79,575 total miles. Chevron on Bascom at Hamilton.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
35.04 MPG
472.8 MI, 13.492 GAL @ $4.159 = 35.04 MPG
79,077 total miles. Chevron on California Circle in Milpitas.
A bit lower than usual, but this tank did include a lot of freeway driving down from Placerville during which the electric assist system was shutdown due to high heat in the battery.
Also, this was Shell gas from Placerville, not the usual Chevron. Could that be why the MPG is slightly lower?
Also, this was Shell gas from Placerville, not the usual Chevron. Could that be why the MPG is slightly lower?
Monday, August 6, 2012
New Passenger Seatbelt.
At a stoplight few weeks ago my wife noticed that that her seatbelt was fairly tight and acting as if it were locked (not extended). She unbuckled and allowed it to retract fully, but was then not able to pull it back out! Something in the ratchet mechanism had locked up, rendering the front passenger seat belt useless.
Apparently these seatbelts have a small gas or explosive charge that "pre-tensions" the belt in the event of a crash. When it activates it pulls the belt tight, holding you firmly in the seat. I called the local dealer and they wanted around $320 for the complete seatbelt/pretensioner assembly. I then searched online and found it for $205 at Varsity Ford Parts. The color is "stone".
I ended up ordering it online, and here's what they don't tell you: Because of the gas or explosive pre-tentioner, the part must be shipped UPS ground as "hazardous materials", which seems to mean it will take way longer than you expect to arrive, and it also costs an extra $50 or so in shipping. I don't recall the final total; it was under $320 (so still worth it I guess), but we ending up doing several family outings with everyone in the back seat (chauffeur style) during the two weeks it took to arrive. No joke, it really was two weeks. They had to ship it direct from Ford to the dealer who runs the website, who then had to turn around and ship it up to me.
In hindsight I did still save a few bucks, but next time I'll likely just go with the local dealer for parts.
Here's the new assembly, and the box it arrived in:
Replacing the assembly was quite easy. I used a 1/4" allen/hex wrench on the three large bolts. To remove the small cover on the shoulder D-ring you squeeze in the height adjuster buttons and pull the bottom of the cover up.
Apparently these seatbelts have a small gas or explosive charge that "pre-tensions" the belt in the event of a crash. When it activates it pulls the belt tight, holding you firmly in the seat. I called the local dealer and they wanted around $320 for the complete seatbelt/pretensioner assembly. I then searched online and found it for $205 at Varsity Ford Parts. The color is "stone".
I ended up ordering it online, and here's what they don't tell you: Because of the gas or explosive pre-tentioner, the part must be shipped UPS ground as "hazardous materials", which seems to mean it will take way longer than you expect to arrive, and it also costs an extra $50 or so in shipping. I don't recall the final total; it was under $320 (so still worth it I guess), but we ending up doing several family outings with everyone in the back seat (chauffeur style) during the two weeks it took to arrive. No joke, it really was two weeks. They had to ship it direct from Ford to the dealer who runs the website, who then had to turn around and ship it up to me.
In hindsight I did still save a few bucks, but next time I'll likely just go with the local dealer for parts.
Here's the new assembly, and the box it arrived in:
Replacing the assembly was quite easy. I used a 1/4" allen/hex wrench on the three large bolts. To remove the small cover on the shoulder D-ring you squeeze in the height adjuster buttons and pull the bottom of the cover up.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
36.04 MPG
449.7 MI, 12.477 GAL @ $4.099 = 36.04 MPG
78,605 total miles. Shell in Placerville.
This stop was on the way back down the hill from a weekend in Tahoe. This MPG is better than I expected, given all the freeway and mountain driving.
Actually, due to the high heat (100°F in Sacramento) the electric half of the hybrid system seemed to shut down during the trip. The regenerative brakes weren't on, and the motor was clearly not assisting when starting from a stop (it felt pretty weird). On the highway there was little difference, though I did notice it being a little more sluggish than usual. This happened both going to and returning from Tahoe, and in both cases the regular performance returned after the vehicle "rested". When we unpacked upon arrival the floor in the back was very warm (where the batteries are).
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