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Honda Civic Hybrid IMA Problems

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Comments

  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    Okay, so after not being very polite at the local Honda dealership, here's the scoop. They are hoping a "fix" will be available next week. I will be calling every week until it's ready. They assured me Honda is aware of the problem and working to correct it. In the meantime, I'm checking out filing with the state AG, possibly under our lemon law.
  • hpdriverhpdriver Member Posts: 18
    If you are going to try the "lemon law" you better act fast. Most states have a time limit that you must act within to claim a "lemon". In Illinois, for example, you must have returned the vehicle for service a certain number of times (3, I believe) and then must try to claim under the lemon law. But all that must be done WITHIN 18 months of purchase. I bought my vehicle in May of 2009. Want to guess what month the IMA and Engine light went on and the software upgrade was made?? If you guessed November of 2010 you would be right --- and that's 18 months.

    But either way, you should report to the AG of your state. They need to know that the 2006 - 2008 model year issue is still a problem in 2009 model.

    Oh, and one more thing, ... HONDA SUCKS. Bought my first one in 1985 (red Prelude, great car), an Accord in 2000, and this piece of CRAP in 2009. NEVER AGAIN, HONDA!!!!! It's not nice to treat anyone this way, but certainly not repeat customers.
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    Hmmm, I bought mine in April 09 and it went out in October 10, 18 months. Interesting.

    In the state of Washington we have 30 months to file a claim, and I believe the first unresolved visit must take place during that time. I have drafted a letter to American Honda Corp to be sent in two weeks if the fix has not been made. I am "demanding" an exchange for a vehicle of equal value and options (mine was loaded) but NOT a hybrid. I'm not holding my breath, but that is what is required by our lemon law. Then I have to allow 40 days for Honda to respond.

    This very well could be our last purchase as well. I cannot work with a company that does not stand by their product.
  • rhegderhegde Member Posts: 4
  • rhegderhegde Member Posts: 4
    Just wanted to update on my experience so far after the s/w update.

    I got my 2006 HCH back on Dec 29. Since my car was not starting, the dealer found a problem with my regular battery and replaced it under warranty (my car was 54,000 miles). The dealer also did a s/w update (It states something like Hybrid Reflash on my invoice).

    Today i drove 200 miles on my 2006 HCH, and the experience has been good i must say. I took a long drive from Orange County to San diego on I-5 this afternoon, the car accerelated pretty well and gave a mileage of 44 miles per gallon. I am gonna to watch out how it will perform on the stop and go traffic since that I experience most of the time. My HCH gave just about 33 miles per gallon in stop and go traffic before the update. Will compare to see how it behaves after this update..
  • rd5418rd5418 Member Posts: 5
    You can't skip the upgrade unless you don't take the car to Honda for routine service. Why should you do that ? It's funny how their story has changed over time.

    When I first had my problem, they blamed it on everything from my driving habits to putting stuff in my trunk for work. I got sick of it and just sued them.

    Of course I won and they had to take the car back and I put a ton of miles on it. Fine with me since they treated me like crap. I will never buy another new Honda.

    In court they tried to use the cover that MPG vary and that federal law preempts a car maker from being sued for any false claims regarding MPG. That is true, but that is not the point.

    The point here is that something in the software is malfunctioning and that is covered as anything else woudl be. The fact that the malfunction relates to MPGs does not give them the right to hide behind the MPG law.

    It did not work when I sued them.

    They had to give me all my money back and pay off my loan.

    Screw you Honda.
  • rd5418rd5418 Member Posts: 5
    Why are you wasting your time ? Sue Honda and get all your money back !

    That is what I did after a year of excuses. There is something wrong with the software upgrade and Honda is trying to hide this so they don't have to do a recall.

    You can sue them yourself throught the BBB. It's really easy and consumer friendly.
  • markrockmarkrock Member Posts: 6
    edited January 2011
    Did you sue the dealer or American Honda?
    At the BBB WEBSITE, did you start with the complaint form?
    Were you able to accomplish the suite entirely online?
    Mine is the '07, 110,000 miles, and my car's performance dropped in the 3rd year, and then worsened with the update.
  • yzerman123yzerman123 Member Posts: 9
    I'd also be interested in the details of your successful lawsuit.
    This sounds like a good candidate for a class action suit.

    I took my car for maintenance last winter and they didn't mention anything about a software update. My batteries weren't malfunctioning at the time so maybe they didn't bother. My problem started in the last 6 months or so.
  • bosslessbossless Member Posts: 179
    I don't believe you can go through the BBB unless it is a warranty item and you are still covered.
  • dhilldinerdhilldiner Member Posts: 48
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    How is your new battery working?

    Unlike the people who are having problems with the software update, you have a Gen 1 Civic. It has not had this update issued because it is a very different car -no PTZEV mode, no AC during auto-stop, a smaller IMA battery, a lighter car, etc. At 268,000 miles, your battery simply wore out. Most 2003-2005 Civics last 120,000 - 160,000 miles before their batteries die.
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    Vidar,

    Is the problem 100% solved now? Which relay was it?
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    rd5418, I would very much like to hear the particulars of your suit.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    The forums cannot be used to discuss/organize legal actions so please do not make posts along those lines as they will have to be removed. If you would like to contact another member off of the forums, the best way to do so is to click on the Forum Preferences link on the right side of any forums page, and set your email address to "public". That way other users can click on your user name and find your email address.
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    My apologies.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    No problem... just a reminder of the rules of the road is all!

    Hope you had a great New Years!
  • patk27patk27 Member Posts: 1
    My Insight was delivered in August 2000 and has 121,000 miles.
    While driving, my IMA and emission control icons lighted. When this was first noticed the IMA charge indicator was on full charge, the charge assist readouts were/are dark. The charge indicator has remained on full charge without variation while driving. No other indicators are lighted. I have not disconnected the 12v battery or pulled any fuses.

    I have driven my Insight at least 150 miles since these things happened. I appear to be obtaining the same satisfactory acceleration that I was obtaining before this happened. My mileage has dropped from 52 mpg to 47 mpg.

    With the IMA switch “off” the car would not start.

    My local garage coded the car at p1449.

    I live up country in Minnesota and need to be able to drive my car. I understand that it if nothing else goes wrong the IC engine should continue to provide power enough for highway driving. Is this correct?

    The owner’s manual and web site do not give enough information for me to understand what I need to know about the system(s) of the Insight so that the IMA battery pack can be disconnected and/or removed from the car while continuing to safely start and operate with the IC motor and an electrical system that will serve the accessories as needed. Some other questions that seem important are:

    1. Do you need to bypass/remove the IMA battery pack so that you can safely drive the Insight on the IC engine?
    2. If yes, how do you bypass or remove the IMA battery pack so that you can safely drive the automobile on the IC engine?
    3. The Honda web site says that the IMA motor acts as the starter, generator, and IMA motor. Will the IMA motor continue to start the IC motor if the IMA batteries are disconnected?
    4. If not, does the 12 volt battery crank the IMA motor/starter or is the IC engine started by an independent starter?
    5. Will the IMA motor continue to generate electricity for the 12 v battery if the IMA battery is disconnected from the system?
    6. If not, does the Insight have another house battery-generator system that charges the 12v independently of the IMA motor?
    7. What components does the interior fuse box IMA fuse disconnect? Should this be pulled?
    8. What components does the exterior fuse box IMA fuse disconnect? Should this be pulled?
    9. What components does the IMA ECU fuse disconnect? Same question for the FI ECU? Should either of these be pulled?
    10. The car will not start with the IMA switch turned off. Why? What components does the IMA switch disconnect?
    11. Does the 12 volt battery always or ever supply electricity to the accessories, lights and other electrically driven items other than the IMA? If so when?
  • vidarvidar Member Posts: 18
    edited January 2011
    I would say yes, the problem is solved. The relay replaced was for the A/C compressor. It is located under the hood, drivers side, in the fuse and relay box. My mileage is down to 46.5 mpg, which is due to using the window defogger quite a bit this season. Note, I never got the software update that was recommended by Honda. I am going to to a odometer vs. mile marker comparison on the next long interstate run. Since the defogger is run from the A/C in a heat pump mode, finding the problem was a bit of a minor necessity beyond the IMA problem. I currently have 148,000 miles on the car. which is over 10,000 miles since the start of the troubleshooting, and 6,000 miles since the relay was replaced. This may not be the solution to all IMA problems, but for $14 it is a good starting point. To keep people up to date concerning this fix, my car is a 2005 civic hybrid model.
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    Patk,

    Please contact me privately to discuss how to disable the faulty IMA battery and bypass it in your 2000 Insight. I'll provide you with instructions on how to do it and also diagnostic steps to find out why the car wouldn't start with the breaker off (it should have).

    Ron

    Before anyone else asks, this can only be done on 2000-2006 Insights, not on Civics or Accords.
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    edited January 2011
    Yes, but which relay? I believe there are two related to the AC in that box. This problem is rare and is not actually related to the IMA system, but I have seen it in three other cars.
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    Update -
    So, last I posted, my local Honda dealership told me Honda was working on a fix for the update problems and they should be available this week. Just as I was planning on calling to check on the fix, my IMA and engine lights came on again. Since I was just starting on my list of errands and places I had to be that day, I didn't drive in to Honda service until I had driven 25 miles with the lights on. Interestingly, during that 25 miles, my mpg went up from 27.3 to 28.1 going up and down "hills" where I live. In addition, the auto stop was working, the green charging bars came on when I took my foot off the pedal or depressed the brake, and, while my battery gauge depleted going up a hill (3/10 mile), it recharged within a mile. In other words, the car was acting more like its original performance after the engine and IMA lights came on. Unfortunately, it still didn't have the power back. I was almost considering NOT taking it in, but I didn't want to give any excuse for not covering any warranty issues.

    Anyway, I received a call later that night, and the service rep I had been dealing with from the beginning told me the district service manager had come out to look into my car situation, and he ordered me a new IMA battery. Okay, I'm game. I don't think that's going to make a difference, but ok, it's one more step towards meeting the lemon law requirements if it doesn't work.

    When I went to pick up the car tonight, my service rep informed me that my car was the last software update. Honda was no longer doing the software update because of the problems. Yee haw! He told me that the new IMA battery is installed and, as I understand it, eveything is back to the original status. Time will tell, but on the way home, the auto stop worked, the battery recharger worked, the battery gauge only went half way down going up a long hill, AND I had power in acceleration. We stopped to fill the tank to get a reading on this battery and it currently reads 38.1 mpg. I'm cautiously optimistic.

    SO, those still driving an HCH and experiencing problems, you might want to give your dealership a call and see what the story is now. I live in Washington state (Seattle area), and it may have been a local resolution, but he said, Honda is no longer performing the software updates due to the problems that it caused. I don't know if that means reinstalling the original software, but it's worth a try.

    Good luck, and I'll repost after driving for a couple weeks and seeing if indeed things are back to the original performance.
  • yzerman123yzerman123 Member Posts: 9
    It will be interesting to see if this is a local Washington phenomenon or if Honda has stopped the software update for its operations world-wide.
  • bosslessbossless Member Posts: 179
    This is very interesting. Look forward to your updates. I don't see how Honda can just start undoing the update without notifying those who have it.
  • heather_07hchheather_07hch Member Posts: 28
    edited January 2011
    I would like to know more about this as well. What about those of us who got new batteries, but still panic when we pull out into oncoming traffic, wondering if we will make it?! Is Honda going to reinstall the previous software version? I have demanded this several times to no avail. The software update was not a fix. I have a new IMA battery with about 5,000 miles on it, and my car is still a piece. I get about 35 mpg, instead of the 42 I used to get.
  • bosslessbossless Member Posts: 179
    I guess I am fortunate so far. I have both the update software and the new IMA battery and my milage is what it used to be--45-48 mpg.
  • zoran601zoran601 Member Posts: 2
    I brought my HCH 2007 (with software updated and crapy performance after that) this morning to Honda dealership requesting the check-up and demanding that they fix car so IMA assists when going uphill. Anything less is not acceptable and I will consider it as malfunction. I warn them that I have quite often three kids at the back and it is safety issue as well.

    Now manager is dealing with it, since the software is "OK".
    I will keep you updated.
  • zoran601zoran601 Member Posts: 2
    I got another phone call. Honda engineering is working on the issue with upgrade and solution is expected within a month. There is nothing they can do now.
  • heather_07hchheather_07hch Member Posts: 28
    Yeah, I kinda keep an eye on your posts, as we had our IMA replacement at about the same time and in the same kind of temps. I have a new problem as well. For the past week, the car smells like gas every time I crank it. It is very strong, like an old car that has to be damn near flooded to start. It is awful. And the transmission has skipped on me a few times going uphill in the last 3 months.
  • bigbouncerbigbouncer Member Posts: 8
    Just to chime in, my 2009 has 25,300 miles and I just got the call from the dealer. Took it in because the engine and IMA lights were both on - again. Last time, they updated the software. This time, they got the same codes so they're ordering a new IMA battery.
    What a disappointing vehicle.
    I've averaged 38.1 mpg since I bought the car. It's underpowered, overpriced and a huge over promise from Honda. (And by the way, we've owned 8 Hondas, including my wife's current Odyssey minivan.) The good news is, the battery replacement will be covered 100%. The bad news is, I have to go through the headache of selling or trading this car and buying another one.
  • bosslessbossless Member Posts: 179
    With a 2009 having the same kind of problems as earlier models indicates Honda really doesn't have a handle on this problem or they are unwilling to correct a design flaw with the system.
  • bobbichenbobbichen Member Posts: 11
    Thanks so much for the updates, everyone. I bought a used 08 about a month or so ago. Mine did NOT have the software "upgrade" and I knew I would never allow it given all of the problems others have experienced. Interesting that theere is at least some evidence that Honda may be abandoning the "fix" overall. In the end, I suspect that they will put in a lot of new batteries and/or will have to really do a nice job on the software. People may think I am nuts buying one with all of the problems others are seeing, but I hate the Prius driving dynamics and really like the Civic. I bought it for basically mid level wholesale ($13k with 44k miles in really clean condition). I am a low mile driver (about 5k to 7k per year) which gives me a good shot at exhausting the time vs. mileage on the warranty. If I am correct, these things will be a real bargain for those willing to deal with the hassle. For those who bought new and paid full retail or close to, I suspect they will be left with a very bad taste in their mouths. Honda would be advised to consider a special rebate for prior purchasers of Insight or HCH to try to bring them back in. My opinion, yours may differ.
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    So I just calculated my first tank with the new battery and software rollback (so they say), and I had 35.6 mpg. I know that doesn't sound like much to some, but here in the foothills of the Cascade Mts, it's not bad. That's about what I was getting prior to the first software update. My battery is showing about half most of the time, but I haven't had an issue with acceleration. It still drains going up a hill of any distance. The auto stop is now working most of the time, even when the battery shows about 1/2, and the battery recharge on breaking and lifting my foot off the accelerator pedal is not consistent, but I'd say it occurs more than 75-80% of the time. I haven't had a chance to take it out for a highway run yet. Hopefully I can do that in the next couple weeks.

    I spoke to another couple tonight who have an 08 HCH, and they said their mileage decreased a bit, but not by much. Otherwise, they weren't having any trouble.

    I'm cautiously optimistic, but am going to contact our state AG and inquire about my rights if the battery goes out in 18 months, which is past the timeframe for a lemon law suit. Since I have already documented the problem with them, hopefully it would still stand.

    I would encourage you to stick with it, those who are still having trouble. Be in their face. The squeaky wheel, you know. It's just a shame because now I don't totally trust this car and before it wasn't ever a thought.

    Good luck, and I'll post again when I have new information.
  • h8_07cvchybridh8_07cvchybrid Member Posts: 3
    How did you get them to rollback the software? How are you feeling about it now after about 10 days?
  • tj09hchtj09hch Member Posts: 14
    When I went in to pick up my car after they replaced the IMA battery, the service attendant I had been dealing with told me they rolled back to the original software. Previously he had told me he did not have the means by which to do that. I don't know what changed except that maybe the district service manager who came to the dealership to check out my car/complaints may have had whatever it took (authority, means, whatever). The service attendant said he told the district service manager that this was a big problem and people weren't happy about the performance of their hchs after the software update, so they reinstalled mine and weren't doing the software updates anymore.

    Now, that could be the story he gave this grumpy old lady to get her off his back and out of his office, but, on this second tank of gas, I currently have 36.2 mpg registering on the gauge. I know that sounds low for some, but when your driving consists of going up hill one way and downhill on the return, that's not bad. I haven't been able to try out a tank on strictly highway, so I'll post when I get that chance. Previously I got 47-51 mpg highway depending if I traveled north-south or east-west (across the mountains) in our area.

    The battery gauge now rides at four bars (1/2 way) most of the time, but the autostart does engage once the car is warmed up (it wasn't coming on at all unless it was "fully charged"). I don't recall it bottoming out completely like it had been doing prior to the replacement, but going up hill does drop the gauge rather quickly (which, as I have said, is most of the driving here). That could be why it pretty much stays half way. I did wonder if they (dealership) didn't adjust some setting so it wouldn't display below half, but that's just paranoia I'm sure. :-)

    My greatest concern, and I have contacted the state attorney general with this question, is if the new battery goes out in 18 months, like the old one and some others who have posted here, do I still have a lemon law claim (that would be past the 36 month time limit). Bottom line, no. The AGO did say I could still sue Honda Corporation at that time. My thinking now, while I LOVED my car before all this mess, is to cut my losses and get out from under it while it is performing well. Unfortunately, the only cars we've purchased in the past 10 years are Hondas, and I don't know what other car I would want.

    tlj
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    edited February 2011
    tj09hch, the Senior Editor of Edmunds Green Car Advisor is interested in hearing more about your battery replacement and software being rolled back. If you would be willing to be interviewed by him, please contact me via email by clicking on my username and I'll get you connected with him.

    PF Flyer
    Host - Hybrid Vehicles Forums
  • heather_07hchheather_07hch Member Posts: 28
    I have asked repeatedly for my dealership to revert back to the old software. I have even demanded this as the only solution to my case manger at American Honda. They refuse, and so they said they consider my case closed. I am currently averaging 36 mpg on every tank. I have driven 8,000 miles since my IMA replacement. The first two years of owning the car, I averaged about 40 mpg, and it went down as low as 26 when the battery was failing. I am a very very unsatisifed customer, and I have made numerous attempts to trade the car, but didn't feel comfortable taking a 5000-8000 loss. I don't know where that leaves me now. I just have to keep driving it, and hope that nothing happens to me or my family when the car finally just dies altogether. I have 5000 miles left on my 100,000 mile extended warranty. I hope if anything is going to happen, it is befre that runs out. I will be taking my cr back to the dealership ths weekend, to let them investigate what I believe to be a transmision issue. When I crank the car and put it into gear, it hesitates before slamming into drive. It doesn't happen much in reverse. Also, when accelerating up a hill, the car seems to skip. That's about the best way that I can describe it. I get so tired of going to the dealership. They don't like seeing me walk through the door. I always get the same story, they want me to agree to pay for the diagnostics test if it turns out nothing is wrong. And guess what. Every time they test it, they can't duplicate the problem. Shocker.
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    "I have asked repeatedly for my dealership to revert back to the old software. I have even demanded this as the only solution to my case manger at American Honda."

    They can't. The old software is not available. I'm sure your dealer would like to do it for you, but he can't.
  • dhilldinerdhilldiner Member Posts: 48
    My sympathies for your unsafe and unreliable car. I couldn't get anywhere with the dealer, either. I sold my HCH to a dealer and bought a used VW taking a big loss. I'm deeper in debt but glad to not be dealing with the HCH. The HCHs not only have a problem with the dying batteries but I saw other problems, like transmission, when I read through NHTSA complaints. The worst problem with HCHs is they are not a big seller so you don't have a huge volume of complaints like more popular cars. Very unfortunate.
  • dawgcatdawgcat Member Posts: 5
    This forum has been very helpful. I haven't posted previously but have read the whole thing. My 2006 HCH's efficiency started dropping about 24 months ago. After a really hot Texas summer last summer with plenty of A/C and stop-and-go traffic (the kiss of death for IMA), the IMA finally died (light on and it deactivated the IMA so that I basically had a go-kart). I took it to the dealer and told them the performance had been getting steadily worse. They got a code -- I don't know the number -- that indicated the battery had deteriorated. It clearly stated this on my paperwork, and of course, their "fix" was to apply the software update. The tech told me it wouldn't actually permanently fix it with my battery in the shape it was, but they had to do it per Honda's rules. He said it would die again at some point and that I had plenty of warranty time left for it to do so and they could replace the battery then.

    After the update, my mileage was horrible, and my battery would randomly charge and discharge... we all know the story. I took it to the dealer and paid $89 for a diagnosis. They couldn't find anything... "the car is performing exactly as designed." I told them it wasn't. They offered to let the tech drive it home that night. The next day they still said everything was within the parameters Honda had set. I reiterated very politely that the car had serious problems, and their suggestion was for me to call Honda and complain. I did and Honda could not have cared less. They basically said, the dealer has to find a code to say the battery was bad. I argued that my battery was bad (and I had the paperwork that said as much) and that they had changed the software to not indicate a problem even when there was one.

    I then started taking videos of my battery monitor acting weird and e-mailing them to my service advisor. He called Honda and argued that there was something wrong but Honda said they wouldn't do anything. He was very sympathetic to me and asked me to bring the car back in. I then drove around for 30 minutes with a tech in the car because he said he'd have to have a perfect argument when he called Honda back to argue my case. Per Murphy's law, my car acted pretty well during the test drive, but did do enough weird stuff that he could use as evidence. They finally succeeded with Honda and I get a new battery next week!

    Without re-reading the entire forum, has anyone had a 2006 HCH with this problem who was also able to get a new battery? If so, how did it perform after replacement?
  • gremlin1gremlin1 Member Posts: 6
    I know that I am in the Honda Civic Hybrid forum and my problem is wit a 2000 Honda Insight. The IMA battery was replaced in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. So with the original battery (year 2000) that equals 5 failed batteries. The last battery failed in November of 2010 and I was out of the warranty by 10 months. I was given a price of $2,400 for a replacement battery with just a one-year guarantee or 12,000 miles whichever came first. With the history the car has, I cannot afford to replace the battery ever year. So "Hedy" my Honda is sitting in my garage as I haven't yet replaced the IMA battery. I was the first one in this area to get a 2000 Honda Insight and my mileage originally was 71 miles per gallon. I was notified to bring the car in for "software update" about a year later and my mileage dropped to 60 mpg and since has deteriorated to just a little over 50 mpg.

    I am looking for a little advice here. Would the lemon law apply to me? Does anyone have any suggestions? And can anyone tell me what the software upgrade on the Honda Civic Hybrid was supposed to accomplish? My dealer told me to call Honda which I did, but no one there was sympathetic to my problem.
  • yzerman123yzerman123 Member Posts: 9
    My first reaction would be to advise you to sell that car ASAP. But given the history of battery replacements, the resale value is probably nil at this point. Looks like you're in a bind.
  • Ogre_GEVOgre_GEV Member Posts: 263
    The only reason I know of for batteries to fail that often is if you leave the car sitting for weeks at a time. If you can't drive the car at least twice a week, this WILL continue to happen. Your only solution is to "grid-charge" it. This means to charge it from 110 AC before use any time it has sat unused for 3+ days.

    If this describes your driving patterns, then it is quite likely you can revive your battery with about 18 hours of charging. The cells are probably strong but unbalanced. The damage you've done to them means that they will always be more susceptible to damage from sitting, so you'll have to charge it religiously.

    I had a customer in Manhattan with the same problem who drove his only on weekends. He now tops it up Friday nights.

    Contact me privately if you want more info (no I don't sell them but I'll point you in the right direction).
  • brian2007brian2007 Member Posts: 9
    I have a 2007 Civic Hybrid at 70K that began exhibiting gradually degrading battery performance at around 40K. The dealer applied the latest software upgrade this summer. The software upgrade made my battery behave more predictably, though not better. Basically I could count on the IMA to "reset" every morning. No matter if the IMA readout was at full the night before, starting out the next day would cause the readout to drop to 1 or 2 bars and the car would go into forced recharge mode for 5-10 minutes. The IMA readout will hover at 4 bars for a while, then abruptly jump up to 8 bars. Sometimes it will jump up to a full reading even if the batteries are providing assist. This behavior happens, of course, during the time I would be accelerating into traffic while entering the freeway, so I could pretty much count on having the worst possible conditions for power/mileage.

    Over the last 2 months the IMA behavior has gotten worse. It has gone from resetting in the mornings to resetting any time the car sits for more than about 4 hours. Most recently, highway driving into a slight headwind cause the battery to reset several times during a c. 100 mile trip. During all this time no error code has ever shown on the dash readout.

    My questions, for any who might have a better understanding of how the IMA system works:

    1) Does this battery behavior mean my IMA battery is degrading and is likely to fail, or at least throw an error code, sometime soon?
    2) Is there any point having the dealer test the system (yet again) until I actually get an error code?

    I have an extended warranty, so I have until 100K to wait out battery failure.
  • yzerman123yzerman123 Member Posts: 9
    Hi gremlin1,

    How do I go about charging my batteries from an AC 110? Where do I plug the power into my car?
  • munkegodesmunkegodes Member Posts: 6
    edited February 2011
    Hi again folks. Well, it's been nearly 3 months since my IMA/check engine lights came on the first time (see post #797) and then Honda put on that bogus software update as a fix. In the mean time I've been continue to get piss poor mileage (My week of all local driving was getting 26mpg...ummm...a regular civic gets just as good if not better mileage! With highway/local driving I'm getting low 30s mpg. OUTRAGEOUS!) and yesterday both lights came back on. I took a picture of it (and the miles on the car...~35,000) in case they turned back off. This morning only the check engine light is on and not the IMA.

    I dread taking it back into Honda. Though, I know last time they said the software update would "fix" my problem and if the lights came back on their give me a new battery. Hoping they stick to their word and it's not too hard of a battle but I cringe at the fact that even after replaced I may continue to get bad mileage, the new battery may die in a few years, and I also now realize the damage to the earth that mining these metals for the batteries are. So much for "green" technology, huh?
  • bosslessbossless Member Posts: 179
    A new battery fixed my problem. The new battery has a 3 year, 36K mile warranty.
  • munkegodesmunkegodes Member Posts: 6
    Even if you're still within your original battery warranty? This is part of what I fear is that the replacement battery will die in about the same timing which would put it out of warranty. In this case I might have to consider dumping the car before that happens again. Not worth it to keep replacing the battery every few years at $3000 a pop...
  • viawviaw Member Posts: 34
    good luck brian.
    i would file a complaint with BBB and NHSTA(?). The BBB sent a form to fill out. Honda USA called me to bring the car into the dealer to run some checks. they took 3 days to do so and all the things i complained about (which were identical to yours) existed. battery drain in the morning. battery drain if i ran city errands every other time i turned on the car. battery drain when the engine senses some strain (uphill or prolonged freeway). everything that shouldn't happen was called normal by Honda engineering when the tech called them up to explain. i've read a lot of people has been successful in going to arbitration to get the vehicle redone with a new battery or they repurchase your vehicle.
    even the Honda USA rep who was supposed to set up the dealership was useless. i had to call every other day to remind them that i'm waiting for them to call me back with an appointment. took almost a month for her to do cuz she never called me back.
    i'm also sure that you've been told by the Honda customer service that you need to change your driving habits as well to achieve the advertised mileage. which is ridiculous since your habit has no control over any battery drain.
    either way, i'm going through with my BBB complaint.
  • munkegodesmunkegodes Member Posts: 6
    Hmmm...well....light turned off today and Honda couldn't get me in until next Monday. The code should still be saved on the computer, right? Good thing I took a picture and saved the receipt from Autozone showing the code...
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