So in my history here at H-T, i've seen "Safe mode" be mentioned a lot, usually when the check engine light is on and people say "oh fix it because ur i nsafe mode"

1) does this even exists? some people have said there is no such thing
2) if it does exist, what is it? from what i gathered, u just run really rich ?

 

i am not exactly sure about how it works.....but from reading my manual if there is a problem the ECU runs off "preset modes". they cause you to lose some vehicle performance but enough to keep the car running alright.

can someone else comment on this..........

 

ok case in point. Last year I come out to my car and find my passanger side window popped out (4 door frameless windows), and my S-AFC is missing. They left the harness but took the S-AFC, so as a result the S-AFC which was inline with the map sensor was now missing and the computer not knowing what the hell was going on in the intake manifold ran in safe mode. Let me just say very rich...it stumbled bad on launch and smelled real bad while driving. I immediatly realized what was happening and got home and stuck a paper clip in the harness.

 

hmm, im also wondering if vtec would engage if a car was in "Safe mode"

 

No, when a car is in safe mode, its gonna run the absolute minimum it can get away with. A car thats in safe mode has no business being in VTEC, at least the safe mode I was in. This way your will get you home, but won't blow up and have you knocking on customer service door

 

reason i bring this up is because

according to someone ( cant remember who, it was a while back ) a CEL (most of them anyways) are supposed to put the car in safe mode

out of these that were supposed to put the car in safe mode is code 67 (catalyst system below efficiency, secondary o2 sensor malfunction)

but when i dropped my cat out and drove around w/ open header a while back, vtec worked fine and the car didnt feel any weaker

 

Certain conditions (i.e. Bad sensors, cut wire, ECU component Failure, etc..) could send the Honda ECUS
in what is called "Limp Home Mode". A very basic program based on the minimun inputs that will let the car run at a 3000 RPM rev limit and with very conservative fuel/ignition curves.

Resetting the ECU and fixing the bad sensor will let the ECU go back to normal

 

when JDm cars run in safe mode the vtec wont engage and fuel cut off is at 6200rpm, plus the cars idles badly and sound like **** at higher revs

 

can you repeat that last part in somewhat more layman's terms, please? My 2003 Honda civic hybrid has put itself into a safe mode, and I don't really have the money for much work at the moment. I'm worried about how long I can continue this way

 

Way to go digging up a sixteen and a half year old thread... I don't think the poster you have referenced will respond. You can start by helping yourself... run the code. There is no "safe/limp" mode without a check engine light... so give us something to try and help you with.