ya that's what i meant... in rush hour jams when you can move a little at very slow speeds and then stop again. during those slow crawls does the gas engine start up? or do you crawl using electric only like the prius?

for normal cars gas mileage is terrible because when we crawl we are usually in 1st and 2nd gears. for hybrids at least they can use the electric motor or for some cars a CVT is more efficent at low speeds than a manual or a automatic.

 

That's one thing it won't do. The IMA is not strong enough to accelerate the car significantly by itself, and it's programmed to not even try from a complete standstill..

 

This is directly from Honda's web site:

IMA couples a 1.3-liter, 8-valve, i-VTEC® 4-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric motor. Although the engine alone provides sufficient driving performance, when additional power is required, a permanent-magnet electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission provides power assist. For 2006, the electric motor can propel the car from a stop to speeds up to 35 mph. Together, the motor and engine produce 110 hp @ 6000 rpm, an increase of 17 hp over the previous generation.

Something doesn't quite matchup.

 

Wow, maybe there's some secret button I haven't found yet! Maybe they just mean that the DC motor can do that in conjunction with the ICE, but that would be misleading at best.

All I can tell from the instruments they give me is that the ICE is firing and consuming fuel during the acceleration, but maybe they mean that the IMA is producing the vast majority of the torque??

 

Maybe it's from a stop on top of a hill?

 

This might present an RTFM moment for the new owner


Well, on the 03, there's an "Econ" button in the air conditioning controls. Leaving that button ON means that the auto-stop works as you would normally expect, and the air conditioning turns off when auto start engages (this system is different for the 06.) Maybe there's a switch like that, which gives you either FULL-ON economy mode, or something that more resembles a regular gasoline engine operation.

(That's a guess - I've not driven the 06 yet, and just know the operation of the previous generation.)

 

When you let go of the brake after being stopped, the ICE always starts up. I have never seen it not do this, regardless of whether or not you press the accelerator.