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Honda Civic Hybrid Owners: Problems & Solutions
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But when my very first tank of gas got fully empty (which is 13.2 gallons)
I had around 580 miles on it.Not close to the 47mpg or 48 Honda claims, but
not 29 like you got. Here is what I Think:
1) Driving style is a major factor- means not sudden speeding, sudden
braking, stepping on the gas peddle to zoom etc will give a lower mpg.
2) route with lots of uphill will have lower mpg too.
3) Try to use "autostop" in a traffic jam - meaning, although it
comes ON automatically, if the traffic inches slowly forward, autostop
doesnot come on after that. so this results in gas loss. hence lower mpg.
avoid inchiing forward as much as possible (if possible! ).
Otherwise, the people I know and I talk to about mpg and stuff get above 40mpg.
Hope this helps!..
I don't think you can trust that to be 100% accurate. The only true MPG indicator is dividing your miles by the gallons of gas when you fill the tank. Remember you need to fill to the same level on each fillup. The trip mileage indicators are not perfectly accurate. They are a tool to help you optimize your driving skills.
You're absolutely right about learning to drive for efficiency and this applies to all vehicles. I used to think that my car's MPG just does what it does and it really doesn't matter that much how I drive. One real benefit to your new car is a real eye opener regarding this. If you decide to develop good efficiency skills with your HCH as a trainer, you can transfer that skill to any vehicle you drive be it a 4WD ATV, mid-size car or truck, SUV, H2 or what have you.
We've improved our Grand Caravan's MPG by about 7MPG but the MPG swing by the hybrids are much greater than the conventional auto depending on your driving skills.
For example I could drive like a maniac in my '04HCH and get mid 30's tank averages. Personally I enjoy maximizing my efficiency skills and my last 4 tank MPG's have been 61.8, 62.1, 60.4 and 59.3MPG. Last winters average was about 58.
Most people are averaging about 46-47MPG in their HCH.
That's about a 30MPG swing depending on driving skills vs our Grand Caravan's ~10MPG swing.
Gary is right in that the trip meters are not 100% accurate, although they are vastly more accurate than any other car I've personally owned.
Mine are routinely off by (+-) 0-3MPG and very occasionally off by up to 6.
As pointed out fill till it clicks off and manual calculation is recommended, unless you just require a fairly accurate figure.
My car has also taught me to coast long distances, "clutch in" whenever I approach a stop sign. The car seems to coast effortlessly for a 1/4 mile or longer. I also make sure at the end of a long coast to be in gear and braking to charge the car's batteriers. I am still learning to drive the car, but my lifetime MPG is 50.7 . I would exspect this to only increase as I improve these skills and the car "breaks in."
The other issue I have noticed is that where you buy your gas also can affect your mileage. I have noticed as much as a 10% reduction in MPG { regular unleaded} based on where my gas was bought. It seems that gas with the 10% alcohol is a negative on the mpg. it might be 3-4 cents cheaper, but a 10% loss of MPG makes this no bargain at all.
I have found my trip meter to be fairly accurate, but +- 2-3 MPG seems to be the true measure.
Because of the added control, I would recommend the manual transmission to anyone seriously considering purchasing one of these cars.
On the 2005 HCH, like we know, there is a IMA dial which has Fuel gauge
to show digitally the amount of gas spent.
my questions (2 of them:)
#1) Does FULL tank (13.2 gallons) means it is till "F" in the gauge or all
blue stripes ONLY?. I am wondering about this because, after the "F white stripe",
there is a blank or a "gap" after which we see some 20 odd blue stripes.
so what does that gap mean?.
(The reason is: I am trying to determine how much mileage I get per blue-stripe.).
Do we take a FULL gas tank as it starts from "F" in the fuel gauage?.
#2) Do we take the "red" stripe near the "E" (empty) end of the gauage
as one stripe of fuel just like the blue stripes?.
(I guess then there are totally 24 stripes in all.?.)
I am asking these questions just to be sure I can monitor my mileage per stripe
if possible and extrpolate it to correct my driving skills for max mpg!.
-Thanks
My one complaint- within a couple of months of owning the car, I discovered one morning I had a flat that could not be repaired because it was a crack in sidewall. I hadn't hit a curb or run over a nail or anything though. And I was not near a Honda dealer to get a warranty repair so I got the tire replaced with something from a Pep Boys.
Then, a couple of months later, and within 3 weeks of each other, I had TWO more tires go flat and be un-patchable. The 3rd time I had the NTB store I took it to replace the last original 'good' tire too.
Now, driving on these new (I assume normal/heavier tires), my max mpg is 42, averages 39-40 now that the weather is warmer (during the winter I was lucky to get 36!) I can live with this reduced fuel economy since I didn't have a spontaneous flat tire all winter, I hope my luck holds!
So, has anybody else encountered this- the tires being not so reliable? I know the hybrids come with some kind of new tire design to optimise fuel efficiency- are these tires thinner or something, making them wear easier?
I also frequent other website forums, and no one I have heard about has had any recurring type problems with the Bridgestone B381 tires.
I think you just ran into a string of bad tire luck, with no reflection on the quality of the tires....
We've taken it into the dealership several times, and they can find nothing wrong with it when they have it. Once we bring it back home, the battery will die again. The guys at the shop claim not to know what's going on, and say they need to get the car while it's battery is dead, otherwise they can't do anything. This is extremely frustrating, and inconvenient for everyone involved. If anyone else has had this problem, it would be helpful if they could share their experience here (or via e-mail).
Thanks in advance.
Mike
Thank you.
Matt
bill11770, "Honda Civic Owners: Problems & Solutions" #21, 18 Mar 2000 10:29 pm
I recently (2 mos ago) bought a pre-owned 2004 Civic Hybrid. Nothing's wrong w/ it; the previous owner wanted a larger vehicle. It's an automatic, and I do get fairly decent gas mileage (38-48, depending on load, like full gas tank vs. half-full). I bought it cuz it was like finding a hen's tooth, and new it'd be gone in a heartbeat....it's a certified vehicle.
The thing is: I miss driving a manual transmission, so I test drove a manual transmission '05 Civic Hybrid today. It had maybe a bit better pickup, and was certainly more fun to drive than an automatic. However, when I asked about trading in my '04 Civic, which I spent $18.5 K on, 2 local dealerships told me that I'd maybe get $15.5 K (plus a reimbursement of my $1200 warrantee). I said "Nope....I've got a nice car, thank you!"
Question to you guys: might it be worth trading my '04 Civic Hyb. in for a pre-owned manual T Civic Hyb? Do you really save that much more gas w/ a manual T? In any case, getting another decent "pre-owned" hybrid may be like finding another "hen's tooth!"
Nanodelle2
You will be happier with that engine, more pep, and the stick shift, I think....
I'll see if I can afford an 'O6 Civic Hyb. I told a friend of mine what happened w/ the dealerships (no surprise), and he said that he might want to buy my '04 hybrid for his family. That might be a better deal, but I'm not doing ANYTHING until the '06 babies come out.
If you wear your seatbelt, the car won't "remind" you!
Thanks!
Whether or not your car's still under warrantee, I'd check w/ the dealer. There aren't too many auto shops that have a lot of experience w/ hybrids (that will change, I'm sure, but for now I'd stick w/ Honda dealership).
Better check the owners manual. I realize it is a different engine, but the ICE only Civic says to use only regular unleaded. It is not just a recommendation - the engine is designed for that grade, and may not last well if you continually use a higher grade. The Honda 3.5 engine will use different fuel grades and adjust timing to compensate, but I don't think the HCH engine is in that category.
Lessgas,
Thanks for the reply but the info came from a member on a different website which I can not post.
If your CVT is slipping then perhaps you may need a fluid change.
Mine was beginning to be a little jerky just before the 30K maintenance window.
Fluid change fixed mine.
Jennifer
I once had a service department put 8 quarts of oil into a 4 quart engine. Mistakes happen.
It's ABSOLUTELY NOT a case of "hybrids are like that" and that's a ridiculous thing for them to tell you.
My 2004 civic hybrid "stalled" immediately after rolling thru a busy intersection. The ignition light came on, and the engine and battery powered down. I turned everything off, restarted the ignition, nothing. I repeated that process, et voila....success.
Has this ever happened to anyone, and what should I do?
I will contact the dealer, too.
:lemon:
I have one concern. When I apply my brake and the autostop feature kicks in, occassionaly I hear/feel a bumping/knocking sound--knock, knock, knock, silence. At first I thought it was brake related, but it doesn't happen when the autostop is off (e.g. if air con is on and econ is off). Is this normal?
Thanks in advance.
1. I've heard that the battery pack eventually loses its' effectiveness after 100,000 miles or so, and it would cost about $2,000 to replace it. Has anyone found this to be the case?
2. Because of the complexity of the hybrid drivetrain, does the dealer charge more for regular maintenance than a normal Civic LX?
3. I've read about the problems experienced with the CVT, and was wondering if Honda is extending the warranty to cover these problems.
Thanks for any feedback.
David
We have Insights coming in with over 100,000 miles without replacing any batteries.
A quick search on a VERY popular "cars for sale" website shows this:
Total of 45 Honda Civic Hybrids with more than 50,000 miles and less than 80,000 miles for sale nationwide on that site.
Asking Prices are from $12,989 to $18,999. Many are "Honda Certified."
I think that speaks well of the longevity.
The battery worry issue is overdone. Toyota just recently surpassed 340,000 Prius cars sold worldwide and up until a few months ago had NEVER replaced a battery. The total battery failure information is almost impossible to find, but we can be sure it is VERY VERY LOW. (in fact I just found a page which says as of September 2004 Toyota had ZERO battery failures reported, and the 1997 Japanese Prius went on sale in late 1996.)
Did anyone in the forum get a similar diagnosis from the service dept? Isnt this covered under warranty?
Huh? If an item is covered by warranty, it should include parts and labor...