Winter Mileage Report from the Cold North and AWD Perform.
Created December 11, 2008, at 12:58 pm by ranger1
The el'2007 FEH is not beating any econ records now that the cold weather has set in. First we're talking range of -10 to -20 deg C (that's just above to just below Zero F.). In warm weather I was averaging in the 7L/100km range (that's 40 mpg IMP and 33 ish US gallon). Now I'm in the 11L/100 range and climbing as it gets colder.
First, these are vehicle plugged in and Cloud Rider front installed econ figures. However, I am a mostly short trip driver. I've found that even on longer trips, setting out with the vehicle having been plugged in, 25 mins or more, even 35 mins, not a twitch to electric. Even then, it very quickly snaps back to gas. For example, it often won't even last a whole stop light before the gas engine kicks in. Also, I have no idea what the governing factor for it going to electric is. Folks have talked about CAT temp, engine temp and battery temp. However, it has gone to electric with the most wide variations (from my ScanG) of any of those. Eg. bat showing as slow as 35, and CAT as low as 1050 (I'm not sure, but I think those are C temps, for example, engine runs warmed at 80 to 90).
Now, there is one other factor here. The Continentals had such poor traction, that I installed Goodyear Triple Treads, which are a great tire by the way, and way quiter than the Conts. No doubt that would contribute to a decline in mpg, but a worthwhile one around here!
Any tips to get mileage up would be appreciated. Could just be the way it is, in other words I guess it's into Subaru winter mileage territory (yes?), except I would have to say having owned several, Subarus handle way better. You can really haul a Subaru around an icy corner, don't try that with an Escape. Now onto the AWD matter.
As a retired peace officer I've had high speed driving training and I found my Subarus could easily be pushed into a nice drift on an icy corner, whereas the FEH wants to spin out. I get a sense that the AWD is not quite up to a Subaru response. Sometimes I wonder if it reacts at all. Yesterday leaving an icy traffic light stop, the AWD vehicle in front of me, glided away nicely but I seemed to be trying to go with one wheel. Other times, you can tell you've got both axles pushing.
Any other folks have wishy washy AWD perform? Also, I programmed in that 4WD guage on the SG, but it never shows on always says off. Even when I've pushed it from an icy stop and know that from how the vehicle responded that the rear had to have been engaged.
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3 years ago
Ranger1,
I'm in Pennsylvania and my 09FWD MMH mileage dropped considerably in the colder temps. I was getting 38 mpg on average now with the colder temps its down in the 31-32 range if I work it. Still much much better than the Toyota Land Cruiser i had, but still a 16% drop in mileage.
Still all in all, love my Mariner!
3 years ago
No doubt the main reason for my considerable drop is first, the fact that I'm a short tripper, with a minor contribution of the new tires. For example, 90% of my trips last week were in the 15 to 20 minute range.
3 years ago
We live in southern Wisconsin and have been hit with colder temps and a lot of snow so far this December.
Our 2008 FEH 4WD mileage drops a good 10-15% when temps fall below 35 deg. F.
I've driven through some pretty nasty stuff both last year and this year and I have found the 4WD system to perform very well.
3 years ago
Anyone with the '09 Michelin Latitude LRR tires care to share how they perform in the snow and ice?
3 years ago
Gary, I've only had them out in two snow situations and while I didn't have any problems I can say they didn't feel solid on the slippery roads. I had to go fairly slow because they just didn't feel like they got the traction that an all season would get. Again, I didn't get stuck or have any issues, I just had to go slower than I normally would and the vehicle seemed alittle unstable if you know what I mean.
3 years ago
The ride in my '09 FEHL is much softer than my '05 FEH and was afraid to push it in the turns. The added sway bar must have been needed to be installed because of the top heavy feel the soft ride causes. After taking a few hard turns I found the '09 could handle the turns with much better results than I'd ever thought.
After I posted my question here I remember Insectorgadget had commented on how well his '09 AWD handled snow. He stated on GH that he didn't have as much fun spinning out because it was hard to lose control. Here is what he posted:
"I took my 2009 out on Saturday with the couple inches that we got. I wasn't able to purposely lose control any time I tried. Even we I tried to power myself into a skid the traction control kicked in and started braking individual wheels. Didn't have issues driving too fast on a snow covered road. Even took a roundabout a little too quickly and had a slight slide that corrected itself immediately. The other thing that I noticed was if you try to stay in EV from a stop you will not have any issues with traction because of how slow the acceleration is. Hopefully we will have some really bad storms like last year and I can test things out, but so far I am really impressed. (And a little disappointed because I can't have any fun in the snow."
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f26/winter-here-what-do-i-need-know-a...
It might be a good idea to take your '09 AWD FEH to a safe place to do some real hard test to know just what to expect if you ever get into a mess in traffic and poor conditions. I tend to want to learn my driving limits in a safe place to take away some guess work in an emergency myself.
3 years ago
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3 years ago
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3 years ago
Regarding 4WD, it comes in many flavors, from mild to spicy. As far as I've seen, Escapes have a mild version, that is, three differentials (front, rear, center) that don't lock, sometimes known as AWD. In soft stuff, you can spin one wheel madly and make a lot of noise without making forward progress. At the other extreme, serious off-road vehicles have locking differentials where all four wheels are forced to turn together. You cannot go around dry corners in this mode, since the diffs are locked up. I had a Ford Expedition with switchable 2WD/AWD/4L. In dry weather we used 2WD. In snow, we used AWD, but to get out of a big snow pile, we sometimes had to start up in 4L and then switch to AWD. Once you are moving, AWD is generally fine.
I've seen an Outback AWD flailing madly in our driveway unable to get going because it did not have locking diffs, where my Expedition just grunted out in 4L. Since the Escape has a similar AWD to Subies' system, I carry a folding skier's shovel under the front seat. Haven't had to use it yet.
Whether a car can "drift" thru a slippery corner depends on how the torque is split between front and rear axles. I have tried to do donuts in the FEH with no success -- torque is biased towards the front (it's primarily a front wheel drive). Only a car with rear torque bias can drift around a corner.
3 years ago
All go stuff here..anything is better than 12mpg from my 97 Expedition with 160+miles. We have owned a 06FEH since summer of o6. This is our 3rd winter and the same thing happens every year...the MPG drops into the dumper. The colder it gets the worse the milage. In Subzero as bad as 21mpg. The Dealer claims the Engine idle is the culprit ( 3 dealers ); plus the battery needs to stay warm. And did you know the battery has a air filter $35.00 ?
We use this car as a company vechicial and it gets driven.
Living in the Chicago Ill. area, Highway driving and commuting all over... the milage has never been the reported 35-38mpg this might be because we have a "allwheel drive model".
In the winter though it goes through everything. We did put wider tires on for a bigger look in the fender wells and the traction and handling greatly improved.....strongly recommended for winter. Gas milages improved but not enough to get all excited.
So to sum it up we are going to drive the wheels off this rig.
We're still driving the 97 Expedition too
2 years ago
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