4000 mile road trip

[troylikesbikes]

3925 total miles. 1267 EV miles. 43.7 mpg according to the fuel meter. 89.65 gallons of gas.

 

I70 east out of Denver to ST. Louis, seconday roads south along the Mississippi to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, south on secondaries to I40, east to Chattanooga, Chenola Skyway to Robbinsville, hooked up with the Blueridge Parkway in Cherokee, up the Parkway to central Virgina north of Roanoke, east to Amherst and north on 29 to Washington DC. Return trip on US50 to Ohio, and then I70 from Ohio back to Denver in one shot, sleeping in the back of the car for 5 hours in Illinois.

 

3 tanks better than 51 mpg, 35 mpg worst tank, 1 high 40's. No additional charging at any time. Charged the HVB to full on about 4 occasions on downhill runs, including one that involved the car first running the motor, then turning on the heat and throwing error codes all over the dash, and turning itself off. A/C used during most interstate runs. The car used maybe 1/2 qt of oil over the entire trip.

 

The car is comfortable, fast enough, does GREAT on hilly roads, LOVES those. Flat roads at 80mph with the motor running the entire time, mpg was dependent on wind direction, and would run 34-38mpg most of the time. Still air and 70mph can get 40mpg. Carried between 15-40% SOC at all times, let it go to hybrid mode exactly once, and only because I knew I was about to make a downhill run soon and could load the HVB back up.

 

L works great for turning the accelerator into a speed dial, makes charging on downhill runs great. Ran the Blueridge hard on the uphills when possible, because once the motor was on, why not? Enjoyed the cars handling (best described as a fat sedan, but it corners flat and even, and doesn't do anything unexpected, and is well damped) and then puttering downhill at 35-40mpg smelling the roses and enjoying the scenery. One tank had 2 or 3 EV miles for every gas mile, that was along the Parkway and turning a 55 mpg tank.

 

Had oil changed, tires rotated today, and had dealership pull any codes possibly related to the downhill run where the car shut itself off.

 

I think the code section line says:

 

u3003 abs u3003 pscm p0afa dcdc uo263 gfm u046b ipc p1534 ipc

 

It was explained to me that this was related to the 12V, and they tested it, it checked okay, took it for a test drive, the only difference I have noticed is that I am seeing 12.7 and 12.8V when the car is off, compared to 12.2 and 12.3V previously. I see 12.4V now after the car is off and the lights and everything are on, but then it settles back to 12.7V after the car turns off all the extra stuff. They also said something about the electronics for the dashboard, but weren't specific.