Well, after 9100 miles in my '07 HCH, I get a new battery pack. Yesterday the SoC meter kept moving between fully charged and empty, then the IMA check engine light came on. I took it down to the dealer today and they said the the battery module is faulty and "battery module deterioration stored in computer." They said that they have a new part in by next week.

Oh I've also had a problem with the driver side window not always closing correctly. Not much of an issue in the last couple of months but I asked them to check it out since I was in. They're going to replace the glass, window run channel, and regulator. They didn't have those part either.

They said they'd call when the parts were in and that they'd give me a loaner car becuase the repair would pretty much take a whole day.

What they did do was fix the brake pedal position switch recall.

Anyway, I really like this dealer. They've treated me very well and have always been professional and courteous.

 

Is it still under warranty?

Please check how much would it cost (excluding labor) if not under warranty.

Even before I bought my 2008 HCH, my only worry is the NiMH battery fails.

Thanks.

 

Wow first time a read that a battery pack was defective. It sounds like you have a verry good dealer.

Hope the parts get ther quick.

 

What city is your dealer in?

 

The parts did come in quickly. I just got a call and was told theyhave arrived. That seems crazy (suspicious, maybe?) that a new battery pack comes in overnight after i was told that they have to order it directly from the manufacturer. Well, I'll take it back in on Monday b/c they said they didn't want to do it on a weekend day. I can understand that.

My dealer is in Manassas, Va. Are we allowed to post names on this board?

 

The battery packs for Toyota and Honda don't always come the manufacturer. They are often held at distribution locations and typically released by the vehicle's manufacturer.

Heck one of my 2007 Prius got its traction battery pack replaced not more than 2 months after the purchase.

That is what factory warranties are for.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Yes. Giving props to the good ones is especially encouraged, and nobody will complain about calling out shysters and tramps for what they are.

 

I could go on with a number of examples, but for now I'll just name the place: Koons Honda.

 

Mathemagician,

1. Do you always have the NiMH battery at full charge or

2. Do you always drive in a way that you would drain the NiMH battery (ASST mode - as in both MOTOR + ICE or ELECTRIC modes) and charge battery (CHRG - regen)?

If HONDA Battery management software does not help, then it might be good for us to learn how to avoid premature failure.

3. If you drive as in item (2), to what level you deplete the NiMH battery? There are 8 bars when fully charge.

Do you always have the chance to fully recharge (regen) NiMH before you park? Or do you park when NiMH is NOT fully recharged? If NOT fully recharged, how many bars is NiMH battery at?

4. When your drive in ASST mode, how many bars did you push to? There are 11 bars for ASST and 11 bars for CHRG. I just got a feeling that if we push to maximum for both ASST & CHRG modes, the batteries will be push to their limits and could fail earlier... just like those AA or AAA size batteries charger. If we choose to do a quick charge, we are actually passing higher current through the batteries and it will not last as long as under normal charging. Of course, we do expect to have a much better battery charging system in the CIVIC HYBRID than an ordinary AA size battery charger. Which is why I find it difficult to accept that the NiMH battery fails or end of life. I think I read it somewhere that the batteries should last at least 10 years. And if they mention this, I believe the Battery Management software should be powerful enough to ensure, whatever SoC, whatever, current we pass through it, the battery will NOT be damaged and should always stay good for at least 10 years.

It has always been my number 1 concern that what if the NiMH fails. Even before I commit to buy my Hybrid, I checked many times with dealer. They informed me that so far, none of the cars they sold had batteries replaced. Of course, I do not trust them 100%. I am only looking at statistics. Noting that the number of Hybrids in my region is very little. Over here, our battery is under warranty for only 3 miserable years. And they some how did not want to reveal the replacement cost of batteries.

Besides going GREEN, I am trying to save some $ with the ever escalating crude oil prices. Looking at your situation, we may end up paying more than what we save on gas! This, of course, is not our original intent.

I know you have clocked only 9100 miles, may I check how old is your car?
Did dealer say that failure is due manufacturing defects?

 

I would be highly surprised if the problem was anything but a manufacturing defect, seeing as it happened at 9100 miles. Since he has an HCH-II that means it's an 06-08 which at 9100 miles would still be under the 3/36 warranty in the US.

And I would not be surprised if a secondary supplier is making/stocking the battery packs for Honda. That's very common for manufacturing in general.

It's a bummer that it happened, but I'm glad the dealer has stepped up to help. I'm not going to worry about mine

--Chris