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Honda Civic Hybrid Driving Tips & Tricks

167 messages,  Last post on Sep 09, 2009 at 5:34 AM

You are in the Honda Civic Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Hybrid Cars, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Coupe, Sedan

Messages Page 1 of 17

#1 of 167 Honda Civic Hybrid: Driving Tips & Tricks by pf_flyer HOST

Aug 23, 2006 (6:52 am)

Discuss your driving tips for geting the best mileage out of your Civic hybrid here.

#2 of 167 Love the Civic Hybrid by supertone

Jun 11, 2002 (11:20 am)

I bought mine over the Memorial Day weekend and have 750 Miles on her now, I got the Blue Opal color and really like it. I have averaged 46.2 MPG combined driving and have seen 54.3 on a one hundred mile trip with mostly highway driving. Seems like in order to achieve the best mileage you must drive these cars easy, anticipate hills by accelerating prior to the hill and coasting over most of the rise in the road. A full charge is a major benefit when starting out on a trip. helping the gas motor more often. 87 octane is fine for this car, if you ever notice any pinging try using BG44 injector cleaner or Chevron injector cleaner. Good luck with your Civic Hybrid keep in touch.

#3 of 167 CVT Mileage report by supertone

Jun 13, 2002 (8:11 am)

Hello again,
I now have 800 miles on the Civic Hybrid and am getting the advertised mileage out of her. 48.4 average for 245 miles. I use the <TRIP B> for life time mileage and use the <TRIP A> for current results. I leave the CVT in <D> all the time and drive combined on Interstate 270 and locally with lots of traffic in the mornings. I try to judge distances ahead for coasting to keep the batteries charged. The current MPG scale on the dash is kind of like playing a video game in the hopes that you can keep the average up. Some one sent me an article on the Insight and how to achieve maximum mileage by driving barefoot to help you "feel what he car is doing" and slow down more, add more power before climbing hills, letting the car coast up and over them. All sounding like rather a pain the A#. Anyway, I just drive it sensibly and it gets decent mileage.
Looking into gettin HID's and LED tail lamps.

#4 of 167 A/C during Auto Idle Stop by chibrid

Jul 02, 2002 (8:04 am)

I've owned a Civic Hybrid for six weeks (1500 miles) and love it(even though I'm only averaging about 40 mpg in suburban rush hour driving with A/C).
 
I noticed on pg 111 of the Civic Hybrid owners manual the following:
 
"When the system is in full AUTO mode, the Auto Idle Stop function will not be activated."
 
Further on it states: " The system turns off the ECON mode when you select AUTO, ....."
 
However, when my A/C is in the full auto mode and ECON is utilized, the car does auto stop and the A/C shuts down. Manually moving the fan dial gets the fan running, but I don't believe the compressor is on. Am I confused or do I have a problem????

#5 of 167 Hard Acceleration - Better Mileage? by cason621

Aug 16, 2002 (3:31 pm)

Riley brings up something I was wondering about - would quicker acceleration actually improve mileage because it uses more of the electric assist?
 
The Insight web site mentioned earlier, InsightCentral.net, under "Driving Tips," talks about using full throttle as a good strategy. I'll try it out and let you know.

#6 of 167 MPG / Acceleration by spratt1

Aug 19, 2002 (1:49 pm)

I have tried the hard acceleration tactic (see #182). It does seem to work. I have gone from 42 mpg to 45 - 47 in the last 150 miles. I guess it really works using up the stored energy.

#7 of 167 Hi another new civic hybrid owner here! by stanizer1

Sep 11, 2002 (2:10 pm)

Hi all,
I just purchased a new civic hybrid a couple weeks ago. I live in LA and commute about 70 miles per day of most highway driving. The civic hybrid is the best car for this sort of driving.
 
I bought the car for green reasons, but was contemplating whether or not to get the 2003 accord. I'm glad I bought the hybrid.
 
I noticed that driving smoothly and using the gas pedal softly conserves the most fuel in LA traffic. If I drive around 65-70 MPH, then mileage is around 47-48 MPG.
 
My current high score is 57.1 mpg in slow-and-go traffic from home to work (about 35 miles). The key seemed to be noticing when traffic is slowing and lifting off the gas pedal enough to get the MPG meter really high, but not lifting so high as to start regenerating the battery (which slows the car). In this was I was able to coast along with traffic for long periods of gentle slowing. Then I would gently accelerate back up when traffic picked up, and repeated this process over and over.
 
Has anyone else noticed how useful this technique is in slow-and-go traffic (5-35MPH)?
 
So far my MPG ave is around 49. I have 700 miles on the odo.
 
Go Hybrids!
 
Stanizer1

#8 of 167 misterme by hybriddriver

Jan 31, 2004 (12:12 am)

First of all, congratulations on your new car! I am glad that you love it. Increasing tire pressure can give you better MPG, but I think the maximum pressure rating for your tires is 44 PSI. Look on the side of them to see. 40 PSI is what I pumped mines up to. They might blow out if I go over 44. In city driving gradual acceleration is actually bad for MPG. The best is full throttle acceleration with low engine RPMs. This minimizes pumping loss of the engine and maximizes electric motor assist. You can see it working on the instantaneous MPG display. This is most easy to do with the 5 speed but can also be done to a certain degree with a CVT at very slow speeds or from a standing stop. I have a CVT. If I am rolling slowly (like 5 MPH) I floor it and after the RPMs reach 3,000 I let off the gas to keep the RPMs low. The whole time the horizontal instantaneous bar graph tells me that I am getting 40+ MPG. If I accelerate slowly, the instantaneous MPG drops way down. For a full explanation and more tips go to: http://www.insightcentral.net under Knowledge Base click on Driving. These are tips for the Insight but many can be applied to the Civic Hybrid. Your average MPG display indicates the MPG since the trip odometer was last reset. If it says 22.2 MPG then that is what it is. Why so low? Probably because other people who drove the car before you bought it did not drive economically. I would just reset it. I don't know about the break in period. The manual says to not change the oil until the first scheduled oil change which is 10,000 miles. Also, I tend not to use the cruise control. I usually keep an eye on the instantaneous bar graph and try to keep it as high as possible.

#9 of 167 misterme by lngtonge18

Feb 11, 2004 (9:24 am)

You might want to rethink the tire pressure you are using in your Civic. 51 psi is way too high and very dangerous for such a small light car. I know you are thrilled with the higher mileage you get, but you need to think about your safety. The number listed on the tire is simply the highest pressure your tire can handle before exploding at highway speeds. It is NOT the safe pressure the manufacturer designed based on the car's weight and suspension. It's generally ok to increase the pressure a few psi above the recommended level for better mileage, but 51 has to be at least 15 psi over what Honda recommends. Where this will become dangerous is in wet weather. As you increase the pressure, less tread is in contact with the road, which will lead to skittish behavior in accident avoidance manuevers and a higher chance of hydroplaning and sudden loss of traction. This is even more pronounced on a light car like the Civic. Not to mention the extra road noise and rough ride. Anyway, I would keep your safety in mind when setting your tire pressure and consider lowering it to something safer.

#10 of 167 PSI misconception by john1701a

Feb 11, 2004 (10:51 am)

> As you increase the pressure, less tread is in contact
> with the road, which will lead to skittish behavior
> in accident avoidance manuevers and a higher chance of
> hydroplaning and sudden loss of traction.
 
That isn't always true ANYMORE. It used to be, but now tires are constructed much better.
 
Running my 44 PSI rated tires at 44 PSI hasn't produced any contact change whatsoever. The tread is wearing completely even across the entire width of the tire.
 
The buldging effect isn't a problem nowsdays for high-quality tires.
 
JOHN

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