Turbo stuck in Eco Mode?

[zorenstein]

Hey all!
I’m thinking my Civic might have some electrical issues:

- When taking the car out of Eco Mode, the turbo doesn’t work properly for a bit. Instead of a high, tight air woosh sound, its a low, loud, ‘loose’ air sound. The car also doesn’t feel like its pulling properly. The air sound comes from the passenger side.

- the doors all automatically lock when the car is on and doors are closed. I understand this is a feature, but I have no setting or option to turn it off. This is problematic because if I ever want to get out of my car quickly (take a picture, let it warm up while cleaning snow off) the car will lock me out. After about 15 seconds the doors will unlock, but not always.

- the front passenger window will go down after being put up. Once the window hits the top of the door frame, it shoots back down all the way.

I bought the car used with 26k miles and the salesman was really pushing for me to get the best warranty. He obviously wanted to increase his commission, but he kept selling it as ‘this is the only option that covers electrical issues’. I’m starting to think I should’ve taken the hint.

Do you guys have any ideas? Thanks in advance!!

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[PowerPerLiter]

1) eco mode changes certain things in the ecu that will change the turbo response behavior and thus the noise (the technical answer is cam angle targets change to decrease pumping losses and increase efficiency, thus the air from the turbo is quite literally "blowing through" the engine more than normal). This mode also decreases a/c compressor activity to minimum and allows cruise control to have a less responsive reaction to decreases in speed. Alternator control is also affected to reduce drag. Transmission targets also change. Lots of small changes.
2) The setting is there you just havent found it. Honda would not have written this option out of its coding just for your purchase at 26,000 miles. LOL. If the car was in front of me it would take all of 2 minutes to turn off or change to a different trigger to lock the doors.
3) The window is hitting its safety setting to roll back down because it is getting resistance from the window seal as its closing (BOTH my 2018 and 2020 did this when brand new) the more its used with just holding the switch manually until the seal relaxes with use/time this will alleviate itself.

4) There isnt an extended warranty I have ever dealt with (service advising for a decade) that would likely have covered any of these issues anyway. So feel good that you didnt waste that money.

 

[zorenstein]

1) eco mode changes certain things in the ecu that will change the turbo response behavior and thus the noise (the technical answer is cam angle targets change to decrease pumping losses and increase efficiency, thus the air from the turbo is quite literally "blowing through" the engine more than normal). This mode also decreases a/c compressor activity to minimum and allows cruise control to have a less responsive reaction to decreases in speed. Alternator control is also affected to reduce drag. Transmission targets also change. Lots of small changes.
2) The setting is there you just havent found it. Honda would not have written this option out of its coding just for your purchase at 26,000 miles. LOL. If the car was in front of me it would take all of 2 minutes to turn off or change to a different trigger to lock the doors.
3) The window is hitting its safety setting to roll back down because it is getting resistance from the window seal as its closing (BOTH my 2018 and 2020 did this when brand new) the more its used with just holding the switch manually until the seal relaxes with use/time this will alleviate itself.

4) There isnt an extended warranty I have ever dealt with (service advising for a decade) that would likely have covered any of these issues anyway. So feel good that you didnt waste that money.

Are you saying the turbo issue is a common fault in these cars? When the car is not in eco mode, the turbo doesn’t always function the way its supposed to.

I’ve watched countless youtube videos, looked through my owners manual, and looked through forums to no avail in regards to the locks. My settings list only has these options;

Bluetooth, Display Adjustment, Rear Camera, Display Change, Wallpaper, Color Theme, Language, Clock Format, OSS Licenses. Inside the owners manual it says there should be a ‘Door/Window Setup’ option but it’s not there. This is with the car in neutral or first with the ebrake (P) engaged.

That’s great to know about the windows! Thank you.

I did actually buy the extra warranty, but after looking again, its a ‘Vehicle Service Contract’ through a company, Z2.

This car is my first Honda and my first car newer than 2001 lol. So I’m very new to this. Sorry for being a noob! All advice and help is appreciated.

 

[PowerPerLiter]

Easiest way to put this is: if the turbo was an issue the car would absolutely know and light up the dash like a Christmas tree with warning lights or blowing smoke out of the exhaust, or both.

A lot of new owners should try to understand what I am about to say and it may help understand the way these cars work better.....when accelerating the amount you press on the gas is just a "request" for a "torque output" from the car....the car will respond to this request however it can within its programming limits.....while trying to be as fuel efficient as possible.....if it only takes 1 psi of boost to meet your "torque request" then thats all it will do. If it can do it with just RPM and ignition timing with zero boost; it will. There are many factors involved with achieving this that I wont go into here. But if you have ever had a cable throttle turbo car they are nothing like these things in terms of predictable boost behavior/sounds (that is until you learn what to expect out of them)

Hope this helps.

 

[PowerPerLiter]

1:32 into the video is him walking through the menus. He is at first talking about the keyless setting to lock/unlock all doors from the key. In that same list under the keyless settings showed in the video is the door/window setup button.

 

[PowerPerLiter]

Dont apologize. These cars can be confusing and that is what message boards are for. Ask away.

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