CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF COLD START AND WARMUP DRIVEABILITY

A program (23 Jan-3 Apr 1978) compared customer perception of driveability problems with trained driver evaluations of performance during cold start and warm-up driving at intermediate ambient temperatures (30 to 70 degrees F). The customers used their cars in daily service; the trained drivers evaluated their performance using Coordinating Research Council (CRC) test procedures. Customer ability to relate difference in car performance to changes in gasoline volatility was investigated, and customer evaluations compared with the CRC rating scale. The 107 customers were informed of the driveability problems; 14 evaluators worked on-site during the program. Customers generally ranked fuels in the same order as the trained drivers. As fuel volatility decreased, average ratings showed deterioration in driveability. Customer satisfaction with the fuels ranged from 62% to 93%; based on recent surveys of commercial gasoline quality, the 5th and 95th percentile values of driveability index for fuel sold in the test ambient temperature range are 98 and 145, respectively. The most frequent driveability problems in customer service were hesitation and stumble; driving stalls were rated as the most troublesome problem. The current CRC trained driver scale assigns greater weight to hesitation, stumble, and idle roughness than does the customer demerit scale developed during the program, and underemphasizes other malfunctions (hard starting, stalls, surge, and backfire).

• Corporate Authors:

  Coordinating Research Council, Incorporated

  Motor Volatility Group, 219 Perimeter Parkway
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30346
• Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 97 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Cold starts (Driving); Customers; Driveability; Drivers; Fuels; Gasoline engines; Perception; Performance evaluations; Starting (Driving); Volatility
• Old TRIS Terms: Cold start; Driver perception; Warmup
• Subject Areas: Energy; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00380627
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: CRC-512, HS-030 323
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 30 1984 12:00AM