lesz

That is correct. Using the Eco mode is only going to result in better fuel efficiency when the transmission has to do lots of gear shifting, and, with highway driving, once the car reaches fairly steady cruising speeds, the transmission will remain mostly in the highest gear. In that situation, there will be virtually no difference in fuel economy regardless of whether you are using Eco, Normal, or Sport mode. Use of Eco mode, on the other hand, when driving in urban stop-and-go situations is where there is likely to be more significant improvements in fuel efficiency.

mikemu30

And lack of performance😣😣

mikemu30

I read in the manual that the eco indicator is not functional in SPORT mode. That's why I've never seen it.

TechNut

Ah, mystery solved. Thanks.

FTBoomer

I immediately go to Sport also. I only use ECO when I'm on a long trip and only once I've achieved cruising speed and engage the cruise control. Then I flip it over to ECO. Just returned from a trip from Tampa to Savannah and ran a nice 36MPG avg for the 650 mile round trip.

mikemu30

Flipping to ECO while highway crusing likely achieving nothing.

FTBoomer

I notice that when in Normal and cruising the RPMs run higher, switching to ECO drops the RPM so it must be doing something

mikemu30

Interesting. I wonder how that could be? Wouldn't RPM in highest gear (8) be the same in either mode?

dklanecky1

I suspect it's slightly reducing the performance of the HVAC system in this case.

AllinCLE

That's good possibility. There is also a "Eco" mode for the HVAC that can be toggled on/off. I've never checked to see if turning the drive mode to Eco automatically toggles it.

There are multiple overdrives on the car too. The shift logic is probably tweaked such that the threshold conditions to drop into 8th gear are lowered and the car spends more time in it on the highway.

Kijug

Only on long car drives, interstate, etc. I drive with cruise and ECO. I start looking for gas stations after 400 miles (2014 ES/UL...but wishing I had a 2020! =)