Yes, it seems from reading Gairwyn's reference on Recal and NiMH battery care, that Honda, are trying to "condition" the battery with these recals to prolong its life. There is a statement made there that a NiMH battery which is never discharged to below 10% can last for 300,000 charge cycles. I don't care about the recals, just the potential cost of an early battery failure! My standard warranty included 80k/8 years on the hybrid components (which probably doesn't include the CVT), by the way. I think that must have come in with the HCH II. One reason (apart from the fact that I HATE the Prius II styling) why I picked the Honda over the Prius, since at the time the Prius didn't have an extended hybrid warranty (now they have brought in 100k/10 years, since I bought my Civic).
First time I have heard of problems with the CVT (which is standard on almost all automatic Nissan models). I have my trans oil changed per the maintenance minder, which is at least twice as frequently as the dealer advises. But that wouldn't explain a failure at 35K. What happened, Kristian, did the drive band break? Anyone else out there who had a premature CVT failure like to report back on it?

 

Someone at one time posted information about a place where you could send your battery pack for reconditioning at substantially lower cost than getting a Honda OEM replacement. The guy described what he did. He took the battery apart and tested each stack of cells (according to him, the stack of cells are actually welded together to ensure good conductivity between cells - which I find hard to believe because of the heat generated duriung welding). Anyway, he would only replace the cell stacks which his tests showed were faulty. I didn't think that was good because the other cells could soon fail - I thought all the cells ought to be replaced at the same time. Maybe what you are saying is that the bad cells are just bad per se, so in replacing them you bring everything up to equal quality? Also of note is that he only seemed to have had (original) Insight batteries in for repair. And also I heard that failure rate on Insight/Civic packs had been 2%, and Prius on version 2 at least, much lower, so maybe there is some truth in your comments about poor Honda battery cell quality control?

 

Here is a link to my post about the CVT experience. I'm not sure exactly what failed--at first they thought it was a transmission plate, but they weren't happy with the results after replacing it so they replaced the whole enchilada.

I think I remember reading about someone else having a CVT replacement but I don't remember the details. I couldn't find the post when I was searching after my failure.

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...e-blues-24442/

 

Well, Christian, I have to think you were very unlucky, but at least you had the warranty to cover it. I think if this was a significant problem for the Civic Hybrid it would have been all over the internet by now. Actually I studied the CVT technology in a lot of detail before buying. There are a number of flexible steel bands which hold together thin steel plates. There are two sets of cones that move in and out to change the gear ratio. The big question is why wouldn't the belt slip? I think the plates must kind of dig into the cones under torque so they don't slip. The little Dutch DAF had a rubber belt but that was no good for high power applications, but I read that the metal belt design is able to handle very high torques, even for heavy towing and truck applications. I think there has to be a plate clutch to disengage for neutral and park. But there are no band clutches or sun and planet gears. I think the CVT contributes to fuel economy as I can cruise on the highway ta very low revs, so I think the CVT is able to emulate an overdrive ratio while coasting.

Sure hope the CVT failure is the only one you ever have!

 

I am revisiting this post as Greenhybrid jsut chided me for not posting anything for a long time! My Maintenance Minder just ordered me to go in for a service, so I did, and I mentioned the frequent recal problem. They said that is often caused by failure of the lead-acid reserve battery, and they tested it and claimed it was dead. Well in Houston lead-acid batteries never lasted me more than 3 years, so I accepted that conclusion. They charged me $89 for a replacement and told me that it had a 3 year full warranty and I think they said a 10 year "proportional" warranty. I had read that this battery is an odd size, so I thought getting the dealer to supply it would save some hassle. (The Service guy referred to it as a "lawnmower battery!"). They also gave me a discount which effectively refunded the $12 installation fee. He then checked for Service Bulletins, and found one for the IMA software. They upgraded the software for free - apparently there were 3 upgrades, one for the IMA, one for the battery itself (I believe) and 1 for the CVT. I haven't driven that many miles since then, but things changed but the "odd" behaviour hasn't completely disappeared. Now the charge level most of the time stays around 5-6 bars, but occasionally it drops to 2 bars, loses power assist, quickly charges to about 4 bars, and sits there for a couple of miles, then almost instantly charges to max (8 bars) after a while it then settles back to 5-6 bars. Then, a couple of days later I receive a recall notice from Honda to have my IMA software updated! They state that the software update is needed to prevent premature battery failure, especially when driving intermittently in hot weather. They say that after the update the Autostop will work less often, maybe not coming in even up to 4 bars, and there will be less IMA assist at higher speeds. Also the charge will stay in the middle range for longer.
I sort of think I've noticed all that, although the sudden recharge still seems odd.
I don't know whether all this info is useful or not, but it might at least give a few pointers on what to ecpect with the IMA system. By the way, one last thing, the service guy said he's seen 3 IMA battery failures (which doesn't seem that many), that the out-of-warranty replacement cost is now $1600, but one guy whose battery failed was only charged $200 by Honda - who paid the rest as a goodwill gesture.

 

Well I hope your situation doesn't turn into what happened to my 2007 hchII. Here is the thread of my experiences:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...-recals-24632/

You might want to read up more on what's happening to your car and what others are experiencing. Watch out, you may get depressed.
I don't wish any Honda owner to go through what I have and some others have gone through. So hopefully your car improves because of the software updates.
Good luck.

 

I'm about to hit 80k and 5 years in my '06 HCH II. On the plus side no CVT issues and nothing has broken though i do have a 7 yr/120k warranty. I have done all the TSB's and IMA software updates. I had the battery replaced under warranty at around 60k due to odd behavior in the IMA system...frequent dropping of charge and recal's that others have noted - even though the IMA light didn't come on Honda didnt put up a fuss in replacing it. I am getting low 30's now when the original IMA Software provided about 10mpg more, very little assist on hills and sometimes from a start...IMA indicator is all over the map (full one minute and then 2-3 bars in a few miles) so i believe the original battery wasn't the problem if that is any consolation to some who fear for its life span. The software updates don't improve the function of the car so don't look to those to help performance or mpg...whether it extends the life of the battery...only Honda knows. I plan to keep the vehicle through its warranty but after that would probably buy a Prius or EV.