Does the 'Eco Button' really help? Options

[JeffAWard]

Been wondering this since I purchased my car a few weeks back.
Inside the manual it says that the eco button will 'monitor throttle response' and 'improve valve timing'. And I believe it definitely does as I can feel the difference in the throttle for sure.

If I want to overtake someone on the highway for instance and eco is on, the car hesitates a second before applying the power.

My question is, what, if any, effect does this have on fuel economy? The L/100km are already good on this car, I can't imagine that sacrificing throttle response makes the any more efficient than it already is.

[mlumz]

My dad said the dealership told him to only use the Eco button during highway driving and not in the city.

As for fuel economy I believe the Eco management is to save you fuel on the highway so if you are doing hard accelerations on the highway you are essentially negating the Eco (burning more fuel).

I personally never like driving with the fuel economy buttons in any car (I like to have the throttle response in case I need it).

[Alex2013GT]

First welcome to the club! Don't think I ever welcomed you. As far as the eco button, that has been an area where there is a difference in opinions. Some say it helps, others say they don't like it and it does nothing. Because everyone's driving style is different people will have varied results with its effectiveness. My suggestion is run a few tanks with it on and a few with it off. See if there is any noticeable difference in your economy on your normal commute and if not, then leave it off if you prefer the throttle reaction better with it off.

As far as the city v. highway, I wouldn't think eco would do much of anything on the highway. Once you are 6th gear and cruising at highway speeds I can't imagine it is doing much of anything. It seems it would be more for city driving to where it would help the throttle response to accelerate in a fuel efficient mannerism. But who knows???

[SNASH914]

If you want high mpg, keep the rpm at all times as low as you can. The button just helps you do that. Really, unless you are low on gas money (everyone gets those days), what fun is it?

[Fromustangtoelan...]

[quote name='mlumz' date='Jan 18 2014, 05:44 PM' post='390182']
My dad said the dealership told him to only use the Eco button during highway driving and not in the city.

my dealer said the opposite he said don't use it on the highway. But I leave it on 24/7

[Morsel]

So far in my experience, gas mileage is much improved with the ECO button OFF (disabled). I have filled up eight times and was getting very poor mileage. Once I deactivated the ECO, mileage increased significantly. I believe in my case it was because I was doing mostly around town driving, so with ECO enabled, the car was always in a lower gear. Driving around locally in stop and go traffic, the constant downshifting to accelerate was actually hurting my mileage. Now, if I was doing primarily highway driving, I believe ECO would be a benefit.