Technology has advanced even the automobile. With this technology has come the restructuring of the automobile designing them with new features to help with improving the efficiency of the vehicle and saving gas. One of those features is the eco mode system (the focus of this article).
This brings us to the question, what does eco mean on a car, and what does it do? A lot of car owners are asking these question.
Many of them have this system in their car and never used them, while a lot of them get scared or don’t know what to do with an eco light turning on.
What is Eco Mode?
Eco Mode meaning is Economic Mode in vehicles, most cars having the button located at the left-hand side of the steering wheel.
Its normal function is to cut down the quarter maximum rate of fuel consumption by changing some features in your car so your car uses a lesser amount of gas while driving on it, particularly if you are driving for a short distance.
This function of your vehicle changes the mode of operation of is the element of the automobile transmission system and the automobile engine by causing a reduction in the rate of response of the throttle for the sake of economy.
Since your throttle is of a slow type in point of response, the result is less consumption of fuel. Electric cars have naturally no eco mode function because of no gas use.
When to use eco mode?
Eco Mode is appropriate for vehicles that primarily drive at low to moderate speeds. For example, taking a leisurely drive to grab coffee, going for a pleasurable trip to the park, or any type of cruise at low speeds is perfect for eco mode.
On that note, eco mode isn’t the ideal setting for drives across town or any long-distance driving. If you only need to use your vehicle for long-distance trips and are trying to conserve gas a little, eco mode isn’t for those drives.
Is Eco mode bad for your car?
Regardless of how beneficial Eco Mode is in your cars, constant wrong use of this mode can completely destroy your vehicle’s engine. Automobile specialists believe that it only destroys the major components of your car when misused.
Like your transmission system, for instance, changes mode and begins to shift gears less often than its supposed to. This causes your engine speed to rise to a very high level, hence decoding the effectiveness of your fuel pump.
Other fallout of this includes oil shortages in the engine system, thereby exposing the whole engine system to a total damage risk. There are driving conditions when do not use Eco Mode. That answers anyone asking is it ok to drive in eco mode all the time? You know better now.
Should I drive with ECO on or off?
As mentioned before, there are some situations in which you will not want to turn on Eco Mode in your car.
When driving uphill
When you drive up a hill, your car needs to shift gears in order to drive smoothly up the hill, benefiting your fuel economy, and this shifting is being inhibited when you have eco mode ON. You should know that your car will consume more gas with Eco Mode enabled when driving uphill.
It takes a little specific skill to drive a car or over a hill without having the car roll backwards (more difficult in manual cars than automatic).
When driving on highways
On a highway, you will need to attain a high speed while cruising, your eco mode ON will only make your car travel slowly.
Hence speeding become very difficult, so it would be best if you put off eco mode while driving on highways, so you can quickly get your desired speed and later turn it ON when off the highway.
On a hot and sunny day
Who loves to reduce his/her vehicle AC level on a hot day just to reduce consumption? No one! Why, because it will leave us sweaty and not cool.
For you to relieve your self of chills while inside your car, it is not advice-able to on eco mode, it makes your air conditioning less effective.
Does Eco Mode really save gas?
Technically yes, activating your vehicle’s eco mode feature will help you save on gas a little bit, but from a practical standpoint, always putting your foot down even when you have your eco mode switched on will not save you gas. It’s very much like a plug-in hybrid, and unless you treat it right, you won’t have much luck in saving gas.
This means that if your driving style is not on point, your vehicle will not save fuel, even when your eco mode is equipped.
They are reliant and work hand in hand. It is fair to say that the efficacy of a vehicle’s eco mode feature is heavily influenced by the driver’s driving behavior. You now have a good resource response for those who ask does eco mode saves gas!
What happens if you turn off Eco mode?
Turning off eco mode means that you’re going to be driving in ‘normal’ mode now. You should have faster throttle response and should thus be able to accelerate more quickly. You shouldn’t have to press your pedal so hard for it to go faster and you shouldn’t notice a delay before your vehicle picks up speed.
With eco off, air conditioning should work okay without any hindrance, and auto climate control should even use the highest setting of the fan. It may still be possible to save fuel if your driving behavior and engine system are good.
How fast can you drive eco-mode?
When you switched ON your eco mode function, your eco coast freewheel function was also being switched ON too. This function makes engine braking stop. Thus, the kinetic energy your vehicle generates will be used for freewheeling when you’re driving long distances over highways.
When you stop pressing your accelerator pedal, your gearbox is automatically disengaged from your engine, and the latter drops down to idling speed at a low fuel consumption. Your top speed in this case should be 140km/h (87mph).
Does Eco-mode make cars slower?
Yes, the eco mode feature of a vehicle helps it go slower to conserve the amount of fuel that it uses. Driving too fast uses a lot of gas, and so the eco mode is set in order to prevent this from happening.
This feature does this by making your pedal and engine less responsive to inputs; that’s why when you press down your throttle, your vehicle responds more slowly than you’d expect. So with the eco mode feature turned ON, your car will go slower.
What cars have eco-mode?
Because the eco mode is beneficial and meaningful, all the latest models of cars are equipped with the feature, making the cars more rugged and useful. Let’s see what cars have eco mode.
Toyota Eco Mode
If you have the eco mode on your Toyota, do not be shocked if immediately you put ON your eco the controls in your cabin will be self-adjusted including air conditioner. Not something strange, it is all a Toyota vehicle.
With this mode ON, your engine will not work so hard anymore. Your car is using greatly reduced amount of fuel, Toyota encourages its customers to take advantage of the eco mode Toyota function for any stop/slower driving.
KIA/HYUNDAI Eco Mode
Some Kia owners might be wondering what does eco mode mean in a Kia car. Well, activated eco mode in Kai or Hyundai cars is that feature which makes it possible for them to have high gas mileages.
The mode takes charge of the engine and transaxle. Immediately the driver presses the eco button, a green light comes ON. This signifies that the vehicle is in economic mode.
Ford Eco Mode
It’s not a breaking news that Ford has a unique eco mode system. The eco mode feature in this brand gives its drivers a regular assessment of how their driving style affects their car’s fuel economy.
Ford’s eco mode feature monitors the drivers’ gear changing, speed and braking. What’s more, it also monitors the number of trips you can make with your car. This eco mode system runs in tandem with a trip computer.
While driving in eco mode, this system picks information and relays information back to the driver through displays on the vehicle’s dashboard. As a ford owner with the eco mode system, you ought to know how rated your fuel economy is through three symbols representing anticipation, gear shifting, and speed.
With Ford’s Eco Mode system, you should have no problem saving a ton of gas, depending on your driving style.
Lexus Eco Mode
Every Lexus car owner with an eco-mode system should enjoy an economic ride. Lexus version of eco mode is called the Drive Mode Select.
This is an entire system that gives Lexus owners the opportunity of selecting between five drive modes, although this is predicated on the type of Lexus car you drive.
These modes include EV, Normal, Sport, Sport S+, and Eco mode, with each of these modes being tailored to suit your driving habits.
Chevrolet Eco Mode
On Chevrolet vehicles and almost all other vehicles designed for the Eco-mode function it will lock the torque converter of the vehicles, in other words, it Will force the driver to drive the vehicles at low speeds.
It Will also Stop the vehicle’s engine speed when idling, and the engine goes lugging pretty well when the vehicle approaches 50 mph.
How Does Eco Mode Work?
Eco mode modifies a vehicle’s performance to cut back on the rate at which fuel is consumed. However the effect of eco mode varies with each car. Here is how eco mode works:
Reduces acceleration.
You should know that as long as you have your eco ON, your vehicle won’t be accelerating quickly even when you press down hard on the throttle. This is because your vehicle’s throttle is slow in opening so as to save your gas.
Reduces the brightness of car lights.
This eco mode dims the brightness of your car’s interior lights and exterior lights, so as to reduce the work of your alternator supplying power to your vehicle’s electrical system while the vehicle is on the move. Remember that your vehicle’s engine system is powering your alternator as well.
Switches off the engine at idling.
Your eco mode switches off the engines of manual cars in your garage when not moving and then restarts the car when the clutch is being pressed. In automatic vehicles, the eco mode closes the throttle to reduce gas entering the cylinder.
Affects the air conditioning system.
The air conditioning (AC) system is one of the vehicle systems that contributes to high fuel consumption due to your compressor’s load on the engine. So when your eco mode is ON, it manages the speed of your compressor and sometimes shuts it down at some point.
Alters transmission RPMs.
Eco mode of your car changes the shift points of the transmission to save fuel as it moves from lower speeds to higher speeds.
Some Important Tips for Driving in Eco Mode
Now that you’re familiar with the functions of eco Mode, it’s time you know how to optimize this feature and make use of it in the best way possible. Here are some important tips that will help in driving in Eco Mode.
Before driving:
Check your air filters.
The inspection of air filters is usually done when the engine oil is changed. Replacing faulty or dirty air filters can really help in gas mileage.
Use the right engine oil.
Make sure to always use the proper engine oil for your vehicle. You can either ask your dealer or leave it to a professional mechanic. The right oil details make a difference in gas mileage.
Your engine should be turned up well.
Make sure your engine is turned ON properly, or you could fail the emissions test. That could be bad.
Put air in your tires.
Air-gauged tires have been known to last longer than tires that aren’t gauged. A properly air-gauged tire contributes to high gas mileage in a vehicle.
While Driving:
Do not idle excessively.
Idling excessively is one of the factors that usually consumes a lot of gas in most vehicles, especially vehicles with large engine systems. So, to get the best result from your eco mode, you shouldn’t be idling so much.
Do not drive at high speed.
This is the first rule of thumb when using eco mode; the reasons are that speeding defeats the whole aim of the eco mode feature.
Gas mileage usually falls while driving above a speed of 60mph. So, when you drive at that speed or a higher speed, you should slow down, or you can think of how you will spend more money in purchasing gas.
Also, constantly driving in high speed with eco mode ON can lead your vehicle to develop engine problems.
Do not drive rough.
Roughly driving definitely gives low gas mileage. This shouldn’t a consideration. It will only lead to wastage of fuel. To have a better fuel economy when your eco mode is ON, you need to develop good driving habits; else your eco mode becomes useless. Always drive in a calm manner.
Use cruise control.
Setting your vehicle in cruise control keeps your vehicle at constant speed and this also helps saves your gas.
Why is my Eco light on?
On a normal scale, illumination of your eco light could imply that your cars’ computer is informing you that your car engine is operating at very near to its designated miles per gallon. Your computer knows when to turn ON your eco light, based the engine RPM, speed of your car and where your throttle is at.
On other cars; immediately the eco light come ON some of the vehicle engine will start changing slightly in an attempt to improve the eco system’s efficiency and the ignition timing and fuel usage for example.
A feature referred to as Cylinder Cancellation is used by some newer models of Honda Accords to decrease rate of gas consumption. The eco light will suddenly come up and give the driver messages that some of the engine cylinders were shut down, an entirely doable scenario. So panic not. It is just the ecosystem trying to save you gas.
And another thing. The eco light does not have the same significance as when your engine check light lights up. If your engine warning light comes ON, your eco light might never come ON because of reduced efficiency of your engine.
You can always refer to your vehicle’s manual for more precise information on what it means for your Eco light to come ON.
How do you turn off the Eco-driving indicator?
On how to turn off eco mode on cars with an automatic eco mode system like in some Toyota Corolla models, you simply go to your vehicle’s Settings > Eco driving indicator light > Select Off.
For some other models you can turn off the eco-driving indicator by holding down the DISP button on the steering wheel. See, it’s that simple!
Final words
The eco mode is a feature that no one should be without in their vehicles. It’s surely a good way to save fuel and save some money. Nice and Easy!
With this mode, you also take care of your vehicle, extending its longevity.
You already know what does eco means on a car and that an indiscriminate use of this mode might damage your vehicle, but as long as you stick to the conditions of when to use eco mode when driving, your vehicle shouldn’t develop any problem driving on this mode. Instead, you’d be certain of a very high gas mileage.