2008 Honda Civic Hybrid

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT FUEL FUMES WERE PRESENT IN AND AROUND THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER STATED THAT BOTH THE FUEL FILLER PIPE AND FUEL TANK WERE CRACKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000.

THIS PROBLEM HAS EXISTED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE CAR SUDDENLY DOES NOT HAVE POWER WHEN STARTING FROM A STOPPED CONDITION. AT THE SAME TIME THE INDICATED DRIVE BATTERY LEVEL DROPS AND THE DASHBOARD INDICATES THE GAS MOTOR IS CHARGING THE BATTERY. AFTER MAYBE 30 SECONDS THE REDUCTION OF POWER IS LESS. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME REDUCTION IN POWER UNTIL THE DRIVE BATTERY IS MOSTLY CHARGED. DURING THIS TIME IT APPEARS THAT THE ELECTRIC ASSIST IS NOT WORKING. HAVE ALSO OBSERVED DURING THIS SEVERAL MONTH PERIOD THE GAS MILEAGE IS REDUCED. THE PROBLEM IS MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR AFTER THE CAR HAS SAT WITHOUT RUNNING FOR A FEW HOURS. THE HAZARD HERE IS THAT THIS HAS OCCURRED WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. WHEN IT OCCURS EVEN PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR DOES NOT HAVE MUCH EFFECT. HAVE BEEN LUCKY NOT TO HAVE BEEN HIT BY ANOTHER CAR. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER INSTALLED NEW SOFTWARE THAT HAS HELPED THE PROBLEM, BUT NOT ELIMINATED IT. WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE WITH THE DEALER. NOTICED THAT OTHERS SEEM TO BE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM, I SUSPECT IT IS RELATED TO A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH THE HYBRID POWERTRAIN. AM NOT CONVINCED THEY WILL ADDRESS THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION. *TR

NOW THE THING IS THAT I BOUGHT A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID FROM UK AND IMPORTED TO PAKISTAN . FEW DAYS BACK THE IMA LIGHT IN THE CAR CAME ON AND A WEEK LATER I WAS REAR ENDED BY A CAR WHICH WAS CAUSED DUE TO BATTERY NOT RESPONDING AND LOSS OF ACCELERATION MY DAD WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED . NOW I KNOW THAT THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED OUTSIDE USA SO YOU MAY SAY THAT IT IS OUT OF YOUR JURISDICTION BUT AS IAM DEVASTATED BY THE ACCIDENT AND YOU SEEM TO BE THE ONLY SOURCE WHICH CAN HAVE SOME SAY IN THE ISSUE AS HONDA CIVIC HYBRID IS VERY POPULAR CAR IN THE USA . GOD FORBID SAME THING COULD ALSO HAPPEN IN USA . SO I WANT YOU TO TAKE THESE DEATH MACHINES OF THE ROAD . P.S THE PHONE NUMBER IS FAKE BUT THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS MINE. *TR

REPORTING POTENTIAL DANGER OF GAS LEAK IN MY HONDA CIVIC HYBRID 2008. FIRST WE SMELLED GASOLINE IN THE GARAGE A FEW WEEKS AGO. BUT, WE WERE NOT SURE WHERE THE SMELL ORIGINATED. BUT, LAST SUNDAY WE FOUND DROPS OF FUEL ON THE GARAGE FLOOR WHERE HONDA CIVIC 2008 HYBRID WAS PARKED. WHEN I INSPECTED UNDER THE CAR, I NOTICED A LEAK NEAR THE FUEL TANK FILLER NECK/ HOSE. AT THAT POINT I WAS WORRIED EVEN TO DRIVE THE CAR. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER THEY INFORMED THAT THE GAS IS LEAKING AT THE JUNCTION OF FILLER NECK AND THE GAS TANK. THE DEALER SAID THAT THERE ARE NO RECALLS OR WARRANTY EXTENSION ON ANY SUCH PROBLEM. BUT, I NOTICED ON THE WEB THAT THERE WERE REPORTS OF SIMILAR LEAKS REPORTED. IN MY OPINION IT IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND HONDA SHOULD TAKE CARE OF IT BEFORE A FATALITY DUE TO A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. NOW THE DEALER IS CHARGING ME $600+ FOR THE TANK AND $400 FOR INSTALLATION. I THINK HONDA SHOULD REPLACE IT FOR FREE DUE TO THE DEFECT IN THE GAS TANK. *TR

TIRES WORE OUT PREMATURELY DUE TO A FAULTY SUSPENSION ON THE REAR. I HAVE CONSISTENTLY HAD TO REPLACE TIRES EARLY, COSTING ME AT LEAST $2000 EXTRA OVER THE LIFE OF THE CAR. I NEARLY CRASHED A FEW WEEKS AGO ON RELATIVELY NEW TIRES THAT HAD TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. DEALER SAID THERE WAS NO FIX AND NO PROBLEM. I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THEY WERE LYING TO ME, BUT THE CAR IS WELL OUT OF WARRANTY NOW. *TR

AFTER YEARS OF POOR PERFORMANCE WITH THIS HYBRID, I DISCOVERED THAT MY IMA BATTERY WAS GOING BAD. HONDA HAD SOME RECALLS WHERE THEY INSTALLED A NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE, BUT IT DID NOTHING. AS A HONDA HYBRID OWNER, I BOUGHT A HYBRID BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT WAS THE PATRIOTIC THING TO DO AND HOPED THAT THE BENEFIT WOULD BE GREATER GAS MILEAGE. AS IT TURNS OUT, IT COSTS MORE INITIALLY THAN A REGULAR CIVIC, IS NO BETTER THAN A REGULAR CIVIC ON GAS MILEAGE AND THE IMA REPLACEMENT RUNS AROUND $3500. IF MY BATTERY DIES ON A DARK HIGHWAY I'M STUCK BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE PERFORMANCE IS NO BETTER THAN A REGULAR CIVIC, I HAVE TO HAVE THAT IMA FOR IT TO RUN. REALLY FEEL SCAMMED AND AT RISK. *TR

HONDA APPLIED A SOFTWARE PATCH TO EXTEND THE IMA BATTERY, DRIVING HOME FROM THE APPOINTMENT WHERE THEY UPDATED THE SOFTWARE I NOTICED THAT AT TIMES WHEN I GO TO ACCELERATE THE CAR WILL BOG DOWN AND HAVE NO SPEED. IT HAPPENS RANDOMLY, NO SET PATTERN, ITS A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN YOU ARE ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY AND YOU PULLED OUT TO PASS SOMEONE AND YOU HAVE NO POWER. OR YOU ARE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU LOSE POWER. THEN LIVING IN MINNESOTA HAVING THESE ISSUES WHEN YOU ON ICE IS DOWN RIGHT SCARY! WHEN YOU CAR DOES DECIDE TO GO YOU ALL SUDDEN LOSE CONTROL BECAUSE ITS ON ICE. HONDA HAS UPDATED THE SOFTWARE PATCH AGAIN AND THERE IS SOME IMPROVEMENT BUT STILL I CAN'T TRUST IT TO DRIVE IN RUSH HOUR SITUATIONS OR HAVE YOUNGER DRIVERS DRIVE MY CAR. NOW WHEN I COMPLAIN TO HONDA THEY TELL ME IT DRIVES THE WAY ITS DESIGNED, WELL IF THAT'S THE CASE ALL HONDA'S NEED TO BE TAKEN OFF THE ROAD BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY HURT. PLEASE HELP US HONDA DRIVERS WHO ARE STUCK WITH THIS CAR.... *TR

WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO ACCESS ON RAMP OF FREEWAY, THE BATTERY IMA HYBRID SYSTEM SUDDENLY WAS LOW CAUSING THE CAR TO HAVE LESS ACCELERATION THAN USUAL, MAKING MERGING WITH FASTER TRAFFIC UNSAFE. AFTER TAKING THE CAR IN FOR EVALUATION, THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER INDICATED THE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM WAS FAILING BUT NOT TO THE POINT THAT HONDA OF AMERICA WOULD REPLACE IT. THEY STATED THE BATTERY WOULD HAVE TO GET EVEN LOWER AND A DASH LIGHT OR CODE WOULD HAVE TO APPEAR. THE BATTERY/IMA/HYBRID SYSTEM IS COVERED UP TO 92000 MILES AND CANNOT BE REPLACED BY HONDA UNLESS THE ABOVE CONDITIONS ARE MET. THE SYSTEM IS POORLY ENGINEERED AND THE PROGRAM UPDATE ALLOWS THE BATTERY TO FUNCTION AT TOO LOW A LEVEL TO ALLOW ADEQUATE ACCELERATION. THANK YOU. *TR

THE PROBLEM STARTED BEFORE THE DATE INDICATED, HOWEVER WE DIDN'T CALL HONDA UNTIL AUG. 29TH, 2013. IN THE MORNINGS FOR MAYBE A WEEK WE SMELLED GAS FUMES IN THE GARAGE I CHECK UNDER THE CAR AND NEVER SAW ANYTHING LEADING TO A LEAK. THE CARS SENSORS NEVER INDICATED A PROBLEM, SO I THOUGHT MAYBE SOME GAS SPILLED WHEN I REMOVED THE GAS NOZZLE AT THE GAS STATION. A FEW DAYS LATER WE SMELLED THE GAS AGAIN, SO I WENT TO HONDA AND PURCHASED A NEW GAS CAP ABOUT $25.00 AND CHANGED OUT THE OLD FOR THE NEW. THE NEXT MORNING WE SMELLED GAS AGAIN, SO I CALLED HONDA AND THEY SAID GET YOUR CAR IN HERE ASAP. WE TOOK THE CAR IN AND LEFT IT, A FEW HOURS LATER WE RECEIVED A CALL TELLING US THAT THE FILL PILE WELD WAS LEAKING AT THE TANK. THE SERVICE MAN ALSO SAID THE GAS TANKS WERE ON BACK ORDER, BUT HE WOULD TRY TO FIND ONE ELSEWHERE. HE HAD NO IDEA WHY THE WELD FAILED AND ALSO WHY THE TANKS WERE ON BACK ORDER. THE SERVICE MAN CALLED A FEW HOURS LATER AND FOUND A TANK IT WAS BEING SHIPPED EXPRESS AND HOPEFULLY WILL BE HERE THIS WEEK. THE ESTIMATED COST IS $971.00 FOR THIS REPAIR AND PARTS. I DID SOME CHECKING ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT IN 2007 THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF GAS TANKS AND THE SAME PROBLEM WAS OCCURRING. EXAMPLE ONE PERSON ONLY HAD 45K MILES WHEN HIS TANK HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS PROBLEM I BELIEVE SHOULD BE AN INDICATOR FOR A RECALL, THIS PROBLEM COULD HAVE BEEN DEADLY TO US AND OTHERS. THERE IS NO WARNING WHEN IT MIGHT HAPPEN, NOW I WONDER HOW LONG I HAVE WITH THE NEW TANK BEFORE THE WELD BREAKS ON IT. THE EXPENSE IS REALLY COSTLY, IS THEIR ANYWAY I CAN RECOUP THE $$ SPENT? *JB