I was thinking about the way my hybrid system works. It only seems to assist when I'm accelerating from a stop. It does assist going up a hill but only after I drop under 35 mpg. I'm typically running on a 75% full battery. I was thinking there has got to be a way I can tap into the computer and tell it to assist at a lower RPM or a lower throttle setting. I figure just a small change could give me an additional 2-3 mpg without draining the battery too quickly. Does anyone know if this is possible and how to do it?

 

i guess it would be useful to know I own a 2005 Civic Hybrid

 

I am not going to mess with mine, I would like to see the engine shut off sooner, both temp wise and maybe @15 mph but, like I said, not gonna touch it.

 

I was wanting to do the same thing, get additional battery boost. However, I've read that the 2006 to 2008 civics had a higher battery boost, and that batteries were failing prematurely. I don't think the 2-3 mpg difference is worth the $1000 to replace the battery 50-100k miles early. My advice to you is drive it the way it is til the car falls apart, then buy a 2020 75mpg hybrid. P.S. I think these hybrids may have a tilt sensor as the battery instantly provides boost as soon as the vehicle is tilted up (like on a hill). If you can locate it, and twist it so it is tilted higher, that may work.

 

Actually the car does have a hill sensor it activates if you roll backward even ever so slightly after you have come to a stop. It reminds me of the old subaru hill holder tech they used for their manual trans cars back in the 80s. It may also have a tilt sensor but that would most likely be in the box(ecu) as I cant find one in schematics.