Hi and Happy Xmas to you all.

I'm new to the forum and looking for guidance, advice and (ideally) clarification that my Fiesta 2021 MHEV is okay. I bought the car about two months ago, never having owned an MHEV before so it’s all pretty new to me.    

Firstly, let’s talk brakes – they are sometimes viciously sharp but not always. I’m convinced that the situation is actually turning me into a worse driver. Because I’m no longer able to think about 'progressive braking' through fear of giving myself and my passengers whiplash when I (sometimes) even touch the brake pedal. 

It’s the inconsistency of the brakes that scares me the most. As they can behave quite differently at different times. Therefore, I’m never relaxed driving the car. Which is a shame because the car has many positive qualities.

I’m not sure but could my problems be attributed to the relationship between the ‘standard brakes’ and the ‘regenerative system’ of the car? I say this because when the regen kicks in (I’m aware that the regen assists braking) I am cautious not to apply too much pressure on the peddle. But there comes a point when it’s necessary to make sure that I do so, to stop safely.

However, when I apply a little more pressure the ‘peddle goes hard’ and makes it difficult to judge just how much breaking is taking place. This is a nightmare when coming off a dual carriageway onto a give way roundabout or approaching the back of a stationary vehicle. This is when I ‘chicken out’ and press more firmly but more often than not - this then sends me and my passenger (as mentioned above) flying towards the windscreen.

This is what I mean about the car not being a relaxing drive. I’ve been driving for nearly 40 years and never come across anything like this car. Is this ‘normal’ or characteristic for the Ford Fiesta MHEV? Any advice or guidance is more than welcome. As I’m beginning to think that I may have bought the wrong car.      

Looking forward to your thoughts on my dilemma.

Cheers

Graham  

 

That is the same experience I had with the brakes on an MHEV Focus.

The regen only kicks in when there's spare capacity in the battery, which is why it doesn't happen every time.  There's no real way to judge when it will happen.

Other people don't seem to mind it though, in fact many seem to like it, so it's probably a personal preference thing.  If you don't like it and can't get used to it, changing car is probably the best option.

Happy Xmas all!🎅🎅

Hi Graham,

As usual the owner manual is spectacularly vague but does suggest this is "normal".

Is it the same in all modes? Some owners have suggested the regen is "fiercer" in Sport, but again the manual makes no mention of that afaik.

Neither of my Mk 8s have been MHEV but I do find the brakes over sensitive. It's a characteristic shared with most modern cars. My preferred technique used to be to initially rest my foot lightly on the pedal, then squeeze progressively as more braking power was required. You simply can't do it any more with modern cars with over assisted brakes, AEB, etc, etc - touch the brakes and wham! (I exaggerate but you get the point!)

Oddly, though, when I have driven an MHEV on a test drive (mainly a Puma) I can't say I have noticed (ie they were no worse than my own cars) but perhaps the traction battery was "full" as Tom suggests.

11 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Happy Xmas all!🎅🎅

Hi Graham,

As usual the owner manual is spectacularly vague but does suggest this is "normal".

Is it the same in all modes? Some owners have suggested the regen is "fiercer" in Sport, but again the manual makes no mention of that afaik.

Neither of my Mk 8s have been MHEV but I do find the brakes over sensitive. It's a characteristic shared with most modern cars. My preferred technique used to be to initially rest my foot lightly on the pedal, then squeeze progressively as more braking power was required. You simply can't do it any more with modern cars with over assisted brakes, AEB, etc, etc - touch the brakes and wham! (I exaggerate but you get the point!)

Oddly, though, when I have driven an MHEV on a test drive (mainly a Puma) I can't say I have noticed (ie they were no worse than my own cars) but perhaps the traction battery was "full" as Tom suggests.

Thank you both Tom and Roger,

I appreciate you both getting back to me on this. It’s interesting what you say Tom about the ‘Regen only kicks in when there's spare capacity in the battery, which is why it doesn't happen every time and that there’s no real way to judge when it will happen’. This would account for the inconsistency I’m experiencing.  

After 40 years of driving (I’m not far off 70 years old now) it’s a challenge which is taking all the fun out of the car. But I guess I’ll just have to just keep driving it until I become accustomed to it’s unpredictability. I’m afraid changing the car now wouldn’t be possible without us losing a considerable amount of money on it. Which would end up with us having to replace it for something considerably older with higher mileage.  

My wife (bless her!) is a nervous driver at the best of times. She hasn’t tried driving it yet and I know that the first time she experiences the inconsistency of the brakes, I’m sure it will be the last time she drives it at all. So, it looks as though I’ll be doing all the driving. I should have done my homework shouldn’t I?  Having said that, I put a lot of time into researching this car and at no time did any of the reviews mention ‘tetchy/ sharp and inconstant’ braking. But as Roger says, ‘most modern cars have overly assisted brakes’ Like you Roger, my preferred technique is to initially rest my foot lightly on the pedal, then squeeze progressively as more braking power is required. (sounds sensible to me!) I think with time I could probably adapt to that but combined with the inconsistency of MHEV regenerative breaking, I don’t know?  

It’s so sad because the Fiesta in many other ways is probably one of the best they’ve ever produced. It’s a lovely little car but not one I could honestly recommend to anyone without at least informing them of some of its less desirable qualities.

Anyway thank you both, your comments have been much appreciated

Take care

Graham   

7 hours ago, Graham Wood said:

After 40 years of driving

50+ for me - you just have to keep learning and adapting and, sadly, put some things in the "happy memories" box!😀

You might find this earlier thread (mainly on modes, but regen comes into it) of interest:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/142139-mhev-mode-differences/

 

 

 

Thanks Roger, will give it a look. 👍