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Just put this info out there in case it would benefit anyone - did not mean this info as an endorsement.
My Honda Insight went through 6 batteries and the last failure was just a few months out of warranty. The excuses given me were that 1) I drove it too much or 2) I didn't drive it enough, but never that Honda had a problem. And looking back, I believe (couldn't prove it) that I was given reconditioned batteries each time.
I would never buy another Honda hybrid. My transportation now is my 1985
Honda Civic that I bought new. It was the dependable car all the time I owned the 2000 Honda Insight which was just over 10 years.
I currently have 198k on the car, just replaced a front left wheel bearing, and recovered 3 mpg over a 500 mile trip odometer reset. Battery is still hanging in there, and no IMA problem since your assistance with troubleshooting the bad A/C relay. The battery does degrade a little faster with the hotter weather, but charges up quickly without hurting the mpg.
With that said, when cooler weather gets here and no need for the A/C, I am expecting getting back to the listed 48 mpg as long as I stay off the interstate.
What is likely to happen if i do not replace battery? Maintenance advisor couldn't or wouldn't tell what would happen. Should i replace it?
Obviously there are plenty of who completely unhappy with our Hybrids. Why don't we do something about it!
Yes, but they are not for the "Upgrade 2006-2008 MDM to 2009-2011 software". They are for a different update, and you will not experience the problems that the 2006+ Civics do. Your car is totally different than the 2006+ and actually is closer to the 2000-2006 Insight in design than to the 2006+ Civic. The name is the main thing they have in common. The earlier notices you got probably relate to your catalytic converter.
There are at least two companies selling new battery packs for less than the refurbished (used) pack that the dealer quoted you.
There is evidence to show that they started putting refurbs in in 2008. warranty batteries arter 2008 seem to last about 2 years.
The warranty and the $2400 battery are refurbished, the $3000 battery is new old stock.
Go with Autozone?
Thanks!
In 2006, about 7 months after purchasing my 2005 CivicHCH we were rear-ended in OKC. This fairly well crushed the trunk, but the car was drivable, so we continued our trip and returned to SA, TX after being out for 18 days. When we got back, I took the car to my local dealer to get an estimate of the damage, and to see how long it would take to get the car repaired. I was told that it would take approx 28 days to completely rebuild the rear-end. I gave the go-ahead, and took the car home, as it would not be needed by the repair shop for 3 days. The car sat. When we tried to start the car 3 days later, the IMA light was on, and the car battery/IMA was dead.
We were towed to the repair shop, and along with the rear-end being rebuilt, Honda replaced the battery. They did an upgrade of the software at that time.
Seven months later, that battery crashed; and was replaced by Honda again. And this time, another up-date, from Jan 2007 was done.
I have had no problems with the battery, the car still gets the 38/9 miles it has always gotten since we first bought it; and it now has 77K on the odometer.
I do not know if the 2007 up-date made a difference, as we have not taken a long trip with car since the accident.
cgm
I have 2005 HCH. ~14 months ago, IMA light came on, battery identified as bad. Dealer replaced it but first required me to do the software update. The software update sucked because it reduced my mileage. The ne program uses the batteries less because they can't make batteries that last.
The real problem comes when my replacement battery is failing after just over 12 months. "sorry, not our problem, have a nice day" is the honda position. Wow. So I'm working on how to live without the batteries because I don't want to pay the money for replacement.
REPLACEMENT BATTERIES - like anything with cars, the dealer is the last and worst place to go imho. I did find a guy here in town (Denver) who sells an aftermarket battery (NOT refurb) he claims is better than the original. It runs around $2k. His comment to me on batteries made perfect sense. He recommended not to buy a refurbished battery because one ends up where I am right now over and over. i.e. get a refurb and just over a year later back in the same place.
So moral of the story i see is dont buy honda hybrid. I'm now in the process of exploring how to live permanently without the hybrid battery. But this is likely an uphill battle forever as Honda relies on the hybrid battery to charge the regular car battery at idle (below ~1500 rpm). Ugh.
Hate to be so negative. I was excited to buy this car new. But my approach is own a car until the end. And the end is way too soon it seems with HCH.
hth
mike
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/honda-civic-hybrid--battery-unreliable--consumer-rep- orts-says-175349961.html
I have a 2009 that needed a new Hybrid battery at around 50k. Mileage is only around 35mpg with light acceleration.
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.
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.
Every morning, I had one or two bars, and I drive to charge up the battery,
and when I go to the grocery store, e.g., for less-than half-hour, and when I get back into the car, the full charge drops down to two bars. And when I start to slowly accelerate at a stop sign/light, sometimes the full charge drops down to two bars, and I have no power to go. The IMA battery indicator light never came on, and Honda keeps telling me the battery was good.
I took my car to another Honda (6 months ago), and they too told me there was something wrong with the engine. I think they were going to charge me about $100-$200, to check the engine. When they did some tests onto the engine and battery, and they found the engine was good, and the battery was indeed bad, and they replaced the battery under warranty. (I have 2006 HCH, with 65K miles). [fyi: Honda is waiting for your warranty to expire, then they're going to tell you that the battery is bad.]
So, to answer your question, NO. Honda told me my IMA was good, and the engine was bad. But, it turned out the engine was good, and the battery was bad.
Makes sense how a tech may not see it unless they really pay attention and drive the car for a full 10 minutes or more.
--
Eric Powers
Glad you were able to get your work done while it was still under the factory warranty.
Once you are out of warranty, specialized independent shops can rebuild the battery pack for less money than the dealer, but it is still a couple thousand dollars.
--
Eric Powers
Civic Hybrid IMA battery problem
What's new, right?!