Power Mode Sequence - Going Through "On" To Get Out Of "Accessory" - Terrible Engineering

DerbyDad03 · Jul 20, 2020

Here's what the manual says:

Changing the Power Mode
Use the ENGINE START/STOP button to cycle through power modes or start the engine.

Accessory or On mode: Press the ENGINE START/STOP button once without pressing the brake pedal for Accessory mode. Press it again for On mode.

Starting the engine: Press and hold the brake pedal, then press the ENGINE START/STOP button. Keep your foot firmly on the brake pedal when starting the engine. If you press the button and the transmission is not in P, the vehicle goes into Accessory mode.

Turning the vehicle off: Select Park (P), press the brake pedal, then press the ENGINE START/STOP button.

That is both wrong and totally annoying.

The "wrong" part is this:

If the user presses the button once to get into Accessory mode, then presses it again (because that's the only way to get out of Accessory mode) the vehicle in now in On mode. The vehicle is On. According to those instructions, to turn the vehicle Off, the user should press the brake pedal and then press the ENGINE START/STOP button. We all know what happens if we do that: The vehicle starts. That last instruction is only correct if the vehicle is running. It does not "Turn the vehicle Off" when the vehicle is in On mode but not running.

The "annoying" part is this:

You must go through On mode in order to get out of Accessory mode. The dash board has to light up, the climate control system has to start up and all other systems (fuel pump prime?) that are energized in On mode start up and then get shut down almost immediately. That can't be a good thing from a longevity perspective.

The worst part is that when something gets fatigued and eventually fails due to the rapid start-stop cycle, it'll never get traced back to the root cause. No one at Honda is ever going to say "Your fuel pump failed. If you use Accessory mode a lot, that's our bad. We'll cover the repair."

Who the heck came up with that design? Something has simple as "Long Hold the ENGINE START/STOP button to turn off Accessory mode." would eliminate the issue and possible future problems.

phattyduck · Jul 20, 2020

When in Accessory mode, just press the Start/Stop button twice in quick succession to turn the car off (foot off brake, of course). It probably also turns off if you just leave the vehicle and lock it, though I haven't checked that one myself.

There needs to be a way to get into 'ON' mode without starting the vehicle, and this is a semi-reasonable way to have it work.

Be happy you don't need to double-press or long press the button to turn it off like my wife's old Mini required...

-Charlie

DerbyDad03 · Jul 20, 2020

phattyduck said:
When in Accessory mode, just press the Start/Stop button twice in quick succession to turn the car off (foot off brake, of course).

Have you actually gotten that to work? With no indication of "On" mode activating, even briefly?

When in Accessory mode, my "twice in quick succession" tests show 3 possible outcomes:

1 - Too slow and On mode activates. (the situation I'm complaining about)
2 - Too fast and On mode activates - (apparently there's not enough time for the vehicle to recognize the second push)
3 - Anywhere in between and - at a minimum - the Christmas tree lights up, relays click and buzz and then van shuts down. A little slower and the climate control kicks in momentarily then shuts down. To me, that's even worse than allowing full On mode and letting things settle before shutting them down.

I have not found a "twice in quick succession" timing that simply shuts the van off directly from Accessory mode.

It probably also turns off if you just leave the vehicle and lock it, though I haven't checked that one myself.

Not my Ody. If I get out and close the door while in Accessory mode, the vehicle yells at me. 6 (7?) rapid beeps as soon as the door closes. If I press the lock button on the door, I get another 4 quick beeps. If I press Lock on the fob, nothing happens.

There needs to be a way to get into 'ON' mode without starting the vehicle, and this is a semi-reasonable way to have it work.

There is. What there isn't is a reasonable way to go from Accessory mode to Off without the van starting up other systems on the way through On mode. That's just sloppy.

MrRangerZr1 · Jul 21, 2020

I thought I was the only one that found this annoying lol

DerbyDad03 · Jul 21, 2020

It is just so asinine. Do you agree that its possibly (probably?) bad for the vehicle to have systems start up and then get shut down before they have settled from an electronics standpoint? Isn't the computer basically saying WTF? whenever this happens? Why do the Honda engineers think this is good idea?

What exactly does get started/stopped when the vehicle goes into On mode momentarily/partially?

At a minimum, I'm going to let my Ody settled in the On mode for a second or two before I shut it down.

egads · Jul 21, 2020

I always shift to N and set the parking brake before going into Park anyway. I will put up with a lot just to not
take the keys out of my pocket.

MrRangerZr1 · Jul 21, 2020

At the end of the day, the keyless start is much better over the traditional key...in terms of convenience.

Has anyone tried the removal of the crank pulley bolt using the starter method with the keyless start system?
Imagine you press the darn start button and it doesn't turn off in time lol pulling the fuel pump fuse won't let it fire up but it will keep cranking the motor until it realizes there's a problem

cammark35 · Jul 21, 2020

MrRangerZr1 said:
Has anyone tried the removal of the crank pulley bolt using the starter method with the keyless start system?
Imagine you press the darn start button and it doesn't turn off in time lol pulling the fuel pump fuse won't let it fire up but it will keep cranking the motor until it realizes there's a problem

I used a remote start switch (tool) from the battery directly to the starter solenoid to bypass all electronics. really some scrap wire would work, but i had the start switch in the tool box so i used it.

Old Man · Jul 22, 2020

Agree the "Accessory" menu is a royal PITA. When checking the menu during CEL / LWS / FWC (?) ....I found the menu very confusing. Turns out nothing wrong with LWS & FWC...CEL (ECO feature - fouled plug) caused multiple Xmas tree lights.

Me? Give me back the old school key. I prefer simplicity. It appears that over engineering electronic features is problematic.

DerbyDad03 · Jul 22, 2020

What Accessory menu are you referring to?

This thread is about putting the Ody in Accessory mode so that you can listen to the radio, etc. without starting the vehicle.

Old Man · Jul 22, 2020

We were trying to main menu to find out what was wrong with the van. The owner's manual didn't help much because of the CEL & P0303 error code. We could not clear the CEL or LWS & FWC(?) code by disconnecting the battery and using the menu to shut off FWC.

DerbyDad03 · Jul 22, 2020

I still don't understand how that relates to the issue being discussed in this thread.

How does Accessory mode have anything to do with shutting of FWC? What Accessory menu are you referring to?

Old Man · Jul 22, 2020

Delete my response. Not specifically for this topic.

Power Mode Sequence - Going Through "On" To Get Out Of "Accessory" - Terrible Engineering

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