InSantaCruz

Escape 2008 purchased in May 07. The first two weeks the engine would drop into hybrid mode within 3-4 minutes of driving. I was getting 28.5 average miles per gallon. Two weeks afterwards I discovered the gas engine hovering at 1100 rpm for my commute to work. I cover 13 miles in stop and go traffic on the freeway. When I brought it to the attention of my dealer they could not replicate the issue. I'm not sure they understand the issue.

My question for any 2008 owners have you noticed your gas engine remains running after you start up and go rather than wait for the warm up period. By warm up I've begun starting the car and waiting until it drops into hybrid mode before taking off first thing in the morning. That seems to alleviate the issue but it's a bit of a pain. I know there's a sensor or software glitch at work here but the dealer is incorporative.

 

InSantaCruz

First I noticed I misspelled uncooperative above. I read an FAQ that posters should be able to edit their posts. Is this wrong?

Addendum to post:
I've noticed that when I turn the key on and wait for the electronics to light up, then start the engine by the time I hit the exit to work and dropped to 25 mph or stop at the light it will drop into hybrid mode. The thing is that the highway to get there is typically packed. So I'm constantly letting up on the gas, start applying the brakes and slowing to under 20 mph but still moving forward and the Gas engine is hovering around 1100 rpm.

If anyone has a clue as to the criteria used to go into hybrid mode I would appreciate it. The owners manual states the engines should be warmed up, below 30 mph and not trying to increase speed. I also noticed it will drop into hybrid if left idle for about 3 minutes. But it's not doing that.