I have a 2015 Accord Hybrid EXL and was wondering if anyone else is noticing or has had the same issues I'm experiencing.


1.) When holding a constant speed between 45 - 50 MPH, the car seems to sputter. Almost as if it can't make up its computer mind if it should be in hybrid or gas mode.


2.) When I accelerate to 60 MPH and set the cruise control, 99% on the time it will slow down to around 55 MPH and then the cruise control will engage. However, if I accelerate from there back up to 60 and reset the cruise control it will hold at the 60 MPH speed.


I drive a little over 100 miles a day (Monday - Friday) and I am extremely happy with the car. I had a 2003 EXL and was needing to fill up every 3 1/2 days, now I can go 7-8 days without filling up the tank.

 

Precisely the issues I came here to research. Though in my case I wouldn't say the cruise issue is 99% of the time, more like 30% or 50%.

As far as the stuttering, I think that's precisely what is happening, it starts to transition from gas to electric, doesn't complete the transition and stay there, just keeps going back and forth. For me I'd say it's more like 55-65 mph though.

Mine is a 2014 base model.

May be unrelated, but I test drove a different 2014 when I was shopping, and I didn't drive it enough to say for sure that it didn't exhibit the problems, but I do suspect that it transitioned from gas to electric more seamlessly than mine does.

 

You describe it at a stutter but on my 2015 Accord Hybrid I'd describe it as feeling like an automatic transmission gear shift. You feel it if you're attentive but it's not a big thing.

While you're driving your HAH cruising at a steady speed the battery will be charged up by the running engine. In order to give the best fuel efficiency the car will at some point shut off the gas engine and use the battery power/electric motor to move you along. When the battery drops to 3 bars (2 if you hit the EV button) then the engine starts again, and first goes into "hybrid power" mode where the engine is running as a generator creating electricity and the electric motor is getting power both from the gas engine and maybe battery.

THEN, if you're above about 44 MPH the car will engage the 1-speed gear and directly tie the engine to the wheel speed. This is where I feel what seems like a gear shift. The engine is now the sole propulsion source. The electric motor is tied in and still spinning but not providing power. Rather as the engine spins it and the wheels the electric motor puts electricity back into the battery.

When the battery gets charged up to 5-8 bars (haven't figured out the computer logic, may be battery temp related) then it'll again kick over to EV mode and shut off the gas engine.

This repeats all the time. The battery gets charged up, the car switched to EV propulsion and when the battery gets low the engine kicks in to provide propulsion and recharges the battery.

Watch your dash for the EV mode indicator. On my Touring I can switch either or both of the dash or iMID display to show a propulsion diagram showing whether power is coming from battery, engine, or both.

 

Yes, I think most HAH owners know all this. I (and presumably the other guy) are not talking about this happening even once or twice a minute. We're talking about it seeming like it can't make up its mind and going back and forth constantly, i.e. you feel the "gear shift" every two seconds, 10 or 15 times in a row, and it usually results in the car slowing down 2 or 3 mph until it finally makes up its mind (usually due to a slight change in road grade).

 

Have noticed similar on my '14, but only recently in last 4 months. I have 15k miles.

 

Ok that does sound like unusual behavior. Any chance you have a passenger who can video the dash vehicle power mode showing any change in ICE/Hybrid/EV mode changes that display while this is occurring?

 

Have any any of you 2014/15 HAH owners gotten any software (PCM) updates?? I wonder if they have updates that address these issues.

 

19k, car has only had one service, no SW updates installed at that time.

 

I've been having the same issues with my 2015. I have a little over a thousand miles. There have been 3 times when setting the cruise between 40-50mph that the car has gone into a mild jerking fit where it alternates between ICE power and regen every couple seconds.

The most annoying/infuriating problem is setting the cruise, esp. near 45mph. Almost half the time it goes into regen, quickly slowing down, before going into EV and sloooooowly accelerating back up to almost the set speed. The tendency is slowing to a few mph below the closest 5mph increment before accelerating to that increment. For example, set at 48, slows to 42, creeps back up to 45. Feels like a speed nanny albeit a very unsafe one when being tailgated.

I usually don't allow it to slow down. I'm becoming accustomed to set cruise, immediately tap accel once or twice to hopefully prevent the regen. If that doesn't work, cancel, swear a few times, and set again.

 

The cruise thing doesn't happen as much for me as some others (I think even my 30-50% of the time I said before is probably too high, maybe more like 20%), but it seems like I can keep it from happening by just keeping the gas pedal where it is (to maintain my 70 mph speed or whatever) for 3 or 4 seconds after I hit the cruise button. It's annoying, but not as annoying as slowing down 5 mph and then having to speed back up.

I had my car in for an oil change anyway so I told them about the problem, and told them about a place where they could test it to confirm it (which was about 10 miles away on the highway). The service advisor (who was kind of a jerk to begin with) flat out told me that they wouldn't drive it that far to test it. So he just had some dude drive it around at 35 mph nearby and told me there was nothing wrong with it. I told him there was something wrong with it, they just refused to test it in a manner that would demonstrate the problem. His solution (rather than make a 20 minute test drive) was for me to leave the car with them for 2 or 3 days so one of their techs could drive it back and forth to work. No thanks.

I'm planning on trying a different dealership and hopefully finding a more nearby place where it will exhibit the problem. If that doesn't work then I'll start *****ing up a storm at one or both dealerships.