree heater hose elbows, 2 hose clamps, 2 5/8" heater nipples to plug the heater core and a ~2" piece of heater hose. There are instructions and pictures on how to do the bypass in this forum and on CleanMPG.com.

Wow, thanks Gary and Billy. I did not know that this heater core bypass was so prevalent amongst us FEH drivers. I guess my follow up question would be... do you notice a significant difference... esp in this extreme heat? Also, if it is purely beneficial, why do you suppose Ford designed it the way that they did to begin with? Sorry if I am throwing this post off subject!

Congrats agian to all the new FEH drivers on here!

My '09 FWD FEHL arrived at the dealership this weekend which took ~9 days after it left KC. It's being flatbed from Miami up to Palm Beach Gardens so I can pick it up at 4pm today. Reviews coming soon!

Hi Evlar

Glad the heater core bypass works for you and it sounds like the operation of A/C blend door was what was causing the problem. You may want to talk to your service adviser and explain you did the bypass to see if the problem would clear up. Make them repair the blend door problem under warranty before it expires.

Yes, I love the improvements and can't wait to get it back on the road and learn to operate it. This afternoon I have a 40 mile round trip commute to compare with my '05 FEH. This should be interesting.

I got my 2009 FEH that I ordered back in April today (July 31, 2008). I ordered a 2009 FEH Limited from Maroone Ford in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

I have a problem with the display that shows the temp / phone info as it may be a bad board. Sometimes it works, and sometimes shows garbage. Already took it to the dealer and they said they will get me a new one. Vehicle had 4 miles on it at delivery.

Elctrical Outlet
Chrome Appearanc Package
Spare Wheel
Auto Headlamps
SAT Radio
NAV
Overhead console
Front License Plate Bracket
Step Bars

Thanks Paul

Yes, there are A/C lines leading to the HV battery for sure and the rear brakes are drum now.

ViperPilot is the handle a Ford representative who will give you the status of your ordered Ford vehicle if you get a VIN number from the dealer. I ask for my VIN number and my dealer gave it to me after it was assigned by Ford to my order on 5/29/08.

There is a forum at:
http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?showforum=80
where you create a thread asking ViperPilot for a tracking request of your VIN and he replies when he gets time. Right now he is on vacation and can't use Ford's computer system to look anything up. Read the rules about posting before you post a request in the proper section. You must join the Blueoval.com forum in order to post or read links like your window sticker that ViperPilot provides also. Here is the forum for the Escape/Mariner discussions:
http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?s=bf9048ff29fa7f36838d678...

flhtcui, I have been to a meeting of the Milwaukee Hybrid Group, they are a great group of people. You'll learn a lot from them.

I live in Beloit and took delivery of our 2008 FEH last September. We are planning a hybrid/eco day here in Beloit on September 6th and we're hoping to get help from the Milwaukee group to get the word out. Watch for more details.

P.S. Welcome to the (FEH) club. You're gonna love your new car.

Hi Cougar

It's hard to wipe the smile off my face when I drive my new '09. I've been doing some highway test for fuel-cut while at the same time driving my family to places. The '09 is much better than I thought it would be in many aspects.

I was discussing how to set-up the SGII to read Fuelcut designed by the inventor Ron Delong in a thread today. Here is the paste:

Maybe Carl can clear this up, but here is my take on the subject. Ron Delong set the default Fuelcut at 24 I think because the SGII would read Fuel-cut at most TPS readings at idle. This setting would give the SGII time to confirm Open-Loop so that 9,999mpg could be close to the time the fuel was cut by the PCM.

I took my idle TPS reading in "D" at decel which was 14 in my '09 FEH. Some people have suggested setting the Fuelcut on the SGII 4 above the idle TPS reading, so I set my SGII Fuelcut down to 18 from 24 the default setting. At 18, it takes about 2 seconds after decel for the SGII to display 9,999mpg and open-loop.

I've never experienced any of this in my '05 FEH, so it's weird seeing 1,100rpm's and getting 9,999mpg at the same time. If I accelerate to 50mph, I can go fuel-cut at 9,999mpg in "D" and shift to "N" and coast till I get to 40mph and go EV from there. This is like doing a key-off FAS without doing anything but letting off the gas pedal and restarting by just pressing on the accelerator. My concerns about the EV threshold being at possibly 50mph are even better with fuelcut. In effect, the '09 FEH/MMH can get the same 9,999mpg as EV from the highest speed the FEH will go.

SOMEBODY STOP ME!

Hi Cougar, Congratulation!

With all the improvements over the '08 and prior models and keeping the EPA City at 34mpg, it should be easy being a hypermiler in the '09 FEH/MMH.

My '09 has no vibrations, buzzing or noise, so this concerns me. I'm having the same problem with EV in the Econ mode also. Read the manual again and I'm going to try the Econ mode again today and see if I can get it to work. Also, I didn't get complete fuel cut with the A/C on at highway speeds, but I think that's normal at this point.

Well burnsva, did you get it?

Was everything the dealer agreed too ok? Hope so, I love my '09 FEHL. If I can help, let me know....

Great Burnsva

The FEHL works great for hypermiling on flat roads using cruise control here in So. Florida. At 40mph and below to 25mph, you can set the CC and you have auto hypermiling in and out of EV. You can get 50mpg plus by just steering the '09 FEH. If you have a strong headwind, just bump the SET - to drop one mph to go EV. You can adjust the SET plus or minus without touching the accelerator pedal to increase or decrease your speed. The computer's control of the CC is better for steady state speeds than my right foot. Who knows, someday soon we may have a Hypermiling button to push so the computer takes control of MPG. I have almost 1,500 miles on my '09 FEH and break-in improvements are already being made.

I changed to ATT and got two new iPhone 3G 16 Gig's for me and my youngest son. There great by just staying in our pockets and automatically sync to the Nav Sys. Just hit the Media button on the steering wheel and say "PHONE" then the name you want to call and it does great. My phone name as "Gary's iPhone" and the Sync system recognized it told me to enter the sync # displayed after I entered Blue Tooth ON on the phone. The iPhone has a listing for Sync and I entered the number the Nav Sys displayed. The iphone was ready to go with voice command and the Nav Sys downloaded all my contacts listed on my phone. Now I don't need to get my phone out of my pocket to make or receive calls. I don't leave the phone in the car unless I get it out to use the internet and leave it on the console.

So much to learn about Sync and the 2nd Generation Nav Sys....

Ford hasn't got the word out about the new and improved gas Escape and the dealers don't have a clue either. The sales staff I've talked too didn't know about the FE improvements in the I-4 or V6 engines and didn't know about the new 6 speed automatic that can be towed with all 4 wheels down (RV towing).

Ford may also be having trouble getting enough hybrid components because fleet sales of hybrids to Cities, Counties, state and Federal Agencies are popping up all over the Country. I have "Google Alert E-Mail" for articles written about the '09 FEH, and every day I'm seeing articles about Agencies voting to make large purchases of the FEH.

Many '09 FEH/MMH are available on dealer lots right now and if your not getting your VIN for your order, you may want to consider hunting one down like others are doing.

Big Oil is dropping the price of a barrel of oil for the coming election, despite a hurricane headed for the off shore oil fields in the Gulf. This may also slow the purchases of the smaller SUV's till after the election.

Started looking last week for a hybrid for a company vehicle, owner wanted to get a toyota camry, nice vehicle, but no trunk. I checked all the local ford and mercury dealers inventories and nobody had an 09. Called a saleman I knew and he checked the data banks and they had an 09 due in within a week that was ordered and the customer backed out. I scooped that up and expect it to arrive monday. It's a fully loaded MMH fwd with nav and sunroof. I'm driving a Toyota land cruiser right now getting 12 and 16hwy so I'm really looking forward to this.

Anonymous,
I live in Pittsburgh Pa, and I found it at a local LM dealership. I picked it up today it finally came in. WOW this thing is very nice and roomy in the front. I need to learn how to hypermile so I can hopefully get around 40mpg in the city. There are alot of hills here so if I can get posted mileage+, I'll be very happy. It'll take me a month to figure all the navy's systems. The free sirius is nice, I may have to reconsider subscribing after my free trial is over, I'll use some of the gas money I'll be saving.

Wow, I'm really enjoying this 09MMH, what a nice vehicle so far. I'm only had it three days but I'm avg 36.5mpg for about 200plus miles. Alot to learn in driving these, but it's a fun little vehicle. I got the nav/with the sirius and boy is that a nice feature, not sure if it's $20 a month nice but we'll see in six months. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the mpg over 40 in hilly Pittsburgh, but I'm going to give a shot.

If you have a copy of your purchase agreement and your order was submitted before August 1st '08, your order was "Price Protected". I would notify Ford directly and confirm your vehicle's VIN with Price Protection. Get any additional copies of Ford's opinion and take it back to the dealer and request they give you the agreed price in writing.

Also, request ViperPilot for a VIN tracking of your ordering history. See the link and Join Blueoval.com to get this information.
http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?showforum=80

Read the rules and review a few request before posting a request for tracking.

Don't threaten the dealer with any action other than requesting the original price. Post back their response here.

Good Luck

Gene, this was just posted in the Escape forum on Blueoval.com:

Dealers are under no obligation to accept x plans.
X-plan must be announced before any negotiating on a vehicle (in the rules.)
Ford can allow price protection on retail orders (and usually does.)
Ford can pass price increases to dealers on retial orders without any price protection (as they did in 2005 on the FEH.)
Dealers know what their allocation is on highly controlled vehicles.
Dealers get updates on scheduling, production interuptions and controlled commodities every week.
Dealers control the prioritazation of their orders (assuming no commodity constraints.)
Dealers often take orders for units above and beyond their allocation in the hope that commodity constraints, cancelled orders, dealers going out of business, etc. will free up scheduling and they may get an extra unit or two.
Sales Managers do not always share all scheduling, allocation, incentive and pricing information they have with sales personnel. Sales personnel often guess and assume things that may not be factual based on their prior experience.
Ford personnel and dealers are instructed to stop conversations with customers when they threaten to sue. The customer's lawyers can take it up with Ford or dealership lawyers.
The job of the customer relations personnel is to answer your question (if the answer is in their data base) document your concern and transmit it back to your dealership for handling. If the concern requires additional review, it will be forwarded to the field manager that calls on the dealership and they will review it with the dealership for handling.

I had a great dealer. I ordered my FEHL July 24th, received it Sept. 12th and the dealer did not add the $1000. This even though the dealer included a trailer hitch and did not charge the advertising fee. I received a full tank of gas and paid the pre 1st of August MSRP.

I must say it was a great salesman that really, in the final analysis, that made the whole ove smoothly.

Hi Double D

I don't have any music on my iPhone yet, but my iPhone had to be plugged in to the USB port to Sync. The system ask me about my contact list and it downloaded that from my iPhone. I think the system must download any music on a iPhone thru the USB port like it did my contact list. Once the music is downloaded I'm sure there is no need for the iPhone even being in the car to ask the system to play a tune or artist's songs by voice command.

As far as the phone, you receive any call and send calls from you contact list or dial from the touch pad on the screen. My seatbelt always made it hard to get to my phone in my pocket to place a call or receive a call. The Sync system is so nice because everything is on the steering wheel or the touch screen and you can use voice command. Also, I'm hard of hearing and can turn-up the volume much higher than my phone to hear people thru the speaker system. Of course the music automatically mutes for all calling and resumes after the call.

Some people have complained about voice command and dialing other people than they meant too. I'm at 100% so far and have had no such problems. I love the system and recommend it highly. As you know, I'm a hypermiler and this allows me to keep my attention on the road and go hightech at the same time with music and the phone. To top that off, I plug my phone battery charger into the 110V FEH outlet if I need charging! I understand the iPod can get charged by the USB port if the music isn't downloaded. What a system DD!

Correction DD, the Sync voice can also dial a number without the keypad on the Nav screen. Today I had to call a number not on my contact list. After I requested phone as a command, I said dial and it ask me for the number. The system repeated the number and it was displayed on the screen also. Said dial again and the system called that number. This is real nice!

Thanks for the additonal info GaryG. I logged a complaint with Ford customer service and they said they would forward it to "corporate" for review with my contact info. I doubt anything will come of it and I will probably look for another place to service my EH.

I only have 185 miles on it but it says I am averageing 32mpg already! It feels very different from my old 04 Escape, Ford did a great job on these.

One little annoyance with the Sync system: I wish you could just go straight to saying "Call whoever" instead of saying "Phone" first, then waiting, then saying your Call command.

As far as the iPhone supporting Bluetooth Stereo (otherwise known as A2DP, Advanced Audio Distribution Protocol), according to http://www.syncmyride.com/Own/SupportContent/PDF/IOP_PHONE_V100_US_EN.pd... it will not work. I do not know if this is because the iPhone itself does not support A2DP or if it just does not work with Sync. I use A2DP with my Windows Mobile 5 Phone, and it works like a charm with the Sync+Nav system. I keep about 2 gigs of audiobook mp3s on a miniSD card plugged into my phone, and it sounds great through A2DP in my car. Of course, I am a geek who spends too much time worrying about such things, so feel free to ask if you need some advice. :)

I think just plugging the iPod or iPhone into the USB would be just fine, especially since it charges at the same time. I imagine you could do this and control your iPhone as a music player at the same time as a phone, correct? You wouldn't need to download the music files to the 10 gig HDD since you can just control your iPhone music player using Sync and the on-screen controls. That's the same as my setup, except you would be using Line-In instead of my Bluetooth Stereo. In fact yours might be a bit better if you can use the on-screen controls or Track buttons on the steering wheel to scan forwards and backwards in a song. A2DP doesn't do that. Actually, the controls that allow one to play/pause and track forward and back using A2DP are called AVRCP, which stands for Audio/Video Remote Control Protocol. This is usually bundled with A2DP on most devices that have A2DP. Just a little more useless information. :)

Hey Guys and Gals:

I just got to inspect my 2009 FEH. I got two concerns, that I wonder if a current owner can check out.

1) In the backseat with the seatbelt on, lean forward as if you want to see something in the front and then lean back. Then lean forward again, does the belt allow you to lean forward?

2) Starting with all the cabin lights off, open the back door, does the lights go on? If they do, do they stay on?

Thanks so much for checking this out for me, if these are indeed problems, I don't want to pay for the car until they are fixed.

Thanks
-paul

Hey Gary Thanks for the feedback.

Can you confirm that when the car is off and you open the rear door the light does NOT come on no matter what the switch setting is, until you open the front driver door?

This is what I experienced.

Thanks again
-paul

Hi All:

Well after going through my FEH, I found a pretty bad scratch (divot) about the size of a #2 screw driver in the back leather seat.

Since the dealship wont fix it, I decided to not accept the vehicle. Its been very bad deliberation for me, but because of things just like this that has happen to me in the past, I felt it was the right move for me.

So if anyone is interested in a new 2009 4WD fully loaded FEH limited, its at Bill Selig Ford in Windsor, Ct 860.688.3651. If you can get by the scratch, its all yours, I could not.

In all this, I did learn one thing, don't name your car until you pick her up, unfortunatly for me, I will never take Mary Ann home.

-paul

Can't order another, all of the slots (25,000) have been taken. Even though the order book is open, you can't order another FEH.

It's over for me, they kept my deposit and Ford can't do anything because I have not taken delivery.

Its a shame.
But like I said, if someone else can get over that divot, they can have it, I might be able to get my deposit back. One thing is for sure, I will never deal with a Ford company again. My Mom was right, again!

I ordered my MMH the middle of June and it received it's VIN about 3 weeks ago. The dealership first said it would be 3-4 months then when I called to check on the order in September the sales person said she told me it could be 6 months. I'm hoping to received it the first part of the year. Not holding my breath.

For you folks who were first to take delivery of your 2009 FEHs, what do your VIN #s look like? I was close to the first reported here, I drove it home on 7/25/08 and my VIN # ends in 04006. I would think that that is the 4006th off the line but since it was one of the very first delivered that seems awfully high. Any idea how Ford numbers them?

It arrived and I am picking it up tonight!!!!!!!!!!
09FEHL
(Ordered end of May)