Odd Brakes in Hybrid Maverick

[Sliphorn]

Is that not the side were some people have put a sheet metal plate down above muffler to block road debris from getting right up to that very tail light?

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No, drivers side.
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[Sliphorn]

You're not going to like this.
There's not a lot we can do about this.
I don't think Ford can "program" their way out of this. This is laws of physics, and they can't reprogram law of physics.

On the way home from work I stopped at an automated touch-less car wash. I ponied up for the spray on wax and spray on sealant in addition to the soap and water.

To make a long story short, in addition to wet, I probably got soap and wax and sealant on my brakes.

I left the place in EV mode. Got up to 26-30 MPH. Then came to a stoplight with a line of cars already stopped. I am always a gentle driver. Had hybrids since 2005. Regen slowed me down as usual.

When the Mav hit 3 mph IT JUST KEPT GOING. I had to press HARD on the brake. Then hard grab. Stopped inches from the other car. Was going slow. No one would have been hurt. I'm more pissed than scared / worried.

But pretty darn sure wet brakes are a problem.

Next section I put it in N at 25 mph and stopped; smoothly, on friction pads. Everything was normal after this.

People need to be aware of this.
But again, not sure how programming will help. Maybe that's why slippery mode reduces regen, so it forces friction pads to come on sooner. To dry out your pads.


USE SLIPPERY mode in rain and mist.
Don't save it for snow and ice.

I've had hybrids before. Had the Ford Escape hybrid. I've felt this phenomenon before so I was kinda predisposed to look for it. Yet the severity of it surprised me. Wet brakes, soapy brakes are going to not work well in any car. But cars without regen doing the lions share of stopping work probably dry out on the first application and these don't - if you are in a habit to rely on regen brake. When the brake coach tells you 100% it's telling you regen did 100% of the slowing... down to 3 mph. I'm well conditioned to use regen for almost all my stopping so this phenomena will show up more for me than some.

USE SLIPPERY mode in rain and mist.
Don't save it for snow and ice.

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So, the hybrid brakes suck, eh?
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[HTX]

I’ve been tracking the reports of this for about the last year and I gotta say it’s not giving me a lot of confidence in my ‘23 hybrid order (if it even gets built).

 

[LSchicago]

I’ve been tracking the reports of this for about the last year and I gotta say it’s not giving me a lot of confidence in my ‘23 hybrid order (if it even gets built).

I'm sure it will be fine. I once drove a car around on rear brakes only for a few months. Just a little getting used to.

 

[KevCuRaoi]

Today: cold, damp, very foggy. Very heavy dew on everything. My first 2 miles are residential. Lots of stop signs.
Lots of cars in front of the two schools I have to pass.

I'm going 15 mph to zero. 15 mph to zero. About 7 or 8 times. I'm using a light foot at these slow speeds. Every single time I'm getting a strong grabby feel right at 3 mph. 7 or 8 times in a row. I'm starting to get on board the "Ford has a programming issue" train.

Then I get on a boulevard. Get up to 35-40 mph. But being fuel conscious, I stay light on the pedal. 100% regen down to 3 mph. Yup. Grabs at 3 mph.

THEN I get up to 45 mph on a downgrade. With a red light at the bottom. Geez, I better get this thing stopped! I have to transition to friction brakes around 25 mph and stay on the blended brakes all the way down to zero. Hey! That was smooth all the way down to zero, no grab.

Here's where it gets interesting. I made 4 or 5 more gentle stops. Each perfectly smooth. I TRIED to get grab by doing 100% regen down to 3 mph. 4 or 5 more times. It never had the grabby feel again.

5 hours later I drive to lunch. It's warmer, drier, the sun is out. I can not replicate the grabby brake feel.

Today; in my Mav, in my weather, I'm going with the wet or rusty rotor theory. Once I cleaned them up, things were fine.
Watch closely. See if yours behaves like this.

I really have yet to experience this with my Hybrid Maverick....but this matches with my experience w/ other hybrids. Once the moisture was cleared from the rotors, I had no problems.
I think most people's issues w/ the hybrid brakes are just this...and not getting used to their characteristics. But there also seems to be a handful of people who are having more significant braking issues with the hybrid.

 

[GPSMan]

I think it is like other hybrids I have driven, not unique, but seems more pronounced.

 

[KeinoDoggy]

I'm sure it will be fine. I once drove a car around on rear brakes only for a few months. Just a little getting used to.

It would be MUCH easier to get used to driving around on just rear brakes than this because it would be consistent. As I have stated, and many others, the big problem is they are not consistent even during a single drive. I could get use to anything if it acted the same way every time.

 

[LSchicago]

It would be MUCH easier to get used to driving around on just rear brakes than this because it would be consistent. As I have stated, and many others, the big problem is they are not consistent even during a single drive. I could get use to anything if it acted the same way every time.

I guess I'll have to see when mine arrives. Might just need a software reflash.

 

[TheSEARCH]

Well I hope every single person who has a Mav and is saying this is real has filed a formal complaint with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .

 

[KeinoDoggy]

I guess I'll have to see when mine arrives. Might just need a software reflash.

That would be great if it was only a software update.

 

[GPSMan]

Sure. Another reason to stop or slow down production.

 

[LSchicago]

Sure. Another reason to stop or slow down production.

It would probably just be a tsb.

 

[OXHB619]

Do any of you experiencing this think increasing the threshold for regen cutoff would help, or just change the speed at which you experience it ?

I thought I saw somewhere that the Maverick cutoff is lower than other Ford Hybrids, maybe that was earlier in this thread.

 

[jsus]

Do any of you experiencing this think increasing the threshold for regen cutoff would help, or just change the speed at which you experience it ?

I thought I saw somewhere that the Maverick cutoff is lower than other Ford Hybrids, maybe that was earlier in this thread.

Lower than other Ford hybrids, or lower than older Ford hybrids? Escape is the same - regen down to 3mph - but there are differences with the traction motor on the eCVT, as well as the programming.

 

[OXHB619]

Lower than other Ford hybrids, or lower than older Ford hybrids? Escape is the same - regen down to 3mph - but there are differences with the traction motor on the eCVT, as well as the programming.

Unfortunately I don't remember specifics, I thought I saw 6 mph for another Ford, maybe I am losing my mind. I assume the downside is less regeneration, lower MPG.

Won't pretend to know much about Hybrids, this will be my first, and I have only driven a '21 or '22 Corolla Hybrid for 3-4 days.

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