2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

THE IMA (HYBRID BATTERY) SYSTEM IN MY 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID HAS RECENTLY SUFFERED SEVERAL FAILURES RESULTING IN NEAR LOSS OF POWER AND CONTROL. IN THE MOST SERIOUS INSTANCES, THE "CHARGE" INDICATED FOR THE IMA BATTERY WILL SUDDENLY DROP (FROM A THREE-QUARTERS OR HALF-CHARGE TO NO CHARGE) IN A FEW SECONDS WHILE ACCELERATING INTRO TRAFFIC (FROM AUTO STOP) RESULTING IN AN MARKED, SUDDEN DECREASE IN ACCELERATION. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN -- AND IT HAS ALREADY RESULTING IN 2 NEAR ACCIDENTS. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO MY LOCAL HONDA DEALER. THE HAVE REPROGRAMMED THE IMA SYSTEM (PURSUANT TO SEVERAL SERVICE BULLETINS) TO NO AVAIL. THEY HAVE ALSO NOTED THAT THE IMA SYSTEM CURRENTLY INDICATES CODE P047F (HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY DETERIORATION), BUT THEY REFUSE TO REPLACE THE IMA BATTERY EVEN THOUGH IT IS CLEARLY DEFECTIVE AND COVERED UNDER THE 9-YEAR, 92000 MILE WARRANTY EXTENSION AGREED TO BY HONDA IN THE RECENT JOHN TRUE ET AL. V. AMERICAN HONDA CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE DEFECTS IN THE IMA SYSTEM IN THE 2006 (AND OTHER) HONDA CIVIC HYBRID MODELS CAUSE A SERIOUS CRASH DUE TO UNANTICIPATED LOSS OF POWER AND/OR CONTROL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WATER WAS SIPPING INTO THE VEHICLE CAUSING THE BATTERY TO SHORT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

THE IMA BATTERY HAS FAILED. THE IMA BATTERY WAS GIVEN A COMPUTER "PATCH" LAST YEAR TO HELP THE IMA PERFORM BETTER THAN IT HAD. THE PERFORMANCE AFTER A STOP WAS VERY POOR AND THE PICK UP LAGGING SERIOUSLY BEHIND THE ENGINE. THE "PATCH" DID NOT WORK, IT MADE MATTERS WORSE. I AM NOW FACED WITH THE LARGE EXPENSE OF HAVING TO REPLACE THIS BATTERY. BEYOND THE EXPENSE IS THE SAFETY ISSUE OF NOT HAVING THE POWER TO ACCELERATE BECAUSE THE "PATCH" ADJUSTED THE IMA SYSTEM POORLY .. *TR

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO SHARE MY CONCERNS OVER THE SAFETY OF THE 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID THAT WE PURCHASED NEW FROM A DEALER. THE CAR PERFORMED WELL FOR A FEW YEARS, UNTIL HONDA DECIDED TO TELL ME TO GO TO THE DEALER AND "UPGRADE" THE SOFTWARE CONTROLLING THE HYBRID MOTOR-BATTERY SYSTEM. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE CAR WAS UTTERLY DEVOID OF POWER, AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE WHEN MERGING ON THE FREEWAY, EVEN WHEN DRIVING ALONE WITHOUT OTHER WEIGHT IN THE CAR. IF I DRIVE MY TWO YOUNG CHILDREN WITH ME, IT'S VERY SCARY AS THE CAR MUST BE ABSOLUTELY FLOORED THE ENTIRE TIME WHILE MERGING. NO DOUBT THIS IS STRONGLY AFFECTING THE FUEL ECONOMY OF THE CAR AS WELL, AS IT GETS ONLY IN THE MID 30S, WHEN ORIGINALLY ADVERTISED MUCH HIGHER. ALSO, I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYONE EVER BUYING THIS CAR WITH THE PATHETIC LEVEL OF POWER IT EXHIBITS, THEREFORE THE RESALE VALUE IS NOW NEXT TO NOTHING. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE A SOFTWARE DOWNGRADE AND GET BACK TO ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE, BUT HONDA TELLS ME THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR WHATEVER REASON. I URGE YOU TO BEGIN OR CONTINUE AN INVESTIGATION CONCERNING THE DETRIMENTAL SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID SOFTWARE UPDATE. **03/01/2012 UPDATED BF UPDATED 03/16/12 *TR

HONDA PERFORMED AN IMA SOFTWARE UPDATE ON 12/22/2010. SINCE THAT TIME THE AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRICAL ASSIST HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED. EVEN WHEN THE BATTERY READS FULL, I CANNOT BE SURE THAT ELECTRICAL ASSIST WILL BE AVAILABLE, OR, IF IT IS AVAILABLE, HOW LONG IT WILL LAST. SEVERAL TIMES IT HAS SUDDENLY FAILED IN THE MIDDLE OF A MERGE OR LANE CHANGE. *TR

ON AT LEAST FOUR OCCASIONS, ONCE WHILE MOVING AT ABOUT 30 MPH, THE ENTIRE CAR SHUT DOWN. THE GAS ENGINE SHUT OFF, POWER STEERING AND BRAKES WENT DEAD, AND THE DASH WENT BLANK. I HAD TO PLACE THE CAR IN PARK, AND THEN REMOVE AND REINSERT THE KEY IN ORDER TO RESTART. THIS HAS HAPPENED ONCE, THOUGH NOT WHILE MOVING, SINCE THE IMA SOFTWARE UPDATE. *TR

HONDA'S SOFTWARE REFLASH OF THE IMA SYSTEM IN 2010 HAS CAUSED MY CAR TO OPERATE ERRATICALLY. THE HYBRID BATTERY IS OFTEN COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE TO ASSIST THE REGULAR MOTOR WHEN NEEDED TO ACCELERATE TO MERGE INTO HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC, TO PASS OTHER VEHICLES, OR TO AVOID COLLISIONS. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN TAKING OFF FROM A STOP THE CAR SOMETIMES HESITATES TO START MOVING, STUTTERS, JERKS OR LURCHES. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE MORE THAN 29 MPG SINCE THE SOFTWARE UPDATE, APPROXIMATELY 10 MPG LESS THAN I WAS GETTING BEFORE THE UPDATE. CALIFORNIA SMALL CLAIMS COURT AWARDED ME $9,867.19 AGAINST HONDA - SEE WWW.DONTSETTLEWITHHONDA.ORG FOR 26 PAGE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT. **03/01/2012 BF *TR

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) BATTERY IS FAILING PREMATURELY ON MY CAR, THE ASSIST WORKS SPORADICALLY. WHEN PASSING TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY I HAVE TO REALLY MASH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, BECAUSE THE ASSIST IS ABSENT FOR LACK OF POWER. HONDA INSTALLED A SOFTWARE FIX(BULLETIN 10-034) THAT GREATLY REDUCES THE BATTERY ABILITY TO FUNCTION AT FULL CAPACITY, SO THEY COULD MAKE THE BATTERY LAST LONGER AND NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY. I GET THE CODE P0A7F (ONE OF THE BLOCKS IN THE BATTERY PACK HAS DETERIORATED: ITS DYNAMIC RESISTANCE IS TOO HIGH) ON MY CAR COMPUTER. HONDA ERASED IT MANUALLY AND SENT ME HOME WITHOUT REPLACING MY IMA BATTERY. WHEN COMING TO A STOP THE CAR SURGES AS I MAKE A COMPLETE STOP, BECAUSE THE CAR IS REGENERATING POWER TO REPLENISH THE SPENT BATTERY. THE SO CALLED PATCH 10-034 IS REALLY MAKING THE CAR UNSTABLE TO DRIVE, THE ENGINE REEVES VERY HIGH WITHOUT MUCH POWER PRODUCED IN PASSING OR ENTERING HIGHWAYS SITUATIONS. WHEN THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE, A LITTLE TOUCH OF THE GAS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO PASS TRAFFIC OR CLIMB STEEP HILLS. NOW THE ASSIST ONLY WORKS SOMETIMES AND KEEPS ME GUESSING IF I WILL HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO PASS OR NOT. THE IMA BATTERY IS DEFINITELY NOT UP TO THE JOB. *TR

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) HYBRID SYSTEM LOSES POWER WITH NO KNOWN PRECIPITATING FACTORS OR ADVANCE INDICATION OF FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WILL IMMEDIATELY REDUCE POWER TRAIN OUTPUT PRIOR TO THE DASH GAUGES INDICATING A NEAR-COMPLETE LOSS OF IMA BATTERY CHARGE AND FUNCTION MOMENTS LATER, WITH ONLY THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PROVIDING MOTIVE POWER. WITHIN 3-4 MILES OF DRIVING, THE IMA BATTERY CHARGE, AS INDICATED BY THE DASH METER, WILL THEN IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO A COMPLETELY FULL LEVEL IN A SIMILARLY UNEXPLAINED FASHION. INDEPENDENT OF THESE TRANSIENT BUT REGULAR FAILURES OF THE HIGH-VOLTAGE HYBRID SYSTEM, THE VEHICLE FUNCTIONS AS EXPECTED. CURRENTLY, I HAVE DOCUMENTED OVER 160 INSTANCES SINCE 4/22/11, OCCURRING AN AVERAGE OF ONCE EVERY DAY THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN, INCREASING TO 2-3 TIMES DAILY SINCE MID-NOVEMBER, 2011 (DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST). SYMPTOMS OCCUR INDEPENDENT OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, NATURE OF DRIVE (HIGH/LOW SPEED) AND DESPITE CHANGING THE 12 VOLT BATTERY AND DISCONNECTING OR TURNING OFF ALL POWER ACCESSORIES POSSIBLE. FOLLOWING A SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN BY HONDA IN LATE SUMMER/FALL, 2010 THAT INVOLVED A SOFTWARE UPDATE INSTALLED AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP AND REPLACEMENT OF THE DC-DC CONVERTER PORTION OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM UNDER RECALL SHORTLY AFTER, THE EPISODES OF LOSS OF POWER IMPAIRING VEHICLE OPERATION HAVE INCREASED IN FREQUENCY. AN ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE UPDATE BY HONDA COMPLETED ON 11/10/11 HAS FURTHER EXACERBATED THE RATE OF TRANSIENT FAILURES OF THE IMA SYSTEM AND IMPACTED VEHICLE DRIVEABILITY. MULTIPLE SOFTWARE UPDATES PERTAINING THE THE IMA HYBRID SYSTEM HAVE ALSO BEEN INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE BY HONDA DEALER TECHNICIANS OVER THE PREVIOUS 3 YEARS. *TR