Going out on a limb here…

Has anyone noticed that the TSX ECU will regulate the throttle when you are traveling at very low speeds to keep the car from killing?

I was crawling along at about 2mph in a snowstorm this morning and discovered this neat feature. It will regulate the throttle to keep the car from killing in both first and second gear. Just keep your foot off of the brake and clutch and you will just roll along.

I even tried it in second gear through five inches of snow in the parking lot and it still regulates the throttle to keep the car moving.

My Integra would kill or just start to shake if you did not feather the throttle properly.

Has anyone else noticed this one?

-Tim

 

I've noticed that too. Coasting along at very low RPM - just before I'd expect to start to feel it shudder and stall, the ECU applies throttle and brings the RPM back up a bit.

 

That's how I drive in rush hour. Creeping along in 2nd gear and never let the RPM drop below 500 (stall).

 

That's an advantage of the DBW throttle. I've noticed the cruise control is rock-solid as well, since there's no lag with needing to move the pedal linkage. It's harder to "pick-up" at the same speed when switching back to manual control, though.

 

i dunno, other cars have done this. my friends eclipse will roll along in 2nd gear without stalling.

 

yeah, my 84 volvo MT had this and i'm pretty sure it wasn't drive-by-wire.

 

This is no easter egg. Just about every new car equipped with a manual transmission and drive-by-wire throttle has this anti-stall program, and even some mechanically operated throttle has them. It has become a functional trend just like side curtain airbags and xenon headlamps have become safety trends.

While you can still stall the car if you let off the clutch abruptly, you can advance the car to a crawl by gently letting off without using any throttle. Even econoboxes like VW Golfs and Mazda proteges can do this.

 

Every car that has electronic fuel injection has this neat little thing called a throttle control valve. This is potentially what is causing you to think the ECU is putting some intelligence in. Trust me, if you get your car on an incline, it will stall. This throttle control valve is the same thing that operates while your sitting at a light so the engine doesn't stall. It merely takes control of idle so the engine doesn't stall while the main butterfly valve isn't in use.

 

i agree... my 94 GSR in 2nd gear has to almost come to a stop before it shudders... otherwise i cruise along in slow moving traffic.