Folks,

In early reports of the new 06 HCH I read that it runs off the batts. at lower speeds. Now, I read on Honda's website: "...For 2006, the electric motor can propel the car from a stop to speeds up to 35 mph.....".

"Can".... Does, in fact, the 06 HCH come off the line in EV mode? If so what limitations exist, if any?

My 05 HCH won't Autostop when the ambient temps go below freezing. Does the 06 function similarly?

Rod, 'lectronimo's driver

 

Honda seems to be misleading people. I don't believe the 06 can move the car from a dead stop using only the batteries. Maybe there is some trick, but I believe the motor starts up as soon as you take your foot on the brake like the HCH I.

As far as your 05 HCH not autostoping when the ambient temps go below freezing: That statment is false. When the car is warmed up try turning your fan to OFF about 10 seconds before you have to stop. I've had auto stop kick in at about 11F using this trick. It doesn't work all the time but often enough to make it worth while for me.

 

When I left for work this morning it was -11 degrees F, after the car warmed up (about 10 minutes) the auto-stop function worked fine on my 06 HCH. When I arrived at work the vehicle outside temp display read -5 degrees F. So I have not found a lower limit for the auto-stop functionality.

 

I drive an 06 HCH and I'd like to say that this is a lie. the 06 HCH cannot come off the line (meaning from 0 mph, at a stop) completely in EV mode. Once you take your foot off the brake at a stoplight, Auto-stop ends and the engine starts back up, just as in the first generation of the HCH

However, if you bring the car up to speed (>15 mph), brake and enter ev-mode down to 5 mph, then ever so slightly push on the accelerator to get 4-5 bars of assist in ev-mode, you can accelerate forward from 5mph.

The electric motor alone can propel the car up to any speed, not just up to 35 mph. Of course, this is limited by the battery capacity and terrain. And, it is highly impractical because the assist is so weak that it accelerates the car about 1 mph every 1-2 seconds, depending on how steep the road is downhill. If the area has any sort of upward incline/elevation, forget about accelerating in ev-mode; you'll just slow to a stop.

 

The HCHII seems to start the ICE as soon as you take your foot off of the brake, but it may be possible to accelerate in assist only. Hard to tell what is going on with the engine some times because the ICE still turns even when valves are shut...

 

The 06 will autostop far below freezing once warmed up as Randy stated, however I believe that the Autostop is disabled in cold climates if the fan is on a higher setting to allow the heater to continue functioning properly? I think I read this in the manual.

 

The only time I've been able to accelerate with assist is when going downhill, and the ICE is always running when you accelerate off the line. I agree that that text is misleading. I've only seen it go into EV mode when I'm going at least 10-15 MPH and I take my foot off the gas (or very light pressure). Given that, there's no way to use EV off the line.

 

My experience has been that when slowing down, the ICE starts back up at around 8 MPH. There seems to be some minimum RPM, below which the ICE must be on to keep the crank turning. So, I have only been able to do what you describe if I don't let the speed drop below 10 MPH or so.

 

Perhaps this was an intended feature that was removed before the final release of the car? Seeing as the EV mode as it is only uses up to ~4-5 bars of assist, I Imagine that from a stop, running the pack full out, that it would have enough power to accelerate the car up to about 35mph. It would be interesting to see if a hack might be possible to do this.

 

Nick, this is just really a (guess-at best) but I have read in Hondas different "Sales Training-Materials" that on the 06 HCH ll that one of the New Features is the (Electric Water Pump) that keeps the Hot coolant flowing in the Winter while the (Auto-Stop) is engaged unlike the older HCH 1's that did not have the Electric Water Pumps. So from that I would say as one member just Posted that the 06 HCH ll will Auto Stop as long as the vehicle has had time to reach full operating temperature. I think Honda addressed this on the 06 HCH ll to get the higher FE Ratings in Summer or Winter. Forgot to mention that along with the Winter Electric Water Pump it also has as you probably already know Two-A/C Compressors, one is belt driven and the other is an Electric Compressor so you have Auto-Stop in the Summer with Air Conditioning still working with the Electric A/C Compressor. Is Technology not just to wonderful on these new 06 HCH ll's ?

Terry