I performed a Power Reset last week in hope of clearing up the frequent re-calibrations I am experiencing.

My avg MPG have drastically dropped from 42 to 37. My last tank of gas only got me 360miles I can usually drive about 410 to 420miles before needing to fill up.

I have very sporadic recals after the power reset. I had a recal every time when I started the car before and now I only get it sometimes.

I have noticed most of my recals happen while I am on the highway going about 65mph. I have the cruise set for 65mph and as the computer applies ASSIST from IMA Battery it will drop from 6 bars to 2 bars.

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms? I am thinking of taking video of this.

 

Todd:

Reading through your posts it seems to me your forced recal issues might have more to do with a weak IMA battery pack than anything else.

I'm certainly not privy to any insider Honda information but reading about all the problems with recals and poor mileage after software upgrades it almost seems like Honda is trying to mask problems with certain vintage battery packs.

Has your P0420 returned? Does you IMA light come on with the CEL? Does your car have the CVT or manual transmission?

I have a weak IMA pack myself on my Civic, but it's manageable because of the manual transmission. I've had to replace the catalytic converter twice on my Gen I HCH and the P0420 has returned again. It doesn't seem to affect performance or mileage but it makes passing my NYS inspection a hassle.

It seems to me you might have a weak IMA pack and possibly a bad cat converter. I think I would try to get the dealer to replace both the cat and the IMA pack, I believe they should both be under warranty if you are in California.

Best of luck...

 

I have not had any light come back since the Power Reset. I have the CVT Auto version.

I tried to get the dealer to replace the cat but they said due to my mileage they could not do that unless I paid for it. The service manager for the dealer told me that because the car was not registered in CA and driven in CA they can not honor the 150k Warranty.

Is it possible to put a universal or MagnaFlow Cat on a Hybrid?

 

Mark ,the 2006 and newer HCH2 all have the CVT. H

 

Does anyone know if the 2003-2005 uses the same cat?

eBay has one for $148

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...ht_2828wt_1167

 

I did not know that. Thanks. Just like the Insight II then. This is my biggest fear with my Insight. It seems weak IMA and CVT don't play nice together, whereas weak IMA and manual transmission, like in my 03 HCH, allows me to just keep going with barely a hiccup. For now at least.

If it was my car and the P0420 hadn't popped up again I wouldn't bother changing the cat at all. Of course if it was my car and the P0420 did pop up again I still wouldn't do anything until I either had to A) get through the NYS inspection, then I would reset the code and try to do enough drive cycles to get the car ready for inspection or B) I saw the exhaust glowing red because the cat was actually clogged. But that's just me.

It seems to me your main problems are the poor mileage and performance due to losing IMA assist during recals.

I wonder if the dealer would give you the same excuse if you tried to get them to replace the IMA battery pack. Of course they might also tell you nothing is wrong (performing as intended) because no IMA lights or codes have been set.

As another option you might want to consider getting the pack rebuilt if you want to get the mileage/performance back to where it should be. This would be less expensive than if you had the dealer replace it. Of course this also means you might have to pull and ship the IMA pack yourself.

Check out hybrid-battery-repair.com

 

What's a Power Reset? First time I've ever heard that term.

Under what circumstances should one be done? What result should be expected normally?

 

I took a video of the what happens at every startup. Also later today the Check Engine Light came back on with the same P0420 Code as before. See images below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L7vXeTIXn0

 

I believe what Todd is referring to is simply disconnecting the negative cable on the 12V battery for a while.

On my 03 HCH this will clear the codes, reset the CEL and IMA light and force the IMA battery pack to recalibrate.

After reconnecting the cable the SOC will show zero and will come back to full after driving for a while.

You will also need to reset the code on your radio so make sure you have it handy.

I do this periodically, nowadays mostly when I need to get through the NYS safety inspection. For the past couple years I have had to clear the codes and then drive the car enough to bring it "ready" so it will pass the inspection.

Last year this was very hard to do as in addition to the CEL/IMA light popping on, I am now also throwing a P0420 code again. While I can usually keep the IMA light off by using the very little assist (mostly by keeping it out of fifth gear), the CEL light pops on alone after a short distance even under light driving due to the P0420 code .

The car fails the inspection if any errors are present.

 

I see what you mean. My 03 HCH does the same thing, but I also have almost 230,000 miles at this point and I can live with it because I have the standard transmission.

I have never driven a CVT equipped Civic hybrid, but if I understand correctly they can be almost dangerously underpowered when they lose assist.

Like I said above, you might need to bite the bullet and replace the IMA pack, hopefully under warranty.

As for the P0420; can you live with the CEL on? Do you have a safety inspection to get through like me? Personally I don't care that the lights are on. I don't even notice them anymore.

They just bother me once a year. And for now I'm good till July 2011.