Yes, I've been following that, but not quite sure I have it or not. I'll be taking a lengthy trip tomorrow so will watch the 63 mile mark.

But in any case calculating my mpg by hand shows my first two tanks were in the low '40s so I don't think I can blame my mileage on the trip gauge problem.

 

That's because it's all electronic. Non-hybrids have the ignition connected directly to the starter motor. When you turn it, regardless of if the car is started or not, the starter motor would engage and try and start the engine. The "screechy kind of sound" came from the starter motor not being able to turn because the engine was already spinning.

The Civic (and the rest of these hybrids) works totally different. I've done a couple of tests and it doesn't matter how long you turn the key. Once you turn it, it starts the car (I've seen the European models have a starter button like on the Prius). It doesn't actually crank the engine. Try holding the key for a few seconds and then try turning and releasing it quickly.

There is something in the manual about this feature.

 

I drove from L.A. to San Diego last weekend and that gave me a chance to really observe my car and try out some things.

First, I checked my tire pressure with my new toy (see last post above). Reads 38psi on each tire, which seems okay from what I've read here so far. The sticker in the door says 32.

Then once on the road, I looked for the "63 mile trip odometer bug" and I did observe some unusual behavior but not sure if it counts. Since I've been driving my car the last few weeks my mileage has always seemed "stuck" in the mid-to-low forties, or if it varies, it varies downward, especially in the city. But often on the freeway it will stay within 1 mpg within 10 miles, no matter what the I-FCD indicator is doing. But now that I was watching, at each 63 mile increment (126, 189, 252, and 315) on the freeway the trip mpg indicator seemed to "shake loose" and do a quite rapid increase to the low to mid '50s. It would then stay up there for a good while, but within 30-50 miles or so it would then slowly go back to the '40s again. No matter how much I coasted or glided at that point it would never budge above say 48mpg. But as soon as it got within a mile of the "magic increment" again, it always increased--every time.

Also on this trip I was finally able to get the EV mode to work and was very excited! It was easiest of course going down one of those huge hills the 5 is known for in the stretch between L.A. and S.D. I'd take my foot off the gas, watch the I-FCD indicator max out at 100mpg, the green charge bars light up, then ever so lightly put my foot on the gas again. The green bars would gradually disappear and then I would see a few gray assist bars while the indicator maintained its 100mpg. I was yelling and cheering to myself like some kind of nutcase until I realized my speed had been gradually decreasing while in glide mode and my rearview mirror was filling up with a huge SUV. EV is one tough mode to maintain. And keeping your eyes on the dials to get there and keep it there can be terribly distracting as a driver.

Though I can't distinguish any difference or feedback from my car (other than the dials) when it enters the EV state, it is quite easy to tell when it has exited EV. There is definitely a slight surge to the engine that you can just hear, but also feel slightly in the driver's seat.

Happily, I also found the I-FCD indicator is willing to hover for quite long periods at the three-quarter or 75mpg mark by careful accelerator pressure on a level road. Sometimes I find releasing the gas a tiny amount and then barely applying it again keeps it there. I'm not sure what the 75mpg I-FCD position means to the battery/engine as I typically see no assist or charge bars displayed--but my trip mpg reading positively responds upwards.

 

Hi, Tarabell... I'll give you the bad news first. By your description of what happened at the mileage intervals, it sounds like your car is afflicted with the averaging bug. If you get a chance, post the last 4 digits of your VIN - that's the build number of the car. I'm going to start a separate thread for people to post whether or not they have it, and their build number. Perhaps that way we can help narrow down who might have it, and who should probably be ok. FWIW, I was able to take a longer drive yesterday, and at the higher intervals, I saw the tank / trip averages remain steady as a rock. So I think my car 8661 is free from the bug.

Also, you'll want to report the issue to Honda (either your dealer, or the Torrance office directly), so that they get an idea of how pervasive the issue is, and so that you'll be notified once they have a fix for this. Tell them that the averaging display is re-initializing every 62mi / 100km. Don't let them tell you that the car is supposed to do that, either.

Now for the best news. That 75mpg average on the instantaneous ? It is your indication that you're 'driving with load' - maintaining the minimum pressure necessary to maintain a given speed. Now that you have that, learn to hold that position with your foot as steady as possible. This will mean that you decrease speed going uphill, but that's ok - you'll make it back up on the way down. You can also lift your foot ever so slightly on the decline, and probably watch your iFCD peg or nearly peg at 100mpg.

When you're driving like this, you're making the engine work as efficiently as possible, and you're not taxing the battery at all. You may get some 'hidden' assist from time to time, but the more time you spend like this, the higher your mpg will be for that tank at the end. Right now, in northern IL, I can only keep my iFCD gauge at about 65mpg or so on a steady speed basis - but spring is coming, and then I will reap the benefit of this as well.

In my opinion, I'd save the EV mode for lower speed - like when driving in slower rush hour traffic, cruising through malls, developments, etc. You *will* bleed off speed with the mode, so don't expect to maintain highway speeds for very long with it. Plus, the higher the speed which you invoke it, the more battery you'll need to maintain it. If you can keep the assist gauge to 3 or fewer bars, the mode will last longer (many times, I can use 1 or even 0 visible bars, and have the mode for a good amount of time. Practice!)

Also keep in mind that what you use up in battery charge has to be paid back (and in extreme cases will subject you to a fair bit of time with decreased mileage ('only' 50mpg or so) while the system charges the battery). So be judicious with your use of this.

 

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Xcel - thanks But then, I learned at the feet of the master

I can hold the display at 75, but I bleed off speed - and then to get back up to the speed limit, I'm at 50 while I climb up again. So for now, at least, 65 is the happy medium. As it is, the display is touchy - I'm sometimes all over the place with the iFCD.

I'm thinking you and I drove the same car a few weeks ago (Alabaster w/o navi) - when I got in (running , there were about 65 (?) mi on the car, and the trip odo was at 56mpg - I thought to myself "gee, someone knew what they were doing with the car..." And then within a mile and a half, *I* had it up in that same area. If I only knew that that wouldn't be the case every time I started it cold Still, I'm > 40% better on my daily commute mileage, so no complaints

 

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How interesting....my digits are 6527.

Great, I won't go into too many more technical details here, realizing this is an "intro" thread.

Will do, and report on the feedback I get. On my way to work this morning I happened to glance down at my mileage and noticed it had suddenly zoomed almost to 60 after being "stuck" at 45 for the last 15 minutes. But this seemed a little early at 370 miles, where I would have expected it to happen a few miles later.

Wow, that's good to hear. I was wondering why it seems to "like" that area. When it drops below the 75 I just barely lift my foot a little and it zings back--I press slightly again, and it stays. Then I don't move or breathe. (BTW, the image of a rat being reinforced to get its pellet crosses my mind constantly in this car)

Thanks very much for all the good information!

 

That's because it's all electronic. Non-hybrids have the ignition connected directly to the starter motor. When you turn it, regardless of if the car is started or not, the starter motor would engage and try and start the engine. The "screechy kind of sound" came from the starter motor not being able to turn because the engine was already spinning......

almost....

the grinding sound most of us have heard at some time in our lives is the starter motor's gear trying to engage the teeth of the flywheel, which is already spinning. the starter motor is probably already turning at that time, because a contact in the solenoid which drives the gear to mesh into the flywheel has already connected the starter motor to the battery. in a normal start, the motor's drive gear engages the stopped flywheel and starts turning at virtually the same instant. if the engine is running, the teeth can't mesh because the flywheel's teeth are moving past the starter motor's teeth too quickly. when one set of teeth hits the other, the sound is awful. if overdone, it actually can knock teeth off the flywheel and/or wear out the teeth on the starter motor, either one of which can prevent starting in the future.

cheers!

 

Tarabell: It's really interesting hearing about your reactions to the new hybrid- they're very different than mine were, but everyone approaches the HCH from a new angle. You're right about one thing, certainly. Reading the gas gauge is funny- often when I'm starting to run out of gas, the dial will tick up a notch or two for a bit before going down again once there are about three dots left. I have noticed this three times now. I try not to run it down until the gas tank is totally empty, but when it has gotten particularly low, maybe the gauge isn't as accurate.

My mpg odometer does not fluctuate nearly as much as I expected. Having the 'trip A' and 'trip B' to keep track of it is helpful, as I reset the Trip B meter every time I fill up, and I'm using A to track the life of the car. One thing that bugs me is that it displays a reading measurable to a tenth of a mpg, but it only seems to be reading it accurate to four tenths, because it'll vary between 46.5 and 46.9, for instance, but never hit in between, and then up to 47.3 and so on in increments of .4 mpg. Then once in a while it jogs by a tenth, and it'll go from vacilating between 48.4 and 48.8 to dipping between 47.7 and 47.3. Usually it's very steady and sits at a number, like 46.5, for 100 miles without a change.

I used to be in science, so I think about the instrumentation of measurements more than most people, and when I see instruments that have quirks and are a little out of my control, it irks me. I guess it's kind of a habit of mine to collect this kind of data, but I always keep in mind that the way in which you measure something has a big effect on the result you get, (observers impact what they observe) and you need to be familiar with and comfortable with your measuring instrument to get consistent results. Even then, the results might not be the same when someone else uses the same instrument to measure the same thing.

It's easy to mess with data, especially within the .4 mpg range- if I reset the mileage between tanks when I'm moving instead of when I'm stopped, or if the car is already warmed up, then the initial readings for the new tank will be impacted but the erased tank reading won't change. I started to post my car's results on this site, but then I considered, and knew I'd probably find it hard to resist massaging the readings to make it look better, so I don't think I'll do that anymore. I'm still keeping track for my own information, though.

Your grandfather's style reminds me of my friends from New York, with a difference- they don't seem to understand that a car can coast. With them, it's: rev-up and brake, rev up-and brake, because, clearly, if your foot isn't on the gas, it has to be on the brake!

Have fun with the new tire gauge! and I'm glad you're enjoying the new HCH and the attention you're getting!