no. The ECO light on has everything to do with the instantaneous MPG the car is getting. Many of us used to think the light exclusively meant 3cyl operation, but its not true- verified by looking at OBD readouts for fuel flow steps, %load jumps, and asking Honda. Most of the time its a good bet that you ARE in 3cyl mode when the light is on, but the logic condition is linked to the MPG calculation done by the ECU/OBD at that instant- not the cylinder mode.

 

That's also been my observation. I've felt the "shudder" as the HAH switched between 3/6 cyl, all the while the ECO light is on steadily. The first few times startled me. I was thinking there was something wrong with my car! I even watched the tach to see if it was the tranny shifting gears. Nope, gotta be the 3/6 cyl modes.

 

OK, too many abbreviations I'm not familiar with, please use smaller words and less letters so that I can follow your reply. "ECU", "OBD" I can guess what they mean but I'd rather learn something new. Thanks

 

Most terms are in the glossary:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/glossary.php

ECU- engine control unit. the computer.
OBD- onboard diagnostics. the check engine' trouble codes, only a lot more realtime information is carried by the system than just trouble codes.

smaller words? huh?

If you read through some of the older threads for the Accord, you'll find a wealth of information about hoiw it reacts.

 

I have 2200 miles on my 05 HAH and have averaged almost 29mpg in mostly city driving. It's about what I expected, and I never really thought I would get 31 city and 37 highway as my experience has shown the EPA estimates to not be real world. I've had a Prius for 4 years and have learned to coast to lights, start slow from a stop, and not abuse the gas pedal when its not necessary. And no I'm not driving like I'm 95 either!

Like any car you will get better MPG if you take it easy, but the one thing that no one is pointing out in this forum is that the HAH emits less pollution. If your buying a hybrid just to save a few bucks in gas then you are missing the real point in my opinion. These vehicles are environmentally better and that should matter. Or at least it might for your grandchildren.

 

I drive my car in the city everyday to work. When driving, the speed limit is between 45 and 55 the whole way, which is optimum for FE. However, I have 13 stop lights in my 17 mile commute, counting only the first of 10 timed/sequenced lights going through downtown. I manage to get 30 mpg on this commute. The worst I have gotten on this commute is 27.6. I don't drive like an old man. I usually drive about 5 mph over the speed limit. Check out my car (Yankee Share) in the database. You can see on every tank comments about what has affected my FE. Stop and go traffic will absolutely KILL your mileage. You will not get anywhere near the EPA figures for ANY car in that sort of traffic, except maybe a Prius or Insight. I believe a HAH will do only marginally better in this stuff than a standard V6 Accord. Also, short trips less than 10 minutes in length can also kill your FE. I can always count on the short 3 mile trip from my house, through the security gates, to the airfield, to drop my FE by .2 or .3.

Regarding the autostop, I have noticed that if you are stopped with the engine off(autostopped) and accelerate only by taking your foot off the brake and not touching the gas pedal, the car will sometimes (about 50% of the time) not autostop when you stop again, regardless of weather or battery charge.

 

AS won't engage if you didn't get over 10 (?) mph, or if you stop/go 3x within 10 seconds. Or something close to that. The HCH has similar logics. Prevents too much battery rundown in a crawling condition, I suppose.

 

Well, I guess I'm not alone. Purchase my 05 Accord in April, '05 and have been complaining constantly of poor MPG. Although the EPA mileage was rated at 38/29 when I bought it, I expected around 25 MPG in the city. Living here in this city, the distances driven are around 10 miles or less. I really have to "baby" the gas to even get 20 MPG.

On the 2 trips I took I was getting around 36 which is close to what I expect. My complaints to the dealer haven't gotten anywhere, although they did do a diagnostic and said all was O.K.

First I was told it needed more mileage on the motor. Now at 7500 miles it isn't getting any different. The other 3 suggestions were bogus. 1- Use Premium gas, not regular. (It doesn't "ping" so I don't think that would help) 2- Warm it up for a few minutes before starting out. (I already allow about 30 to 60 seconds of warm-up) 3- Be light on the gas pedal (again, I am a light-footed driver and try to keep it in the ECO mode as much as possible) So you can see I'm not happy with the help I'm getting.

My only other complaint is the uneveness of the transmission shifts. It does not do it as smoothly as I would like.

Any comments?

 

Unfortunately you seem to have found the 'sour spot' of the car.

There are a few old threads here about the shifting quirks, and there is a slight lag in going from no gas to gas when in 2nd gear or so- like when you make a turn and then start to accelerate. The transmission is certainly not the greatest in the world. I personally can't stand the hill shifting 'feature', where it will NOT shift up or down. This especially gets to me on downhills when I want to ooch into 5th but it won't.

I highly doubt Honda can or will do anything about your mileage results- they are on the low end, but certainly not entirely abnormal. I'd be frustrated too, but without some physical reason they can isolate there is nothing they can do I advise against letting it 'warm up' at all- buckle up, start, and roll. MPG won't be great, but better than the zero mpg you get warming it up at idle. Your highway trips show the car is normal at that range.

Who told you to use premium? Idiots. Maybe if you had 70K on the engine and it needed detergents to clean out the fuel system, but on a new engine?

About all I can suggest is keep up with your light approach, try to accelerate under 2000rpm, and take your foot off the gas- coast whenever you know you need to slow. This cuts off the injectors andyou get free mileage. And try a few extra psi in the tires- 36psi is still a very nice ride.

good luck!

 

I've participated in the U of M mileage study co-sponsored by HybridCars.com
and I have averaged 30.1 mpg with my '05 HAH. This is after 11,500 miles of city/
expressway driving, including a trip from Michigan to South Florida fully loaded with
luggage in the (small) trunk and rear seat!

My only complaint is the not-so-smoth trans shifting at low speeds. I'd love for the
electric motor to "assist" more, but then we'd have poor battery life...

I did get a Canadian spare tire rim "kit" and had a local tire wholesaler install a 4x13"
temp spare tire. This gives me great peace-of-mind.

-Stan Smart
Kalamazoo, MI