I just bought a used 2017 Ford Fusion Energi. Is there a way to drive it in a way so that the EV mode is never engaged so I won’t have to worry about charging it? Thanks for any advice you can give.
Sort of. You can just not charge it, in which case it will always be in hybrid mode. However, even in hybrid mode, the car will automatically use its electric motor when traveling under a certain speed. You can’t do anything about that.
But not charging a Fusion Energi essentially turns it into a hybrid Energi.
@Sky
Will putting it in EV later mode keep the EV battery from depleting?
Kiran said:
@Sky
Will putting it in EV later mode keep the EV battery from depleting?
More or less, yeah. I believe that even in ‘EV later,’ the car will still very slowly draw from the battery when moving slowly. At least that’s what my 2019 Energi does.
Is there some goal you are trying to accomplish?
@Sky
Got it, thanks. I just got this car and don’t understand it. I have no time to ever charge this car, live in an apartment building with no way to do it at home, and don’t want to hurt the car by depleting the EV battery totally if I can help it. I basically just want to drive the car without using EV mode ever.
@Kiran
In that case, I would recommend you drive it in EV later mode, but give it a little top off when you can. A lot of shopping centers have EV chargers in their parking lots. Spend a dollar and fill the battery up once every few weeks.
I’d avoid keeping it 100% charged or 0% charged for long periods of time. Try to keep somewhere in the middle when you can.
@Sky
Yeah, I will try. I really don’t have any time to charge at this point but I’ll try to keep it from 0% as much as I can. Hopefully, EV later will allow the power depletion to be really slow.
@Kiran
Why’d you buy an Energi??? Lol might as well take the buyback 
if you’re not happy with the big ole useless battery??
Micah said:
@Kiran
Why’d you buy an Energi??? Lol might as well take the buyback
The 2017 does not have the battery issue and isn’t part of the buyback. I believe only 2019-2020 model years are affected.
Micah said:
@Kiran
Why’d you buy an Energi??? Lol might as well take the buyback
Should’ve bought a regular hybrid but maybe the Energis are cheaper due to the buyback thing.
@Jensen
Yeah, it’s that. I didn’t have a choice. It’s a buyback program.
If you don’t charge it, it will just drive as a regular hybrid anyways. Otherwise, you hit the EV button for EV later to use the charge at a different time.
Nico said:
If you don’t charge it, it will just drive as a regular hybrid anyways. Otherwise, you hit the EV button for EV later to use the charge at a different time.
Got it. So EV later keeps it driving like a gas-powered car?
@Ty
Ok cool, that makes sense. Thank you to all of you who’ve responded, this is what makes reddit such a great place. I know nothing about cars, this car in particular, so getting all this info is really helpful.
@Kiran
You don’t have to worry about depleting the battery as the car will run the engine to charge the battery once it gets to a certain level. Don’t worry about hitting any buttons, just drive it like normal. You can plug in when an outlet is available but it is not necessary. You will find there are ways to drive these cars to get better fuel mileage.
@Conn
Got it, thank you for the info and advice!
Anyone know if the take off in the Energi is quick?
Lin said:
Anyone know if the take off in the Energi is quick?
Much quicker than the car I’ve been driving, but I’ve been driving an old car from 2002.