E85 Ethanol Cold Start Problems? - Ford Forums

Dr Dart · 01-25-2008, 19:12

Hello:

Anybody else having trouble starting in cold weather when burning E85?

We have a 03, Explorer, XLT, 4WD, FFV. Been running nothing else but E85 for almost 8 months.
Cold weather rolls in and it'll start but stumbles and stalls. try to start again, runs smooth until you put it in drive, then stumbles and stalls.
Repeat once or twice, then it starts behaving and runs fine the rest of the way home from work.

Any ideas, experiences? I did replace the fuel filter, 58K on the vehicle.

btexpress · 01-27-2008, 19:22

Unless you Explorer is a flex fuel vehicle, you will have problems with E85. Even flexfuel vehicles are having some cold weather problems with this fuel.

Dr Dart · 01-29-2008, 18:25

Thanks BT.

Yes, the Explorer is a Flex Fuel. My Ford garage hasn't done much more than install a new idle motor and reflash the ECU with the latest software.

BKL8008 · 02-13-2008, 15:39

I have a 2004 Sport Trac, which is an FFV.

I will not use E85, however.

According to my owner's manual, "expect up to a 30% loss in fuel mileage."
also,
"What to do if you experience cold weather starting problems."

I had no problem with E85 when it was first introduced around here. (Indiana).
This was during summer.
I used it, and calculated my mileage loss. In the summer, it was ~25%.
In the colder weather, the colder it got, the more mileage I lost. The book was right - up to 30%.

I did also experience starting problems last winter, but not so bad. When the truck warmed up, after being pukey until then, it was fine. It never failed to start; it was just annoying. The service guys said the computer showed no codes, and it was normal; I was also not the only FFV person with that complaint. I didn't worry about it.

I also quit using it. Here's why:

I stopped using it though, when the one station that has it near here began price gouging on it. While it IS cheaper than gasoline straight, the price is too high for me to use it and break even. If I lose 30% mileage, the E85 should sell for 30% less than gas, I think. Well, it isn't, and I don't want to spend ANOTHER $25/week in gas costs! Complaints to the home office did no good. All I got was a foreign terrorist reading a script in a heavy accent. I no longer shop there.

Anyway, be aware of YOUR mileage loss with YOUR vehicle too. YMMV. Calculate the cost of loss and make sure you are not losing money!