For an overview on hybrid technology, check out:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybri...dstarting.html

or

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm

 

Steve - "Shifting gears?" You obviously don't own a CVT Pilot, eh? =) Here are some magazine review articles, some video clips, and Press release articles. The first link though shows a nice animation of the motor and cams - definitely worth watching. The second link is just a good article describing how to Mypermile but also the definitions of the features of the Civic Hybrid and how they work sometimes. Enjoy.

Animation of Hybrid motor:
http://world.honda.com/news/2005/4050705_b.html

Hypermiling techniques and definitions:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306

Cnet review 1:
http://reviews.cnet.com/2006_Honda_C...-31750374.html

Cnet review 2 with video:
http://reviews.cnet.com/2006_Honda_C...-31750374.html

FamilyCar.com review:
http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/HondaCivicHybrid/

Gizmodo review 1 with video:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/honda-civic-hybrid/

Gizmodo review 2 with video:
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cars/...rid-152453.php

Car and Driver review:
http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtest...ic-hybrid.html

Canadian Driver review:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articl...ybridtest1.htm

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_Hybrid

Temple of VTEC:
http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=412607

TreeHugger review 1:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005...mation_abo.php

TreeHugger review 2:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005...e_on_the_2.php

World Car of the Year honor:
http://www.wcoty.com/media/?release=26&year=2006

 

Thanks guys for all the links! Very good resources to read up on, as I can now feel much more informed about this vehicle.. The next time someone asks "how does the car work", I can finally say something other than "I don't know". I do find interesting the very first question I *always* get asked is what's the gas mileage.. How much do I get on a tank of gas. They're usually blown away at that point!

Regarding my XM fiasco, I went to Circuit City, bought a Terk XMicro2 antenna, stuck it on top of the trunk lid, finally managed to get my hands on the tuner's antenna input.. Plugged it in and went for a test drive.... Guess what! All of my dead spots are now gone.. Imagine that! I intend to take the car back to the dealership and show them how it's done, not that they'll even care, but just to try and prove that I (and everyone else on here suffering from the same problem) was right all along. The OEM antenna is mounted incorrectly, and even appears to be a poor performer. Probably a big batch of cheap made junk that honda got on a low bid from somewhere...

Steve

 

Steve,

Glad to hear your problems now solved.

With the Terk antenna, did you have to modify the connector or did it plug right in?

 

Well, here's what I found on my tuner after I managed to get it out and into the open. I've read on numerous occasions here that the Navi head unit is an Alpine unit. Unless I got stuck with something totally different from everyone else, this is a Pioneer system.. The reason I say this is that the XM tuner I pulled out was a Pioneer unit! It even had the typical Pioneer style DC and data plugs on the side. I suppose it's possible that the head display unit is Alpine, but I find it odd that an Alpine HU would have a Pioneer tuner.. And by the way, I hate to keep sounding like I'm always complaining about all of this, but for what it's worth, this OEM XM tuner from Pioneer/Honda is an old style tuner! This thing dates way back to first or second generation chipset. For $1k to have the factory XM tuner, this is totally uncalled for. This tuner isn't worth 25 bucks! This XM installation from Honda is a major, MAJOR ripoff. A 3rd party solution would be a far wiser decision. Yeah, the OEM unit does make for a clean installation because one can control it all from the in-dash head unit.. But knowing what I know now, hindsight is always 20/20.. I'd definitely tell Honda to keep their outdated and WAY overpriced junk. Most modern-day XM tuners sport many more features than this old thing, heck for a thousand dollars we ought to have full 32 character name and title displays, not this old constantly cut-off 16 character limited mess.

Now, after all of that whining, time to answer your question about the antenna jack. It is definitely not a standard FAKRAH type connector, although it is very close. The center pin is larger than what was on the Terk plug. I found that if I gently worked the center pin on the Terk connector with a sharp pointed tool, it would fit.. However, be aware that the pink FAKRAH plastic body will not fit either. I took a pair of dikes and cut the pink plastic body off and after exercising the center pin, it went on but with a lot of patience and effort. So technically, yep it will go on but it does require some effort to doing it. Now, if you want to make it easy on yourself, just cut the two pieces of coax and splice them together. I went from around 50 percent service/no signal to virtually 100 percent all service by switching to the Terk antenna. Circuit City in my area (Greenville, SC) has them in-store for around $30. It's a fraction of the size of that awfully ugly block of an antenna that Honda places incorrectly inside your car yet performs the way a patch antenna is supposed to. Terk definitely got this one right!

Regards,
Steve

 

We have a 2008 Civic Hybrid with the dealer installed XM option and have been complaining to the dealership since the day one. The radio fades out and the message of "No Signal" appears. We have 2 other XM radios installed by Best Buy and have had no problems at all with reception. I believe that the problem lies with the location of the antenna. I have exhausted all avenues with the dealer and now am in direct contact with Honda customer service. They seem to be at a loss as far as a fix. I have been assigned a case number....We'll see where that takes us.

 

Since you have the "Dealer Installed" option and not the factory installed I suspect that they gave you the antenna that is about 2 inches square and they chose a suitable location for it. If this is the case, take it back and demand the antenna that has the radio and satellite antenna combined. It is located just above the rear window. If your satellite radio would have come from the factory this is the one you would have. Mine did not work properly until the combination antenna was installed. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if your radio antenna already has the satellite antenna in it and all they have to do is connect it to the satellite radio receiver which is in the trunk. The 2 inch square antenna is garbage. Don't let them get away with this.

 

Thanks for the info. We did not choose the option of the in dash navigation as we have a Garmin. We chose the "Dealer installed" XM radio option. If I understand you correctly the harness for the rear roof mounted antenna is already installed in the car? If that in fact is the case....why can't they install the antenna on the roof in place of the AM/FM stick antenna? I'll have to ask that question.

 

To my knowledge, the "genuine Honda" XM radio option works on both the navi as well as non-navi models. Do the XM channels show up on your factory installed non-navi am/fm radio? My Civic was an 06 so XM radio was offered as an option not standard with navi. That changed in 07 after receiving numerous complaints about the "XM Ready" label on our radios. That was why they changed the antenna in 07 also. It combined the am/fm with the XM. After I purchased the XM radio dealer option for mine along with the Honda 2" square XM antenna my dealer finally realized that there was a seriuos issue with the XM antenna. They tried 2 different ones. Finally they went ahead and put an 07 antenna on the vehicle which contained the XM antenna in it as well as AM/FM. The 06 and the 07 antennas look almost identical. You really have to know what your looking for to tell the difference. Bottom line. If you have the "Honda" XM radio receiver and it interfaces properly with your factory radio they should install on of the "stick" antennas that also have the XM radio antenna in it if it is not already on your vehicle as I believe it may already be there.

If you would like to talk to me about my experience please send me a private message and I can give you my phone number if you would like to discuss this further.