Hybrid Rough Idle (Video)

[thevol]

If they told me nothing was wrong I would be tempted to park it away from the house and let it burn to the ground.

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[MakinDoForNow]

Obviously the dealer couldn’t replicate the issue yesterday but I could again this morning. He says I have too few miles and that I need to put more on it as it’s likely the anti rust coat burning off…. -_-. They have suggested I leave it over night but they don’t have a spare vehicle for me to use…

Do you have rental car on your insurance?

 

[zobo]

Had this happen a few days ago in the driveway kinda ignored it... today it's 10F and I took a friend for a ride then sat in a parking lot talking with it at idle.... started surging so we played around with it. Engine temp was at 25% all the time, soon as you shut the heat off it stopped. What was really odd was it was it was warm inside but not HOT like I had been driving it around all day. The other thing I noticed the other morning was when it's surging the super white smoke coming out not all the way to the tail pipe. It's leaving little puddles all over the driveway from all the drainage not at the end of the tailpipe.

 

[SpruceDuck]

Had this happen a few days ago in the driveway kinda ignored it... today it's 10F and I took a friend for a ride then sat in a parking lot talking with it at idle.... started surging so we played around with it. Engine temp was at 25% all the time, soon as you shut the heat off it stopped. What was really odd was it was it was warm inside but not HOT like I had been driving it around all day. The other thing I noticed the other morning was when it's surging the super white smoke coming out not all the way to the tail pipe. It's leaving little puddles all over the driveway from all the drainage not at the end of the tailpipe.

Exactly the same conditions and experimental outcomes on my end. I'm also having the same thing with the billowing exhaust and extreme dripping under the middle of the car AND the tailpipe. My engine was similarly low in temperature when it happened the last few times... but it also did it straight cold too.

 

[Nightowl]

Exactly the same conditions and experimental outcomes on my end. I'm also having the same thing with the billowing exhaust and extreme dripping under the middle of the car AND the tailpipe. My engine was similarly low in temperature when it happened the last few times... but it also did it straight cold too.

Zobo & Spruceduck,

Have either of you received troubleshooting help or maintenance from your dealerships or from Ford? Do you both agree that the catalytic converter overheats when your ICE starts to surge in really cold temperatures?

Thanks. And sorry you have to go through this in your new trucks.

 

[samesea2012]

the other day i experience the remote-start weird idle in the cold, then later on the road the bad smell coming from the heater vents that were on full blast.

today turned on the mav to make a short trip. turned up the heat relatively high cause i was cold (~30F was the temperature at the time). waited like a minute and didn’t hear the engine turn on so i took off. very quickly i started getting a weird smell in the cabin so i turned the heat off.

in neither of those scenarios i let it go for too long and turned off the heat. there is definitely something going on with when the engine is cold and you ask for high heat.

i’m wondering, if i do let it go on, will the smell actually burn off (like some of you suggested is the extra heating coils warming off for the first time)or will i burn off my mav?

not sure if i want to find out…

 

[ehspeakers]

I hate to say this but Hybrids and cold don't mix. Anyone starting one in temps below zero are asking for trouble as they don't like idling and don't heat up fast enough to idle properly. I would recommend to look into getting an engine block heater .. I am certain this would solve everyone's problem with Hybrids cold weather operation... Maybe Ford will offer some sort of update. I think honestly its a real/lean cycling issue and causes the catalytic convertor to become saturated and the "heat riser" for lack of a better term that restricts exhaust flow to attempt to heat up the engine faster. Get a engine block heater installed. If I keep my truck in the long term mine will be getting one .. Hopefully Ford has the part and can install reasonably.

 

[ehspeakers]

Glowing is only noticed at night ... And it goes away when you don't use the Remote Start or restart the engine shortly thereafter or when you drive away.. There is likely some sort of valve blocking the exhaust to provide faster warm up. Either needs recalibration/reprogramming or is a fault of whatever solenoid is being used to control it. Get an engine block heater installed, it will help even if the truck is performing perfectly to heat up the engine faster on cold mornings and start easier with less risk of damage during start up.

 

[ehspeakers]

Obviously the dealer couldn’t replicate the issue yesterday but I could again this morning. He says I have too few miles and that I need to put more on it as it’s likely the anti rust coat burning off…. -_-. They have suggested I leave it over night but they don’t have a spare vehicle for me to use…

They told me the rust proofing burning off too. Ford needs to fix this issue with a TSB before it gets worse for many of us.

 

[ehspeakers]

@SpruceDuck you are clearly intercepting a message from Vega. Sounds identical. Did you also notice a water leak in your exhaust system towards the front? I seen it dripping.

 

[SpruceDuck]

I second this. I have have owned 2 Ford CMax hybrids and they would periodically run rough. For awhile, I would put Heet in them because I suspected there was water in the gas or bad gas. After awhile, I started putting 89 octane gas in them and never had a problem again. In my wife's Escape Ecoboost we now run straight 89 for the same reasons. Ford advertises that their vehicles run on 87 - and they do - but they run like crap on 87. Just my two cents.

Well, half the reason I got a hybrid Mav that supposedly gets 40+mpg in the city is to beat the miserable gas prices— if the car can’t run on 87 like every other 4cyl hybrid on Earth in the cold, why the heck did I buy this thing? It’s a rhetorical question you need not attempt to answer— but if your anecdote about 89 vs 87 octane holds true over here, I hope Ford has a liberal return policy.

 

[ehspeakers]

All signs point to this being an issue with the Exhaust heat exchanger. It could be a solenoid issue or maybe it can be programmed.. It runs and sounds like there is something restricting exhaust flow. Computer tries to compensate by adjusting fuel flow and will cause the surges. Off chance its a faulty cat convertor.

 

[pigsareus]

Well, half the reason I got a hybrid Mav that supposedly gets 40+mpg in the city is to beat the miserable gas prices— if the car can’t run on 87 like every other 4cyl hybrid on Earth in the cold, why the heck did I buy this thing? It’s a rhetorical question you need not attempt to answer— but if your anecdote about 89 vs 87 octane holds true over here, I hope Ford has a liberal return policy.

the dealer will gladly take it back and then, if the cold is for sure a problem, will have it sold to someone out of the north zone for a hefty profit.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

the other day i experience the remote-start weird idle in the cold, then later on the road the bad smell coming from the heater vents that were on full blast.

today turned on the mav to make a short trip. turned up the heat relatively high cause i was cold (~30F was the temperature at the time). waited like a minute and didn’t hear the engine turn on so i took off. very quickly i started getting a weird smell in the cabin so i turned the heat off.

in neither of those scenarios i let it go for too long and turned off the heat. there is definitely something going on with when the engine is cold and you ask for high heat.

i’m wondering, if i do let it go on, will the smell actually burn off (like some of you suggested is the extra heating coils warming off for the first time)or will i burn off my mav?

not sure if i want to find out…

Hello! Send us a private message with your VIN and current mileage. Allow me to see what I can do to assist. Thanks!

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