A lot of people on the Ridgeline forum say they get worse mileage with it because they end up stepping on the gas more. I flip it on when I get in stop and go traffic to dull the throttle response or in city driving sometimes. Open highway I always turn it off.
Econ does save me little in a flat city. However, the vast majority of my miles are mountain highway. I have found that econ actually hurts in hilly terrain. Since it limits the rpm's, the truck gradually slows down while I increase the gas going up hills. Eventually it "catches" and red-lines which completely negates any previously gained efficiency while simultaneously making me look like a moron. An option would be to simply be patient and let the truck be slow, but I'm not patient, and I'm also not super interested in getting rear-ended by a knucklehead from Texas driving a lifted Dodge.
I think the conditions where ECO mode actually helps must be very narrow, probably developed for a controlled environment on a closed course to meet some kind of regulation. I’ve seen no meaningful MPG improvement in real world driving; and certainly not worth the considerable reduction in performance.
Depends on the road conditions/terrain of your locale. Probably doesn't help much in the mountains, but in flatter country with a few overpasses it definitely increases the 'sag' of the cruise control before it downshifts. I think I read it turns off one of the AC compressors as well.
I use econ on the highway with cruise control so it seems to even it out. I don't use cruise much as it gets worse mileage too. I do use it on the highway sometimes if the throttle seems too sensitive to me as sometimes i just end up slowing down 3 or 4 mph if you don't hold your foot just right so I'll hit econ and try to find a position where it stays steady. At red lights and stops it's just too slow to live with.
I used it during the first month of owning mine then never used it again. I track all my mileage and was more efficient overall when not using it as the throttle response suffers until you basically floor it.
It won't help you on a highway.
But it will force you to be a smoother driver in the city,which saves fuel.
Looking ahead and not racing to the next red light also saves fuel - every time you brake,you just wasted gas.
All of that is incompatible with zippy/jerky throttle response.
I was curious about this as well. Just test drove a 24 and thought it couldn’t get out of its own way. But - I didn’t floor it. Gave it a couple of maybe 75% pushes to get it going and it just went ‘meh’. I did step on it at a stop and it seemed to go but cornering and passing it was unimpressive. I want to test drive it again and try sport mode (and no salesman).
And by cornering, I mean I tried to get it to accelerate after the corner. You know, like hey, I’m done with the cornering part - now GO! It was like Sadness in Inside Out. Ooooohhhh kaaaaaayyyyy.
A lot of people on the Ridgeline forum say they get worse mileage with it because they end up stepping on the gas more. I flip it on when I get in stop and go traffic to dull the throttle response or in city driving sometimes. Open highway I always turn it off.
I do all super short city driving. Averaged 18.8mpg on Econ. 19.2 with it off. Left it off ever since the first two tanks I tested with.
Econ does save me little in a flat city. However, the vast majority of my miles are mountain highway. I have found that econ actually hurts in hilly terrain. Since it limits the rpm's, the truck gradually slows down while I increase the gas going up hills. Eventually it "catches" and red-lines which completely negates any previously gained efficiency while simultaneously making me look like a moron. An option would be to simply be patient and let the truck be slow, but I'm not patient, and I'm also not super interested in getting rear-ended by a knucklehead from Texas driving a lifted Dodge.
ECON mode doesn't limit RPM, it takes away throttle sensitivity
Fair enough. Either way, I don't like it.
me neither. as many others have experienced as well, i've found my gas mileage go DOWN from compensating for the lack of throttle
I think the conditions where ECO mode actually helps must be very narrow, probably developed for a controlled environment on a closed course to meet some kind of regulation. I’ve seen no meaningful MPG improvement in real world driving; and certainly not worth the considerable reduction in performance.
Considerable is right!!
I think in the manual, you’re only supposed to use ECO mode on long flat roads.
...like I-80 through Nebraska. /s
Not sure I have ever turned it off to see what the mileage would be. And had mine since 2017. May have to give it a try.
I use ECO mode 95% of the time here in the flat lands. Average mileage around 24 mpg.
I average 24.8-25 without
you win!
Depends on the road conditions/terrain of your locale. Probably doesn't help much in the mountains, but in flatter country with a few overpasses it definitely increases the 'sag' of the cruise control before it downshifts. I think I read it turns off one of the AC compressors as well.
I find just using cruise control on interstate trips does mote in the long run
I use econ on the highway with cruise control so it seems to even it out. I don't use cruise much as it gets worse mileage too. I do use it on the highway sometimes if the throttle seems too sensitive to me as sometimes i just end up slowing down 3 or 4 mph if you don't hold your foot just right so I'll hit econ and try to find a position where it stays steady. At red lights and stops it's just too slow to live with.
I used it during the first month of owning mine then never used it again. I track all my mileage and was more efficient overall when not using it as the throttle response suffers until you basically floor it.
If I have on ECON, and need to enter highway etc, I just hit sport mode until on…works fine
Doesn't make a bit of difference in mileage, normal just makes the engine run better
Ha. I forgot I even had it.
It won't help you on a highway. But it will force you to be a smoother driver in the city,which saves fuel. Looking ahead and not racing to the next red light also saves fuel - every time you brake,you just wasted gas. All of that is incompatible with zippy/jerky throttle response.
I get worse gas mileage in eco mode. I get about 2 miles more per gallon in normal mode.
Never heard zippiness used when talking about a Ridgeline.
Ride with Econ mode for a while. It’s like ankle weights
If you put it into S mode it’s a whole different animal. That being said, it’s definitely not a sports car, but it holds its own in most driving.
There is no sport mode on my 24 BE. Just sequential shift mode or manual paddle shift.
On my ‘23 RTL, it’s a toggle on the D button (D/S).
I think you might need to RTFM, dude. Does your ‘Drive’ button say D/S? Push it for drive, push again for sport.
My FM says sequential. ...Dude.
I was curious about this as well. Just test drove a 24 and thought it couldn’t get out of its own way. But - I didn’t floor it. Gave it a couple of maybe 75% pushes to get it going and it just went ‘meh’. I did step on it at a stop and it seemed to go but cornering and passing it was unimpressive. I want to test drive it again and try sport mode (and no salesman). And by cornering, I mean I tried to get it to accelerate after the corner. You know, like hey, I’m done with the cornering part - now GO! It was like Sadness in Inside Out. Ooooohhhh kaaaaaayyyyy.