I'm new to the forum but have had my '08 HCH since January. I love the car, but I do have a few problems with its performance, and would like some reassurance that they are normal or at least nothing to worry about.

1) I keep reading posts concerning people complaining about having trouble maintaining FE above 45 MPG during winter or other fuel-guzzling circumstances (e.g. stop/start traffic, short commutes, hilly terrain), but I can't help but notice that I sometimes have trouble maintaining 35 MPG in the same circumstances. When I still had my old job that I left in April I was taking a 45 minute, 20-25 mile commute to work going 35-60 MPH throughout the trip with few stops en route, I was feeling good about my car when I was eking out 48-50 MPG. This was in optimal conditions, BTW. Now that winter is here again, I've noticed a sharp decline in FE, somewhere in the field of 30-35, but I'm also taking a shorter, but still at least 20 minute commute to work. Also, I am not an aggressive driver, and certainly the Hybrid's fuel efficiency display has led me to be an even more technique-conscious driver. I let off the throttle down hills, don't try and maintain speed up hills, and slowly accelerate from stops. With all this talk on this forum about 55-60+ efficiency, should I be worried about my HCH's FE performance? I actually lie to friends about my FE because I'm embarrassed that I have a hybrid that sometimes barely does over 30 MPG.

2) This problem comes in spurts and only happens occasionally, but it really worries me when it does happen. When I let off the break when the engine is in auto-stop, sometimes the car will lurch forward and produce a clunking noise that really doesn't sound good. I've read about similar problems on other threads, but mine happens without stepping on the acceleration; just letting off the breaks sends the car into this sudden convulsion. Possible problem with my auto-stop mechanics?

3) This one usually only happens if I've been in a particular hurry and happen to be pushing the car a little, and it usually happens as I'm accelerating from a stop. It starts revving up and down like a regular car would if it were trying to decide which gear it wanted to be in. This also is usually remedied by letting off the gas and slowly stepping back on it, but it doesn't go away until I remember to do this.

Any help and insight into these worries would be greatly appreciated, as I love this car and sincerely hope there's nothing wrong with it. More than anything, I like it because of its relatively small impact on the environment, but I would like to increase my driving experiences with it.

 

Where are you located? Maybe there is someone nearby who gets pretty good mileage who would be willing to take your car for a spin and see how it feels.

If that doesn't work, here is the usual barage of questions:
What pressure are you running in your tires?
Tell me more about your commute (average speed, number of stop lights, hilly or flat, surface streets or highway)
How fast do you drive usually?
When you are accelerating, what is your usual RPM?
Do you ever use glide (canceling out regen, FE meter at 100mpg, without assist)?
How about EV-glide (canceling out regen, FE meter at 100mpg, using assist)?
Have you read Tarabell's article on Cleanmpg about getting the most FE out of your Civic?

Regarding your transmission issues, I've heard about weirdness caused by tires that aren't exactly the same size (through wear or tire pressure), but I wouldn't expect that from an '08. It might be worth checking the pressure tire pressure and wear though.

I would suggest trying to narrow down the circumstances when that happens and try to reproduce the problem with a service advisor in the car. Something sounds a little wonky with your CVT.

 

Location: Lexington, KY
What pressure are you running in your tires? 35-40 PSI
Tell me more about your commute (average speed, number of stop lights, hilly or flat, surface streets or highway)about 20 minute, 10 mile trip to work, averaging about 25 MPH. Approximately 5 stop lights, at which I sometimes spend quite a bit of time (but autostop usually helps negate this issue except in overly frigid situations when engine has to kick back in to maintain temps. Kentucky is rather hilly...
How fast do you drive usually?Never usually above 5 MPH above speed limit. I don't know if this is what you wanted to hear.
When you are accelerating, what is your usual RPM?I rarely reach 4,000 RPM (only when going uphill). Probably stay between 1,500 and 2,000 most of the time.
Do you ever use glide (canceling out regen, FE meter at 100mpg, without assist)? Yes
How about EV-glide (canceling out regen, FE meter at 100mpg, using assist)? No, never, if I'm understanding these last two questions correctly.
Have you read Tarabell's article on Cleanmpg about getting the most FE out of your Civic? No - Beginning to read. Appears I'm already using many of these techniques.

 

All the questions/comments kristian made, with the following:
2- How many miles? If it's either fresh off the lot, your CVT is probably settling in a little, or if you're a heavy driver and already over 20k, you might be due a fluid change already.
3- Take some lead out of your foot. Try to get in a couple of days where you don't let your engine revs go above 2500 or your IMA boost past three white bars. Don't be a safety hazard, though... if a situation calls for WOT, well, better to lose a couple mpg points than to be made into an accordion.

 

Ahh, your answers came in while I was writing my reply... soo...
Lexington, KY - Hopefully someone's closer than I.
Pressure - Good winter setting, but as kristian said, make sure they're L/R or 4-way balanced.
Commute - Your drive sucks for winter driving. The engine likely isn't getting up to a reasonable temperature before you arrive at work/home. Flip over to the coolant display instead of the iMPG and see how far up it is when you pull in the garage.
Speed - Looks ok.
RPM - Again, looks ok
EV modes - Takes practice, but it sounds like you're on the right track.
Have you had your alignment checked? One of the sad facts of life is that neither the factory nor the dealership does this (or the headlights) before delivery. There's an NTB just down the street from me that offers 1-, 3-, and 5-year programs where you pay once up front, then have all the labor covered for however long your program choice runs. I typically take mine in every 4-6 months, or if I hit a particularly nasty pothole.
Hard to say exactly what numbers you should be getting, but take a look at my running chart, and you'll see just how badly cold temps shred mpg.

 

My MM is at 20% right now, and after a rather lengthy holiday trip in a couple days, I plan on having the wheels aligned and tires rotated while I get the oil changed, and I'll mention the CVT problems I'm having while I'm there (I wanted to have this done before the trip, but when we called, the technician told my girlfriend that they won't do it unless it's below 15%, which I won't reach by the time I leave. But aside from that, they're swamped with customers as is, and couldn't fit me in anyway). I have a sneaking suspicion that my alignment may be the main detractor of my FE, as I'm also noticing increased noise coming from underneath the car, mostly in the rear.

My car has approximately 13,500 miles so far.

 

As long as you're in, have the tech check up on your upper control arms. That could also explain the noise coming from the rear. I'm also experimenting with 3/4" pipe insulation in the front radiator grille (something the Canucks are excited about), but it's a bit too early yet to say how much of a difference it makes.

 

It sounds like you're well along the right track. The only thing I would throw out is your speed. The only time I cruise the speed limit is on single lane roads--usually I'm 10mph less than the speed limit on surface streets and 15mph under our 75mph highway speeds. Try driving a little slower for a couple of days and see if that helps.

Your commute sounds pretty similar to mine. I drive 10 hilly miles and about 10 stop lights. I've figured out that the stop lights are on a timer so I have a pretty good idea how slow I need to be going to hit most of them on green.

Since I drive the same route daily, I also have a good idea how fast I need to enter the hill, and how much gas I need to get up it for maximum driving with load. For example, I will hit a hill at 5-7mph over the speed limit and keep my iFCD stable at around 30mpg the whole way as my speed bleeds down to about 5-10mph below the limit. I try to be as smooth as possible and not add gas in the middle of the hill. If you find you need to add gas in the middle, next time try keeping the iFCD at ~25mpg and see if that works. I try to minimize my assist as much as possible, but that doesn't work well on hills so I don't fret if I can't get the white bars to go away.

On the downhills, I use glide as often as possible and usually kill the glide for the last 1/3 or so as I build up speed for the next hill. I am of the opinion that hills are good for fuel economy--they are basically a forced pulse and glide session. I have choosen my route to avoid STEEP up and down hills where ever possible since they seem to need more gas to get up and it's harder to maximize the glide on the way down.

One thing that I didn't mention earlier is to always reset either your trip A or Trip B before each drive. That way, you can see if the things you are trying are helping or just wasting your time. There are several spots along my drive where I know what numbers would be "good" or "average" economy so I know if I'm on the right track for the day, or if I need to try harder.

Good luck!

 

I have periodically noticed something similar to your auto-stop lurch. It seems to occur at random for me and usually am still at about 1-2 MPH after auto-stop just kicked in and I take my foot off the brake. It kinda clunks then lurches forward. However, I haven't had the issue of the engine revs along with it. If you hit the gas too quickly coming out of regen or AS, it will rev the RPMs until the CVT grabs. Best way to avoid this is to gently push the gas until you notice the CVT catch the gear it needs. As far as winter MPGs go, I'm in the mid to upper 30s with summer in the mide 40s. I always figure on a 20% drop in winter months due to gasoline formulation and additives along with engine taking much longer to get up to temp. It was 20 on my commute to work yesterday, and by the time the engine got up to temp with the heater running, was about 5 miles or so. This included 50mph driving for about 3 of that, then down to 40, then a brief stop at the drive thru for breakfast before continuing on at 40 to 50 for the last 2 or 3 miles.

For the insulation in the grille, I've actually noticed about a 1/2 mile or so difference in the warm up time for the engine. Mind you, without the breakfast stop my daily commute is between 4-5 miles each way to work. It used to take about 3+ of those miles for warm up, now it's closer to about 2.5. I've only got 3/4 of teh grille blocked or so, but that's due to the temp fluctuations we get on the east coast. Yesterday was 22 for the high, today is going to be about 45. Tomorrow around 50, so I don't want to block the entire grille, though I'm sure it wouldn't cause a problem.

 

I can only echo what others have said, I am not sure why a dealer would refuse to service your car when you wanted it done, It is your car, not theirs.
I do 100% grill block when the temps are going to stay below 40, 50% block below 60, 0 otherwise. One of the things to keep in mind is with the hybrid, in colder temps, parts of the hybrid go offline or operate with reduced function. It is designed that way and they even have a name for the various stages (I am not auto tech smart). To some degree it works the reverse as it gets hotter.
In spring and fall (no a/c, no heat) I get mid 40's in town.
In Summer and moderate cold (30 or higher) (a/c use) I get low 40's.
In the coldest times (right now, highs single digit, lows in the negatives) I have what is just pretty much a small, efficient car topping out at maybe 33-35 mpg.
My daily drive is about 6 miles each way in moderate to heavy city traffic, I have one noticible hill on my way to work and the rest is flat or downhill, on the way home, I have to make up a gradudal 700 ft rise in elevation.
My driving techniques are, tires @40psi, lots of glide, I use e/v in the morning (when it works) to go downhill, anticipating stops with minimal use of brakes (touch lightly for brake lites & regen) keep rpm at under 2,000 and minimizing the use of heat and a/c (under 35 over 78).
In the summer, I may get auto stop within a block, in the winter, sometimes I don't see it my entire trip but, the grill block sems to increase the likelyhood of that happening within 4 miles.