Very Low Speed Driving Hybrid Weirdness

[Darnon]

Keep in mind, this is the same company that had over 500 deaths in their pinto before they issued a recall.

That 500+ number is a random fabrication from Mother Jones. Ford claims a more conservative 27 itself. For comparison GM's recent faulty ignition switches were connected to 124 fatalities. Or there's Jeep slapping on hitches to "fix" all of their rear fuel tank fires.

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[kboom180]

Looking forward to hearing what your dealer says. It indeed feels like a cheap truck. Which is totally cool because it is. Thats why I didn't add much to my XL. Any further down the lineup and you're starting to polish a turd. But, safety should never have a price.

 

[reciprocating_ravioli]

I'd love to see pictures of that. The only other post I could find about those door skirts, they claimed there was all sorts of debris there already, but no picture of it. No decent pictures of anything.

 

[KevCuRaoi]

I have these "issues" but doesn't seem to me as big of an issue as others. At least not yet.

I think that it is partly just due to normal hybrid operation (which takes some getting used to). I've noticed the issue too on my Maverick (and on other hybrids that I have driven). I learned to adapt my driving some.

I don't drive in a lot of stop and go traffic, so it really doesn't affect me very much. I know what to expect and have adjusted. But I can certainly see it being a bigger annoyance for others.

And many of the issues described here do to go above and beyond normal hybrid operation issues....something that can't just be adapted to. So some hybrid Mavericks do seem to have an abnormal problem that needs to be addressed, but this still seems to be a minority.

A software update that refines the regenerative braking on the hybrid would be good for all of us. Nothing any service department can do about the programming until Ford releases an update.
But dealers can submit "problems" on new vehicles or assistance requests about the issue. That may direct the engineers to look at the problem.... so even if you only have a slight problem with the transition from regenerative to physical braking, talking with your dealership's service dept about it could be beneficial.

If you are having more of the severe problems discussed here, try seeing if your dealership will contact the Tech Hotline / Global Technical Assistance Center about it. The problem may be hard to duplicate, and the solution is probably not something already in the Workshop Manual.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I too have the issues and I’m close to 5k miles. It happens every day.

Hey! Can you send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into your Maverick's driving issues on my end.

 

[Gr3y]

I have a little over 6400 miles and this is an everyday thing!

I noticed it the most here in SoCal in stop and go traffic at very low speeds. Like everyone here has mentioned its as if the electric motor is fighting the hydraulic motor to stop. At really low speeds sometimes its a little scary because you really have to apply pressure to brake to feel like you're going to stop. Which results in an abrupt stop. I've played around with it in all settings and it seems to just do this 'normally'

I've had a few times where coming to a stop where I've gotten that 'clunk' as well. I can best describe it as when a car with abs looses traction to gravel or something and you get that slight lock up.

I'm guessing this breaking system needs to be better polished to have a better mix between the two systems working to brake and regenerate. Software fix please!

-Sal

 

[ListedGuru]

I am seriously considering ordering a 2023 Maverick Hybrid but reading this thread has me rethinking that. But it does sound like most here think this can be addressed via a software fix, etc? It will probably take a year for me to get my 2023 Hybrid anyway so that should be plenty of time to sort this issue out.

Would you guys be comfortable ordering a 2023 Hybrid right now? I understand that being a first year model there's bound to be issues, etc. I just want this thing to last. I think the general set-up was used in the first Escape Hybrid correct?

 

[WesM]

I am seriously considering ordering a 2023 Maverick Hybrid but reading this thread has me rethinking that. But it does sound like most here think this can be addressed via a software fix, etc? It will probably take a year for me to get my 2023 Hybrid anyway so that should be plenty of time to sort this issue out.

Would you guys be comfortable ordering a 2023 Hybrid right now? I understand that being a first year model there's bound to be issues, etc. I just want this thing to last. I think the general set-up was used in the first Escape Hybrid correct?

Hopefully its a software issue. At this point I would just go ahead and order one (making sure no deposit or a fully refundable deposit is available). That way if a fix is out by the time yours comes in, you are good to go. If there is still a problem, you can opt out at no cost to yourself.

There are a few new components in the Maverick Hybrid system vs what was used before. I believe this eCVT comes under the HF45+ designation while the escape uses the HF45. The most significant change is the main electric motor being made in house to a tweaked design vs outsourced. I suspect (just a educated guess) the issues we are seeing came from the software tweaks they made due to these few new components.

 

[Ferroplasm]

I have a hybrid with these braking issues. I honestly thought it was just how hybrids operated.

My experience is that when driving at very low speeds, the truck behaves like it isn't responding to brake application. It'll continue pulling forward, with my foot off the gas pedal, and I'll sort of panic and mash the brake more. Then the truck will make a clunk/kerthunk sound and it'll jerk to a halt. It sucks, and it happens far too often.

Edit: My hybrid is affected by the fire recall and I have an appointment this Friday to have it repaired. I'll mention this braking issue to the technician and report back what they say.

 

[kboom180]

I have a hybrid with these braking issues. I honestly thought it was just how hybrids operated.

My experience is that when driving at very low speeds, the truck behaves like it isn't responding to brake application. It'll continue pulling forward, with my foot off the gas pedal, and I'll sort of panic and mash the brake more. Then the truck will make a clunk/kerthunk sound and it'll jerk to a halt. It sucks, and it happens far too often.

Edit: My hybrid is affected by the fire recall and I have an appointment this Friday to have it repaired. I'll mention this braking issue to the technician and report back what they say.

Please let us know what the dealer says. And if they have had other complaints or even acknowledge the problem

 

[Random]

Hey! Can you send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into your Maverick's driving issues on my end.

So this worked great for me to at least get started. They created a case number, emailed me and my local dealer, and I was able to follow-up with a summary and links to the forum about all three issues.

1) Recall about fire

2) Low speed brake clunk

3) Deep sleep mode

 

[icegradner]

Just to add something to this thread. My dealer let me test drive my XLT Maverick Hybrid yesterday for about 45 minutes. I noticed this slow speed sudden stop like people are talking about, once on the drive. 35km on the odometer (21 miles).

To the topic at hand, when moving in slow traffic, that sometimes lead to a harsh sudden stop. Situation, on the test drive, I was slowly approaching a car stopped at a red light, and was lightly pressing for max regen. I slowly came to a full stop, but felt I was too far back, so I inched forwards maybe a foot or two. Slowly pushed the brake to stop again, and bam!!! Very jerky sudden stop that shook the entire vehicle, far more than one would expect inching forwards at less than 1 mph. Thing is, the exact same thing happened in my 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid at times. It took me a long time to learn how to avoid that in regular driving. It was never as hard a stop, but the Camry weighed less, so it had a less harsh reaction. Even after years of driving it happened from time to time. Long story short, I will not hesitate to buy the Maverick Hybrid over this brake issue.

 

[Chicago Mike]

Add my truck to the list of brake slamming when going at low speed. Does not happen every time I come to a stop, only at very low speeds and stopping.
Also was a victim of dead maverick and sleep mode and lurching forward when engine is cold.
Latest is drivers side window auto up does not work. I have to inch it up. If I run it up it closes and immediately lowers to 25% open.
Wondering what’s next…I’m at 4700 miles.

 

[Bigronron]

Was wondering if anyone else had noticed this. There have been some posts about clunking or thudding at low speeds. My Maverick certainly does that when dropping down into what I assume is 1st gear. Makes me think the transmission is not long for this world. There's also something I haven't heard much about. The fact that my Maverick doesn't want to stop at low speeds. The best example I can come up with is a situation at a drive-thru. Moving forward in line which gets you up to maybe 1 mph and the truck just doesn't want to stop. It's like fighting me (in electric mode). It's not until I really press hard on the brake that it finally seems to give up and then I come to an abrupt stop. Beyond everyones head bobbing forward and looking like an idiot that can't drive, I swear at some point, this truck is going to hit something in front of it.

This is much more rare but have experienced it a few times. Coming to a stop, the ICE and electric engine seem to be arguing with each other and trying to push the truck forward. The brake pedal vibrates (sort of like ABS working) and the vehicle shakes a bit. Turning the car off and then back on fixes the problem. However, not something ideal when on the road with other drivers.

Has anyone else experienced this? Feel free to pull this down if it's been discussed at length. I just hadn't found anything yet.

**Edit** Thank you for reminding me this transmission does not have a first gear to downshift to haha

Mine does exactly the same thing, and when the brake finally engages, it makes a loud thud. I’ve noticed that when I accelerate and the ice is on, it has a choppy feeling as it accelerates.
It’s under warranty, time will tell I guess

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