New 2016 Civic EX w/Sensing First Impressions

dthatcher7

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Hello all,

I have had my 2016 Civic EX w/Sensing, Aegean Blue with Black interior, for one day. Very excited to get this car! I'm paying 298/mo for a 36mo, 18K mi/yr lease. Or I could've bought for $20.7K. But I went with the lease.
The Sensing package is pretty cool. I've triggered the brake warning a few times. Once changing lanes really close to the car ahead and another time on a bit of curve when a Mustang was signalling to get over right in front of me. ACC is really neat. Somewhere else I read this, and I agree, the ACC uses the brakes a bit much. I'd prefer more throttle control, and that it be a little loose with the distance and speed setting, then to be more exacting and use the brake more. It would make the ride so much smoother. I do hope Honda issues a software update for this!! I also feel like ACC could be less gas efficient because of the braking. But ultimately it's pretty good, and probably better for long trips.
I haven't really experienced the LKAS activating but once, when I wasn't really expecting it to. Here in SoCal we have a lot of freeways where the main lane markings are little white bumps. Letting the car drift on one such freeway did not trigger the LKAS. I'll have to give it some more time to really see what it is capable of.
I have no complaints about the resolution of the LaneWatch and Backup cameras. It's no Samsung Galaxy S7 but it is perfectly fine for the purpose.
I was worried about the center console holding two drinks but it worked out very well.
The cloth seems sturdy, even on the center console. It isn't luxurious but it seems like it will hold up well, in my opinion.
Android Auto. I am very happy to have it. Maps worked well enough, still getting used to issuing voice commands. It will only work as fast as your phone, but if your phone is snappy then the head unit will be too. Pandora worked great via AA as well as through the Honda stock interface. I am thinking about doing a complete wipe and reset of my phone in order to speed things up (my phone is a bit sluggish lately). If you are wondering, I am using a Nexus 5 (2014) connected with a Monoprice USB 2.0 cable.
That the main/AA/Carplay USB connector is only 1.5A is bedeviling. I am not sure but I am fairly certain that, using Maps and Pandora at the same time, even plugged in, my battery overall was either draining or barely treading water. I may need to find an even better cable. But I really wish it was at least 2A. Also wish there was another USB port in the same area but over on the passenger side. I am aware of the one in the console but what if you want to hold drinks and charge your phone? I mean you could do it just be careful not to wrap your drink in the charge cable! I'll probably put a car charger in the 12V port.
Seats are comfy! No complaints there.
Steering wheel seems a smidge hard. Holding the steering wheel at 10 and 2 wrapping my thumbs around the notches, my right thumb seems to get sore. Will keep experimenting with holding the wheel with different grips, positions, etc.
Rear door openings feel really small. Fortunately once you get in the back doors the actual back seat is pretty spacious.
How about driving you say? Acceleration, even with the 2.0L, is effortless. Found myself accelerating faster than I expected at times. Oh and that's something else about the ACC. When it's time to accelerate, ACC doesn't hurry. I found myself pressing the accelerator for some extra oomph at times, because I felt bad for the person behind me. Unlike pressing the brake, the accelerator doesn't cut the cruise control, of course. I'm curious what using the ACC while being in Sport gear would be like. I still need to test out "S". (As you probably have figured by now I am not a performance driver and just want a decent car. So that's where I am coming from.)
Auto unlock is really cool. Love it. Not having to pull my keys out for anything is a REAL convenience. LOL the car always unlocks when I go to it so I was a little concerned that it actually locked. So I came back without the keys just to check! And yes, it WAS locked!
The volume control doesn't bother me. Of course my wife turned down the climate control the first time she went to adjust the volume!
The one thing I miss from my old vehicle is the lack of rear AC vents. My kids complained about being hot. I had to direct the center front vents toward the back. Probably the worst thing about the car so far.
I'll try to come back with more reflections as I live with the car over the next week. Overall I'm thrilled to have this car!
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dthatcher7

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Continuing my chronicle.

Driving the car to work this morning I tested out S gear. I was at 85mph before I knew it. I decided to stick with D because I don't need a ticket!
I uninstalled several apps from my Android that I had recently installed. One in particular, OSMonitor, seemed to be really slowing it down. After removing it the phone was a lot snappier. This resulted in the Android Auto experience being a lot snappier. If you go into the Google Play store on your phone, then into My Apps, then into All Apps, they should be listed in order of installation, so you can see what you've installed recently.
I like to turn off the GPS on my phone when I am not using it. However newer versions of Android lock down the GPS toggle at the OS level so it can only be turned on manually (on the phone through the tray or settings). So you are all ready to go with Maps and then whoops, your GPS is turned off. You've got to pick up your phone and turn it on. Not even the Maps app itself can turn it on for you. I'm going to try to leave GPS on for this reason.
Oh and I tried L gear on a downhill. On my other car I would go to autostick mode and shift into 2nd. However the L gear on the Civic seems to be 1st gear, roughly. So the RPMs were high going down the hill on L. I felt uncomfortable with that and went back to D, and let the car coast. It seemed to me that the car could tell what was going on and adjusted the CVT to keep me from speeding up too much without RPMs being too high. So it's like the Civic gave me some engine braking assist while coasting downhill without any special request from me. Felt like somewhere between 2nd and 3rd gear, honestly.
Also ACC worked a little better today for some reason. Acceleration was more rapid. I think perhaps if you are on ACC and are in a low-speed follow situation (under 25 mph) then perhaps the acceleration under ACC is little more timid than if you had slowed to say, only 35 and needed to get back up to speed. In a stopping or near stopping situation it seems like ACC is little more careful.
When I got to work as I sat there idling after turning off the radio I hear a faint helicopter-like sound, like there was a helicopter in the distance. I turned off the car thinking that's what it was and the sound stopped. I turned the car back on and the sound came back. Hmm. I came back out to the car at lunchtime and sat there with it idling for a couple of minutes, with no radio or AC, enjoying the new car smell! The sound was no longer there, and the only sounds I heard were expected, normal engine noises. I'll pop the hood and look if I hear it again. I did notice that the engine smoothed out noticeably after a brief initial warm-up period.
As I walked back I thought about the Auto Lock feature but I don't think I'll ever use it. I like pressing the black button, hearing the car lock, and getting the feedback beep. It provides me a certainty that just walking away can't provide. I tend to be anxious about these kinds of things!
 

lmoore1436

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Congrats on your new civic! With the sensing equipment it's good to keep in mind that it is still in the infancy stage for Honda, and it is on an entirely new vehicle so it won't be the smoothest implementation but like you said hopefully they can issue some software updates once they get things smoothed out. For now I think they are taking the safe route and making sure that you get slowed down enough. With the infotainment system though I have seen a lot of bugs over the past few weeks and I hope they get those sorted out first, you can turn off the sensing equipment but you're stuck with the infotainment system!
 
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dthatcher7

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Thanks lmoore!
RE: infotainment... you know the only glitch I've had is that sometimes bluetooth audio cuts out for a fraction of a second. But it doesn't happen all the time. I'm chalking it up to signal interference? And yes nicoled, Pandora is in AA. You may need to update your AA and Pandora apps on your phone. Go to the Google Play Store, then My Apps, and it should take you to a list of apps that need to be updated. When you are in the AA interface, press the headphone icon toward the bottom right, and Pandora should show as an option.

I've continued to have the very slight helicopter sound, but only after a drive once the engine is warm and I am sitting idling. I am (for now) chalking it up to the fact that I have a 4-cylinder, which will inherently be a little more "rattle-y" then the V6 I came from (especially once the oil is hot). I think the sound insulation is deadening all but a certain frequency, and I am getting a partial frequency straight from the engine? If it bothers me in a month I'll take it in. Everything under the hood sounds fine.
The new car smell has gotten overwhelming at times. I think I may leave the windows cracked on a hot day and see if I can clear things out a little bit.
Other than that I've gotten into the habit of NOT connecting AA if all I am doing is listening to music or potentially making calls. It's just easier to leave it in my pocket, like my keys. The only thing I NEED AA for right now is navigation, which I don't always need on every trip.
Love the cup holders. They'll hold two large fast food drinks with ease!
Still trying to figure out what the difference is between how you press the button to talk to the Honda stock infotainment interface and how you press the button to talk to AA. To talk to AA apparently you have to hold the button? But I don't think it works to just hold the button, that does nothing. You have to let up at some point? It's baffling I haven't figured this out yet!
I do wish the radio reception was somewhat enhanced. It's really not significantly better than my 17 year old second car (which did not have an external antenna either). It's not bad but it's not anything out of the ordinary.
I do think the battery life issue on my phone, that I mentioned before, is not so much of an issue after using AA a few times. I've checked the battery meter on my phone after a few drives and noticed a net gain in charge. So that's good!
 


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dthatcher7

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Continuing on...

I finally figured out the difference between pressing the voice button for AA and pressing it for the stock infotainment system. A single click is for the stock system, but you hold it down for a moment and then release for AA. In my case I held it down for a three seconds or so and then released to talk to AA.
I have experienced audio cut outs when playing music from my phone. Interestingly enough, it happens more through AA then it does through Bluetooth.
An interesting thing I found is that if you are playing Pandora through Bluetooth, and then connect it to charge, the stock system will stop Pandora and instruct you to go through AA to resume playing Pandora.
I have had one phone conversation over Bluetooth, and the quality was fine at both ends-no complaints!
My instrument display is showing me at an average MPG of around 29. This with maybe 180 miles on the odometer.
I am noticing when I open the passenger door, I am hearing the sound of the spring inside the handle. But I don't hear it with the driver door. I wish I wasn't so attentive to detail sometimes, LOL.
Already I am very happy I got the high-wall floor mats and the rear seat cover. Kids in the backseat like to make a mess every time they are in the car!
 
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mechatune

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Does anyone find the gas pedal too far from the brake pedal? Too far to the right or too deep in.

I find it hard to go WOT on this car, but I can depress the brake pedal all the way easily.
 
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dthatcher7

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Does anyone find the gas pedal too far from the brake pedal? Too far to the right or too deep in.

I find it hard to go WOT on this car, but I can depress the brake pedal all the way easily.
Yeah they are close together as far as left to right but the brake pedal is high compared to the accelerator; there's definitely more foot travel distance. It hasn't been a big issue for me.
 

Troy Jollimore

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I've continued to have the very slight helicopter sound, but only after a drive once the engine is warm and I am sitting idling. I am (for now) chalking it up to the fact that I have a 4-cylinder, which will inherently be a little more "rattle-y" then the V6 I came from (especially once the oil is hot). I think the sound insulation is deadening all but a certain frequency, and I am getting a partial frequency straight from the engine?!
I've only ever owned 4 cylinder cars. NONE of them had sounded like a helicopter. Test drive another one from a dealer to satisfy yourself, then try to get it fixed. Could be something flapping around if it's at speed.
 
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dthatcher7

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So I figured I'd check back in as I've discovered a bit more about LKAS...
It seems there are two levels of LKAS. The first, is simply lane departure warning, which lets you get pretty far off center before chiming in. To actually get lane keep assist, you have to hit the lane keep button near the cruise controls. Once I did that, it started to really do it's magic. The wheel adjusted to stay in the lane, or even go around a curve. Very nice. The green LKAS light made me think there was nothing else I needed to do. But now I know it is just a system ready light, not a system active light.
Some numbskull dinged my car right above my passenger wheel with their door in a parking lot. I have no idea who it was. Hopefully it's not more than $200 or so to fix.
I had my first fill up! After the nozzle clicked off, I let it sit for 5 seconds. Then I removed the nozzle halfway, and got some small leakage. I think next time I'll give it 10 seconds.
I'm already needing to vacuum the inside of the car. We went to the county fair the other day and got a little dusty dirt in the floorboards. With my family including two young kids I am so glad I got the high wall mats and the rear seat cover!
Unless I sit there after a highway drive with the stereo and AC completely off and listen I can't even tell the helicopter sound. So I'm going to sit on that for now.
 


Ant918

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Does anyone find the gas pedal too far from the brake pedal? Too far to the right or too deep in.

I find it hard to go WOT on this car, but I can depress the brake pedal all the way easily.
It's funny I noticed this too compared to my last car, thought maybe I was crazy lol.
 

Troy Jollimore

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Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keeping Assist are two separate systems. I tested them on my first highway run the other day.

LDW flashes the warning light and waggles the wheel to warn you. Didn't test it long enough to see if it returned the car to the correct lane, but think it was trying to jerk it back in that direction.

LKAS is only on when the cruise control system is 'on'. That was neat, since the car literally did 'drive itself'. But after a few seconds it signals that it wants you to turn the wheel to make sure you're still alive... ;)
 

Troy Jollimore

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Haven't had time to read the manual. Pressing 'Set' by itself doesn't activate the cruise, unless you've hit 'Main', which turns on ACC and LKAS. Hitting 'Main' again turns them both off, and my cruise buttons no longer work... Hence my deduction.

How do you toggle them? I'll find out eventually, but don't seem to have much time these days... :(
 


 


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