Neato Ikewin, I'll have to look for that. I've only had one rainy day since I've had the car but it wasn't a very long drive so I must've missed it.

Also do you notice that it'll lower the volume of the sound system when you come to a stop?

 

I found a great surprice feature.... you havd to buy a CF card PC card adaptor! My wife stuff the CF directly into the PC card slot and the card sink right into the space! I have to use a tooth pick with sticky end (foamed adhesive tape) to retrieve it. You know what... the owner's manuel does not mention the need of adaptor. (At least that is my wife's excuse of jamming the CF into the slot!)

 

Yes I did John. Forgot to mention that one !

While not truly a "Hidden Feature" I like the fact you can lock the internal truck release, which cannot be un-locked with the valet key.

 

But the wiper thing is not a hidden feature since it is listed on Page 72 in the manual. "The length of the wiper interval is varied automatically according to the vehicle’s speed. Vary the delay by turning the INT TIME ring. If you turn it to the shortest delay, the wipers will change to low speed operation when the vehicle speed exceeds 12 mph (20 km/h). While the vehicle is stopped and in gear, the wipers sweep the windshield whenever you remove your foot from the brake pedal."

In real life though the wipers sweep the windshield about every 3 seconds or longer (slowest setting) when in gear and stopped with foot on the brake and not as the book describes as "whenever you remove your foot from the brake pedal."

I don't have my Audio book online with me right now but I like how the car remembers where the song was stopped: i.e. if you are playing a song from a CD and turn off the car at the 3:24 mark of the song then when you start the car it resumes from the 3:24 mark of the CD. Also, the car remembers the volume also. if you are on the Audio screen and turn the volume to 20 and turn off the Audio the next time you turn on the Audio it will turn the volume up from almost 0 to 20 (or your last volume setting).

 

I turned off my car and turned the key back to "II" to hear the end of an NPR segment (an NPR-Driveway-Moment). When it was done, I looked down to see the engine running. Did the car start when it needed to or am I a space cadet and restarted the car (or never turned it off?) ???

Anyone else find this hidden feature?

 

Yes, the ice does restart. Funny huh?

 

Just a note of clarification - I'll admit Honda didn't document this properly, as well...
Next time you are at a stop with the wipers in the slowest delay setting, release the brake just after the wipers cycle - you'll notice they immediately cycle again. This is what Honda's referring to. Consider it a 'courtesy wipe'; the logic assumes you're preparing to move forward again, and wants to make sure the windshield is clean, so that you can see properly. It doesn't have logic to evaluate if it had just wiped the windshield prior.

As far as how far back this goes - I remember my 2001 Accord had this feature - not sure when the Civic lineup got it. You can play with this a bit if you repeatedly depress then remove your foot from the brake - it'll cycle the wipers every time you do it (no matter the delay speed), as long as you're not moving very fast (ie; stop-n-crawl).

I think you're referring here to the dampened volume control when power again flows to the radio after having shut the car / radio off previously (ie; the volume starts out lower, and then rises to your last preset level in 2sec or so). In the 'olden' days, you always had to turn your stereo down before shutting the car off if you were listening at loud volume, or you'd have a rather rude resumption at full volume the next time you started the car (and potential speaker damage).

Good aftermarket car amplifiers have had this dampening control for a few years - Honda had it added to the 7th-gen Accord and now to the 8th-gen Civic (it may have been on the 7th-gen Civic as well; I'm not sure). The Accord uses an outboard amplifier located in the passenger kick panel; the Civic uses an integrated assembly in the head unit.

 

noflash (btw - are you my alter ego???) - If you shut off the car but turn the key to Ign-II within a short amount of time (within half a second or something like that) then the car kicks back on again. You can do this with a normal car too (maybe only a manual) where the pressure plate is still spinning though slowing down after the motor is shut off but if you turn the key back on and release the clutch then the car will kick back on again as the momentum of the pressure plate hits the clutch which kicks the motor back over again. This is easier if you are in neutral so you don't try to move forward and nudge into your garage wall (don't ask please). Anymore when I've forgotten to write down my daily MPG or the odometer number I need and I've turned off the car I have to remind myself to count to 1 or 2 seconds and THEN turn the key back on and that won't restart the engine.

 

As far as the wiper feature, you can set the wipers to either the shortest delay OR one click up from this (the second-shortest delay) and the "speed-sensitive wipers" work the same. Any setting at the first big notch on the dial or slower and it is normal Intermittent delays but the shortest delay and the next small click up from this do the same "stop while stopped" feature.

 

Yes, I am.

I have never heard of this feature on other cars.

I guess I will listen to the radio in "I" -- I think you can, eh?