D or B!

[Neil Ives]

I do not go along with the idea that slowing down without braking is dangerous. No one worries about taking their foot off the gas in a manual gearbox car.

[ColinB]

I do not go along with the idea that slowing down without braking is dangerous. No one worries about taking their foot off the gas in a manual gearbox car.

Slowing down without braking is a perfectly normal driving technique. But I suggest that most people would ease the pedal pressure so the car does slow gradually. Try driving at 70 and then take your foot completely off the pedal, because that's what the "intelligent" speed limiter does when it detects the wrong sign. It's dangerous because the car behind doesn't see any brake lights, so the driver doesn't get any prompt that you're suddenly slowing.

[Neil Ives]

I do not go along with the idea that slowing down without braking is dangerous. No one worries about taking their foot off the gas in a manual gearbox car.

Try driving at 70 and then take your foot completely off the pedal, because that's what the "intelligent" speed limiter does when it detects the wrong sign.

Yes, I can see the problem there. I have given up using that system as it's too flaky with the UK mixture of speed indication signs. I would not be surprised if Japanese speed signage is absolutely regular and so the Honda system can be relied upon.

[Ceej]

Use B for trimming a bit of speed off at times (if no one close behind) or for a downhill to remain speed neutral. Interested to read that very light brake use initially activates regeneration, but that involves having to lift your foot from accelerator to brake pedal and who can be bothered with that 🙂.

Personally I find B too intrusive and lurchy. Prefer a smoother drive 👍. And also agree with others on here that a car slowing down quicker than you'd expect without brake lights coming on is a slight anomaly.

Always try to distance etc on motorways etc without having to activate brake lights by the way 🙂

[Neil Ives]

I do not get the worry about slowing down without using the brakes. Manual gearbox cars do the same thing all the time.

[DERMOT]

Famous quote on braking on motorways...

[Lord Voltermore]

D or B.  Lift off early, loose speed gradually with mild regeneration over a greater distance

This is simply not an option in busy urban traffic if you don't want to annoy your fellow road users.
In a city like ours (not even that big) you could try it between 3AM and 5AM. 

You mean the same drivers who dont like you driving at the speed limit,  or you stopping for a red traffic light they had hoped to 'jump' after you did. ?   I dont like trusting  such drivers to notice you are stopping ,however gradually, in B mode .At  least D mode gives them some  warning  with some brake lights. 

! think aggressive city drivers are more annoyed at drivers who fail to keep up with normal traffic  flow .Actually the Mk 4 can do very well here, due to its massive torque from rest.  Maybe not all Jazz drivers though. At least hesitant drivers give  impatient drivers more opportunity to constantly change lanes to try and gain a cars length.   

 I taught my daughter to drive 'confidently'  (aka assertive or aggressively  ) in big  city traffic   and was always telling her to "get your snout at the trough"  Oh dear I raised a monster.  She went on to buy an Audi. 

I think rolling downhill in neutral is illegal  under a catchall law of not being in proper control of the vehicle.(as can driving in totally unsuitable footwear ) A car is much more stable in its handling  under drive/in gear , and sometimes  safety requires you to accelerate out of danger.   Suddenly changing from freewheeling to drive can introduce  excessive  torque (twisting) to components such as  gearbox,automatic gearbox ,  engine, clutch, drive shafts, electric traction motors  etc.

Last week I drove the Jazz  over the Transfagarasan  Highway (or as I call it the transkardashian highway)  ,a 2000 metre  pass over the Carpathian Mountains in Romania.  Described by 'Top gear'  as "The best road in the world"   

The Jazz climbed it easy as Winkey.  And I came down  the pass in D mode with no problem at all.   In fact for much of the time I followed a Volvo 4x4 down and that had to brake at least twice as often as I did.  - I dont know if it was an automatic or manual, but either way  it  put twice as much strain on its brakes as the Jazz .  Naturally even in D mode the battery was almost immediately fully charged.   I tried B mode for a short time as an experiment but it was totally unnecessary. 

Here is a photo near the top.    The pilons are for  a cable car! 

The main hazard was Bears.      The Sat Nav didnt at any point say " Bear Right Ahead "

[shufty]

... I've never found it 'jerky' or 'intrusive'. Engine braking in a manual can be way more aggressive.

[ndavey1]

Since reading this topic I’ve made all my work journeys in B. 25 miles a day, some dual carriageways, 30-50mph. I have noticed increased battery charge and more EV driving. Also it’s nice barely touching the brake and the journeys seem smoother. I wonder though if using this mode too much must wear out some component?

[mitchelln]

So when you lightly touch the brake pedal in either B or D, does it use regen braking or always the mechanical brakes?

Thanks.

[Neil Ives]

So when you lightly touch the brake pedal in either B or D, does it use regen braking or always the mechanical brakes?

Thanks.

From what I've read here regen happens in D but more so with B.

[Lord Voltermore]

So when you lightly touch the brake pedal in either B or D, does it use regen braking or always the mechanical brakes?

Thanks.

If you touch the brakes it uses mechanical brakes. But just like when you take your foot off the throttle on a conventional  manual car there is some 'engine braking' without using the brakes.     On a normal  car its due to engine compression , on a hybrid and EV  its due to   regenerative braking . The momentum of the car is used to turn the  charging generator ,not the engine .A generator is reluctant to turn due to its powerful magnets.  Its the power needed to overcome the drag of the magnets  that effectively slows the car.         Free power .  Coming down a long enough descent you can fully recharge the EV battery by regenerative braking alone ,so will effectively roll down the length of the hill (but under control)  then travel the range of the EV battery without the engine  .      You get more  regenerative braking with B mode than D (the magnets are made more powerful) , but B mode  might slow the car down more than you want so you may need to use some battery power just to keep the car moving.   Swings and roundabouts.  Sounds complicated   but the car does all the clever stuff and you soon get used to it.  Then you  can decide whether you prefer the feel of the car in  B mode or D mode. 

[Nicksey]

I asked this question when I joined this forum, just before taking delivery of my Jazz and the first automatic I have ever owned. Now, after 3000 miles in 3 months I find that I use D mode predominantly. I sometimes go into B mode when descending hills, which I do often when visiting the Dales. I can honestly say I have never noticed any difference between charging rates between B or D. I regularly reach 10, in either mode. It does advise in the Honda manual that D mode should be used the majority of the time, and B for hill descents only.

[Jazzik]

It does advise in the Honda manual that D mode should be used the majority of the time, and B for hill descents only.

No... it does NOT advise that D mode should be used the majority of the time. I read on page 403 https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/manuals-and-guides/honda-owners-manuals/_jcr_content/par1/textcolumnwithimagem_1653971839/textColumn/richtextdownload_90f/file.res/2021%20Jazz%20Owner%60s%20Manual.pdf

this:
Drive
Used:
For normal driving.

Drive (B)
Used when driving down a long hill
and to increase regenerative braking.

So... B can be used when descending a long hill BUT ALSO (and...) for regenerating more braking energy. Even on flat roads.
Try the B mode in busy city traffic and discover that, by accelerating and braking a lot (using the brake pedal very limited), the HV battery charges faster.

[Kremmen]

In the first few weeks of ownership I tried both and I prefer B mode. Can't remember the last time I used D

Just had to get used to pushing the lever forward 3 clicks instead of 2 from drive to reverse.