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Honda Civic Hybrid Owners: Problems & Solutions
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I used to own an 1989 Subaru Justy. It was the last car sold in the US with a carburetor, and I tuned that damned thing to get 60MPG on the highway. You can't buy anything with its combination of safety and efficiency today- why?
I also used to drive a Peugeot Diesel. It could plow through 2 foot puddles without a fear of stalling, and without fear of an explosion in a collision (except from the other car's fuel). Thanks to heavy lobbying and spineless legislation, I can't buy a new diesel in Mass.
I do like the fact that I can let the car shut itself off at stoplights, and my wife doesn't even mind (it used to drive her crazy when I did it myself).
I am not the first to try anything totally new. DO YOU REMEMBER WINDOWS 1.1? Believe me, it was worse than useless, it was a complete and utter waste of a previously reliable DOS machine. I would put the Honda Civic Hybrid at least on a par with Windows 3.0- reasonably reliable and efficient.
Yes, I do save money at the pump, but every time I think about that, I also think about the fact that if we paid enough at the pump to pay for cleaning up our precious atmosphere, it would have to cost more like $20/gallon. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT?
Yes, I did save $2000 in taxable income for 2005, and if I had paid for the car a couple of weeks later, I could have saved $3000 on 2006 instead, which annoys me, but I'm glad that everyone else will have the incentive to clean up their habit, even if it is only by burning half as much gas. HYBRIDS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION, BUT THEY ARE THE BEST BAND AID WE HAVE FOR NOW.
I took it to the Honda Dealer last night, and of course it didn't leak on their floor. They said that all my fluids were full, and they even took off the bottom cover and found nothing. They only drove it around the block, though. I usually drive about 20 miles per trip.
My question is, has anyone else had this happen or have an explanation?
Did you take a sample of the liquid on your garage floor. You can use a paper towel to wipe it up or a little pan to catch it next time. From where it is coming out I suspect brake fluid. It could also be oil or grease from manufacturing that is dripping out. It does not sound like enough to show up as low fluid levels yet.
I can't find it now, but I swear that someone mentioned in this forum that if you know you won't be stopping, or only for 1 second, you can just slide the shifter into "S" or "L" before slowing too much, and the AUTO-STOP will not activate, which for stops of less than a several seconds is just a waste of energy anyway. I tried this, and it works like a charm- THANKS.
Another thing that I have noticed on my '06 HCH I believe to be a software bug. It seemed to happen after a week of using the keyless entry buttons that the AUTO-STOP would cease to activate, no matter how warm the engine. Now that I have stopped using the keyless entry, the AUTO-STOP works just fine. I only discovered this after two visits to dealers who ran diagnostics finding nothing wrong. Each time, the diagnostic testing seemed to have reset from the AUTO-STOP defeat state, and so restored proper operation.
Also, just generally, how do the two compare? My sense from reading here is that the '06 may feel a bit sluggish relative to the '03, which I've always found to feel like a peppy 4 cylinder - decent pick up.
I haven't taken delivery on my '06 yet - waiting for my daughter's birthday - so I don't quite know what to expect. I've been very pleased overall with the '03, although better milage would certainly be appreciated (I have averaged about 40 mpg with mostly "city-like" driving conditions.)
Any comparison between the '03 and '06 HCH would be appreciated! I'll post mine once I get it rolling!
Thanks!
THANKS for posting!
While I read many of its pros, I wonder what are the cons... As such, what are the disadvantages of Hybrid vehicles?
Also, how reliable/trustworthy is Honda when it comes to the maintenance? I ask, coz I had a Sony Camera under warranty, but Sony asked for $120 as labour charges to fix issues when the arise. One of the advantages of buying a first hand car, for me, is because of the 60K warranty. Is that without catches?
Thanks!
BTW - I got 47.5 mpg driving in Southern California in mostly morning freeway traffic on my first tank of gas. Can't wait for the carpool decal.
I had no idea that using the key to get in would reset this glitch, but if that is what you've experienced, I suspect that everyone's '06 HCH responds the same way. This is the power of an online forum. Thanks for the great feedback!
I have heard the same sound, and the mechanic who has taken the master course on the '06 HCH tells me that it is the normal sound of the CVT. Only if it gets noticeably louder should you bring it in.
BTW- I got about the same as you on my first tankfull, and it all boils down to engine temperature and driving habits. If you take note of the tachometer, you will notice that if you aren't in a hurry, you can tool around and never exceed 2000 RPM. In summer this can get you up to 75 MPG if you brake as gently as you accelerate!
BTW- Make sure you shop around, mark-ups vary widely from dealer to dealer. Dealers with no markups tend to have waiting list of a month or more. I was worried about the HOV decal limit so I bought mine with a markup.
I've been able to answer my own question. When the HCH is in low speed cruise mode, will all valves closed and fuel cut off completely, what you see from the driver's seat is:
Instantaneous FCD bar maxed out at 100 mpg, the Assist display indicating that the batteries are in use, and the car is very, very quiet. There is a slight surge coming out of this mode, as fuel is once again returned to the engine. As a side note, the engine must be at full operating temperature.
At least I know it's working as it should.
I guess nobody understood the queston...
And yes, it only seems to work well with the engine warmed up and a pretty good charge on the batteries. :shades:
BTW, the "shifting while in motion" should not wear out the transmission. It is a fully Electronically controlled system, and so putting the shifter in low while moving is ultimately controlled by the electronics in a non-harmful way of deploying additional engine braking and/or disabling the auto-stop for stop-and-creep traffic. While it is true that the HCH uses very little gas to restart from auto-stop mode, it still involves considerable energy loss from the entire hybrid system when the stop is just a few seconds. Knowing how to avoid every wasteful situation can mean obtaining 50 mpg even in the cold of winter, as well as up to 75 mpg in summer.
Note to those who are considering a block heater for their HCH: the way to use the least total energy is to manually turn off the engine at long lights until the temp gage reaches the base of the thermometer. Remember that heat continues to build up in the block for minutes after the engine is turned off, and so the engine still reaches full temp nearly as fast while burning less fuel.
Found a used one 2005 with approx 44,000. curious how many miles they go. my commuting is 65 miles one way (about 33,000 a yr) mostly interstate.
just not sure what this will really cost me in the end...
will keep watching the board.
BTW, CVT transmissions have been around a long time (my Justy had one), and they can last 150K-200K miles, provided they are not driven too hard.
So just to be clear, you don't hear any weird beeps, whines, clanks coming from your HCH...any other words, it should sound pretty much like a *regular* car when you drive it?
My argument was that just because many civic hybrids make the buzzing noise doesn't mean that it isn't broken (No other car with ABS makes this noise...atleast if its not broken). If it turns out that all hybrids make the noise, the only way we're going to get it fixed is if enough people complain. I definetely encourage everyone to bring it up with their dealer or Honda.
I'm just surprised that other than me, you are the only person to complain about this in this forum. For me it buzzes half the time I hit the brakes or accelerate..yuck, time to invest in some earplugs I guess.
Also, does anyone know how this is actually calculated? Does it measure how much gas has gone through the gas line to the engine or does it estimate how many gallons are left in the tank?
Thanks,
rsmitty
A super cold snap came through last week so I was figuring that was playing havoc with it, but it's back above freezing again and I figure with my 38 mile commute surely the engine temperature heats to the point of not being affected by the outside temperature.
When I come to a stop, the tach drops to about 500 as if it is going to stop, then there is a hiccup and it bouces back up to 900.
JordansGrrrl
On the "Honda Civic Hybrid" discussion on this board there was a thread specifically about the FCD - fuel computer display. Aparently in calculating the averages it works for 64 miles and then starts the counter over again. Anyways, it ended with this post:
MEssage 1569: "Honda admits that there is a problem with the instrument cluster FCD on the 06 Hybrid, however, there is no fix at this time. I have been issued a reference number through Honda to have the problem fixed as soon as one is available. Honda is working on the problem. "
I just checked and there has not been an update to that thread.
JordansGrrrl
My 06 also seems to do the same, it will tell me I'm getting 39 mpg and then a mile or so later give me an average of 48 mpg. But overall the computer rectifies the calculation and gives me the proper mpg. The instant mpg display in the top left corner of the dash is a bit of a joke. It only gives you a very rough idea on your driving consumption. I do not have to problem with the MPG resetting itself after reaching 64 miles. It works fine and also the car does not make any noise when I apply the brakes. This morning my radio would not play my MP3 CD, it kept on reading it. Last night it would read all the folders and play all the songs, but not today, all I get is the message "Reading”. Could be that my garage is freezing cold.
So . . . after the vehicle is warmed up (and IMA batteries are sufficiently charged), use the key to BOTH lock AND unlock the door. Then check the "auto-stop" function.
If the above procedure does not work, then the interaction of the climate control will be tested. Get back in the vehicle, and turn off the climate control from the "auto" setting and then try the "auto-stop" for a while. If that does not work, then leave the climate control off and use the key to lock and unlock the vehicle again. Drive some more and check the "auto stop" function. If it still does not function then turn the climate control back on "auto" and see if it makes a difference to the "auto stop". If not, leave the climate control on "auto" and use the key to lock and unlock the vehicle one last time, and then drive and check the "auto stop" again.
Then please report back to us on the forum. Thank you.
Some mornings, my HCH can take me the whole 20 miles to work and still not warm up enough to engage the Auto-Stop. I have observed that this seems to happen only when there is heavy frosting, when basically everything outside gets coated with a heavy frost, and even the engine has to thaw a thick outer layer before it can attain a normal operating temperature. I have verified this by switching my instantaneous mpg gauge to temperature. Auto-Stop only engages when the temp gage reaches the bottom of the thermometer symbol, and on those mornings, it never gets there. The other disabling event I have noted was one time when I unlocked with the key in the door, but accidentally squeezed the buttons. From the noises made, I guess that I'd relocked then unlocked the doors, and so reset the A-S. Of course, I deliberately override the A-S regularly by downshifting from drive before slowing too much, since killing the engine for less than 5 seconds just wastes fuel and battery juice. If your dealer tells you that the diagnostics show nothing wrong, ask them to at least re-seat the appropriate connectors, as that seemed to fix my woes from my first week of operation.
Anyhow - I'm out of town for a week, so will be a few days before I can report back.
JordansGrrrl
Has anyone figured out how to get the door locks set for auto lock at 9 MPH?
Many Thanks,
John.
I guess the keys are probably to let go the gas pedal more often than driving other model of cars.