December 2016:
I wanted to provide an update:

Julyish, I had the car towed to the house when our Mechanic indicated that turning the IMA off did not solve the issue. When the tow truck brought it back I tried it a few times and there was judder present, so it was just parked..

It took me 3 months to pay off the loan and get the title in the mail, in the mean time the car was mostly parked in the garage with weekly short duration idling/circles on local streets to keeps the battery fresh, as I did not wanted any damage to the tranny by driving it further. I did not notice the judder as often but occasionally it did happen...but not too bad

During thanksgiving I had some time so I removed the back seat, turned off the IMA switch and went for a drive and then kept on driving for 40 minutes and nothing, no judder, not a single time, I tried with many many stops.

Came back home, flipped the switch to IMA ON and tried again and it immediately judderd. Now I do not wish to think the Mechanic misstated but again....perhaps I should have went and checked by myself

I have been driving it without the back seat and switch in the off and it is not juddering, although it did it once but nothing even remotely like before....

What may be my next step, any chance I can still fix it?

It has 90K, GPS navigation, all other maintenance done, from spark plugs to viper blades, what I can expect to get in the market as is?
Atlanta CL appear to have a few with a little over 100k miles around $6000

edit: So I also now have a P0AE1 code, hybrid batt precharge contactor ckt

 

For future reference, if your goal is to preserve the battery, disconnect the 12V while in storage. Reconnect 12V, start car and let it idle. SoC gauge will show no bars. The IMA battery will be force-charged for 5-10 minutes until the battery is within acceptable parameters. charge will terminate and the SoC gauge will either show 3 bars or go to 8. This can be done without driving at all.


I believe this is more an issue of power available as opposed to IMA motor enabled/disabled. I'm still convinced the issue is with the CVT and not the IMA system.


Identify the phase of driving that produces juddering most frequently. Establish the patterns that generate juddering consistently, e.g., throttle position, rpm, speed, etc. The IMA motor assist is most aggressive at 0mph when the throttle is first depressed, and it has a lot of torque relative to the gas engine. Accelerations with IMA are done at higher torque and lower rpm than without IMA - which may be a condition that makes juddering more common.


The contactor error can be the contactor itself on the IMA pack or a blown pack fuse. I believe someone did a great job of troubleshooting that error on this site. Search it.


Concerning its value, ask yourself how much you would pay for a car that has a problem with a major system that has already been replaced once. Probably not a lot. Take the KBB and market values and deduct the cost associated to repair the issue at the dealer, and that will get you in the ballpark. You haven't been willing to drive this car because of your concerns. You're trying to sell a problem, not a car. What would you pay for somebody else's problem?


I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but I've been in your position - both sides. I was sold a problem (without disclosure) for more than it was worth, and I've sold problems (with full disclosure) discounted to reflect the costs necessary to bring the car to full value. It's more about your ethics than anything else, and you're the only one that can answer those questions.

 

My conscious would not allow me to pawn off my problem to someone else without disclosure so that is/was out of the question, I was thinking at a reduced cost to someone who is a tinkerer...I would have devoted more time myself if I was not so swamped with work and study these days

The good weird news is that now I have driven the car over 400 miles with the IMA battery connected, my OBD scanner has been hooked up and no codes pending or otherwise. I have loaded it with people and driven through our wonderful Atlanta traffic jams with constant stop and go and not once did it judder, as a matter of fact it is running really really well, better than when I first got it, IMA showing all bars never dropping below 4 bars even when driving aggressively...

I am not complaining but being around hardware/software all my life, I feel that once 12V and IMA both were disconnected something got reset. The CVT if it had an actual problem would not just magically fix itself...

I will keep you guys posted.....I am quiet happy

 

Sorry I came on a little strong. So many people have inflated values for their "inoperative" vehicles, I probably over correct. So many people don't ask themselves, "what would I pay to take on this problem I can't/won't fix?" They just ask themselves how much they want for it.


Good news!


Disconnecting the HV battery has no effect on anything. All connections are monitored by other computers. The 12V disconnect resets everything - though it can take many seconds to ensure everything gets reset. I like to do it for a full 60 seconds to make sure.


I can't remember if I've mentioned it (too lazy to look), but there is a simple start-clutch recalibration procedure that can be done after every 12V reset. It's as simple as accelerating to a certain speed and then letting off the throttle. It's very easy to do with normal driving even without trying. I wonder if that somehow played a role.


Judder is usually an issue with start clutch engagement.


Anyway, sounds like good news so far!

 

I know it's an old thread but thought I'd post my experience for those who may be searching for possible causes of the juddering problem.
I have a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid with 160k (CVT transmission). Started noticing the lurching when accelerating at freeway speed and it felt like the transmission is slipping.
Problem becomes noticeably worse and also happens at low speed when accelerating. I checked all the forums on remedies and did the transmission flush (drain and refill 3 times). Didn't help. Thought perhaps it's the starter clutch and even contemplating transmission replacement.
I have previously cleaned the EGR port to fix earlier pinging problem so EGR is not the culprit. Then I saw another forum thread mentioning bad coil as a possible issue.

As I have another 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, I swapped the 8 coils from one car to the other and lo and behold, the juddering problem went away with the 2008 and now it accelerates under load like a dream. Strangely, the 2006 didn't exhibit any of the juddering problem with the replaced coils. So perhaps it was a marginal coil that somehow works a little better in the 2006. I guess I should keep swapping back a couple of coils at a time to identify which one is marginal.

Lesson I learned is that I could get fixated on a cause i.e. thinking it's the CVT transmission. Of course, there are lots of threads of Honda CVT problems and this reinforces my erroneous speculation. Fortunately, I have the luxury of a similar spare car to play with. If you don't, you probably could buy a single coil and keep swapping to see if the problem goes away. It would be a cheaper way to try before you commit to more expensive remedies.

Hope this will help if you have similar symptoms.