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Hey all,
Been reading for awhile, and have improved the mileage in my 07 Accord pretty nicely.

The next project in my 05 Navigator. Usually the wife drives it, which means I can't control the mileage. But when I do, I have one main question.

I do practice DWB and DWL while driving it, and that helps. Does anyone know if it's safe ( transmision / engine /whatever ) to FAS an 05 Navi?

I do regular FAS in the Accord, so I'm familiar with the technique and the loss of PS / PB. I just don't want to FAS in the Navi and end up doing bad things to a 55k truck.

Thanks in advance.

LB

Welcome to CleanMPG! You may have to check to see what your owner's manual has to say about towing. If it reccomends that it NOT be towed then a FAS may not be a good choice. We hope to see your progress on the Navigator.

Well, the problem with FAS in a vehicle that large is steering & brakes. You would lose all power steering assist which isn't a big deal on something like an Accord, Civic, etc. but the Navi has a lot more heft to it. Same problem applies to the brakes. Again, in a smaller car it's possible to bring it to a halt after the vaccuum runs dry but I'd be a little concerned about something with that much mass. I guess you could give it a shot but I would recommend doing it in a totally deserted parking lot at low speed & with lots of room for it to run if things get hairy. I guess it's not a question of if you can handle the car as much as a question of how comfortably?

Not having tried FAS on a navigator I can't really say for sure. But knowing that the guy behind me is FASing one of them would scare me :)

I might recommend against it if you are near any sort of civilization but I tend to be pretty conservative about that sort of thing.

Heh, I'm very conservative with FAS in the Accord - much more so than a lot of the folks on here. Yes, the Accord is very good about it, and the steering is no big deal, but I always worry about the brakes going out at a bad moment. So I'm pretty much resigned to not doing it near traffic of any kind, and I'm OK with that. I just don't feel comfortable cruising around with no juice when there are cars around me - makes me nervous.

So if I do FAS the Navi, it'll be in the same types of situations - no cars around. I know I miss out on a lot of the benefit by not using it as often, but I'm ok with that.

Bad news about the owners manual - it's lost somewhere! It's got the 6 speed Lincoln tranny, and I can't find any info on it to tell me if it's safe. Not like I can go ask the Lincoln dealer, either ;)

Being in an Insight, these techniques are easy, but want to trying them in something considerably larger in an open space to get a feel for it.

leroybrown: Okay, I guess if you are going to do it, you might want to search the web for navigator forums to get the answer on how robust the tranny is and what the manual says about towing. I'm sure they would know the vehicle inside and out.

It is great to see people working to get better milage in larger vehicles.

Hi LB:

___I have FAS’ed the 07 F-350 6.0L PowerStrokes at work and they act just like any other vehicle. At speed you can turn them without issue. At the slow turn stuff, they are a handful as you can well imagine. Power brakes disappear just like the sedans. 3 or 4 good pumps …

___I had a Navigator to test for ~ 30 minutes last summer and the results sucked. FAS’ing is fine but on re-engagement of the Auto, it had no idea what gear to come out of or go back into. Completely useless would be an understatement. This was the older 5-speed, not the new GM/Ford 6-speed in the latest Ford offerings. GM tranny’s are pretty tough but again, find a manual and see the precautions for flat towing the beast. If there are simple speed limits while in N, you are good to go.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I don't want to hijack the thread but am not sure what proper protocol is here, so someone chime in if I'm pulling a no-no.

My Mazda3 automatic's owner's manual says "The Mazda3 is not designed for towing. Never tow a trailer with your Mazda3." Based on what was said above, does this mean I should not FAS my car?

They're talking about the other kind of towing...pulling your car behind something. If the manual states not to tow the car with all four wheels down, that's an indication that driving in neutral at speed will do damage.

Ok, for that my manual says "The transaxle is not designed for towing this vehicle on all 4 wheels." So I guess I can't put it in neutral coasting down hills. :(

Just wanted to post an update. This wednesday I parted with my Navigator, and took delivery of a shiny new 2007 Honda Civic hybrid, in Magnetic Pearl. Already loving it, and the incredibly gas mileage capabilities. I know I've only just tapped the potential, and it's still amazing.

Congrats on the HCHII :)

Hi LeroyBrown:

___Congrats would be an understatement! I know about 30 HCH-II owners here reading this that are sitting idly by telling their spouses there was another SUV driver who purchased an HCH-II the other day …

___I hope you are as excited as I am wrt what your new HCH will allow you over the next few years :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne