I have a 2003 Honda Civic with 190K miles and the IMA light came on. The dealer told me it would cost $3500 (standard dealer quote for replacement). The car is barely worth $6,000K. There are a couple of idependent companies that offer re-built or re-furbished IMA batteries. Honda Dealers charge around $3500 - you can get a refurbished battery and replace it your self for around $1000. http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com/hch/services.html is located out in NYC. Actual replacment is not that complicated.

For the more adventurous there are websites that explain how you can rebuild the battery yourself. However this takes special tools, meters, and takes at least a week or more according to some of the sites.

 

It takes a minimum of 10 days just to run 4 cycles on all the cells. Additional tests pushes that up another week at least, and then you have to replace the bad sticks.

 

I recently joined the ranks of HCH I owners getting their IMA batteries replaced. Miles on the odometer were showing just under 70,000 and it is a 2005. I live in a mountainous region and have an almost 2,000 foot climb and descent every day with my commute. The IMA battery gets either completely or nearly completely depleted each climb. Anyway, I had noticed battery performance had dropped off. At first it wasn't by much but got more noticeable until I knew something was wrong. It would discharge fast and when it should have been able to recharge during braking, the charge indicator would only show about 4 bars. On the way home the battery once again hit zero bars showing on the amount of charge meter during the long climb. But then my IMA and check engine lights both came on. What was bizarre was that my battery appeared to charge and discharge like normal again. I checked the ODB2 scan codes and got a 1600, 1433, 1600db, and 1433db. I'm not sure what the db suffix means but 1433 appears to be a battery pack problem. The P1600 code is apparently a keep-alive module power fault of some kind. I don't even know if this applies to Hondas in this way since I think it is a manufacturer-specific code, but the discussions I found on the web indicate that some memory module lost its history due to a power interruption and that might explain why the charging and discharging behavior seemed to go back to normal after the IMA and check engine lights came on. I took it in to my dealer and they replaced the battery under warranty and all is well again. No charge at all to me. I know that the 2,000 foot climb twice a day, 5 days a week is pretty extreme duty, and I am thankful that it failed under warranty and that Honda replaced it for free. I am a little worried that I will have to do this again - probably at 140,000 miles. Really not that bad I suppose - but that's what kind of lifetime I originally expected - 140,000 miles. So it has been a good experience for me. I wasn't stranded and the car seemed normal after the lights came on. Honda replaced it for free so I should get the exact battery life I originally expected anyway. I really do love my HCH I. While I still had the original equipment Bridgestone tires, my mileage was routinely between 50 and 54 miles per gallon. I needed to replace them, though, and went Michelin, and the softer rubber dropped my mileage to around 45 mpg. It's hard to argue even with 45 mpg. But I had to get my IMA battery replaced and a $4,000 price tag for that is a bit scary had it happened out of warranty. I definitely made note of the company that repairs IMA batteries and will probably go to them if I get caught outside of warranty. But I still thank Honda for standing behind my HCH. Other than this it has been a wonderful car.

 

The P1433 error simply means that the capacities of the individual sticks in the battery pack (20 in all) are so un-balanced that the car has deemed the pack to be unusable. This is generally caused by a failure of one or two sticks that then stress the others until they perform poorly. The other ones can be brought back to life with battery reconditioners and the bad sticks can be replaced. This is what rebuilding a pack entails.

The P1600 error (and a P1601) is a placemark error that simply says that there is an IMA problem, and to go look for an IMA code.

Leaving your car sitting without driving it will do more to hasten your battery's demise than driving it up and down those mountains. The mountains are actually good for it.

 

My Battery was replaced yesterday. Honda covered it.

2004 CVT, 89,500 miles, got Error Codes 1433 and 1600. I drive with AC on when it is hot is SoCal, and we do have hills but I can't say they are long and steep enough to drain the battery regularly.

I've only had it since 71k so I don't know what the previous owner did, but I have taken it on 8 long hauls (1,200 miles each) since I've had it and it also sits sometimes in between trips.

Here is my question: I feel like the car is peppier with the new battery, the acceleration seems better. Am I imagining this or will a new battery do this?

Thanks

 

Your MCM was definitely flashed to the latest software, so there may have been some updates that would affect the feel of the car (and the assist setpoints), but the most likely reason is you now have assist whenever you want it instead of your battery being empty all the time, or the car force-charging it constantly.

 

That makes sense. And I have noticed that the engine shuts off at stop lights more frequently now.

But alas, the IMA light came on again yesterday. This time, without the little orange engine icon. Back to the shop i go... Hope it just needs a reset.

 

No, it should not come on. Please let me know what the outcome is and what codes were set.

 

I brought it back to the dealer and one of the cables came loose after he installed the battery. They fixed it no hassle.

Coincidentally, the "maintenance required" light came on at the same time but that was because it needed a 90k mile maintenance.

 

I had the IMA light come on at 92K miles. Honda replaced the battery free of charge. Now it is creaking and banging when the car rocks side to side. Perhaps they didn't bolt it in correctly? I have a MT car, 2003, and use the AC whenever it is over 80 degrees outside which is pretty often.

Anyway, it is back at the dealer today.