We tried the 'Economy' button in my wife's '18 grand caravan on a trip once and our average mpg went down 2mpg.Well, you folks got me to wondering. I'm driving a 2019 Honda Passport with the V6 engine. Bought it last June or close to that. I'd have to look it up.
Just ran out of mileage warranty. The factory warranty is only 36K. I considered an extended warranty, but decided against it. The dealership give me a lifetime powertrain warranty. Not sure how good it is, but have heard no complaints. It even covers timing belt replacement.
So far, I have been letting them do the service because they seem to do a good job, and the rates are reasonable. I did pay extra for some nonscheduled service.
I had them change the engine oil, transmission fluid, transfer case and rear end fluid at about 2K.
I have done that to every new vehicle, to get the initial wear particles out.
Using the service monitor it calls for oil changes about every 5K. Varies from time to time.
When the car was new, I checked under the hood several times. But, after everything checked out OK, I let it slide. After all, it was a brand new car and in warranty.
Its due for a service now, and will go in the shop Wed. Its a B1 service, but they have an additional procedure at 40K, and I have about 37, so I'm going to go ahead with that one.
In addition to changing the oil and filter, which is the B service, and rotating the tires, which is the 1 part. They will change the transmission fluid and transfer case fluid.
I'm going to ask about the rear end, since it has two multidisk clutch packs in there which are constantly slipping and locking up as you drive along under 50, and if you are going off road.
Basically the rear end is a spool with a computer controlled clutch pack between the spool and each axle. The computer controls the amount of lockup for each pack, which acts as a differential.
With all that slipping of the wetted clutch plates, an oil change might be a good idea.
The reason for this post, is that I checked my oil today, and it was full after about 5K. No oil use at the 37K mark.
However, except for one time for about 10 minutes of driving, the "economy" button has never been pushed.
Pushing that button does several things.
It cycles the AC compressor, leaving it off longer. The owner's manual states that cabin temps might run a little higher than otherwise.
I live in Fl. When I call for cold, I want cold.
Plus, I understand that it uses the variable cylinder trick. Disabling cylinders according to engine load.
I have heard that in some cases, that can increase oil use, as the lower pressure in the non-firing cylinders can let oil get past the rings.
I just don't like the idea of disabling cylinders, even though the system has improved since the old Cadillac days.
I told my girl in Ca., when she asked why I did not want to get the best gas mileage I could, that I paid for 6 cylinders, and by God I wanted the use of 6 cylinders.
She is convinced I'm nuts........
Figured it was a fluke, or wind, etc.
So on another trip we tried again, and it went down again......
Fork that fake economy button.
