36.35 MPG

401.5 mi, 11.044 gal @ $3.359 = 36.35MPG

56,481 total miles

Chevron on California Circle in Milpitas. Interestingly, although my MPG is higher the MTE (miles to empty) shown on the dash was lower, 467. Also odd, the average MPG has come up to 36.3, and hit 36.4 when I arrived home. I think it's just coincidence that this is exactly the MPG of my last tank...

But overall I am REALLY pleased with 36MPG!

Dead Battery

Last night as I was leaving work I wasn't able to start the Escape. It unlocked and headlights came on, but when I put the key in everything went dark and it started making a chattering clicking sound from behind the dash gauges. The airbag lights were flickering so I figured either something electrical got fouled up and it thought it had been in a crash, or the 12V battery was dead. Fortunately it was the battery. I checked it with a multimeter from the lab and it was fluctuating around 5.5V. This is really low!

Jump starting the hybrid Escape is actually really easy; you don't have to sit there charging the battery with the other vehicle, since the 12V battery isn't actively used to start the engine as it is in a conventional vehicle. Mainly the 12V battery is used to close the relays which connect the high voltage battery to the motor, allowing it to start the engine. It is also used to pressurize the brakes, which is the noise you hear every time you start the car. Once the engine is running it can provide 14V power to charge the low voltage battery and run all the accessories.

When I got home the battery was still dead, which surprised me after 20mi/30min of driving. I popped the caps on the battery and checked the water level and it was WAY down, so I filled it with our reverse osmosis water and hooked up a 1A trickle charger overnight. In the morning it started fine and measured 12.5V. I'll be keeping the jumper cables in the car, but given the relatively light usage this battery gets (no hard cranking as in a regular car) I expect I'll get it to last a good bit longer. It's the original battery with probably 3 years on it, 56k miles.

34.36 MPG

436.5 mi, 12.703 gal @ $3.40 = 34.36 MPG

56,080 total miles. I've been filling up at Chevron since I got the Escape about 6 weeks ago, so I figured I'd keep that going. This time I saved the receipt and all the details. By now the computer is showing 35.8 average MPG, so it's getting closer.

One of my goals with the hybrid was to get over 500 "miles to empty" showing on the dashboard display. Surprisingly, I got this on my second fill up; this time it showed 519 miles to empty. I didn't expect it would be so easy. I guess the real goal will be to actually drive 500 miles on one tank...

Into the Snow and Ice

Three weeks after getting the Escape we made a trip up to Tahoe for New Years. Mine is only front wheel drive, so I picked up some chains at the local O'Reilly Autoparts. Unfortunately, the set was more expensive than what they were showing on their website; Laclede 2029 for around $90. Their website was showing a different model of cable chains for $35, but it turned out that set was too small for the P235/70R16 stock tires.

To prepare for the cold I added most of a bottle of rubbing alcohol from Walgreens to the washer fluid. If you buy pre-mixed washer fluid most of the time it has methanol or something else to keep it flowing below freezing, but I usually just use Windex concentrate or the store-brand equivalent. It ended up working great, the squirters started right up, even after 10F nights, when we headed home.

All told the trip was 430 miles, which we did on one tank. I didn't save the receipt here either, but the mileage was around 32 MPG for this trip. That's pretty decent given the freezing temperatures, mountain driving, and the chains.

We did end up using chains, which was novel but actually pretty annoying. Still, they worked well and on several occasions we drove around other vehicles which were having trouble (likely 4x4 that were exempted from chain control). I ended up hooking the chains on the second to last nub on the inside of the wheels, and the same on the outside, then tightening to the last nub on the outside. It was good that I practiced in the driveway the day before we left, as they chains both went on and came off with ease. We had no problems either way.