TonyPSchaefer

@allen84 Thanks so much for the explanation and instructions. My wife had been putting off the airbag recall and went in today. I printed the instructions and she showed them to the Service Rep. It was the first they'd heard of the issue. She called me as she drove home sounding as though she had been jumping for joy. She had her hybrid back! If anyone in the Chicagoland area encounters this problem, head over to Wickstrom Ford in Barrington. Ask for Mark Karm. He will know exactly what you're talking about and what to do. They charged one full hour of labor at $156. Steep, IMHO, but worth it to see the smile on my wife's face. [Edit: addition] After I made the original post, she told me the technician said the process worked exactly as the instructions said they would. Everything was exactly as imaged and explained. He gave her kudos for having done the research; she gave the kudos to me; I'm passing them on to Allen.

Asked my wife how her drive home was. She echoed exactly what I would have expected after having read everyone's reply. Basically, "about fifteen minutes the car went right back to exactly how it was before only better." She said that her car wouldn't go into EV at speeds higher than 30 mph but on her way home she was zipping through the suburb in EV between 35 and 40 mph. So now she's thrilled that it's back to normal - or that the previous behavior was "normal." Thanks for the info, guys!

Thanks, Mort. That sounds exactly like what she has described. I'm familiar with the Honda IMA systems performing the charge balancing but not the Toyota HSD systems. The Gen1 Prii used to have issues with unbalanced cells but that was attributed to the round packs they used at the time. But there is much I don't know except that if you ever hear me say I know everything you'll know I'm lying. I'll provide a follow-up.

Last night my wife told me that she could not get her car to switch into EV mode. She said that the SoC on the hybrid battery was completely full. This morning I called her as she was driving to work and she said that it was still showing a full SoC and was again reluctant to go into EV. (EV, in this case, is what Prius drivers call "stealth" and refers to the condition in which the ICE shuts off and the car is propelled by battery only. I am not insinuating that the FFH is an EV.) Since I rarely get to drive her car, I have a very limited knowledge of the FFH. All I have is Prius experience. There are many threads over at priuschat.com talking about full SOC but this usually takes care of itself after a relatively short time. In her case, the drive to work is almost a half hour which should be more than ample time. As much as I want to tell her that there's nothing to worry about, my lack of FFH knowledge is keeping me a little apprehensive. So I have to ask, who's seen this before? More info: We live North of Chicago and it's pretty flat; no long descents and regen. She drives pretty normally. It was around 40ºF here yesterday.

My wife's FFH driver's window is non-responsive to the button. All other windows go up and down. The driver's window is up. Of course, I'm taking it in. But in the meantime, can anyone think of what could cause this: motor, spring, button, etc?

I'm really surprised that the Universal Garage Door Opener is not an option on the Hybrid. The Rapid Spec 502A throws in everything including the kitchen sink except the UGDO. It seems really odd that here's this highly advanced, extremely technical vehicle and I have to fumble for the crappy garage door opener.

I have run high pressure in my vehicles for years. I no longer give out specifics due to the backlash and panicked replies I get. I have never had uneven wear nor have I ever experienced a "loss in traction." The ride is stiffer, yes. There is a very noticeable increase in mileage. The exact same results have been anecdotally experienced by many others. http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f12/tire-pressure-does-effect-mpg-how-much-too-much-1297/ Some have worked to prove these things through experiments. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/tirepressure/LTPW3.html In the end, I've always held to this one thing: we're responsible adults who have spent good money for something. Whether or not we choose to adhere strictly to manufacturer suggestions or vary is entirely up to us. Whether we choose to listen to advice from others regarding our things is entirely up to us. However, if you choose to vary from the manufacturer's suggestions and the advice from others, be prepared to hear "I told you so."

Hi Carl. You are better off in Drive. As lolder said, it's all already been figured out for you. If you have the Energy Screen on your MFD, flip it on and see what arrows go where when you are in Neutral. I'm guessing that when the car is in Neutral there is no regeneration performed. If this truly is the case, long downhill stretches in Neutral is just passing up an opportunity to garnish some free power. It's not truly free, of course, since you had to burn gas to get up the other side. Let us know what you find.

Yes. Warm-up cycle. Everyone's correct on that one. The Prius does the same thing. If you want to reduce the battery draw, drive your car the long way around a parking lot before hopping on the road. This will give the ICE time to warm up without the hefty draw on the battery (will will need to be regened). Your dealer shouldn't be selling Prii if that's the approach he takes. I agree with Lee in that the Prius battery - barring manufacturing impurities or unnatural destruction - will last the life of the vehicle or longer. I have read multiple posts at Priuschat.com of batteries in Gen1 Prii still running strong. There's are multiple Prius taxis that have clocked well over 200,000 miles with nary a drop in charge capacity. Feel free to start a thread asking this question at Priuschat.com and see if you get any different reply by the masses.

I suppose this leads to a more technical and detailed discussion. Namely, does the Fusion Hybrid fuel tank have any kind of liner? The manual indicates that if you perform manual calculations, your numbers may vary from those shown by the display. It references filling variances and computational rounding and the perpetrators. I've been recording the per-tank mileage on my car for so long, it's just habit to continue doing it. But if the consensus of you guys here is that it's not necessary, then I'll tell her to stop writing it down. Has anyone compared the hand-calculations to the car's calculations for accuracy? She will still reset the mileage at each refill so the short-term mpg reading is for just that tank.

I know, I know. RTFM. I'm working through it. I usually read manuals a few times. But things are coming up faster than I've been able to find them. And since it's my wife's car, she usually has the car (and the manuals) when she's asking me how to do something. I've downloaded the PDF of the manuals but I learn more when I'm reading and doing. She's no too keen on my doing anything to her car.

Thanks guys. I'll look for that and show her.<br><br>Follow-up question: Does the Fusion Hybrid keep a Lifetime Mileage?<br>

I haven't been able to figure out how to reset the short-term mileage so that I can start every new tank with a "fresh" mileage calculation. I can't find it in the manual. Please forgive me for referencing my Prius (it's the only comparison I have). There's a button on the Prius screen called [RESET] that I hit every time I get gas. If I forget, it is automatically reset when the tank registers a significant increase in fuel level and tire movement (meaning you just got gas and you're driving away). My wife wants to track her tank-by-tank averages in a spreadsheet like mine (in signature). This would require resetting the mileage at each refill. How's it done?

Oh man, I didn't study.

Awesome! Thanks!!