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Honda Civic Hybrid IMA Problems

1509 messages,  Last post on Jun 14, 2013 at 4:00 PM

You are in the Honda Civic Hybrid Forum.

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

Messages Page 27 of 152

#252 of 1509 Re: IMA problems, and check engine light [dwa2] by Ogre_GEV

Jan 27, 2010 (12:58 pm)

Replying to: dwa2 (Jan 26, 2010 5:48 pm)
>My IMA light came on too. It also had a fail code of PO7AF. It only had 11,000
>miles on it! How in the world could the battery be shot!!!
 
Seriously, how often do you drive your car that it only had 11,000 miles on it? The #1 killer of batteries is leaving the car to sit for weeks at a time. A single 90 day event is enough to guarantee a failure within one year. This is not a fault of Honda, but a simple fact of physics based on the design of the car. I see lots of 2003 HCHs with 160,000 or more miles before a failure and there are no fundamental differences between the gen 1 (2003-2005) and gen 2 (2006+) packs. These people, however, drove their cars 20K miles or more per year. I've also gotten in a couple of 100K packs from 2006 and one 2006 with only 30K miles, but it was a salvage vehicle and sat parked for six months as it was repaired.
 
>They did not tell me that if the IMA light came back on that I could get a new
>battery.
 
For the duration of your 8/80,000 mile warranty, if your IMA light illuminates and the error codes report a battery problem, it will be replaced for free, as many times as necessary. That warranty expires at the 80,000 mile mark even if the battery went in the day before.
 
After the warranty period, if you pay for a battery, it comes with a 3 year warranty (on just the battery).
 
From the 2000-2006 Insights and the 2003-2005 Civics, I have seen enough batteries to state that most last about 7 years (no matter what the mileage is), provided the car is a daily driver. I don't have enough information about the 2006+ models, but I know enough about the batteries to know that the changes are minor (10% more cells, more compact package, some sensors eliminated, etc). Insight owners are unhappy with the latest software also, as it makes it harder to hypermile.
 
>Was the software upgrade a temporary fix.
 
I wouldn't call it a fix, I'd call it a re-tuning of the BMS (Battery Managment System). It may help tremendously with your usage patterns - or not. It is not temporary. This is how the car will behave from now on, unless the software is updated again.
 
>Would I be smart to trade it in whlle it is still getting 41.4 miles to the gallon?
 
And get what? A 30mpg car? You've already taken the depreciation hit. Over those 11,000 miles, you are talking an MPG difference of what, 50 gallons? So how big a hit will you take? $150?
 
You've got 4-7 years left on your warranty depending on the year of your car. It's unlikely that you'll drive more than 10,000 miles per year, so the warranty will keep you up and running for some time to come (enough time for any replacement vehicle to have gone from new car to old car). Catalytic converters are covered by federal 8/80 warranties, and the car isn't known for being overly unreliable (quite the contrary). So why switch?

#253 of 1509 Re: IMA problems, and check engine light [Ogre_GEV] by bottomsup

Jan 28, 2010 (12:28 am)

Replying to: Ogre_GEV (Jan 27, 2010 12:58 pm)
> ...if your IMA light illuminates and the error codes report a battery problem, it will be replaced for free...
 
Is it that simple? My light came on with the P0A7F error code reported. Honda requires you to update the softwares first. They won't replace the battery until the error code returns. The dealer tells me this is the process that hs to be followed.
 
How does a software fix a battery?

#254 of 1509 where to sell '06 civic hybrid by bottomsup

Feb 01, 2010 (11:05 am)

I'm going off on a tangent but, has anyone looked into or sold their civic hybrid? Where would be a good place to sell? Does Carmax offer good price?

#255 of 1509 Re: where to sell '06 civic hybrid [bottomsup] by nataliem

Feb 01, 2010 (1:23 pm)

Replying to: bottomsup (Feb 01, 2010 11:05 am)
Honestly I got a better payoff at the dealership where I bought my new vehicle at. I bought a Nissan at Gunn Nissan. I think Gunn is only in Texas so I would suggest go to Carmax to at least get an offer but also give the dealership a chance.

#256 of 1509 Re: IMA problems, and check engine light [MB_in_MN] by accord_owner

Feb 01, 2010 (8:43 pm)

Replying to: MB_in_MN (Jan 21, 2010 9:00 am)
I bought an 09 HCH in September 09 on the west side of Los Angeles. It was manufactured a year earlier and originally on a sales floor in Riverside, CA.
 
Just like many others, at 6500 miles the IMA light came on, went away, then came on a couple more times. I started reading these boards and decided there was no way I was going to get the 'update' until I had to (assuming I needed it - some 09's apparently already have it).
 
Well, the driver's side window malfunctioned and I decided that, since the window needed fixing, I'd just go ahead and see what happens with the update - I'm not going to sell it with the light on and I'll need it gone to pass emissions - I've read posts on how to fool emissions, but eh.
 
So I got the update on 1/30/09 and noticed that the mpg dropped to 36 driving around the side streets. I had *always* gotten around 43 prior to that. I keep a log at each fill-up.
 
So, I started getting worried b/c it's happening... The same thing everyone else is posting about is happening. BUT today on a roundtrip to work and back (40 miles total) on the freeway I get 48 mpg! That's never happened.
 
I've noticed that the car is acting much differently. It has a lot more power as it's warming up and the battery gauge is all over the place. It's full one moment and then empty the next w/o even driving very hard. It acts this way until it warms up and reaches some level of steady-state. Also, while driving on side streets it seems like it is depending more on the gas engine than before.
 
It will take time to verify, but I think this 'update' makes it perform less well on side streets and better on freeways. That might explain why some people have a good experience with the update and others do not.
 
Oh, and the window - They wouldn't fix it on the first trip and only lubricated the guide channel for a short-term fix. On the second visit they will replace the regulator for a real fix. I don't have time for this.

#257 of 1509 Re: IMA problems, and check engine light [accord_owner] by accord_owner

Feb 06, 2010 (5:41 pm)

Replying to: accord_owner (Feb 01, 2010 8:43 pm)
To follow up on my previous post on Feb 1... After a week of driving I am getting 46 mpg. It looks like the software update did not impact the efficiency for me in my situation, so far

#258 of 1509 Trading this thing in.... by pastork

Feb 08, 2010 (7:00 am)

I'm trading my 2009 HCH in today, after only one year. I complained to Honda customer service about the fact my mileage dropped 25% after they reprogrammed the IMA, and they were HUGELY snotty with me....claimed that they had received no complaints, there are no bulletins on the problem, knew nothing about any problems, blah, blah, blah. They called me back a week later to say there was nothing they would do.
 
Meanwhile, my MPG continued to drop, hitting 27 MPG this past week. I'm trading it in for a MINI Cooper Clubman today, which gets better MPG, ironically enough.
 
I'm sending a letter to the Attorney General of the state of Illinois to ask them to investigate Honda's practices on this. Essentially, Honda is telling you when you purchase the car that you will get over 40 MPG, and then they disable the feature that allows that. That is shameful behavior.
 
I would encourage everyone else having the same problem to notify state authorities of your suspicions about Honda's business practices. Then copy American Honda on the letter.
 
Peace,
 
Pastor Keith

#259 of 1509 Replacement battery by gregr2

Feb 08, 2010 (1:43 pm)

good idea. I am thinking about doing the same. My battery was actually replaced and I'm getting 10 mpg less per gallon than I was when the car was purchased new. I also have a 2009.

#260 of 1509 Re: Replacement battery [gregr2] by shinkat

Feb 08, 2010 (10:17 pm)

Replying to: gregr2 (Feb 08, 2010 1:43 pm)
I have 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. In my experience, MPG does go down, when outdoor temperature drops. I get about 39 ~ 43 mpg in Spring, Summer and Fall, but in Winter it drops down to 28 ~ 31 mpg. Once engine warms up, the MPG comes back up, which seem to takes about 15 ~ 20 minutes if driving.

#261 of 1509 Re: Trading this thing in.... [pastork] by shonda3

Feb 09, 2010 (6:05 am)

Replying to: pastork (Feb 08, 2010 7:00 am)
I'm sorry. They already know all about it and don't give a damn. If they did a recall as Toyota has the good sense to do, however belatedly, then they would have to spend billions around the world to correct the problems that their miserable engineering created.

Messages Page 27 of 152

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