Odometer not counting when engine/car off?

[phosphite]

I've been trying different hypermiling techniques every now and again, and on the way home there is a straight section of hill sloped slightly downwards that I can always coast a couple miles in neutral. One day, with nobody around, I decided to shut off the engine while coasting.

After I started the engine back up, while still rolling, I noticed that the odometer and trip-meter hadn't counted the miles I'd coasted!

This doesn't seem right...my previous car with its mechanical odometer would count the miles, now this one with the electronic odometer doesn't seem to count them? Has anybody experienced this?

[asndragonboii]

you have to put it to Key On (second position). Your steering wheel will lock up if youre not in that position. You will have no power steering but that doesnt matter. Your brakes will get really stiff in about 3 pumps.

And it's not recommended to coast with the engine off in our civics. The manual says for it to be towed on a flat bed.... or something like that

[BIIIGJON]

[phosphite]

I had it in Key On, was losing power steering and power brakes. If it matters, it's the Si, so it's in neutral while I'm coasting and shouldn't do any damage. There's no reason to flat-bed these cars, you only flat-bed an AWD car or a car where you wouldn't want the wheels to turn.

It doesn't appear that the odometer increases when you are coasting with the car off. What I see here is that if you're counting miles (like I am where I'm leased), I could "theoretically" skip a few miles by shutting off the car and coasting it a bit.

Now I'm not an idiot, I'm not going to be doing this, so lets get that said and done. I drive safe. But it doesn't make sense for the car to be able to ignore miles while the front wheels are turning, just due to the electronic odo.

[ffswizzlestick]

The car was not designed to move while it was off. They designed it to move when you turned it on. Why would they want the odometer to be active when the car isn't intended to be? Why don't you just leave the car in gear and let off the gas?

[civicsifg2]

im gonna have to report you to honda =)

[phosphite]

I leave the car in gear going down a hill, or I put it in neutral if I want to coast longer (since leaving it in gear causes it to engine brake). I've shut off the engine twice for the same couple-mile stretch just for shits and giggles.

So it looks like you could "cheat" on your odometer if you're a hard-core hypermiler. Don't blame me, I didn't design this car.

[gOzP]

Thats dumb turning off your car while running on a hill downwards.
What if for instance, there was a cat, squirrel or whatever.
You could have cause an accident because your steering wheel will lock up..

Dumb idea man.

[galaxygrey13]

if theres a cat or squirrel you can just run them over. you cant cause an accident cause itll be kind of hard to oversteer the car with powersteering off.

[nayilsi]

wow

now I know how people get 50+ mpg with the Si

[gOzP]

Originally Posted by nayilsi

wow

now I know how people get 50+ mpg with the Si

[raybyduhbay]

not worth it to save gas nor save a few miles on the odo

[Chadillac]

Originally Posted by ffswizzlestick

The car was not designed to move while it was off. They designed it to move when you turned it on. Why would they want the odometer to be active when the car isn't intended to be? Why don't you just leave the car in gear and let off the gas?

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I heard somewhere that coasting with the car off, or towing the car improperly can be damaging to the transmission and/or differential. It was something about how the gears are lubricated. If the bottom gears in the transmission aren't turning and the top ones are, the top gears aren't getting any lubricant. Anyways, don't quote me on that.

[ffswizzlestick]

Originally Posted by Chadillac

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I heard somewhere that coasting with the car off, or towing the car improperly can be damaging to the transmission and/or differential. It was something about how the gears are lubricated. If the bottom gears in the transmission aren't turning and the top ones are, the top gears aren't getting any lubricant. Anyways, don't quote me on that.

I really didn't mean that you shouldn't do it, although I never agree with intentionally turning your car off in the middle of the road. I just meant that that's the reason why the odometer doesn't keep track.

[SujetoSi]

I don't know what state you are in, but in Texas, driving downhill in neutral is illegal and you run the risk of getting a ticket. In regards to shutting off your car, that too is illegal and dangerous. Nevermind the squirrel, dog, cat that may run across the road. What about the small child? And Chadillac is correct about damaging the transmission and differential. If the car needs to be towed, the front wheels (driving wheels) should be lifted or the vehicle placed on a flat bed.

[phosphite]

Let me first start by saying I don't agree in having the engine off while coasting down a hill, power accessories are more important for control of the car if there was need to avoid a collision of any sort. So while I'm not condoning it, I'm bringing to light another part of our car. Some people might have read hypermiling blogs like I have, where they actually recommend drafting a transport truck and turning off your engine; obviously that's extremely dangerous.

Besides all that, leaving the car in gear going down a hill runs the engine from the wheels anyway, so turning off the engine isn't going to save a whole lot. Plus, since it doesn't count miles while your engine is off, it's not going to help your fuel mileage calculations, since you won't know how many miles you would have gone, in addition to the fact that you need to restart the engine which will burn a little more gas.

Unless you take the key out, you still have manual powering and manual brakes, which you need to use a lot of physical force to drive. I know this since I unfortunately had to pilot a k-car down a steep hill (over 10 years ago) with no power steering or brakes, when it died on me. It's something you wouldn't want to normally do, even if you save a tiny bit of gas. Stopping a car without power brakes is tough.

Regardless the fact still stands, although it's pretty much useless; cars (at least this one) with an electronic odo do not count miles while engine is off. Done.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by phosphite

If it matters, it's the Si, so it's in neutral while I'm coasting and shouldn't do any damage. There's no reason to flat-bed these cars, you only flat-bed an AWD car or a car where you wouldn't want the wheels to turn.
.

Actually, it isn't good for the transmission to coast a long way with the car in neutral with the engine off. This is why they say to flatbed the car.

The manual transmission doesn't have an oil pump to lubricate the gears/bearings. They tranny fluid is splashed and circulated around by the spinning gears themselves. When the car is in neutral and the engine is running the gears are still spinning from the engine, but are not connected to the output shaft, so the car doesn't move (neutral). If the engine is shut off and the car is rolling in neutral the differential and couple shafts are spinning, but not the rest of the gears, so there is the potential for some bearings to be spinning without adequate lubrication.

I'm not saying you will definitely have transmission issues, but better safe than sorry.

[phosphite]

Duly noted, an experiment I won't be repeating!