Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

My 2006 HCH has a very bad transition when I am about to come to a stop (foot on brake) and then need to hit the accelerator. Many times (though I can't seem to figure out how to reproduce it), the car jerks a bit. It's as if regenerative braking was about to kick in, but then suddenly didn't as I stepped on the accelerator. There's a bit of a jerk to the car and a slight delay in acceleration; this is really uncomfortable and not someting a regular car would do. Is this just me and my car, or do all HCHs do this?

Also, I find that at a very gentle incline, if I coast to a near-stop without fully engaging the brake, the car will reach a point where it'll roll back. At that point, I'll push the brake down fully, but this is not a graceful way to stop, as it's a little rough. In a normal car, I wouldn't be rolling back to begin with... but I also usually take my foot slightly off the brake as I come to a compete stop, thereby avoiding the slight lurch back and forth when stopping. Again, is the roll-back problem just me?

thanks,

- Frank

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

My vehicle will do as you described when I am coming to a complete stop and the autostop is about to turn on, but if I press the gas as autostop starts, the car will jerk as you described. So I just let the autostop activate for 1/2 second then release the brake. I delay just a second before pressing the gas.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

"....and not something a regular car will do."

well, thats your answer... its not a regular car. you just have to get used to it - All HCH's have the behaviour you describe. I would say that for the first few weeks i found it annoying but i hardly notice it anymore. I enjoy the car - and its different behaviour - more and more each time i drive it.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

I think chesleyn has it right. If you're braking and you slow down to about 5 MPH, it goes into autostop - the engine shuts off. If you let go of the brake at that moment, it takes about one second for the engine to come back on. If your foot flies off the brake and hits the gas pedal within less than that one second, the engine will rev up as soon as it starts, so it may jerk. I treat my car a bit more gently so it never happens. Give the engine that one second to start up, before stepping hard on the gas, and you'll avoid the problem.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

I can also verify what the others here say: Normal. Mine does it too, it just took me a day or so to adjust my red-light behaviour slightly, problem solved.

I usually come to a stop, auto-stop engages, then when I think the light is getting ready to change I let off the brake and the engine starts up, if I time it right no problem.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

Two other ways to avoid the jerking - if you're pretty sure that you're going to be accelerating very soon after stopping, either tap the brakes into the stop, which will keep autostop from happening, or reach down and shift into S.

Also, there is a very slight jerk sometimes when I am decelerating into a stop, at some rate of deceleration (not sure exactly what rate), at maybe 8 or 9 mph? I think it's from the regen stopping and the brakes taking over completely.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

Thanks all. I was actually almost hoping that it was just me and that there was a mechanical fix for this.


What about my other problem-- rolling backwards on a gentle incline as you're coming to a stop? I've got a suspicion everyone else does this too.

thanks,

- Frank

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

Hmm, well, I guess I don't stop like that. I understand what you're saying, but if I were heading up a slight incline and was stopping, I guess I wouldn't be "inclined" (sorry) to try to stop without fully applying the brake. If I'm headed uphill anyway, gravity is going to be trying to pull me back down the hill, so your stop with full braking, especially if you've "eased" into the stop, should be pretty smooth without much transistion. I'll have to try to duplicate what you're doing next opportunity I have and see if I can understand the situation.

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

Hey Frank;

It is just going to take you some period of time to adjust to the New Behavior of the HCH II and the New way it operates.

Everything is working and performing as designed by Honda on the Hybrid. Just different than a Gas Only Car.

Terry
BTW, Suggestion, relax and take that extra second to let the ICE (Internal-Gas-Engine) restart after it sits at the Stop. Only takes a Second more.;)

Re: Jerky ride & rolling backwards
 

Frank,
I played around with this on my way home from work to see if I could figure out what you are experiencing. I stopped while going up an incline several times, by coasting to a stop while putting very light pressure on the brake. Here's what happened:

The car decelerated until approximately 7 mph. At that point it autostopped. Because I had such light pressure on the brake, it continued to coast forward to a stop. Then, because the engine was not running, it began to roll backwards. Almost immediately the engine started back up. I believe I read in the owner's manual that this would happen. When the engine restarted, it tried to keep the car from rolling backwards, but had a hard time doing so because I was on a fairly steep incline.

Is this similar to what you are experiencing? If so, the jerk you feel could be the engine restarting and trying to stop the car from rolling, or it could just be that you are stepping down hard on the brake to stop the backwards roll at the same time the engine is restaring and the results could feel like a jerk.

Bottom line, I guess I see no reason to stop this way when going uphill. I can see the advantage when going downhill, because if there is no one behind you, you can coast to the stop while the engine is stopped, getting a little better FE. This has been discussed on the forum in other threads.

Good luck!