Has anyone's mileage nosedived since the "Product Updat

[Wasabi owner]

As the subject says: Has anyone's mileage nosedived since the "Product Update"?

I did mine almost two months ago and I've gone from 64-65 mpg driving not too conservatively w/A/C to 56 mpg driving easy w/A/C used occassionally.

Since the product update my IMA battery is in a CONSTANT state of charge. Only occassionally does it completely top off whereas it then drifts fairly quickly back down to half full (or half empty ) and then starts the process all over again where it very slowly charges until the next top off.

As suspected the update seems to prolong the life of a dying battery. I used to have a recal every 200 miles before the update but was still able to squeeze much better mileage out of the car.

I do have a new 12V battery (car didn't need it, I changed it anyway). No codes either. Oddly enough the gas cap has been loose but it never triggered a code, I just discovered that last night that it wasn't going on tight even though I got the clicks. It's pretty much got me stumped so it leads me to believe the product update really is the root of my recent mileage dump.

So has anyone else done the update and had similar problems?

[Insightful Trekker]

Posted results have been mixed and scattered in recent threads, several of which are in the General Discussion forum. A _very_ loose generalization from my read of all the related posts is that if your already experiencing _frequent_ recals then this is more likely to occur (but not absolutely).

Seems to be a function of battery condition rather than a programming difference. The programming difference in battery utilization with some forms of IMA existing battery deterioration appear to be presenting your "problem" differently, e.g. reduced recals but more frequent forced charging.

One member posted your same symptoms and later added this behavior was reduced. The Insight's NiMH batteries don't have the same amount of memory effect that their NiCAD cousins do, but its not zero. It may take several months for your batteries to "normalize" to the new BCM / MCM's programming (too many individual driving habit / condition variables to _accurately_ narrow this WIDE time frame).

An "aggravation" I know. But your IMA batteries are still covered til 10/150K and if your problem continues it reads like you'll get new ones sooner rather than later (the IMA battery code of death).

I hope you take can this aggravation as a "challenge" to further improve your hyper MPG driving techniques


HTH!

[Wasabi owner]

Thank You John (Insightful Trekker). I didn't seem to notice an entire thread addressing the new product update.

I understand about different people having different conditions (hills, heat, A/C use etc.) Mine includes very gradual hills that utilizes ACCL but doesn't alllow any "CHRG" on the other side of the hill. Normally I cruise at 62 mph in an attempt not to aggravate too much of a line of cars behind me. I got caught behind an old pickup doing 55 mph the other day and "we" had 35-40 cars behind us. The particular road I'm talking about is 16 miles long, 2 lane, very rural - through a governemnt reservation, speed limit of 60 mph, curvy, gradual hills and very few places to pass. MOST people do 85+ mph with the police looking the other way, very seldom does anyone get a ticket.

Back on subject: I was hoping to hear if anyone got the code of death AFTER they've done the product update. I was really expecting mine this summer but then I did the product update fearing that if I did get the code they would somehow blame me for not doing the update even though the battery has long since been on its way to death - I know I've experience at 140+ recals since I've owned the car. I should of mentioned the recals that were every 200 miles were mostly city driving. I've since went from a 6 mile commute to a 46 mile commute though I maintained the 64-65 mpg even after I moved and got the new commute.

Thanks again and hopefully some others will mention their experiences with the product update.

[darwin9x]

I got my new IMA in Aug. 2006 and I'm having the same problem. Will not charge fully...?

I get "OK" MPG 51, but it always sits at about half charge and alot of the time it's showing only 3 bars.

The only good part being I have not had any instant drop in IMA "RECAL"

James Meskill
Concord, NC

[Insightful Trekker]

The SoC gauge level means little to nothing in regard to MPG. It displays all kinds of quirks for all kinds of reasons.

Now if your getting a frequent forced charge that's another story...

[merigayle]

I have a CVT and took my first "long" car ride since the update. I averaged 44 mpg on the way out and 47 on the way back. I drove the same route at about the same speed/temps, etc last year and averaged over 50mpg roundtrip. The 44mpg on the way up was shocking. I never remember seeing a trip that low. My speed out was faster than down (70-75, vs 65-70). I do mostly around the town driving more than highway driving. I will be going to VA at the end of the month and will be intersted in seeing how that goes.

[Infidel]

I've had the computer recall done about 2 months ago on my '06 and have not noticed any significant differences in performance. Assist & Charge still come one at the same times, at the same throttle positions, and at roughly the same intake temperatures (I.e, Assist at 3rd gear at 75mpg@120+ IAT & assist at 50-60mpg @ lower IAT) .

Yesterday, I did my 80-mile round-trip flat-as-a-board commute at 104mpg, which is pretty much on-par for me here in AZ, in the 105 degree heat with no A/C.

Some days are better than others, mostly due to head/tail winds, and I never use the battery anymore. However, my SoC is actually all the way full about 25% of the time and my insight only lets me regen at 100% about 50% of the time, so I'm not exactly your average insight driver.

[merigayle]

you know what is weird? yesterday i did a lot of around town driving, only about 1/3 on highway. My mpg's were up to 56.1 for the day! I did get new gas. The temps were similar to last weeks horrible drive that i posted about last week. That was actually some of the best around town mpg's i have gotten, EVER!