[kroy]

Hi all-

Brand new Insight owner, love it so far! Question is regarding the Econ mode, which drops the 4 cylinder down to 3. Will it cause any abnormal wear if I ALWAYS run the vehicle in Econ mode?

I just have this mental image of one lonely unused cylinder while the other three get worn out!

My daily commute is ~20 one way, mostly highway however I'm in the DC/Metro area so traffic congestion never allows me to get over 60 mph. Averaging 44mpg after 400 miles, all in Econ mode.

Thanks, looking forward to your insight

 

[gilbertguy]

I think you got some bad info, ECON doesn't deactivate one of the four cylinders. ECON changes your transmission, cruise control, throttle response, and causes the HVAC to not run so hard thus allowing the engine to turn off when you stop. Now this engine does have the ability to "Deactivate" the cylinders but it does it to the whole engine at the same time.

An example is that when moving at low speeds under no load it can deactivate the cylinders thus they use no gas, the electric motor can take over just to maintain the low speed. There are other examples but you get the idea.

So to answer your basic question ECON mode will not damage your engine at all.

 

[Cobb]

The civic hybrid does the 3 cylinder thing. Now the firs gen insight runs on just 3 cylinders like some of the geo metros did.

The newer insight does some fancy things with the valve timing and ignition timing, but I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[Uriel]

I've seen cylinder deactivation with electric propulsion all the way up to 70mph cruise (with a following wind). But yeah, it's all 4 or nothing.

Sent from my MB526 using AutoGuide.Com Free App

 

[gilbertguy]

This might help:

 

[jc2bg]

Video

Geez Louise! That video is way cool, at least for a non-engineer such as myself. Seeing what happens when valves and cams operate in different ways really aids understanding of how to drive the car for peak efficiency. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[kjanracing]

The civic hybrid does the 3 cylinder thing.
The newer insight does some fancy things with the valve timing and ignition timing, but I wouldnt worry about it.

What is the source of that information? I haven't heard of that one, the civic deactivating one cylinder.