Not sure if anyone has experienced this. I was in traffic in Boston on a downhill slope. Autostop had come on due to the backup and when the cars started moving again, I let off of the brakes by about 90%. The autostop stayed on and I was able to coast with the engine off for about 1/4 mile. After that I hit a flat area and I had to let off the brake entirely.

I realize I was probably riding the brake a bit, but since I'm saving my brake pads during regen and this almost never happens, I figured it would be okay.

DKeane

06 HCH

 

I've coasted a bit (maybe 20 to 30 feet) before coming to a complete stop, but nothing close to 1/4 mile...cool!

 

I've had some luck with that on off-ramps - maybe 200-300 feet or so. I love it when that happens! Good work -

 

I doubt you are riding the brakes. Chances are with so little pressure on the brake pedal you are probably using the motor to keep your speed down and are probably charging up your battery.

 

were there any assist bars? It happened tome also but for a very short distance and There were no regen or assist... but the period was to short to have a clear thing.

 

First, congratulations! You've discovered a useful capability, and now you can attempt to exploit it where feasible.

The Auto-stop 'sensor', if you will, is a rather simple switch under the dash, akin to the switch that activates your brake lights (it may actually be the *same* switch; I can't remember from the Accord service manual). But if you look under your dash, on the firewall, you'll see the label referencing it.

What you've done is to release enough pressure on the brake pedal so that it releases the brakes, but not enough to release the plunger (?) mechanism in the auto-stop switch. So what happens is that the AS stays on - and if you're on a sufficient enough downhill - you can coast. The speedometer is controlled by a separate system that monitors wheel rotation - so the faster you coast, the more speed registers on the speedo.

The tricky part is when you're dead-stopped on the grade - because the Civic incorporates a system known as 'creep aid', inherited from the Accord Hybrid. In this system, the brakes are actually pre-loaded by the ABS, so that you don't roll uphill / downhill when you release the brake (normally, the AT in both cars would take care of this function, but since the driveline has been shut down, you don't have the AT / CVT providing braking).

FWIW, I have often detected the Civic beginning to roll backward on steeper grades for a split second before the ICE / CVT starts up - in that manner, it's akin to a MT-equipped car, where you learn to clutch out a little more than usual when stopped on an upward grade. So 'Creep Aid' works a little better in the Accord than the Civic.

While the system works fine for backward rolling (at least in the Accord), you sometimes wish it weren't there for forward rolling (Xcel scowled when I described the system to him, for example...LOL).

If it's engaged, you can usually only get the car rolling again from a dead stop by releasing the brake enough to trigger the ICE restart - but if you can come to a rolling AS, and keep the car moving, you can roll as long as gravity / traffic allow. A beautiful thing when you can do this - no battery or ICE helping you down. Just good 'ol gravity (and in your case, enough to improve your trip mileage by a tenth or so, I'll bet).

 

No assist or charge, no anything basically. I'm pretty sure the autostop kicked in at about 8 mph and I never came to a dead stop. My wife was a bit concerned that I was going to loose the power steering/brakes, but everything was working normal as far as I could see.

DKeane

 

When in AS the engine is not spinning. The ICE and the electric motor spin together. You can't charge your battery when the engine isn't spinning.

 

Duhh good point. I forgot it wasn't cluched. Darn you Honda!

 

Congratulations! I have done the same thing and it is cool, but you have to watch if you let the car re-start while moving. I have heard some loud noises if I am going too fast.

On another note. I think the auto-stop must work on the break (fluid?) pressure. I have pushed the break down at a light while stretching. When I let the break back up to normal, the car starts. Any one else see this?

Billy