Ask the Car People.SM


Honda Civic Hybrid IMA Problems

1484 messages,  Last post on Apr 02, 2013 at 6:27 PM

You are in the Honda Civic Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Hybrid Cars, Coupe, Sedan

Messages Page 148 of 149

#1468 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [ohshamrockgirl] by mabecane

Mar 13, 2013 (4:23 am)

Replying to: ohshamrockgirl (Mar 04, 2013 11:18 am)
Yes and once your 12v battery dies out ,how are you gonna start the car?. The HCH does not have an alternator, the big electric motor was the generator and starter. Once my IMA battery started to die, the car was started the regular way , with the starter activated by the 12v battery, and it also died after a while. So no running with out a good IMA or 12 v battery. I sold mine.

#1469 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [mabecane] by bossless

Mar 13, 2013 (6:44 am)

Replying to: mabecane (Mar 13, 2013 4:23 am)
The 12 volt battery is charged from the IMA battery. If it won't charge up then the 12 volt battery does not get charged. You can externally charge or change out the 12 volt battery to temporarily drive the car.

#1470 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [bossless] by mabecane

Mar 13, 2013 (10:53 am)

Replying to: bossless (Mar 13, 2013 6:44 am)
Yes it sounds like fun, charging every time you want to use the car. The Flintstones's car was more reliable

#1471 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [mabecane] by bossless

Mar 13, 2013 (12:06 pm)

Replying to: mabecane (Mar 13, 2013 10:53 am)
Not talking about fun. Talking about getting the car to a place to repair or unload.

#1472 of 1484 2005 Civic Hybrid by jwlongiii

Mar 14, 2013 (6:58 am)

We purchased a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid new in November 2005. We had very few issues with if for the first five years, but then things went bad. First the catalytic converter went bad, but since we don't have emissions in our region, I didn't spend the money to fix it.
 
In early 2012, my wife's car wouldn't start one cold morning. We jumped the car, drove it around and it appeared to charge. On my wife's way to work, the battery suddenly discharged. She took it to the dealer and they told us it would be $3,000 for the IMA battery, $1,500 for the catalytic converter and $1,500 for the AC compressor. At this point the car was 6.5 years old and had only 130,000 miles on it.
 
We decided to wait on the repairs on we didn't think the car was even worth $6,000. A few days after we got the diagnosis from the dealer, we got a call back from the service manager at the dealer that they (Honda) would replace the battery at their cost and split the cost with me....something like $1,200 for the battery, but I still had to spend another $3,000 on the AC compressor and catalytic converter.
 
While we were debating what to do, the IMA system appeared to be holding a charge. My wife took the car to Carmax and they said they would give us $4,000 for the car. We had been researching cars while we debated what to do and pulled the trigger....trading in the 2005 Civic Hybrid for a 2012 Mazda3 Wagon. The gas mileage on the Mazda is nearly the same as Civic Hybrid and I don't have to worry about the battery going bad. The only disadvantage to no longer having a hybrid where we live is we no longer can ride in the HOV lanes during rush hour by ourselves....but that won't last forever.
 
My extended family has owned at least 10 Hondas over the past two decades and our 2005 Civic will be our last one.

#1473 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [mabecane] by sm04chybrid

Mar 14, 2013 (1:44 pm)

Replying to: mabecane (Mar 13, 2013 4:23 am)
actuallly yes the HCH has an alternator installed, if there wasnt an alternator installed in the car then the 12v battery would be dead within few days if u kept running constantly or whenever u shut the car off.

#1474 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [mabecane] by sm04chybrid

Mar 14, 2013 (1:46 pm)

Replying to: mabecane (Mar 13, 2013 4:23 am)
if your ima battery is no good then you are forced to use your conventional starter that is activated from the computer and power by the 12v battery

#1475 of 1484 Re: 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid IMA light [mabecane] by sm04chybrid

Mar 14, 2013 (1:46 pm)

Replying to: mabecane (Mar 13, 2013 4:23 am)
if your ima battery is no good then you are forced to use your conventional starter that is activated from the computer and powered by the 12v battery

#1476 of 1484 Battery constantly discharges and sputters by irishgirl76

Mar 20, 2013 (2:11 pm)

I took my 2006 HCH into the dealer today. After the software "upgrade" they did on the car two years ago, I've lost 10 mpg on my vehicle, the battery continually drains from full to two bars in a matter of blocks and sputters from a stopped position. I have 78k miles on my car and wanted to see about getting the battery replaced before the 80k on the warranty hits. I was told today by my local Honda dealer that the IMA is perfectly fine and that the issue lies with my engine. They're telling me my engine is not functioning properly and it's really my IMA that is driving the car and that's why it's draining so quickly. They said it would cost me $150 to continue diagnosing, so at that point I told them to stop. All my car symptoms are identical that I keep reading on the 2006 HCH. Anybody been told that their IMA is fine, but that the actual engine was a problem??

#1477 of 1484 Re: Battery constantly discharges and sputters [irishgirl76] by slider162

Mar 20, 2013 (2:25 pm)

Replying to: irishgirl76 (Mar 20, 2013 2:11 pm)
They are full of crap. You need to video what is going on like I did.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1ny0sWVvVM
 
Until they see what is happening and then Honda, not the dealer, will watch the video and decide to replace the IMA battery. There will be no diagnostic fee because it will be covered under warranty.

Messages Page 148 of 149

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement