Honda Insight Gets Tweaked Stop-Start System, Revised MPG Numbers
Honda has made some improvements to the stop-start system on their Insight hybrid car, allowing drivers to keep the engine off for up to 3 times as long as previous years.
Insights before 2011 could keep the engine stopped for up to 30 seconds, but new improvements for this coming model year allow for the engine to be stopped for as long as 90 seconds. The initial figure was based on a “worst case scenario” of extreme humidity, a car full of passengers and poor weather, but Honda has now revised the rating.
The 90 second engine-off feature will help improve mileage in town by a noticeable amount. Unfortunately, we’re not sure just how significant the improvement will be, as no official figures have been released yet.
[Source: Autocar]
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The length of time it stops for varies depending on the weather and state of charge of the hybrid battery, how much power you're using (lights, radio, heated seats, etc.), engine temperature and a whole bunch of other factors. Sometimes mine doesn't auto-stop at all or only for a very short time (like 10s) before it restarts and then stays running until you drive a little way at more than 9mph. So in very heavy traffic that crawls along at 2mph the auto-stop doesn't work at all. At other times it stops the engine for long enough to wait for a red traffic light to change. I just hope us 2010 model owners can get this welcome firmware upgrade downloaded to our ECUs...
On my newly purchased 2010 Honda Insight, if you turn off the window fan and air conditioning, the autostop will work for several minutes (once the battery is charged). On my 2005 Civic Hybrid I never have this issue. So far, the mileage on my Civic Hybrid is as good as the Insight, which has been a big disappointment. The Insight comes stock with less aerodynamic wheels, non-rolling resistant tires and seems to sit up higher that the Civic. Honda started out with a good design, and then, in a few ways, screwed up the final product. The easiest fix I'm tempted to try, is to trade wheels and tires with the Civic Hybrid to see how much that will effect MPG.