Has anyone ever done this? Can you really start from a dead stop as is suggested? Can anyone get into assist without coming from regen? Any insight on this is appreciated!

thanks
jco

 

The last time I tried this was last summer (Sometime in July). To this day, I am not sure that what I experienced was trully an EV start from a dead stop. This occurred when the vehicle was hot and the ground level may have had a forward bias. In any case, it was problematic to duplicate because it took way too many tries to even get it to happen.

I spoke to some folks at Honda about this and they re-affirmed that this phenomenon should not happen. But they also stated that it is conceivable that it may be a glitch or as some call it a "software Easter Egg" - There have been reports of those in other vehicles. Nevertheless, I did experience the "glitch" and actually confirmed it with Tarabell sometime later.

I am not aware that other folks have also experienced it.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Only reports I've heard are from the few folks who ran out of fuel and continued to drive. With no fuel, it's full EV... though not in the most efficient manner. I'm guessing the ICE is attempting to run, so there are full compression pumping losses in this "mode".

 

Aye, I'm getting pretty good at this. It takes a fair bit of foot feathering practice, but it is possible. The trick is to learn the feel of the engine as you back off. It's also easier to do this at moderate (35-50mph) speeds, but I'm also getting pretty good at doing it at 16mph as I turn into my office parking lot. Kinda fun toying around in a completely silent vehicle.

 

I've found getting into assist without going through regen to be fairly easy, as long as you're going less than 30mph. It's just practice. Give the accelerator a soft push as though your foot is just snuggling up against it, but not actually moving the pedal. You should see the iFCD travel up, then ease the pressure slightly when it hits 100mpg. It's wonderful when you're in a parking lot like mmrmnhrm mentions, or in freeway traffic that's crawlilng at a steady 20-25 mph.

It is more difficult from a dead stop, but I did it many times and I remember telling myself over and over I can't be seeing this. But I do remember other times I couldn't seem to do it "at will". Haven't tried lately.

Hope this is helpful.

 

Tarabell... are you stating that it's possible to start in EV from a dead stop (without being out of gas)? How is that possible? Once I take my foot off the brake the autostop restarts my ICE.

I can do EV fairly easily now at almost any speed above 10 mph. Never had it below 10, though.

 

Just for reference, the OP was talking about this article, Section II.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306

Now to Jeff--
Maybe I need to back up just a little bit, about the ICE part first. When you take your foot off the brake, the ICE will indeed start turning over. EV mode doesn’t imply the ICE must be “off”, it only means the valves and injectors are closed and no fuel is being consumed. So in EV mode the ICE is still sending power to the wheels—it’s just that the energy isn’t coming from gasoline combustion, but battery assist. When you’re driving in “normal” EV mode at higher speed, the ICE is on then too --and obviously you don’t see autostop flashing then either. Maybe I need to make this distinction clearer in the above HCH-II article as well.

I also want to say that I quite concur with msantos, I’m not positive this IS a bona fide EV mode till someone with more expert qualifications (a nearly infinite set) can confirm it --or give a better explanation. That’s why I’ve reported on it in as much detail as I did, hoping others would try to replicate my observations. All I’m saying is -- it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck. Someone else has to test the duck DNA.

 

Tarabell, that would still imply that when lifting your foot off the brake, no fuel is being used (valves / injectors off)... but for me, that's never been the case. My iMPG gauge typically goes from being zero (no movement = 0 mpg) to low and steadily increasing bars as I increase speed. If it was true EV, I'd expect it to jump to full scale (in much the same way as it falls from full scale when decelerating into autostop) Is there some tricky foot movement with the gas pedal which gets it into EV from the start (or very early, at least!).

This is a VERY desirable mode to be in... particularly in stop & go traffic or just creeping up at a light. I HATE starting the ICE to move up just a few feet to fill a gap. I'd love an EV-only mode for this slow creeping. No head-snapping acceleration needed here... and I truely believe the battery and motor have enough power to safely do this.

By the way, I had read your cleanmpg article long ago and thought it was great.

 

Your expected observation is exactly what I’ve seen. As said in the article about this “feature”:
At the same time as speed increases and assist appears, I observe the iFCD swing quickly and smoothly to the right. It will stay pinned at 100 MPG, while I level off speed, staying somewhere under 20 mph.
Normally during accel, the instantaneous stays close to zero until you’ve leveled off speed somewhat, then rises. Under this variant, the iFCD rises immediately like an invisible hand pulling it up.

It’s similar to the “nudge” you use at normal speed to enter EV mode. I suggest that for fun, while doing about 25mph on a long quiet road, practice giving the accelerator a series of soft, slowwww nudges. Hold each nudge at the point where the pedal should begin to move. When you see the iFCD travel upward to the right with each nudge, you are getting the hang of it. Now from a stop, it’s that same foot technique to accelerate, but you have to get past the 5-9mph zone -- where the car is sort of jerky -- to at least 12mph. Note there’s a couple photos in the article I took at 11 and 12mph, but I’ve usually got up to 15-18mph and hold it there.

I know what you mean, but don’t think this is doable because I had to get up to at least 11mph in order to allow the iFCD to finish its climb to 100mpg, and that takes more than a few feet. And then having to stop --seems like a wasted effort. This is where the Prius has a distinct advantage.

I have the same frustration as you in creeping traffic. But as mentioned, the feature is pretty limited--even perfecting it wouldn’t make it useful in the 5-9mph creep zone, or when just going a few feet, and the accel rate has to be done so slow that it can annoy cars behind you.

However if you are in a bit higher 12-25mph creep situation with occasional traffic pockets, this is ideal and you should be able to hold or keep recycling EV mode for a pretty long time. When you see traffic piling up say a half mile ahead, and your timing is right, you can slowly bleed off speed all the way, hopefully down to 0mph just as you get to the traffic pocket. In other words, set those brake lights ahead as your target and glide down to them.

Again, hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the info. It's nice to hear from you Tarabell. Your wonderful article started me down this path from the first week I owned my hybrid. I can't thank you enough for making the information available to the masses. Not only did it help me to learn how to drive this car, but it also allowed me to enjoy my trips a little more in the process.

Thanks again to everyone that weighed in on this thread!

jco