The "econ" button..does it help?

[patterdaleoz]

What is the purpose of the econ button? Should I bother to use it? Does it affect the acceleration or gas mileage?

I commute 30 miles to work. I live in the valley and travel daily from 500' elevation to work at 3000' elevation.

On my first tank of gas I (local) got 47mpg. On the last two--it has been about 45mpg.

I had a 4runner 4cyl which was pretty gutless, but this car seems to have to work harder to maintain 55 on the hwy up the mountain. I often tach 3500 or 4000 just to keep my speed consistent and not have to pull over for passing cars.

Overall I am happy with it. It is not the car of my dreams it just had the gas mileage of my dreams. But, female, grown kids, driving alone, I no longer need the space of a SUV. BTW, I bought grey CoverKing car seat covers and they fit great and look great and the dash mat noticeably cut down the heat from the black dash. Black may look sharp, but the heat properties are killer with the area of the windshield in this car.

[Ehetleos]

I guess the ECON button is there to teach you how to drive more hybrid (and eco-friendly) like. Once you learn your car good, you can live without it.
I never use mine lately, i can manage better mileage with ECON off both on city and in highway.

[Cobb]

I use it except for heavy traffic where i need more throttle response. I find it really helps me get better mpg. With it off best I can manage is 47mpg, without it I can easily get 51.

Sounds like in your situation you need to reduce rolling resistance, have you tried inflating the tires to the max psi?

[kjanracing]

ECON slows down the throttle opening per pedal travel, changes the "shifting" in the transmission to a lower ratio, changes the duty cycle of the air conditioning compressor, enables Idle Stop through lower and higher outside temps, lets Idle Stop favor fuel mileage vs. cabin comfort so the engine stays off longer, and slows down the response of the cruise control. I seem to get a few more MPG's with ECON ON.

[insight78]

I only use econ mode to make auto-stop more likely to engage right before I come to a temporary stop (and to keep auto-stop engaged longer). Usually I cut off the climate control (if it's on) at the same time for the same reason. Sometimes I only have to do one or the other of those and sometimes I do both.

Haven't found that econ mode gains me mpg's in any other way than enhancing auto-stop. I know it does allot of other things but haven't seen that translate to more mpg's.

[abr]

I use cruise control with econ off anytime I drive above 24 & have found I get the best mileage this way. If I'm driving on hilly terrain I'll cancel the cruise going up hill but will use it the rest of the time.
When I come to a stop I turn off the ac/vents/or heat if it's on to ensure I get the full auto stop.

[hessebauer]

hm, isn´t it frustrating to be grilled at a longer stoplight only to save gas ?
unfortunately in those moments where the cockpit heat up quickly the Honda engineers lowers your AC power to get their EPA targets

i hate it to transpire without airflow at a stop or trafficjam

[kjanracing]

An electric AC compressor might be nice in those situations. But I wonder about the trade off of recharging the IMA battery vs just letting the engine run. Can any HCH owners comment on this?