When i accelerate from stopped position there is hesitation and a bumping sound coming from the front axle/wheels. its an automatic, but it almost feels like a slipping clutch. has anyone else noticed this in their hybrid? what is it? what do i do?

I've never noticed it. Though when I am decellerating around 25-30 mph I sometimes get jerked around like if you stop a manual transmision without putting in the clutch.

My hydroponics experiment

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"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

I've noticed it when the car is in "auto stop" mode. What seems to happen in that mode is that the engine is shut off with the brakes applied and the car traveling at 10mph or below, followed by the CVT being automatically shifted into Neutral. If you lightly tap the brakes as the car shifts into auto stop, you can feel the shift to neutral happen, the car rolls much more easily downhill for example. When the brakes are let go, the engine restarts, the CVT does in fact have a slight "lurch" when getting back in gear, especially if you put down heavy throttle very quickly after letting off the brake.

I make it a habit to re-engage the motor right after the light changes (or right before if I'm first at the light) so I don't have to gun it directly out of auto stop mode. I don't think that's healthy for the CVT). It might end up burning out the auto clutch. This happened to somebody from another forum. Honda told them they had to replace the cvt ($$$).

Lion, does this happen from a dead stop in auto stop mode or is the engine running when leaving from a dead stop? Other than the bump you feel, the CVT always feels like a slipping clutch when accelerating (the engine should be using the infinite gear ratios of the CVT which is a good thing). Some other owners on other forums suggested EGR valve going bad and/or changing the CVT fluid. How many miles do you have and how long before you last changed your CVT fluid? The manual suggest you change the CVT fluid every 2 years or 30,000 miles.

I feel a (bump) as my car goes into auto stop mode and I feel a small lurch when I take my foot off the brake pedal. But the motor is always running for at least 3 seconds before I push down on the gas pedal from out of auto stop mode. I don't know if what I'm doing is needed or better for the car but I feel it is.

I've only observed this when I was quick on the gas after being stopped (either auto stopped, or when shifting into drive from reverse). I definitely noticed that the car needs time to "think", re-engage, whatever...when shifting gears (this includes from neutral to drive when auto-stopped). I've gotten in the habbit to always wait until I feel the transmission pull (with my foot off the gas) before applying the gas. When auto-stopped, I do as previously suggested and turn my engine on several seconds before needing to move. I haven't had a bump in about 2 years.

How many miles do you have? Have you had the CVT fluid changed?

I have an 03 HCH with 39K miles. I've never had the CVT fluid changed.

Well Tim, I would start with changing the CVT fluid. Unlike a regular automatic transmission (I've know people who never changed their transmission fluid for the life of the car and never had a problem), people who don't change the CVT fluid start having the same problems you have now. It's really important that you keep up with the fluid changes. Just check out some of the other posts that cover the same problem.

Your Honda manual should state the CVT fluid has to be changed a 30,000 miles or 2 years. Beware you don't end up damaging the CVT by not changing the fluid. Last time I checked, a fluid change is a lot cheaper than replacing the transmission. I myself will go by the miles and not the time unless I start having problems.