Hi,

When I signed in a few weeks ago it appeared I had not visited this forum since 2007. Anyway, my 2006 Honda Civic followed the all too normal path, the IMA light and check engine light came on and I took it to my dealer last week. I expect it back the end of this week.

Anyway, after checking mileage (76,441 or so) and VIN number my local dealer said the IMA battery would be replaced free of charge. What really surprised me is that the service desk told me I was getting the same Lithium Battery that is now in the current Civic Hybrid and that the rest of the system would be updated to work with the Lithium battery.

I'm very happy with this. However I've been doing internet searches and cannot find information on this. This concerns me that perhaps the Honda service representative is misinformed. I've spent an hour or two looking online and 10-15 minutes on this forum to avoid starting a duplicate thread. Had anyone else gotten a Lithium battery warranty replacement from Honda for 2006-2008 vehicles?

At risk of "TMI" dude.

I've been almost the sole driver of this car since new. It has led a very easy life in Salem, Oregon which has a very moderate temperature. It was driven 68.5 miles one way to work and back an average of once per week and a few miles around town on a flat commute on I5 in the right lane getting 50+ mpg. The "recalibration" over the years went from occasional to almost every time the car was driven.

I moved to Medford, OR last fall where it gets colder in the winter-often down to 20F and the commute changed to 6.9 miles each way with a gentle hill several times per week. The "recalibration" began happening at least once every 6.9 mile drive and fuel mileage dropped to around 33 mpg. Without a "recalibration" this route still would give 45 mpg or so in a fully working Civic Hybrid. Finally, the IMA and check engine lights came on during the trip home. Having another car available, I parked it for a few weeks until I had time for the trip to the dealer.

I have to laugh at calling 20 F in the winter cold considering my child hood near the North Dakota border seeing -30 F several times a winter with -100F wind chill.

Oh, I turned down the software update several years ago. I figured I did not need something designed to get my battery to make it just past the warranty period.

Has Honda turned a new leaf and is now honoring the warranty, or did I just get lucky? I mean over the years, I've read a lot of scary stories from those trying to get warranty service for IMA batteries.

 

Don’t know about the change to the lithium battery, but I just got my 2006 civic IMA battery replaced for free under warranty with 145k miles on it. It took a couple of fill ups with getting only 35mpg, but now I am getting 40mpg.

 

I just got my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid's IMA battery replaced under warranty with 135K on the car a couple of weeks ago. The Honda dealer gave me no troubles with the warranty repair -- they did it, no questions asked.

The funny thing was, the IMA light came on for the first time as I was driving to the dealer for them to diagnose the car after I was complaining about it having the symptoms of a dying IMA battery. When I got to the dealer, I didn't even turn off the engine for fear the light might go off and not come back on. They took the car in, ordered a new battery, and my car was ready the next day! The dealer even put up a rental car for me! I think that after the class-action settlement, Honda was more willing to give in to the hybrid owner's.

The service person I dealt with did tell me that the newly-installed IMA battery was the upgraded battery used in the new civic hybrids. Hopefully this battery will last longer and not have the issues of the original ones.
Oh, if you already haven't done so, don't forget to file the claim for the benefits under the HCH settlement. I think the deadline is April 19.

 

I just got my IMA replaced March 15th. Total cost was $1,900+. Pass warranty (170,000 miles) Honda gave me 25% off. I have more power than before but gas mileage is till the same about 42 MPG combined.

 

After filling up my tank three times since getting the new IMA battery installed, I've calculated at each fill-up that I'm getting on average just a tad over 48 mpg combined city/highway. I'm driving nearly 500 miles on each tankful just before I have the need to fill up.