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When's best to use the Eco button?

88K views 67 replies 39 participants last post by  Simeski 
#1 · (Edited)
What's the best driving conditions for using the Eco button? Town driving?
What does the button actually do?
 
#6 ·
I've tried it and to me it doesn't improve fuel economy. Also, the car is less responsive to drive and more uncomfortable to sit in (warmer) due to the climate control operating in a more efficient manner.
Hasn't been warm enough here for me to experience this, but it does reduce the power drain from the a/c so wil lbe interesting when (or if) we get some hot weather here.
 
#5 ·
When I first got the car, I really hated eco mode. I felt the car became horribly unresponsive, to the point that it was very annoying to drive and hence I didn't use it. Having had the car for a few months now though, i've learnt to adapt my driving style to suit the characteristics of the car when it's in eco to the point that it has become perfectly acceptable. You'll see a significant improvement in MPG, and when you do want to put your foot down turning it off makes the car suddenly feel very quick! I'd start by having it on for long motorway journeys, where the change in the car feel is less pronounced. If like me, you'll increasingly forget it's on and won't have a problem with it whether on the motorway or in town.
 
#10 ·
Yes, i'm similar. I see a 2-3 mpg improvement with the 1.6 diesel on ECO.

I use it for town driving and general running on cruise.

As with others its the climate control that seems to suffer most....
 
#11 ·
If you dont get better mpg from using eco mode its because you are fighting the system instead of going with it. You just put your foot down harder :p
It dulls the pedal response so its easier to drive economical. Its not a magic button that gives you better mpg by driving as usual. Perhaps small gain from the a/c operation thing.

See it as a reversed "sport" button :p
 
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#14 ·
The Eco button definitely kills the AirCon.

Had a warm day during the week and even though I had the CC set to 21 the interior temp rose to almost 25 and there was no icy air being blown out.

Turned off Eco and I could almost immediately feel the cold air.
 
#16 ·
Gives you very strong wrist muscles as you are forever changing gear, no better MPG returns for me as yet.
Well for you englishmen atleast you get to work the "stick" with the other hand ..... :vroam:
 
#23 ·
Yesterday was quite hot down here and I had the Eco on going home. The inside temp kept rising and once it got to 25°C with no sign of the AirCon doing much to get it down to the 20°C I had set I turned Eco off.

Within 10 to 20 seconds the AirCon cut in properly and started to cool it down.
 
#25 ·
I did drop it down to 'lo' and that certainly made a difference as well.

I need to experiment between Eco and a lower temp setting. I was surprised that setting 20 with Eco selected allowed the interior to rise to 25 with no noticeable cold air blowing and the fan on one bar.
 
#27 ·
Hi. I have a 2012 Civic 1.8, 5 door Hatchback, which I bought brand new. I recently noticed that it has very bad performance. I also need to press the accelerator very hard before it shifts down, and after shifting down, it will almost immediately shift up again. I can notice no difference when the ECON button is on or off. This leads me to believe that it is stuck in ECON mode. The aircon also seems less effective than it used to be, which I see as confirmation of my theory that it is stuck in ECON mode. I asked the technicians at the dealer to check it, but they claim that they can not find any fault. Is there any way to override the ECON mode - maybe remove a fuse ? I'm stating to reach the point where I am considering to sell the car., even though it has done only 10000 miles. Any suggestions ?
 
#32 ·
I started to use the Econ button a couple of days ago, with a little trepidation as I'd read on here that it can turn you into a snail :) Anyway, with it currently being Winter down under, I don't have the lack of cooling worries so I thought I'd try it. It's like I'm driving a different car, but IMHO for me it's working well. I find with the engine/transmission dampened down, it's having the effect of making me drive smoother and also being able to cruise at a more steady speed without watching the speedo constantly. Acceleration wise I'm consciously pressing the throttle a bit more but am finding that for my gentle acceleration I'm still getting up to speed roughly like I used to without using Eco mode. I may well revert back to normal mode in the Summer as I'm a big fan of aircon, but for now Eco is working for me. I haven't really noticed much difference in fuel economy the short time I've used it.
Does anybody else find Eco has perhaps won them over?

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#33 ·
When I remember I tend to turn off the Eco mode when driving around town and stop start driving, I generally find the car smoother and easier to drive with it off. For everything else like long interrupted drives I tend to keep it on.

I don’t seem to be able to notice much difference to fuel consumption regardless of whether it’s on or off, and as I’m getting +70mpg out of the Civic which is about 20% more than my last car so I’m not exactly searching for ways to increase MPG:cool:
 
#34 ·
Be careful with the ECO mode especially at crossroads or roundabouts. When you make a standstart it could happen for the car to accelerate much slower than you expect. And pressing at that moment fully the accelerator has no effect. Happened to me and except for highway I will never ever use this nonsence. And if you use it with AC on...no comment here. Car seems totally underpowered.
 
#36 ·
Thanks for the comments - seems like it's a bit of a mixed bag really. Point taken about the safety issue pulling away (it is nice to have 'umphhh' in reserve at times!). Sounds like I won't be using Eco when the aircon is on - double edged sword, sweating away, especially after dodgy pulling away by the sound of it ?
I'm not bored of the light show, just yet though...?

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#38 ·
So... a couple of tank fills later, and I have a comparison:
ECO Mode ON 6.1 L/100 km
ECO Mode OFF 5.9 L/100 km both readings as shown on the imid.
So ECO Mode actually had the slightly higher consumption! ? (Calculated figures were 6.1 and 6.0 respectively).
So I have seen sense, and now I'm back to keeping ECO Mode OFF ?

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