The manual doesn’t explain this, and the dealer just said it’s ‘low gear.’ But I don’t think the Escape PHEV even has gears.
Is it like the L mode in my Chevy Volt, where lifting your foot off the accelerator brakes the car and regenerates power into the battery? If so, could you use L mode at highway speeds? That wouldn’t make sense if it was really just a low gear. Thoughts?
You can use L mode at any speed. It increases regenerative braking when you let off the accelerator, but it’s not the same as true one-pedal driving in fully electric cars. Efficiency depends on your driving style. Coasting or using momentum on gentle downhills might be better than relying on regeneration.
It works best when the battery is below 80%, as the car allows full regeneration then. Above that, it limits regeneration, and when nearly full, there’s none at all.
If regeneration exceeds the battery’s charge capacity, the system may spin the engine using electric power to create resistance and use up excess energy. It’s fascinating to see how the car handles this. I switch to L mode on long downhill drives but not for regular use since it doesn’t make much difference for me. My steep hill trips do show how well it handles it though.
@Esther
On my 2024, hill descent control is on by default, and I can’t disable it. I haven’t tried a long downhill yet, but if I did, I’d probably shift to neutral instead.
Fox said:
@Esther
On my 2024, hill descent control is on by default, and I can’t disable it. I haven’t tried a long downhill yet, but if I did, I’d probably shift to neutral instead.
It’s strange that you can’t turn it off. In my 2019 model, there was a physical button for it. The manual for your 2024 advises against shifting to neutral on hills—probably a safety thing, maybe related to traction control.
@Esther
Yeah, they claim it’s a safety issue. Also, shifting to neutral can stop the engine from charging the battery. I’ve thought about using FORScan to disable hill descent control but haven’t done it yet.
@Fox
It’s interesting how this feature has changed. It used to be off by default with a simple button, then moved to menu options, and now it’s always on. Ford must really like their hill descent control .
@Esther
I actually find it helpful on a long hill I drive daily. Still, a physical button would be nice. Don’t even get me started on the auto high beams—another thing buried in a menu instead of having a button.
It’s for driving on steep hills, letting off the brakes, and using regenerative braking. Sounds a lot like how the Volt works.
You can switch it on at any speed. It helps with climbing hills in a low gear or maximising regenerative braking on descents.
@Zoey
I think it’s mainly for regenerative braking in the PHEV. I use it all the time.
Stormy said:
@Zoey
I think it’s mainly for regenerative braking in the PHEV. I use it all the time.
Not really. Regenerative braking is always active, but this mode specifically helps with hills.
@Devon
There’s also a separate hill assist mode. It’s not the same thing.
Stormy said:
@Devon
There’s also a separate hill assist mode. It’s not the same thing.
Right, they’re different. But L mode still helps with hills too.
When I use L mode, it definitely slows the car down more, and I can hear the engine. If Ford’s system is anything like Toyota’s (and I hope they borrowed it rather than building their own), then it’s likely sending extra inertia to both the main motor/generator and the secondary one, feeding energy back into the battery. This is based on what I’ve seen in explanations of Toyota’s setup.
Not sure what it does under petrol engine mode, though. Anyone know?
@Dorian
Ford and Toyota’s systems are very similar, but Ford didn’t borrow it—they developed theirs in-house. Still, they work in almost the same way.
So it’s basically engine braking? That’s interesting. I’ve been meaning to ask something similar: I’ll be driving a lot of mountain roads this spring and wonder if it’s better to rely on this or just use the brakes carefully. What do you think?