I've been employing the Pulse and Glide method (speeding, then shutting the car off) in my Fit and it seems to be doing my mileage very well, as I've gone 75 miles with the needle still above F.

However, very oddly, when I shut off the car, I rarely lose power steering. The light indicating loss of power steering does not come on and I can steer fine. Other times, the light does come on, and I lose power steering, but I'll hear a click and while the light remains on, I regain full control of the steering.

I would say at least 7 out of ten times, I keep my power steering. I do, however, lose brake pressure, and pressing the throttle does nothing, so I know the car is really off. Anyone know why/how I'm able to keep my power steering?

 

Strange... I see no reason why it would keep working sometimes and not others. Are you going at different speeds?
I assume you get up to speed then shift into N, then turn the key to ACC and back to on?

 

Your power steering is electric. Your ign. key must still be in the on position- if it was off, your anti-theft steering column would lock up and you couldn't steer at all.

 

Thats sound like disaster
Ive never heard of this turn of the car while driving method, sounds pretty dangerous.

Tyler

 

Here's a good article I had found on Pulse and Glide driving

Driving technique: exploring 'Pulse and Glide' - MetroMPG.com

Not just for Pruissesess anymore!

 

I put the car in N, turn it off, then turn it back on without engaging the starter. If it's electric, that explains why I don't lose it most of the time, but not why I do lose it sometimes. The key is always in the On position: I need the warm heater air coming out in this 20 degree weather!

I haven't noticed if it is speed related, but I've noticed that if I'm going "slow", when I restart the car, I hear the starter churning, but if i'm going "fast enough", I don't. If I can, I'll figure out what speed that changes at, but i usually shut the car when I know I'm not going to have to speed up, i.e., when I'm coming to a stop, so I'm usually going pretty slow if not stopped when I restart the engine (I'm doing this in stop-and go traffic, when I can, not on the highway).

 

This sounds dangerous and a hassle to save $5-10 a month on gas?

 

Unrelated, but I want to know why if the headlights can go on when the car is off, why can't the windows go up?

 

No more of a hassle than braking, accelerating, or shifting! It quickly becomes automatic.

 

sorry but i think this technique you're using is really ridiculous and dangerous. i hope nobody on here gets the idea to do the same thing after seeing your thread. safe driving involves being able to take action in unexpected situations, and rolling around in a vehicle that is shut off is not a good way to keep your options open.

 

stay safe and good luck!
...anyway as stated earlier the steering is electric assisted.
I would imagine that its more wear on the engine and starter to do this...
I am not usually a safety monger but...DAMN!!! thats really dangerous!
It used to happen intermittently on my old, old civic, and I got used to it, and then was silly and employed it as a "technique".
Indeed I got a modicum better MPG...but I knew it was highly dangerous and illegal.
and one more ...for good measure
take it easy

 

I am sorry but this is a horrible idea and you should stop doing it right now. It takes some of your attention away from the road and actually driving, it creates much more wear on engine parts and I am sure that if it had been a great technique on non hybrid cars, it would have been adopted by ALL car manufacturers YEARS ago.

We don't want any FitFreaks to get injured or killed including yourself so please stop doing this.

You will not get a positive asnwer to your question here because you are asking the car to do something it was never designed to so you are lucky your power steering doesn't go off all the time when you shut the car off.

I don't mean to be an asshole but I want you to stay safe OP and this is NOT safe.

 

I said in one post that I do this "when I can", meaning when I feel that it's not going to be dangerous. Basically, instead of coasting to a stop with the engine running, I do it with the engine off.

If I think I may need to speed up, I don't do it.

If there is someone behind me and I think I'll end up going too slow, I don't do it.

I don't do it on windy, curvy roads.

I watch the lights and when the cross light turns yellow, I restart my car and I'm ready to go by the time my light turns green.

The gear shift stops at N, so I can shift into neutral by feel, and not take my eyes off the road.

I always wear my seatbelt and turn on my headlights.

I don't speed.

I feel in complete control at all times. I restart the car if I have no power steering or if the brake loses its pressure.

I feel that I am still driving safely, and I feel that many other drivers on the road take much more of a risk when they drive, even if they leave the engine on the whole time.

 

I agree with Lizard. If anything you are paying more attention while trying this technique, and I can GUARANTEE that someone Pulse and gliding is driving about 10x safer than ANYONE driving while talking on a cell phone or your average mom with 3 kids in an SUV (which is inherently less safe to begin with).
There are also thousands more of the latter.

If you are going to make a stink about something... do it with something common, not with something 0.1% of drivers may do.

 

i've heard stories of the pulse and glide technic except behind a huge semi, which creates an air tunnel = less drag so you can glide without slowing down as much

 

not to bash on this or how you drive. just an opinion...why do this on a car that already gets great mpg? If you cant afford gas may be you shouldnt of bought a brand new car, especially when the car gets such high mpg compared to others. just sounds dangerous. go out and get an electric car?
this sounds just as bad as somebody driving with a cell phone in their hand.
and if youre REALLY hard press to afford the little bit of $ that it costs to keep your fit fueled. take the bus. you never know what could happen or come out of nowhere when doing this. i hope you dont live in a place populated by deer, or any animals or any living creature at all. rediculous that anybody would do this.

 

I do live around deer, one jumped out at me and smashed my car a few months ago, and I wasn't using this technique. Also, I haven't been getting great mileage: my highest so far has been about 28 mpg, mostly highway, and my average is about 25 mpg, nearly all city. Anyway, there aren't many deer in the city; at least, I haven't seen any yet, just in the suburbs.

Of course I live in an area populated by living creatures; people live everywhere! And it's not about the money. I've found that putting in Sunoco 93 octane has given me the best mileage so far. Although I am considering the fact that Sunoco might just be better gas, and the octane may not have much to do with it.

 

Hypermiling is a challenge just like anything else... why would someone buy performance parts if they arelady have a Porsche? Why go around turning off lights if you already use CFLs?

As long as you are paying attention to the road I fail to see the danger.
What do you think people did before power brakes and steering?

Again... There are more agressive drivers by 1000 fold and more drunk drivers by a large number as well at any given time.

You are speaking as if the OP said "I'm going to get drunk, loosen my lugnuts then go 95 through a school zone."

 

Yeah, I'm not tailgating anyone.

 

See to me just the fact that you say that you lose your power steering (and I know how hard the wheel is to turn in the Fit without it) and that you also lose your power brakes feels very unsafe.

I never said other people driving around not paying attention and on their cell phones are better because they aren't. I make an effort to always pay attention to the road and not answer phone calls while driving but I can only control what I do.

The only thing is in this situation I and some others feel this is not a safe practice and not a good thing to talk about doing on a forum where others can be influenced in doing it and creating more risks of collision or injury.

I think when you start using a car in a way it wasn't designed to be used, it creates wear and tare and in your case unnessecary risks.