Does your Hybrid Maverick engine revs up real high on down hill rides!?

[Ridingorange23]

I really do not think it’s a good idea to put it in neutral going down hills.

I’ve been wondering about that because I put mine in neutral going down every hill. Increases gas mileage but not sure how that effects the battery being charged.

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[stoptothink]

Regen is a good thing, a very good thing. It helps the hybrid system to significantly boost efficiency and reduce long term maintenance costs. Brakes on EVs and hybrids last basically forever, forever by car terms at least, because these vehicles use Regen to slow down. That drastically reduces the strain on physical components.

Regen is absolutely a good thing, but depending on the environment it isn't ideal for efficiency. Brake regeneration is at absolute best 70% efficient, if you are cruising down a hill or a long path to a stop, for best efficiency you want to coast and not have the regen kick in. Best way to do this with the Maverick hybrid is to use slippery mode. I live in the mountains of Utah and a lot of our driving is in rolling hills, slippery mode is definitely more efficient most of the time for our use case.

 

[AncientMan]

I understand it from this and other threads, but I will admit it is a pretty high rev and it still freaks me out a bit. I'm working on just trusting the Ford engineers know what they're doing...

Agreed, I’ve experienced this and it seems excessively loud/high but like you said: “trusting the Ford Engineers “…

 

[TheSEARCH]

Something doesn't make sense The OP said he put it into neutral with no effect. WTF. How is that possible? It cant spin the engine if there is no connection from the tires on the ground and the engine itself. Regen braking also is disabled in Neutral.

My hybrid doesn't spin the engine higher I guess because my High voltage battery is not charged all the way and it does regen braking. I sometime hit the L button so it slows the Mav even more. I do this one section where there is a stop at bottom of hill. I hit L button and it can almost stop the car for me. .No engine spin up at all.

 

[Mavforever]

My 2023 Hybrid's engine makes loud sound (high RPM) when driving on down hill roads!! The charging Dial drops into the middle of the Green charging Zone but the ICE engine sounds like revving up very high! I shifted the car from Drive to Neutral but the revving sound did not go away!
I am not sure if this is related to any of the recalls!!

The behavior sounds like a stuck fuel gauge that pushed the engine into high RPM. I am going to put a OBD reader on the car to see if there are any errors. Will report it under this heading, but would love to know if this has happens to any other Hybrid Maverick.

Thanks.

Yeah my hybrid does the same, usually only when hauling a load as far as I’ve noticed.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I understand it from this and other threads, but I will admit it is a pretty high rev and it still freaks me out a bit. I'm working on just trusting the Ford engineers know what they're doing...

The engine is NOT going to rev higher than it "can".

Most drivers are so used to cars never going above 3k RPMs. Well most cars have a redline of 6-7k. When I'm at 75mph in my Miata, it's at 4k RPMs. The "VTEC" in my Odyssey kicks in at 4k RPMS. Neither of these are going to break the vehicle.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I’ve been wondering about that because I put mine in neutral going down every hill. Increases gas mileage but not sure how that effects the battery being charged.

The Mav doesn't have a "real" neutral. It's extra wear going in and out of Neutral.

ALSO, it's illegal in most states to coast in neutral or especially turn off the engine while rolling downhill. Issues with starting a vehicle at a high speed and/or malfunctions going back into gear could result.

Hybrid Mav is at least not dependent on the engine power for power brakes and steering (both are electric).

 

[DavidM]

I understand it from this and other threads, but I will admit it is a pretty high rev and it still freaks me out a bit. I'm working on just trusting the Ford engineers know what they're doing...

Same here! I have never heard of these stories on Toyota Hybrid cause it feels very excessive noise for not very steep drops in the road.

 

[TruckPrius]

Same here! I have never heard of these stories on Toyota Hybrid cause it feels very excessive noise for not very steep drops in the road.

My Prius would definitely rev it's engine similarly if I "downshifted" to the "B" mode which added engine braking.

 

[icegradner]

My Prius would definitely rev it's engine similarly if I "downshifted" to the "B" mode which added engine braking.

Yeah, my Camry Hybrid did the same thing once the battery was full charged while going down steep mountain passes or I used B. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[icegradner]

I’ve been wondering about that because I put mine in neutral going down every hill. Increases gas mileage but not sure how that effects the battery being charged.

The battery will not charge in neutral, the MGU spins freely.

 

[Maguffin]

I’ve been wondering about that because I put mine in neutral going down every hill. Increases gas mileage but not sure how that effects the battery being charged.

Huh? With any fuel injected vehicle, the injectors shut off with closed throttle and coasting. If they didn’t the engine would flood and possibly hydro lock. Leave it in D and decel using engine braking

 

[Ridingorange23]

Huh? With any fuel injected vehicle, the injectors shut off with closed throttle and coasting. If they didn’t the engine would flood and possibly hydro lock. Leave it in D and decel using engine braking

If I leave it in D going down hills, I have to stay on the gas pedal or it slows down. Just not used to a hybrid. I always coasted down hills in my outback.

 

[Maguffin]

If I leave it in D going down hills, I have to stay on the gas pedal or it slows down. Just not used to a hybrid. I always coasted down hills in my outback.

Just feather the throttle and you can keep in green recharge zone. Dropping to N makes no sense, sorry but that’s a myth that needs to disappear.

 

[GPSMan]

It happens to me every time in L, even on a slight downhill grade. It's a really high rev and I doubt that it's normal. I get the regen function but it sounds excessive. The service department agrees but of course they couldn't duplicate it.

It is normal.

And putting it in "L" is making it happen more often.

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