Soon to be hybrid owner, any tips?

[Jeremyx95]

Hey everyone, should be hopefully receiving my maverick hybrid next month and I have never owned a hybrid.

Currently driving a 2009 ford focus and was just curious if there are any tips I should know about? The closest thing to driving this was a CR-V hybrid and I loved the feature where it automatically brakes for you almost to a complete stop, does this truck have that too?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for a stupid question. I have not been able to test drive one.

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[K5Blazer]

Not a stupid question at all.

Just drive it like a regular car.

Have you ever owned a pickup?

 

[AF Blue]

Welcome!
The Maverick is my first hybrid too.
Only thing I had to get used to was the dial-shifter.

What add-ons did you get (if any) ?

 

[Feldgary53]

Mine is shipped and due early-mid September. I’ve never owned or driven a hybrid and expect a learning curve ahead.
Looking forward to the fuel mileage compared to the 2019 Ranger I just sold. Judging by the threads here we may expect 12v battery issues at first until it gets a good charge.

 

[Tailender]

My best tip is, be sure to tell your spouse that you love them more, because they might doubt it seeing you smiling while you're in your new truck!

Enjoy it!

 

[Mav_RICK]

Try to anticipate your stops better and coast into them. Avoid Jack rabbit starts. Get on it only when you need to. Coasting is the key, not the braking.

 

[Kingfish]

Welcome to the club.

The Mav is my first hybrid, too

I had to get used to the breaking. The engine does some of it for you. It'll come naturally. Maybe just don't make tight, bumper to bumper traffic your first drive.

It's a lot of fun to drive. Very smooth exceleration

 

[BluegrassNbass]

Test drive and press every button and look everywhere before you accept it. Middle of dial is L button. That will bring you down in speed in a hurry. I use it in certain scenarios. I don’t drive with it on though. More like my air brakes for the charging aspect is all. I started as an eco mode driver, then slippy, now I'm just a normal guy. Get in and go. I have learned the feel when in electric or ice and can manipulate it to my favor. 5500 miles since june1st. We are TopGun

 

[KSC Grey Ghost]

I'm not sure what to say I have a 22 and a 23 Hybrid . Did not drive either one hard for the first 700 miles Changed my oil on the 22 at a little over 1000 miles to get any metal shavings out and put a bigger oil filter and better oil . Then drove it to las vegas in Aug of last year 115 degrees in AZ. Over the Rockies and about 90 to 95 MPH in Utah speed limit 85 l drive it , it has done me no wrong. Heat ,rain ,wind snow ,ice ,mountain it my blow up tomorrow I change my oil and filter every 5000miles 100 %. Syn. New air filter at 10,000 miles keep my tires at 32 PSI and drive it It's a little over a year old . 14,000 miles . Do not know if this will help but this is what I have done with all my New Cars and Trucks since my first New Truck a 1975. Chevy short bed 4X4 . I drive them don't baby them and maintain them. . Just the way I do it . How you drive your Maverick it's up to you. It's a fantastic truck and I wish you many Happy and Safe Mavericking Miles .

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Congratulations!

Your hybrid uses regenerative braking a lot, instead of the brake pads/rotors) for slowing down hills & in traffic. This will tremendously save brake pad wear & tear, so that you should get at least 100k miles before needing new brake pads/rotors. Probably much more than 100k. Some Ford Hybrid owners have reported going 200k miles before needing brakes/pads. Your gas engine runs a lot less, too, so oil & filter & air filter changes are not necessary nearly as often. The truck will tell you when to change oil, based on several factors, including how many total miles were electric - deducting those from total miles driven. If you don't drive much, change the oil once a year.

Enjoy.

 

[JsnMrd]

Park it outside!

 

[A Sturdy Beast]

Hey everyone, should be hopefully receiving my maverick hybrid next month and I have never owned a hybrid.

Currently driving a 2009 ford focus and was just curious if there are any tips I should know about? The closest thing to driving this was a CR-V hybrid and I loved the feature where it automatically brakes for you almost to a complete stop, does this truck have that too?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for a stupid question. I have not been able to test drive one.

Read your owner’s manual. At 552 pages it is long, but there will be many sections and many pages that you can skip. For instance (in your case), everything to do with EcoBoost. Or Lariat. Or option packages that you didn’t order. Read it at your leisure while you wait for your Maverick to arrive, and I guarantee you’ll know more about your Maverick than those who didn’t bother to read.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...Maverick_Owners_Manual_version_1_om_EN-US.pdf

 

[CuriousGary]

Hey everyone, should be hopefully receiving my maverick hybrid next month and I have never owned a hybrid.

Currently driving a 2009 ford focus and was just curious if there are any tips I should know about? The closest thing to driving this was a CR-V hybrid and I loved the feature where it automatically brakes for you almost to a complete stop, does this truck have that too?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for a stupid question. I have not been able to test drive one.

I read through all the comments. All good except 1) the suggestion you should drive the Mav Hybrid like a regular truck, and 2) that you should drive your hybrid in regular mode.

First, my suggestion: watch some of the very good videos on driving a hybrid in general and the Mav in particular, and read the posts on maximizing gas mileage on this website.


Re 1) above, if you drive your Mav H just like a regular gas truck, you will probably just get the EPA mileage numbers. Higher mileage is possible as many on this website will tell you; so read this website and watch videos.

Re 2), I suggest you drive your MavH in Eco mode most of the time. (When it’s raining I drive in Slippery mode.)

 

[Markii56]

For maximum mpg, use the Coach as a guide; it will definitely help at first, especially with braking. Brake pedal feel is certainly different, and it can even vary from Maverick to Maverick. Once you get used to it (doesn't take long), note what your mpg is after each trip (the gauge cluster will tell you this each time you turn off the ignition), and compare it to how you drove it. Now you can start using your own judgement as to what achieves the best mpg, as the Coach is not infallible. It seems to me the ECO setting certainly helps, but having to hit the "OK" button several times, then press the mode button 4 times to get there is definitely a pain. But, IMHO it's worth it, knowing my hybrid is getting just about double what the EPA City estimate is for the Maverick EcoBoost.

Depending on your trim level, you might be surprised what you're getting equipment-wise, compared to that Focus you're driving. The only extra-cost options on my XLT were the hitch and the paint. For me, finding the keypad entry, the tailgate that locks with the doors, the automatic low beams/ high beams/ wipers were all nice touches.

 

[JimParker256]

Try to anticipate your stops better and coast into them. Avoid Jack rabbit starts. Get on it only when you need to. Coasting is the key, not the braking.

"Coasting is the key..." So true. Coasting uses no gas, and no electric power from your battery - it's "free miles." And Slippery mode lets you coast a LOT easier (and farther) than the other modes. I've found that it's counter-productive to try to accelerate on electric only - too slow to keep up with traffic, and you'll use all the battery power overcoming the inertia of a standing start. Instead, I generally accelerate smoothly, using about 20% on the power-meter (a little higher if it's a steep uphill), get to 1-2 mph over the intended speed (think "speed limit"), then back off the throttle completely, and slowly re-engage throttle until electric power kicks in.

You'll learn to anticipate this, and by keeping the "EV Coach" on the dash, you can monitor the state of your HV battery (HVB) by the length of the blue rectangle. The blue bar is the amount of electric power you're calling for (via throttle). If you're slowing below the speed limit and your blue bar is the same length as the blue rectangle, the gasoline engine is about to re-engage. In general sub-50 mph driving, I find myself using gasoline power to accelerate to speed and climb hills (even just small inclines) and that brief usage will keep the HVB charged enough that I can use only electric power on the straight-and-level portions of the road, and "coast" (very mild regen) down any inclines. Doing this allows me to average 50-54 mpg on a 30-minute drive. (Shorter trips are more impacted by the initial startup, and the initial air conditioning load to bring temps down from 105º to my preferred 73º, so on a 5-minute drive, you'll get significantly less mpg than that.)

All this also assumes that you're anticipating stops, and coasting to a stop using as little brake force (either mechanical or regenerative) as possible. If you have Brake Coach enabled, learn the rate of deceleration needed to stay within the "green box" (regenerative braking) without having to use any "white bar" (mechanical brakes). You'll not only save money on gas, but your brake pads will last practically forever. (I had a 2012 Toyota Prius-C with 148,000 miles on it - and it still had the original brake pads, with maybe 25% life remaining. The Maverick should do just as well - if not better.)

But my best advice to a new-to-hybrids owner would be "just drive it like a regular car" until you're used to the size, handling, braking, etc. Get comfortable in the car before trying to maximize the mileage. Odds are that - unless you're trying to emulate Max Verstappen - you'll still match the EPA estimates for city and highway driving. (Max is the current Formula 1 World Champion, for those who didn't recognize the name. And he drives "rather aggressively" to put it mildly...)

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