I just bought a 2003 hybrid with 180,000 miles. Car was cheap enough, but after driving 100 miles check engine light came on. Car was sold "as is" from a used car dealer and I paid with my credit card.

I checked the codes, and I have it at Honda right now to see exactly what it may be. Could be a battery problem - the IMI light was on too.

What can I do? When I got the car, I noticed the radio was reset, so they may have reset the car to hide the code and it came on again after 100 miles.

1.) Since I paid with a credit card, do I have any safety net here? Or can the dealer still help me out?

2.) If it ends up that I need a new battery, I know the dealer is expensive. In the NJ NY area, where can I get the battery fixed or reconditioned for cheaper? I have not been able to find any place that does this in my search.

Any help is appreciated!

 

Check out www. Reinvolt.com . H

 

So Honda tells me I need a new battery. Darn, and I just got the car 2 days ago. I hope the used car dealer will work with me, maybe I can trade it in for another car.

Honda's quote to fix: $2600

 

Also, would running the AC on a lot (its been 100 degrees here) and having a GPS plugged in affect the battery or the light coming on at all?

 

You need a new 12V battery or a new 144V IMA battery? If 12 volt, get one with greater capacity than the standard replacement. This will help stave off future problems later. If IMA battery, do some internet searching for cell replacing inside the battery, cell ballancing, etc. Probably too technical/time intensive for most, but might be worthwhile to do some research.

 

If your hybrid battery is dead you can continue driving it like a normal car. You'll lose hybrid functions like auto-stop and regenerative braking. You'll also get 5 or 10 less mpg depending on your driving routine. Overall though, there are no lasting problems with not replacing the IMA pack.

For repair options:
- You could recondition the pack but with 180K miles there probably isn't much remaining life on the hybrid battery.
- You could buy a remanufactured pack from honda. My local honda dealer quoted $2,100 for the new pack without labor.
- You could buy a new pack from aftermarket vendors. Bumblebee Batteries is a company selling honda ima packs with brand new upgraded cells.

 

yeah there is a cheap 03 civic hybrid right now for 4k that im tempted to go for while at the same time able to swap it for aftermarket batteries, but is there such a place in ontario? most of them seem to be in california