P.S> I know about the update for HCH-II cars which sort of solves this problem for people with new battery packs(would never "fix" an old one though) I don't want this update I have gone over the actual technical changes it invokes and I'd rather as a user make my battery pack last a good long time and not drive a "neutered" HCHII.

 

Would like to see this entire thread moved to the HCHII sub-forum. I hadn't even noticed it until now, and Jamchel's response was fascinating.

 

I agree.

So, Prius more agressively maintains/protects it's battery. Due to the much greater battery capacity, it's able to do this, and still get great mileage.

The Civic Hybrid on the other hand, has a much smaller battery. In order to get halfway decent mileage statistics Honda's engineers allowed it to be used more aggresively. Then their decision came home to roost: mounting failures.

So they changed the software. Too little, too late, in particular for owners of older generation 2, with years of the more aggresive program taking it's toll?

 

Correct, The prius has "the right stuff" to be a hybrid. The Honda….. well almost……so we owners suffer for it, in my opinion.

I'm not going to speculate any more on whether or not Honda knew that this reprogramming would actually cause bad/or almost bad batteries to die faster or if there was some kind of mix up and all American HCHII's got the update even when it could make your car very unpleasant to drive if you already have a dying battery.

In my very humble opinion, Honda should have checked the full status of every battery pack that came in and replaced the bad ones while applying the update only to cars with GOOD battery packs to start off with. What gives??? I'm not sure why we are suffering this way, but then with any multinational mega corporation, you will suffer or cause the suffering of others when dealing with them in any way. That my friends, is the way it is right now.

Good news is companies like www.re-involt.com are doing something about it I hear there will soon be a Lion(lithium-ion) Battery pack upgrade for our HCH II's due out sometime 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2011. So hold out hope, soon you may not have to deal with honda at all when it comes time to replace… I sure would take a Lion battery over another NIMH since their energy density per pound is greater and they tend to survive more full charge cycles than NIMH.

 

Something is wrong with Honda if Re-Involt figures it makes business sense to offer replacement batteries for HCHII. If I'm not mistaken, Honda's warranty on the battery is 8 years is it not? With the first HCHII's coming out in fall 2005, that warranty, at least the time element of it, would not expire till 2013, at the earliest.

 

The reason it makes sense is that the Lion pack can withstand the Honda's power requirements, where the Honda pack is in my opinion too small to drive the IMA system reliably. It's a question of amp hours and Honda pack gets overworked trying to keep up with the IMA system unless it's driven very conservatively.

There simply isn't enough storage and the cells deplete and charge too rapidly(overheating them) which compounds the problem they had before the TSB update even.

 

Thanks for the info, that makes sense. Unfortunately, LOL.

I've visitted the Re-Involt site before, and watched their videos. They seem sincere and dedicated to good things

Regarding the philosophy: "The only car worth owning is the one that will get you to where you are going every time you need it", I'd revise that to:

"The only car worth owning is the one that will get you to where you are going almost every time you need it"

For a car to be absolutely reliable would be prohibitively expensive. I'd also prefer one that makes repair and parts replacement relatively easy and inexpensive, all thing being equal.

 

Lol I stick to my guns, If I can't make the car, with all the tools I carry with me, get to it's destination, then it's sold!

 

James, if I remember correctly, one of the first things you did when you acquired your HCH2 was replace the Honda 12V battery with a larger battery. What battery did you install. Do you think this corrected the problems that the originally owner was having?, when he dumped the car. He must have been having re-calibration issue's? You seem to be pleased with your HCH2 performance? Even with those big wheels and tires<grin> H

 

I installed a 35-6/75d23 type battery out of my toyota celica which was brand new but the celica is Non-op (so no-brainer there) and my IMA system loves it to be honest. I haven't had a problem and I even left my dome and both map lights on all night, it started just fine in the morning, so right there it was worth it. Plus I run a 400w amp, a 500w power inverter, laptop computer and various other in-car electronics, so I really needed a bigger buffer than the motorcycle battery could give me.

Indeed the previous owner bought it for his wife's car, but a few of the "salvage gremlins" must have frustrated him to the point of insanity, to give me the car at the price. He had it for almost 1 year, bout 5k miles, paid all fees to register and had all inspections done then gave up 5 yards from the finish line….... Anyways those gremlins were easy to fix(now has a shiny new CA lic plate) and apart from that, it just had no A/C, which I fixed for 150(new condenser, it was leaking) so far after over 3k miles its rock solid and other than wanting to replace a slightly bent lower control arm there is nothing at all wrong with it for Driving's sake..

And yes coming from a 1996 celica Gt. which got 19/26 mpg, I am now averaging around 37mpg in a split of about 30/70 city hwy miles. I couldn't be happier, plus those big meaty tires help me pass just about anything on a mountain road…..cough…..downhill….cough..