So the lyric from the song is "War what's it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!.

I'd would have to say that's my experience with the Honda Fit Eco button.

I mostly drive in the Fit, in "normal"...that is without the button depressed. I like the peppier acceleration, and I'm happy enough with the MPG as is.

But every 3-4 months I fill up and get lured into "trying" a tank with the Eco button depressed. I mean it has to be doing something? Otherwise why would Honda have a light up icon of a leaf appear? Plus it is a cool looking green button on the dash. Hate to totally ignore it. So I press it.

About the ONLY thing I notice is a less aggressive mapping of the accelerator pedal. It seems to facilitate smoother, less aggressive starts. I seem to notice that.

But I notice nearly nothing else. Even though I've read that it adapts how the air conditioning is utilized.

But what I really don't notice?
Fuel savings.
My MPG's in ECO are about the same, or even maybe worse than when I drive in "normal" mode.
I don't really care.
I think maybe when I'm in ECO mode, I might have a tendency to over compensate for the less aggressive accelerator pedal mapping by being more heavy footed with that same pedal...so maybe I'm killing that benefit?

But in any case, since my MPG's don't seem to be aided by the use of the ECO button, I really feel that it's not good for anything..other than a leaf icon lighting up.

Kind of wondering if that's the consensus or if anyone really feels or notices a huge difference using the ECO button?

I've ranted about this before, but didn't get much response. Maybe nobody is using the ECO button?

 

My previous Toyota had an Eco button, it never did much of anything either. I look at these buttons as "Feel Good" buttons which are there for PR reasons only. If Honda was smart they wouldn't bother even hooking these buttons up - just install dummy buttons, save a couple bucks on wiring and call it a day.

 

I can get 1-2 mpg on ECON mode pretty consistently.

 

yah, econ mode just makes the throttle feel real laggy. i turn it off while im driving the GK and yet get decent mpg even with my heavy foot.

 

I just fire up my 1969 Mustang 351 and let it slug down all the fuel you're saving!! :P :P :P :P

 

@fitchet probably touches anything with a WET PAINT sign, too! LOL

 

Less aggro, more granny, will save you fuel, eco button or not.

 

The Econ button actually mostly does this... modulate the pedal.

 

This I notice.
And actually, sometimes I just like the smoother less aggressive acceleration.

But the key to me, is I don't really see much if any difference in MPG.

If it's only a 1-2 mpg improvement, maybe I'm just missing it. A one gallon improvement one way or the other can be influenced by so many things.

It's not a big deal to me.
Honestly, I think if the MPG difference was significant, I'd be tempted to either leave it in ECO all the time, or feel guilty that I'm not.
With the minimal difference between modes?
I feel I can use either and not really care.

I mostly chose normal.
Occasionally if I feel like driving like I'm 75 years old and heading to the golf course, I'll chose ECO.

 

'driving like I'm 75 years old and heading to the golf course'?
What if I'm 85 and heading for the tennis court, because golf is an old man's game?
I like the idea of ECO but if it is not effective on MPG perhaps I'll revert to acting like some testosterone-loaded 40-year old who dreams of owning a Corvette!

 

Since my Fit is the dedicated commuter car, MPG matters to me. I can routinely get 43 MPG on normal mode without much effort. Econ can get me 44-45 and higher if I pay attention. Honestly that extra 1-2 MPG won't make or break my gas budget, but it's nice seeing the higher numbers. The extra money saved gets thrown into my brokerage account and compounds nicely.

I've done my commute long enough to have made a mental list of the same cars on my same commute. I know the ones that are speeding away and trying to get ahead of everyone. I let them because I've learned that when it comes down to it, I end up a several car lengths behind them, but generally we're getting to the same point within a minutes of each other. It's not worth the extra aggravation speeding down the road and weaving through traffic to me.

 

Rismo: I share your outlook!
How much fun to pull up behind that fast passer at the red light and just smile thru the windshield at him, realizing that he/she (if a thinking animal) wonders 'at least I beat him to the light...why is he smiling?'

 

Well the Fit is my ONLY vehicle.
And I'm with you on driving style. Especially as I do grow older, I'm much, much more passive when I drive.
And you're absolutely right about the difference in point A to point B, travel time being almost of no impact.
And people that are driving aggressively are putting their own lives at risk, and the lives of others, for what? Seconds? Minutes?

 

Using the Eco button on the interstate when there are elevation changes like Wv and Va will not keep a constant speed at all!

 

That pretty much sums up how I drive with ECO mode on. I live in Orange County California and if I always drove like a granny, I would get a lot of drivers raging at me.

 

That's if you use cruise control, with ECON or not. The Fit's engine is too small to deal with drastic elevation changes. The same hills driven in my 4Runner doesn't affect it nearly as much as the Fit, but the 4Runner has a 4.0 V6.

I've driven the Fit in VA/WVA and when I'm in the mountainous area, ECON gets switched off and I don't use cruise control as it increases the RPM unnecessarily going up inclines.

 

I'm probably in the minority here and drive with the econ button on most of the time.
The other big variable here is the cvt vs 6mt... if i had the 6spd if probably not use the econ as much as I'd want the crisper throttle. With the cvt I like the smoother throttle "tip in" on econ mode.

 

Yes, sorry, I meant to say while using cruise control while in Eco mode

 

I use it all the time. I like the throttle adjustment to 'lazy' mode. Not seeing any major impact on mpg. I think it has to do exclusively with how hard you accelerate ... so eco mode is basically grandpa mode... and that's how u get fuel savings.

 

Don't believe they have an econ button on a 6spd mt, at least not in '15....would be even more pointless