I have the latest upgrades, and I'm still getting plenty of assist--I wish I wasn't getting as much in fact. It's fine to assist when starting out, or when on a steep hill, but mine likes to assist when I'm just crusing. The assist affinity went up for me when the battery is 5 bars or above, and has dropped when I'm below 5 bars--is most of your driving below 5 bars?

The upgrades were supposed to help fix the frequent recalibrations that I've been experiencing so that's why I had them done. They have made that better, but mine still recalibrates more often than it should.

The other (CVT) upgrade makes the transmission smoother, and is supposed to fix the problem that some drivers have reported about "thunky" starts sometimes. That isn't a problem I ever noticed, but I do notice a big difference AFTER they put on the upgrade. Like I mentioned above, it's like a forced econ mode in a way. I have gotten used to the way it drives now, but it is probematic for me to start out from a stop on a steep gravel hill (like my driveway).

On the positive side, after the tranny upgrade, I can now glide when my battery is at 4 bars--before it would only glide at 5 bars and above. It also seems like there are more "positions" for the CVT. I can usually cruise at a higher mpg on the iFCD for a given speed at highway speeds.

 

One of the software updates was done to "protect the IMA battery." kristian gave the reasons for the others. While the goal of the updates may be praiseworthy in their intent and design, the implementation results may not always work out, perhaps due to human error or difficulties as with any software upgrade. If I am getting 49-50 MPG basically on every tank and I am used to the few quirks that exist, I don't want to mess with success really.

 

new tires need 500 miles for proper run in, wait a while bef worry
the new tires may not perform as good like your stock

changing type of oil will affect the mpg, i've used 0w20 then back to 0w30
which hit the mpg so i return back to 0w20 restore the problem

as for the upgrade, they may not be tellin the truth
as them to show you the curret version
(sad to say we get no upgrade here, so wonder its good or bad)

 

Sad to say we don't get them in Canada as well bengteck, so your not the only ones. My 2006 has never had a BCM update. I even gave them the update #'s,but my dealer said those are for US cars. What is the dif, they both came out of the same factory.I.m going to try it again next week! I have never had problems with how the car runs! Hal

 

What I would like to understand is how these upgrades are tested. I know they MUST do pretty extensive testing on them, but since every driver drives a little differently, and since every commute/environment is a little different, I don't know how they could test for everything.

 

Good point on the testing question. Of course Honda puts huge time effort and money into their updates and cars big time. That being said the number one reason I bought the extended warranty was for software failure and problems.

The car is, in essence, a computer on wheels that balances IMA function with ICE function in engaging and directing the transmission and where and when its power comes from.

The one update accidentally done on my car has resulted in forced regen kicking in now all the way up to a whopping six bars at times instead of the two it used to have. The battery also started an affinity for its protective "near complete drain" shortly after as well. ( perhaps two times a week)

It's still hard for me to argue with a car getting 49-51 on almost every tank however.

 

If we're talking about TSB 09-058, what made you think it was supposed to address the frequent recal problem? When I read it, I didn't get the impression it would fix it. I'll admit that I was really hoping it would...

 

It is supposed to increase the rate of charge so I was hopeful based on that, and I had see reports from others online that it was supposed to help. My dealership applied it as a fix to my battery crashing so they were under the impression that it would help also.