Possible Hybrid System Problems In Cold Weather (dragging?)

[InsightFan]

It was pretty cold today here in Minnesota, and I have started to notice a possible problem with my Insight. It feels like there is something dragging my car, similar to a drag you may feel if the brakes were slightly depressed. On a flat section of the freeway in 5th gear at roughly 60 miles per hour I let totally off the gas and watched my MPH just plummet as if I was braking. In order to maintain my speed I also had to use about 35% assist and my MPG would be two bars under the 50 mark. I know people say that you get less MPG in cold weather but this seems a little ridiculous. I also noticed as I drove for about 25 minutes this problem started to go away. I checked the brakes and they are not dragging. Also, I am not able to get full assist or regeneration when the car is cold, so I thought maybe the problem was related? Thanks for your help.

[Cobb]

Its likely back ground charging unless you got a tire that is low on air. Its amazing how a fully inflated tire at room temp will "deflate" itself near zero temps.


Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

[bryankwalton]

Originally Posted by InsightFan

Also, I am not able to get full assist or regeneration when the car is cold, so I thought maybe the problem was related?

You didn't say exactly how cold it is. But, if it is really cold, the car will limit the amount of assist and regen, due to the battery being too cold. As for the serious slow down, were you driving into a serious headwind?

-Bryan

[thedhgroup]

Originally Posted by InsightFan

It feels like there is something dragging my car, similar to a drag you may feel if the brakes were slightly depressed.

We are experiencing the same cold weather here in South Dakota (-10 to +10. This coming Monday and Tuesday it will be in the 40s again and our problem will go away. I have the same thing. Last Friday when I went to work it seemed I had nearly 20 miles of constant assist and regen. Thursday, the day before when it was over 40, my car was lean burn happy.

A couple months ago (when it first started freezing outside) I put a space heater in the car and had a timer turn it on an hour before leaving for work. I also made the hybrid battery pack fan go on to so the warm air would be drawn in. It made no difference at all that I could feel. It still felt like I was dragging a mattress behind the car.

My conclusion is that it is either the tires or the extreme cold air going into the intake. So far I've put a rad block in but again I can't tell much difference. I'm down to 62mpg for this tank. Oh the horror!

So maybe this justifies a lawsuit against Honda.

[Calpod]

In cold weather IMA will force a background charge to increase the battery temperature, the radiator block with help with the IAT by about 20 degrees or so.....the cabin heat will help warm up the battery, but either way, there is a mileage penalty.

[kaypee171]

I hit a deer recently, and of course the repairmen threw away my hot air intake and cardboard grill block when they did it. Because of this, I did not initially blame the lousy fuel economy and lean burn to the background charge. I have seen what you are seeing, although the Ohio weather lately is well below 40. What I have seen is that the battery gets cold enough that the BCM puts a small background charge on just to heat up the battery to operating temperatures. It worries me a bit because it seems to do so even when the battery is full. What I think is needed to avoid this is some way to warm up the battery before driving, as opposed to warming up the engine. Of course, with all of that background charge I chose to pulse and glide, which helped the battery warm up more quickly and lessened the FE hit.

[Eli]

If the battery temperature is 32 degrees or lower, a background charge is started. The colder the battery, the more aggressive the charge. When my battery was 13F, the charge was about 8-9A which is quite noticeable.

[AbCaRed00]

I note similar affects as described above in the cold. Around -20C/ -4F the electrolyte seems to freeze.
When I have the 'front windshield defrost' button pushed in , which directs all air to the windshield vent, it used the A/C system to help warm and drags the power down big time. Like dragging a mattress for sure. I use full defrost with the A/C until the engine's a bit warmer after soon underway,... then switch to "econ-no a/c" , or use the Mode button and fan settings so set with windshield and footwell vents selected.
Warm air intake off the catalytic converter, relocating outside air temp sensor, and plugging in the block heater may help. The warm air intake is really easy with a bit of flexible duct and tape.
[You may or may not have a block heater: fwiw previous owners told me _no_ block heater when asked [they didn't look!], ...the three pronged plug was found squirreled away in the rightside corner behind the grill]
I didn't do a proper front block yet but have cardboard only placed in front of the rad, leaving only a few inches at the top exposed. It still takes some time to get up to normal operating, haven't timed it and temps vary but seems less than 20 minutes usually around -10C/14F.

[retepsnikrep]

The hand brake cable sticks in these cars. I've had to replace the cables on all three of my cars due to dragging rear brakes. Not a lot but enough to take a few mpg off. The rear wheels should spin freely for several revolutions when spun by hand on the jack.

[jeff652]

Originally Posted by retepsnikrep

The hand brake cable sticks in these cars. I've had to replace the cables on all three of my cars due to dragging rear brakes. Not a lot but enough to take a few mpg off. The rear wheels should spin freely for several revolutions when spun by hand on the jack.

Why were you not able to loosen the adjustment on the cables (at the interior brake lever) as opposed to having to replace them?