Regenerative Braking in the Mach-E

[Clockwork]

As an owner of two electric vehicles prior to acquiring my Mach-E (Tesla Model 3 Performance, Rivian R1T Adventure Quad Motor) I am a big fan of one pedal driving and regenerative braking.

With that being said, does anyone else feel like it is a little weak in the Mach-E? I know that its strength is tied to drive mode, but only in Unbridle does it approach what I am used to. However, I prefer to drive most of the time in Engage which becomes problematic if I want stronger regen. Even our other current vehicle (Equinox EV) has stronger regenerative braking.

Is there a reason for this? Also, why would they tie it to drive mode? It would make more sense to me to have it user selectable.

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[hbirring01]

Yeah it is very weak. It used to be a lot stronger but, because of customer feedback they toned it down. Now its too toned down.

 

[Mauser]

I generally drive in engaged. Living near the rockies, I'm going down a lot of hills so I find myself just hitting "L" a lot. I've found that's gotten a little weaker, too. I also notice it starts a little soft then at a certain point it kicks in a little harder. There's a bit of a jolt when it happens.

 

[azulejost]

I also find using 1PD to lead to locking the tires when slowing and making a turn over an uneven surface (like 1-2”into an entrance/concrete drive). Happens with any drive mode, and even at surprisingly low speeds.

I think a custom drive mode profile is well overdue, as I like the low sensitivity of the whisper mode accelerator but prefer more regen and less steering boost. Seems it wouldn’t be hard to make available if using the options for each variable from the Whisper, Engage, and Unbridle modes, though the ability to tweak the settings in smaller increments from min-max on steering boost, regen, accelerator response, and Magneride (for those with it) would be nice.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Living in hilly SF, I would love stronger regen. In fact on my 26% hill the car will speed up with my foot off the accelerator! That said, the MME regen is stronger than the Tesla M3's that I've driven...

 

[RickMachE]

Drive in Engage, push the L button, and you'll get more regenerative braking.

There are no "Unbridled" or "Engaged" driving modes. They are "Unbridle" and "Engage", I assume in reference to a Mustang horse. You "Unbridle" the Mustang.

The Lightning has very aggressive braking in Sport Mode.

 

[933233311602]

Use the brake pedal like your driving instructor taught you. You'll have as much or as little braking as you want that way.

 

[phil]

I find the Unbridled regeneration to be relatively strong, comparable to the Bolt I drove a few years ago, and stronger than some other cars. But I would like it to be stronger.

I would be very interested in an objective measurement of Mustang regen, e.g., deceleration measured in g, for comparison with other vehicles. But I have never seen any such measurement, so I can only judge by the seat of my pants. And my pants have only been in the driver's seat of a handful of EVs.

 

[MN Mach-E]

As an owner of two electric vehicles prior to acquiring my Mach-E (Tesla Model 3 Performance, Rivian R1T Adventure Quad Motor) I am a big fan of one pedal driving and regenerative braking.

With that being said, does anyone else feel like it is a little weak in the Mach-E? I know that its strength is tied to drive mode, but only in Unbridle does it approach what I am used to. However, I prefer to drive most of the time in Engage which becomes problematic if I want stronger regen. Even our other current vehicle (Equinox EV) has stronger regenerative braking.

Is there a reason for this? Also, why would they tie it to drive mode? It would make more sense to me to have it user selectable.

Try pushing the L (low) push button after you selected D mode, lots more regitive there if you like that, yes I wish they had more user control also, Cheers

 

[Delsk]

Honestly before my MME, I drove a CR-V Hybrid Touring which had paddles to increase or decrease regen braking. I really used the heck out of the paddles. I’ve been wondering why the MME doesn’t do the same. I guess I can use the L to increase but that is more like something you would leave on.

 

[Doobster6]

As an owner of two electric vehicles prior to acquiring my Mach-E (Tesla Model 3 Performance, Rivian R1T Adventure Quad Motor) I am a big fan of one pedal driving and regenerative braking.

With that being said, does anyone else feel like it is a little weak in the Mach-E? I know that its strength is tied to drive mode, but only in Unbridle does it approach what I am used to. However, I prefer to drive most of the time in Engage which becomes problematic if I want stronger regen. Even our other current vehicle (Equinox EV) has stronger regenerative braking.

Is there a reason for this? Also, why would they tie it to drive mode? It would make more sense to me to have it user selectable.

Like any system, you learn to adjust your driving style to what you have. I usually drive in Whisper since even that mode has more oomph than most cars I’ve owned, and it makes it easier to achieve higher efficiency. Whisper has the weakest regen mode but I’ve gotten used to it and almost never have to use the brakes. I also notice that pushing the ‘L’ button doesn’t improve the regen strength, at least in Whisper mode, which is what I had thought it should do.

 

[Adventureboy]

Use the brake pedal like your driving instructor taught you. You'll have as much or as little braking as you want that way.

^^^^ This
The first part of the brake pedal is regen even in one-pedal mode. It simply uses more regenerative braking when you press the brake pedal until you want to stop faster than max regen can do. I agree it would be nice to have a user-selectable regen setting.

Also, to my knowledge, "L" doesn't do anything when you use OPD. Has anyone found otherwise?

We don't want to forget what the brake pedal is used for

 

[Adventureboy]

I also notice it starts a little soft then at a certain point it kicks in a little harder. There's a bit of a jolt when it happens.

I expect the jolt is the physical brakes engaging. This happens if you have cruise set and going down a hill that exceeds the regenerative braking capability or when you press the brake pedal past the regen capability.

 

[ARK]

There is a separate setting to enable 1PD when you are choosing the drive mode, make sure it is selected. I didn’t see anyone else mention this. I am not talking about the L button some people already mentioned. This is on the same screen where you can choose between Unbridled, Engage, and Whisper.

Each drive mode does have its default level of regenerative braking programmed in, but I believe enabling 1PD should more or less ratchet it up to max intensity across all three drive modes.

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