[ikhoudvanu199]

i was driving to work the other day, and my tank was down to 2 bars, it then went down to the last bar, and the gas light came on...it then seemed as thought the car changed into a gas saving mode...i hadnt changed the way i was driving, and since my battery was over 3/4 full...it seemed to be offering alot more assist and alot less charge...im wondering if it was just my imagination or if anyone else has experienced that

 

[Insightful Trekker]

IMO its you imagination.

There is no documented or posted IMA logic that interrelates fuel level and Assist.

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

haha...maybe im just crazy

 

[joecvt]

I would doubt that it would go into gas saving mode at the point you describe or if ever. I have an 03 CVT and I know that the MT assist behaves differently but if you think about it this way. Once your gas gauge goes down to one bar, on average, you still have more than a gallon left (perhaps 1.50 gallons since if just changed to one bar)...You can probably drive another 70 or more miles with an MT. If the IMA was giving more assist and not charging as much, you would end up with an empty battery waaaay before you run out of gas.

Are you noticing this by visual observations of the IMA or that you are getting better MPG when the fuel gauge nears empty? If you are noticing better MPG's, my guess is simply because the car weighs less with a near empty gas tank.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Or it could be the "pucker" factor.

Easing up on the gas pedal trying to prevent an empty tank.

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

...you still have more than a gallon left (perhaps 1.50 gallons since if just changed to one bar)...You can probably drive another 70 or more miles with an MT. If the IMA was giving more assist and not charging as much, you would end up with an empty battery waaaay before you run out of gas.

Are you noticing this by visual observations of the IMA or that you are getting better MPG when the fuel gauge nears empty? If you are noticing better MPG's, my guess is simply because the car weighs less with a near empty gas tank.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

i filled it up with only about 9.4 gallons...so that means after driving about 15 mi on one bar, i had about 1.2 gallons left

and i think it might just be the "pucker" factor, lol

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hold that pose with a "full" tank and watch your LMPG climb :!: (Lifetime MPG)

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

haha...yea, im slowly learning how to drive the car better and better for better mpg...itll be tough to effect the LMPG, as i bought it with 93k on it.

 

[james]

You can reset the LMPG so that it shows your mpg, instead of that of the previous owner(s) - who probably mistreated it. Mine was just around 50 when I bought it (almost 4 years ago now). I reset it within a few days, and since have averaged 70.

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

ya, i know that i can, but i dont want to, i want it to reflect the actual LMPG of the car, and actually when i bought it the LMPG was around 60 IIRC...i just use trip A as my personal LMPG and trip B as my tank trip and the FCD trip as any misc trip meter i might need

 

[ElectricTroy]

TIP:

Once your engine gets nice & hot (after an hour driving), it will use far less fuel, because it will spend more time in lean-burn mode.

I've found that my best MPGs come from day-long journeys.
The engine enters a "sweet" zone of perfect combustion.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

<sigh> And another oversimplification.

The engine will be fully warmed-up within 5 miles and hyper MPG will be available . But better overall MPG's are always available on longer trips vs a higher percentage of warm-up and city driving.

 

[ElectricTroy]

<sigh> Trekker == doubting thomas.

I stand by my previous statement. Go drive your insight for an HOUR. You will notice you can hold the car in lean-burn mode for far, far longer than usual.

At least that's the case with MY car.

 

[HB]

...i just use trip A as my personal LMPG and trip B as my tank trip and the FCD trip as any misc trip meter i might need

I could be wrong on this, but I believe on another thread it was stated that the trip odometers automatically reset at some point (~7000 miles??)
Would be nice if they didn't reset though!

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

I believe on another thread it was stated that the trip odometers automatically reset at some point (~7000 miles??)

ahhh...really?? can anyone verify this...imma go reset my LMPG right now if this is true

 

[b1shmu63]

It resets at 1999. (The left digit is one or nothing.) I was tracking my mileage this summer on a long trip and when it hit 2K, I was back to zero. The MPG kept on tracking however the distance reset.

I'd reset it because this is your game now.

 

[ikhoudvanu199]

thanks, imma go find a thread on how to reset it and do it