Lack of power - Almost caused an accident on HWY

[SilverBulletES]

Recently drove friend's Honda Element from Vegas to Orange County in pretty thick traffic on a Labor day. Had no power weaving in and out and doing what I wanted with Mercedes/Bimmers/etc. from 65-85 mph in the desert and the city in all kinds of conditions. Roughly same power-weight ration with much more terrible aerodynamics. 20 mpg vs. 35 mpg.

I think you're doing it wrong.

 

[t0mt0m]

USE the manual control option on your transmission to choose the right gear when merging onto the highway if you are having issues. Its not the lack of power but getting in the right gear to get up to speed. Remember the automatic transmission is designed to maximize fuel efficiency not power. My B8 S4 has 3x the amount of power and it all means nothing if i try to merge onto the highway in 6th gear in my manual car.... I understand to get this kind of mpg you need to sacrifice some power. Finding the "sweet spot" where torque and hp are at its peeks will help you merge onto a highway with ease even on a 1.1liter tiny econo box. Like most cars, 3rd gear is usually the power gear.

 

[CX-SV]

For some reason, I think OP should not play with the manual mode of auto tranny.

The safer bet for the less experienced driver is to floor the gas pedal quickly and firmly, the transmission will downshift while both hands remain on the steering wheel.

 

[waylonrobert]

Sorry OP, but this sounds more like incompetent driving - every car behaves differently, you have to adjust to it. I see nowhere in your story where you were nearly in an accident.

 

[mazdadude]

Make sure that you don't have 2 layers of floor mats installed. (i.e. All-weather mats on top of carpet mats...)
This will keep the accelerator pedal from achieving it's full motion/operation.

 

[erhayes]

I suggest practice driving in an open parking lot or field. Drive normally and floor it. After a few times it should become apparent how and when to do this. I also like the possibility that floor mats and stuff under the acellerator may be causing problems. Ed

 

[CX-SV]

I've only owned my cx-5 for 3 weeks and its been a great car so far. However the lack of power/torque is still something I'm getting used to.
Getting onto freeway on ramps is a struggle, IMO.

Anyways this past weekend I went on a short road trip which consisted of driving up a 2 1/2 mile hill with a 7% grade on highway 101 (Camarillo CA, southbound heading towards LA)
Not only did the engine sound like it was giving its all, the lack of power almost caused an accident because I couldn't accelerate to a decent pace. I had cars all around me speeding up this hill like ease and yet I had to maneuver myself to the slow lanes with the semi trucks.
There was a prius zoom-zooming past me on this hill. Plus before I finally turned the engine off, about 5 miles after that hill, the transmission had that "jolting" feel.

I find this pretty upsetting.
Has anyone here experienced this issue when driving up hills?

Any near accidents recently?

 

[MikeM.]

Getting onto freeway on ramps is a struggle, IMO.

That's probably due to timidness with the accelerator. Once you learn to handle the power this great little four banger makes, you'll be more competent and less fearful of the accelerator.

As others have said, let the engine/transmission know your intentions by using all of the accelerator (don't worry, it's engineered to do it but it can't read your mind). Then, if it's too much you can back off a bit before you pick up too much speed. If you don't tell the car what you want, it won't shift into the appropriate gear at the appropriate time and then you become the dangerous driver on the road. At 60 or 70 mph it only takes a short hesitation on your part to become a nuisance driver. Being too timid is just as dangerous as being too aggressive. A more powerful engine can help mask bad driving habits but it can't make them go away.

Most areas of the country also have driving classes for people who could use better driving skills. They will teach situational awareness, vehicle dynamics and/or any other skills you could use help with.

 

[cmceleste]

I love the pep of this car! Handles corners great going around on/off ramps. "Drive it like you stole it" comes to mind. Merging onto a highway shifting from second to third gear I keep rpms 4500-6000. High revs in third gear will keep me up around 65 mph with plenty to zip around anyone.
Recently going up an incline highway I had the car up to 100 mph at 6500 rpm (red line) in 4th gear. Start to stop in a half milShe had plenty of room to go.

 

[katmar]

I love the pep of this car!

Me too! If I didn't know better, I'd never guess it had just 155 hp pulling around 3,400 pounds of crossover. It's ironic, the supposed "power problem" was my worst fear when buying the car, and yet it turns out playing with it's zippiness has ended up being the thing I'm enjoying the most

To the OP, it might be a problem of not "encouraging" it enough with the gas pedal to get it to downshift. It often won't acclerate at alll going up a hill in a higher gear. You have to give it some more gas until it downshifts a gear or two, and then it shouldn't be a problem gaining speed.

 

[CX-SV]

I guess no further incidents of almost causing an accident on highway took place. Glad to hear all is safe.

 

[CX-SV]

I've only owned my cx-5 for 3 weeks and its been a great car so far. However the lack of power/torque is still something I'm getting used to.
Getting onto freeway on ramps is a struggle, IMO.

Anyways this past weekend I went on a short road trip which consisted of driving up a 2 1/2 mile hill with a 7% grade on highway 101 (Camarillo CA, southbound heading towards LA)
Not only did the engine sound like it was giving its all, the lack of power almost caused an accident because I couldn't accelerate to a decent pace. I had cars all around me speeding up this hill like ease and yet I had to maneuver myself to the slow lanes with the semi trucks.
There was a prius zoom-zooming past me on this hill. Plus before I finally turned the engine off, about 5 miles after that hill, the transmission had that "jolting" feel.

I find this pretty upsetting.
Has anyone here experienced this issue when driving up hills?

Is this the same (upsetting) problem that you are referring to on 1/4/13?

 

[slinglee]

I can feel the pain in you we got similar experience but atleast you were better than me, you manage to go to the slow lane i got stuck in the middle lane with cars surrounding me. My CX5 was tolled back home.