"Coasting" with '18 Civic - seems to slow itself down

[jedbadda]

Hi there, new to the forum.

I just bought a brand new 2018 Civic EX and am noticing something I didn't notice when test driving.

At lower speeds (~10-15mph) after giving it a boost of gas and taking my foot off the pedal, rather than the car rolling off the momentum of that for a while, it slows down pretty quickly, almost unnaturally, to about 4mph.

I used to drive a '96 Toyota Camry so I'm used to hitting the gas and letting the car coast for a good while, sometimes as long as a block (almost as if you're coasting on a bicycle), resting my foot on the brake in case I need to stop, as opposed to constantly applying light pressure to the gas, which is really tiring out my leg and not making for a relaxing driving experience.

Is this normal for the car, or is there an adjustment I can make or a setting I can change? I've already tried the different drive 'modes' such as Eco, Sport, etc.

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[DarthMinnow]

Exactly how my car handles. Sounds like you missed leg day at the gym.

 

[PMMonly4HATCH]

Hi there, new to the forum.

I just bought a brand new 2018 Civic EX and am noticing something I didn't notice when test driving.

At lower speeds (~10-15mph) after giving it a boost of gas and taking my foot off the pedal, rather than the car rolling off the momentum of that for a while, it slows down pretty quickly, almost unnaturally, to about 4mph.

I used to drive a '96 Toyota Camry so I'm used to hitting the gas and letting the car coast for a good while, sometimes as long as a block (almost as if you're coasting on a bicycle), resting my foot on the brake in case I need to stop, as opposed to constantly applying light pressure to the gas, which is really tiring out my leg and not making for a relaxing driving experience.

Is this normal for the car, or is there an adjustment I can make or a setting I can change? I've already tried the different drive 'modes' such as Eco, Sport, etc.

haha tiring out your leg. Here is where one can understand the age old question of, is the glass half-full or half-empty. You see, it is akin or similar to how manual tranny stick drivers say automagics are autotragic, i.e boring blahblahblah but this proves that manual-driven cars can be tiresome cause you got to modulate the clutch, brakes and gas for 3 times the fatigue, amIrightGents? just look how hard it is to manage the throttle/gas on these civics. meanwhile, I will try to see it as pumping up the turbo and not as a cumbersome but a tonsoffun task. amIrightGents?

 

[jedbadda]

Honestly, any advice? This is going to get super annoying on my daily hour-long commute, which is stop-and-go at about 10mph the entire way...

 

[Swordfish]

Honestly, any advice? This is going to get super annoying on my daily hour-long commute, which is stop-and-go at about 10mph the entire way...

It's just the way the car is bc its a CVT. I also have an ex and it's very jerky at slow speeds then applying the gas. The old car you mentioned has a regular automatic transmission

 

[myke]

I think it's the CVT. If you had the manual you could just pop it in neutral and coast away!

 

[ramnj]

....At lower speeds (~10-15mph) after giving it a boost of gas and taking my foot off the pedal, rather than the car rolling off the momentum of that for a while, it slows down pretty quickly, almost unnaturally, to about 4mph....

Mine does the same on my 2018 Civic EX.

 

[nuowner]

Hi there, new to the forum.

I just bought a brand new 2018 Civic EX and am noticing something I didn't notice when test driving.

At lower speeds (~10-15mph) after giving it a boost of gas and taking my foot off the pedal, rather than the car rolling off the momentum of that for a while, it slows down pretty quickly, almost unnaturally, to about 4mph.

I used to drive a '96 Toyota Camry so I'm used to hitting the gas and letting the car coast for a good while, sometimes as long as a block (almost as if you're coasting on a bicycle), resting my foot on the brake in case I need to stop, as opposed to constantly applying light pressure to the gas, which is really tiring out my leg and not making for a relaxing driving experience.

Is this normal for the car, or is there an adjustment I can make or a setting I can change? I've already tried the different drive 'modes' such as Eco, Sport, etc.

My '10 Taurus did that and I thought it was a design feature called 'transmission brake assist' or something similar. I never did get used to it.

 

[Charley-TX]

in my 17 sedan, it seems that it rolls or cruise better in eco mode with less "engine braking".
With automatics I think the "a slight engine break" feature is a given, manufacturers want it to have.
Also noticed that going on a steep downhill coasting, if I touch the brakes the CVT engage (downshift) and engine RPM goes up to 3000 RPM.
YOu still have the option to throw that bad boy in Neutral if you want.
I have not tested it yet but we may also have active cruise control that does just that, manipulates the trans and engine braking to slow the vehicle.

 

[AegeanKing]

This is going to be normal. The CVT operates with a drive pulley and a driven pulley connected by a belt. Two conical sheaves regulated by fluid pressure change the effective diameter of the belt/pulley for the drive and driven pulleys at varying speeds to achieve be best efficiency. When you are going at low speeds, such as 10-15 mph, and then attempting to coast, you are going to feel engine braking much as you would in a manual transmission in a low gear. This is due to the programming for the CVT that wants to maintain a good drive ratio at low speeds for good acceleration. Going 10-15 mph won’t cause the CVT to change the ratio very much at all, and thus, effectively locks the belt/pulley drive diameter in place so you feel that engine braking feeling. Hope this clears things up for you.

 

[caspar21]

are you talking about the lack of rev hang at low speeds?
most want to get rid of that. not put it back in.

 

[jedbadda]

I've actually gotten pretty used to how it drives at low speeds and really like it now! It was just an adjustment after driving the old Camry for 10 years.

 

[Driveitlikeuboughtit]

I've actually gotten pretty used to how it drives at low speeds and really like it now! It was just an adjustment after driving the old Camry for 10 years.

That's usually all it takes - each car drives differently. Also remember that when you're in gear and coasting, you're actually using 0 fuel.

If you're in neutral and coasting, your engine is consuming enough fuel to idle.

It can be more fuel efficient to be in gear and having the engine brake rather than coasting in neutral.

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