05 HCH... bought in 07, now has 135K and the IMA has been on for over 2 years. Its just a bang around commuter car, so I don't care about perf, and 34 mpg is still relatively good. I'd keep driving it, but I have a State emissions coming up, and I can't get another waiver.

On top of the likely fubared battery, car is burning oil, has a frame ding in the front end that causes the trans mount to wear out pretty fast, and the front end has a fair amount of damage from parking and snowbanks. I've also pretty much stopped doing mainenance, so water pump, timing belt, plugs, wires, etc are all overdue.

Assuming I could do a battery swap myself, and get a few more years of driving, I sort of feel like I'm throwing good money after bad for a car that would probably sign a DNR if it had sentience. Anybody here have a similar choice. Any regrets?

 

Where are you located?

I would ask myself the following:

Is the maintenance more costly than a replacement car?
Is the maintenance unbearably inconvenient, or is it unreliable?
Is the car unsafe?

If yes to any of the above, DNR.

Concerning neglected maintenance:
If there is no visible smoke, I wouldn't worry about burning oil as long as you top it off. Our second HCH2 burns more oil than I like, but no smoke, and I just keep topping it off.
IIRC, it has a timing chain, not belt.
There are no plug wires. Coils mount directly on plugs.

You could totally do a battery swap yourself. It's pretty easy, and there are lots of detailed instructions out there (http://www.hybridautomotive.com Tech Resources). Alternatively, you could build yourself a grid charger for about $50 and see if the battery could be nursed for more IMA-light-free miles with periodic grid charging/discharging.

You could also bypass the IMA battery and get rid of the recals. This would improve your highway mileage, but it won't get you through emissions.

It's a personal decision based on how much of your effort you are willing to expend.

My biggest reservation is the front end damage more than anything else.

Good luck,

Steve

 

Located in Baltimore

1. If I were to get another car, I'd probably budget around 8-10K and look to get a 4-5 yo basic commuter vehicle. I considered going cheaper, but doing your own maintenance in the city is tough.

I see IMA replacements south of 2K. The tran mounts run about $400... got it replaced last about 3 years ago, and needs it again. I have no idea what cutting and rewelding the front frame rail would cost, but I'm pretty sure that is what's causing the excess torque on the mounts. Aside from the engine oil loss, pretty sure I have a wonky rear O2 sensor, and the cosmetic damage in the front is annoying when I have to kick it back into place every time I clip a parking curb.

2. The car has been relatively reliable. The engine batteries seem to die quicker than usual, probably related to the IMA issue. But it's never left me stranded

3. Merging on the highway is getting tricky when the IMA goes into uncessary charge mode. I've learned to nurse the accelator to compensate for the worn engine mounts, but I wouldn't consider the car unsafe.

If I could feel confident that a battery pack, and maybe an O2 sensor would get me through inspection, I'd go that route. But I'd kick myself if a spend a couple grand on a car I'm not crazy about, and then still have to dump it or pay monthly fines when it fails emissions. At that point the water pump would likely seize up.

 

You left out CVT failure, which is also a likely occurrence. Given its current condition it isn't going to be worth much if you (try to) sell it. Maybe you can get $1000. $2000 for a new IMA battery if you install it yourself. $500 to fix the front end (probably more). Burning oil? How much? Rust? No place to work on it yourself? Engine mounts shouldn't wear out in 3 years.

It sounds to me like you might be a happier in the end if you cut your losses now.

 

Thanks for the validation. The CVT seems to be okay, I had the judder issue fixed under warranty a while back. I had a Honda guy specifically describe the torque issue a couple years ago on the mount, basically said it was worth fixing the mount for a couple more years of use, but wouldn't bother with a more involved fix. I didn't quite follow the technical discussion, but agreed with the logic of his assessment.

I guess the next project would be what I should strip out of it before I take it to the junkyard. I doubt Carmax would make an offer.