I think just the fact that the traditional starter is starting the engine should have made your case. This is very troublesome. In Canada, to date, Honda Canada website is still showing 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid...

 

The battery will go in next week and I can sell the beast with a good conscious. Not sure what to replace the car with but the new Jetta diesel is looking pretty good.
Good luck to all of you and hang tough.
Jack

Good to hear your getting some kind of fix on this. In my case my local dealer and honda canada will not do anything for me. The wheel alignment spec. sheet they gave me clearly shows the alignment is out of adjustment but that is ok with them. Even when I showed the new tires with 10,000 clicks on them is clearly cupping on the inside. I will be looking at the Ford Fiesta when they come out in July. It will probably be a 1000 times better than my honda "lemon" civic hybrid.

 

You guys are lucky that you got your batteries replaced. I can't get Honda to do it even though I am recaling all the time and even though the service techs tell me I need a new battery. You know though, no code=no help. I have a lawyer involved now. I just need to know where to send the initial letter saying that I am taking them to court.

 

There were no error codes (software had been updated twice) but Honda America still covered the replacement of the IMA battery for my 2006 HCH.

The symptoms had been the same as SMURF. The SOC would suddenly drop to one bar and there would be no IMA assist. The system would force regen until it reached 4-5 bars and then would suddenly jump to 8 bars and the IMA assist would be restored.

My position with the lack of IMA assist was that it was a safety issue. Merging in some situations with a fully functional HCH can be a challenge and if the IMA happens to shutdown at a critical moment the outcome could be serious.

Honda America did not initially agree to replace the battery. The dealer was able to capture data from the car when the IMA was shutting down and they also took pictures of the dash instrumentation showing the SOC drop to 1 bar.

Data and persistence on the part of the dealer was what it took to convince Honda America to replace the battery. Been driving it for a week and there have been no recals nor has the SOC suddenly dropped.

 

Yes When I read this post the first thing I thought.."this is my issue!" 4-5bars, the charging light turns green and is about at 3-4 bars, if I am stopped I take my foot off the brake and the SoC shows 1 bar. The car then drives as if I am stuck in Molasses.

I have a lawyer now and have a case opened with the Better Business Bureau. It wouldn't be too hard either to film the event since it happens almost everyday. I also have a new person at American Honda I am supposed to deal with in the Mediation Department. I wish they would just fix the darn thing. It isn't like I really want to go through all this trouble but I just feel what they are doing by ignoring the issue is wrong. And it isn't safe! I did have this happen when I was making a left and lucky the person slowed down so I wasn't hit.

Thanks for your input. I guess I have to just chase this to death to get it fixed.

 

ldychipmnk ,

One thing I recommend in the mean time....

When you have had a re-cal and have no battery, if you need to accelerate.....

Manually change gears and drop the vehicle down into "Low". You can accelerate to 4000 or 5000 RPMS which gives you better acceleration. Once you get to 4000 or so, and have built up some speed drop it back into "Drive".

This won't get you great gas mileage, but at least the vehicle will accelerate better.

 

LOL, my gas mileage can't get much worse. I am already only at 30-35mpg! I miss my 50s

I will do as you recommend, that is something I was actually wondering if it will work.

Thank you,
Stephanie

 

Hey, I have a question, when you put the car into gear "s", when you take your foot off the accelerator, is the car supposed to act like the brakes are being applied hard? when I take my foot off the gas the car shows the entire green light (charge area) lit up.

 

An update to my battery replacement.....
The new battery has been in for over 2 weeks and I have had no problems, no forced regens, and no sudden loss of power or dropping bars.
I can now sell the beast and feel good about it.
The dealer and Honda acted like they were doing me such a big favor replacing the battery and this drama has been going on since October of last year, to little to late for a car that is 3 1/2 years old with only 37k miles on it.
I share all your frustrations but just keep calling Honda and updating them with your concerns.
Regards, Jack

 

I've been having the same problem with my battery not holding a charge overnight or when it's parked at work, and the IMA light has not come on. I have an 07 with about 57k miles on it.

I took it to the dealer this morning and they said the 12v battery needs changing and it needs a software upgrade. They are charging me $100 to do the software upgrade, saying it's not covered under the warranty or under Honda Care. Should I be charged for this upgrade?