Found the ambient high temperature limits of the hybrid's electric motor/battery

[DesertSweat]

It was about 114-115F yesterday, display was reading 118 while caught in a little bit of traffic in Phoenix. Nothing unusual. The car started driving unusual. I could tell that regenerative braking was hardly there. The engine would not turn off even coasting or stopped. AC or AC off. Drove the last couple miles home to see if I could get the car in electric mode, but nothing. Everything is working fine this morning.

My guess is once the high voltage battery gets too warm it limits charging and discharging to keep it cooler.

Most of you guys won't have to worry about this. And luckily there are few days over 115 in Phoenix, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem.

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[UncleDuke]

well I had 115 yesterday and today, don'r have my Maverick yet but i will watch for any problems

 

[Bob The Builder]

Up here we would need to add the temps of 2 days together to hit 118F.

Now, at the other end of the spectrum, I'm wondering how well that battery will enjoy -35F with a windchill of -55F. That should be interesting how much charge the battery will hold.

 

[New2AZ]

It was about 114-115F yesterday, display was reading 118 while caught in a little bit of traffic in Phoenix. Nothing unusual. The car started driving unusual. I could tell that regenerative braking was hardly there. The engine would not turn off even coasting or stopped. AC or AC off. Drove the last couple miles home to see if I could get the car in electric mode, but nothing. Everything is working fine this morning.

My guess is once the high voltage battery gets too warm it limits charging and discharging to keep it cooler.

Most of you guys won't have to worry about this. And luckily there are few days over 115 in Phoenix, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem.

Yeah I've noticed ICE is on no matter what when temps are up there. MPGS take a severe hit and the overall feel of the truck is somewhat...iffy. Seems to be ok after moving along after a few minutes/miles, but that first while is really sketchy.

 

[DryHeat]

It was about 109F yesterday down here in cool, breezy Tucson.
The temp display on the dash was showing 113F, but it runs hot in traffic.
Anyway, I had no problems. I guess the limit must be somewhere north of 110F.

That doesn't happen down here too often, so I can live with it. I'm sure it's more of a problem up there in the Valley of the (Unrelenting) Sun.

I have noticed that I lose a couple of miles per gallon when the AC is fighting the heat. On the plus side, the AC works really well. In my previous vehicle, if you weren't moving you weren't cooling.

 

[New2AZ]

It was about 109F yesterday down here in cool, breezy Tucson.
The temp display on the dash was showing 113F, but it runs hot in traffic.
Anyway, I had no problems. I guess the limit must be somewhere north of 110F.

That doesn't happen down here too often, so I can live with it. I'm sure it's more of a problem up there in the Valley of the (Unrelenting) Sun.

I have noticed that I lose a couple of miles per gallon when the AC is fighting the heat. On the plus side, the AC works really well. In my previous vehicle, if you weren't moving you weren't cooling.

Unrelenting is right! Thankfully the Mavs AC is amazing! I have to turn it up to 78 to keep from being too cold (like that's a thing) when in auto temp control.

 

[DesertSweat]

Yeah I've noticed ICE is on no matter what when temps are up there. MPGS take a severe hit and the overall feel of the truck is somewhat...iffy. Seems to be ok after moving along after a few minutes/miles, but that first while is really sketchy.

yeah I couldn’t get it back into hybrid mode or battery only mode. No electric assist. Even using the ICE and taking up to 70mph and regenerating. So it must have gotten too warm.

but yes at low speeds without electric assist…ICE doesn’t like it.

 

[icegradner]

So could we say that Ford didn't put a strong enough fan on the rad to cool the system properly? Maybe this liquid cooled external battery that isn't cooled by cabin air like most hybrids wasn't the best choice. Never had an issue in hot weather with older hybrids, but then I've thankfully never been in 115F.

 

[mswillis5]

I believe it is shut off over 110F so it is mostly just engine. I did have a short electric only opportunity but it is very brief. I'm also "only" at 33MPG right now with driving in this heat.

 

[Rockingchair]

Almost took mine from Goodyear to Mesa and back mid-day today. Kinda glad I took the F150.

 

[NewBernWolf]

It was about 114-115F yesterday, display was reading 118 while caught in a little bit of traffic in Phoenix. Nothing unusual. The car started driving unusual. I could tell that regenerative braking was hardly there. The engine would not turn off even coasting or stopped. AC or AC off. Drove the last couple miles home to see if I could get the car in electric mode, but nothing. Everything is working fine this morning.

My guess is once the high voltage battery gets too warm it limits charging and discharging to keep it cooler.

Most of you guys won't have to worry about this. And luckily there are few days over 115 in Phoenix, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem.

So...somehow Ford's Maverick hybrid system is different from the Escape's, Prius's, Camry's, Rav 4's, etc. hybrid systems over the last 15-20 years? I mean, this is a well-known transmission in vehicles all over the world. Why would Ford build something untested for the Maverick?

 

[Blue1005]

Its only 105 here, but i dont even move off the couch in this heat, so cant blame it. Awesome AC and still better MPG then the 14 I was getting.

 

[Automate]

So...somehow Ford's Maverick hybrid system is different from the Escape's, Prius's, Camry's, Rav 4's, etc. hybrid systems over the last 15-20 years? I mean, this is a well-known transmission in vehicles all over the world. Why would Ford build something untested for the Maverick?

The transmission in the Mav is very similar to those of Escape's, Fusions, etc. The main difference is the Mav has a water cooled battery. Water cooled batteries are not "untested", every Tesla made has had them. Water allows a much higher heat transfer than air cooling. Just as water cooled engines are considered better than air cooled engines. The previous generation Escape or Fusion would have a similar or worse issues with these extremely high temperatures.

 

[Peps]

So could we say that Ford didn't put a strong enough fan on the rad to cool the system properly? Maybe this liquid cooled external battery that isn't cooled by cabin air like most hybrids wasn't the best choice. Never had an issue in hot weather with older hybrids, but then I've thankfully never been in 115F.

no it made a sound business decision and safety assessment to not overbuilt a system for everyone just for a fringe use case.

 

[Timothyd]

It was about 114-115F yesterday, display was reading 118 while caught in a little bit of traffic in Phoenix. Nothing unusual. The car started driving unusual. I could tell that regenerative braking was hardly there. The engine would not turn off even coasting or stopped. AC or AC off. Drove the last couple miles home to see if I could get the car in electric mode, but nothing. Everything is working fine this morning.

My guess is once the high voltage battery gets too warm it limits charging and discharging to keep it cooler.

Most of you guys won't have to worry about this. And luckily there are few days over 115 in Phoenix, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem.

It was about 114-115F yesterday, display was reading 118 while caught in a little bit of traffic in Phoenix. Nothing unusual. The car started driving unusual. I could tell that regenerative braking was hardly there. The engine would not turn off even coasting or stopped. AC or AC off. Drove the last couple miles home to see if I could get the car in electric mode, but nothing. Everything is working fine this morning.

My guess is once the high voltage battery gets too warm it limits charging and discharging to keep it cooler.

Most of you guys won't have to worry about this. And luckily there are few days over 115 in Phoenix, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem.

Betcha it won't like the -14 degrees I'm going to subject it to in the winter. Batteries like to live in moderate climates.

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