2008 Honda Civic Hybrid

I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR SINCE APRIL 2008 - I DON'T DRIVE A LOT - IN 4 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS I HAVE LESS THAN 40,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER - I PURCHASED IT NEW. I NOTICED A FEW MONTHS BACK THAT THE HYBRID BATTERIES DID NOT APPEAR TO BE ACTING RIGHT AND WHEN I MENTIONED IT DURING MY 30,000 SERVICE THEY SAID THAT IT WAS TESTING OK AND THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS WITH IT. OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS IT HAS STEADILY GOTTEN WORSE - TO THE POINT WHERE THE HYBRID BATTERIES WOULD NOT HOLD A CHARGE. WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY STATED THAT WHILE THEY COULD SEE THAT THE BATTERY WAS DEAD IT WASN'T GIVING THEM THE "ERROR MESSAGE" OR "ERROR CODE" THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO SO THAT THEY COULD REPLACE THE BATTERY. THEY HAD TO KEEP IT AND DRIVE IT AROUND TOWN THE ENTIRE DAY AND PERFORM TESTS ON IT TO MAKE THE CAR FINALLY GIVE THEM THE ERROR CODE NECESSARY TO INDICATE THAT THE HYBRID BATTERY WAS NOT WORKING SO IT COULD BE REPLACED. WHILE THESE BATTERIES ARE UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY ARE REPLACING THEM - I DON'T FEEL THAT 4 YEAR LIFESPAN FOR THIS TYPE OF EQUIPMENT IS ADEQUATE - PARTICULARLY GIVEN THAT I DON'T DRIVE THE CAR A LOT. ADDITIONALLY THIS IS A QUITE COSTLY PART - $4,000 IF IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. I AM CONCERNED THAT THE ERROR MESSAGE WAS NOT DISPLAYING DESPITE THE MONTHS OF ISSUES WITH IT - AND THE FACT THAT THE EQUIPMENT ONLY HAS A SHELF LIFE OF 4 YEARS IN MY LOCATION DUE TO THE CLIMATE. THIS WAS NOT DISCLOSED DURING MY PURCHASE AND HAD IT BEEN I WOULD NEVER HAVE PURCHASED A HYBRID VEHICLE. THIS WITH THE FUEL TANK DEFECT HAS ME SERIOUSLY QUESTIONING THIS CAR MAKER'S QUALITY AND DURABILITY OF THEIR VEHICLES. *TR

EVER SINCE HONDA "UPGRADED" MY BATTERY SYSTEM I HAVE LOST BOTH POWER AS WELL AS MILES PER GALLON. I MUST MERGE ONTO INTERSTATE 680 ON MY COMMUTE TO WORK. THERE ARE MANY LARGE TRUCKS WHO TRAVEL ON THIS INTERSTATE AND IT IS SCARY WHEN I AM MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY, ESPECIALLY SINCE CAL TRANS JUST ADDED A METEORING LIGHT SO I MUST BEGIN MY APPROACH FROM A STOPPED POSITION. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY IMAGINATION THAT I HAVE LOST POWER UNTIL I HEARD ABOUT THE LAWSUIT AGAINST HONDA MOTOR CORPORATION. I WENT INTO THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER AND ASKED THE SERVICE MANAGER IF THE LOSS OF POWER IS TRUE (AS WELL AS THE LOSS OF MPGS AND HE TOLD ME YES IT IS TRUE.) I ALSO ASKED WHAT HONDA IS GOING TO DO ABOUT IT AND HE SAID "NOTHING". I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE. *TR

I'M CONCERNED WITH THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY WHEN DRIVING THIS VEHICLE DUE TO THE POOR PERFORMANCE AS DETAILED BELOW. THE IMA BATTERY DRAINS SO FREQUENTLY AND SO SUDDENLY(GETS WORSE IN THE SUMMER) THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY CLOSE TO BE INVOLVED IN A FEW ACCIDENTS. WHEN STOPPED AND WAITING AT AN INTERSECTION FOR THE GREEN LIGHT, THE CAR IS EITHER IDLED OR IN "AUTO STOP" MODE. ONCE THE LIGHT TURNS GREEN AND I LET GO OFF THE BREAK, THE CAR FAILS TO ACCELERATE FAST ENOUGH TO THE POINT THAT I DON'T MAKE IT ACROSS THE INTERSECTION IN TIME, EVEN THOUGH I'M THE FIRST CAR CLOSEST TO THE INTERSECTION, THUS CAUSING THE CARS BEHIND ME TO RUN THE RED LIGHT. I HAVE ALSO HAD VERY CLOSE CALLS WHEN MERGING AND ENTERING THE FREEWAY AT THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC SINCE THE CAR FAILS TO ACCELERATE. ANOTHER DANGEROUS SITUATION IS WHEN DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT A STEADY SPEED OF 65 MPH ON FLAT CONDITIONS AND COMING TO AN UPHILL, THE CAR DOESN'T MAINTAIN THE SAME SPEED. SO I NEED TO ACCELERATE MORE. THE RPM REACHES 4000, THE CAR IS NOW BARELY MAKING 45-50 MPH AND THE TRAFFIC BEHIND ME IS FORCE TO SLOW DOWN OR SUDDENLY CHANGE LANES IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING ME FROM BEHIND. *TR

THE BATTERY ON MY HONDA CIVIC HYBRID HAS BEEN FAILING TO CHARGE WHICH MEANS MY CAR HAS NO POWER TO MOVE QUICKLY UP HILLS OR ACCELERATE WHEN I NEED TO ESPECIALLY AS I AM MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS DANGEROUS OCCASIONS WHERE I MAY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST CAR AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE LIGHT WILL TURN GREEN BUT MY CAR HAS NO POWER TO MAKE IT UP THE HILL. THERE HAS ALSO BEEN INCIDENTS WHEN I AM MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY BUT CAN'T GET MY CAR TO ACCELERATE TO AN APPROPRIATE SPEED AS TO NOT BE A DANGER TO THE CARS ALREADY ON THE FREEWAY. I PRAY TO GOD THAT THERE IS NOT AN 18 WHEELER APPROACHING BEHIND ME IN THE RIGHT LANE OR THE DRIVER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SLOW DOWN IN TIME TO ALLOW ME TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY. THERE HAS ALSO BEEN TIMES WHERE MY CAR WILL NOT START UP IMMEDIATELY IN THE MORNING. I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED THE STARTER BATTERY FROM THE HONDA DEALERSHIP THAT COST ME OVER $200.00 AFTER THEIR MANDATORY ADJUSTMENT ON THE IMA BATTERY. HONDA WILL NOT REPLACE MY IMA BATTERY UNTIL THE LIGHT COMES ON THE DASHBOARD. MY CAR IS NOT YET 4 YEARS OLD BUT THE BATTERY IS ALREADY A DANGER TO MY SAFETY. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS KILLED IN THEIR HONDA HYBRID FOR FAILING TO ACCELERATE AT THE APPROPRIATE TIMES. *TR

UPON RECEIVING THE 'MANDATORY' IMA RECALL ISSUED BY HONDA, I NOTICED MY HONDA CIVIC HYBRID (2008) ACTED VERY DIFFERENTLY WHEN IT CAME TO ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, PARTICULARLY ON A HILL. FROM A STOP IT TAKES SEVERAL SECONDS BEFORE THE CAR WILL MOVE FORWARD AT A REASONABLE SPEED (WHICH IT DID NOT DO PRIOR TO THE UPDATE). PRIOR TO THE UPDATE, THE CAR WOULD ACCELERATE LIKE A NORMAL CAR WITH THE IMA KICKING IN TO ASSIST THE CAR FORWARD. POST UPDATE IT'S LIKE THE GAS ENGINE WANTS THE IMA TO ENGAGE BUT THE NEW FIRMWARE WON'T ALLOW IT TO. THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THIS, I WAS NEARLY HIT COMING OUT INTO TRAFFIC AS MY CAR HESITATED. HONDA HAS STATED THERE IS NO WAY TO REVERSE THE UPDATE. THIS DECREASE IN POWER CONTINUES TO AFFECT ME TODAY (AT 60,000 MILES AND CLIMBING). THIS UPDATE HAS AFFECTED MY FUEL ECONOMY AS WELL (HAVING DROPPED BETWEEN 30-33 MPG ON A "GOOD" DAY). WHILE THE FUEL ECONOMY MAY NOT BE A PERSONAL SAFETY ISSUE, IT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

SITUATION 1: ON THIS DAY, I WAS CLIMBING THE HILLS (NOT STEEP) TO GO TO AN OBSERVATORY CALLED LICK OBSERVATORY IN MY HOMETOWN. THE BATTERY DRAINED COMPLETELY AND THE GASOLINE ENGINE FAILED TO START, STALLING MY CAR AND THEN SLIDING BACKWARDS TOWARDS THE CARS BEHIND ME. THE CARS BEHIND ME UPON WITNESSING ME SLIDE BACKWARDS, STARTED TO HONK AT ME VERY LOUDLY. I INSTANTLY APPLIED THE BRAKES AND SOMEHOW MANAGED TO SLIDE BACKWARDS TOWARDS THE SHOULDER. SOMETIME LATER, AFTER TURNING THE KEYS SEVERAL TIME, THE GASOLINE ENGINE STARTED. AND WITH MUCH DIFFICULTY AND AT THE EXPENSE OF LOT OF GAS I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE TO CRAWL TOWARDS THE OBSERVATORY. THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND COULD POSSIBLY BE FATAL BECAUSE I COULD HAVE LOST CONTROL OF MY CAR AND FALLEN OFF THE HILL. UPDATED 03/21/12*LJ UPDATED IVOQ 03/23/12 *TR

FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED AROUND A MONTH AFTER PURCHASED 3 OF 2011. DOOR LOCKS WOULD LOCK & UNLOCK WHILE DRIVING. IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT BACK TO NORM REEVES HONDA IN CERRITOS,CA. I WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A BAD MOTOR IN THE PASSENGER DOOR & NORM REEVES FIXED THE PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THE DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW WAS DEFECTED & NORM REEVES REPLACED THE WINDOW. IN 4 OF 2011, THE CAR DOOR LOCKS BEGAN LOCKING & UNLOCKING WHILE DRIVING BUT NOW MAKING A SCREECHING SOUND. TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE SAME NORM REEVES & THEY EXPLAINED IT WAS THE MOTOR IN THE PASSENGER REAR DOOR.THAT WAS FIXED AS WELL. IN 6 OF 2011, AGAIN THE DOOR LOCKS STARTED LOCKING & UNLOCKING WHILE DRIVING. I THEN REALIZED THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE DOOR WAS NOT LOCKING & TOOK IT IN TO NORM REEVE WHERE THEY STATED THE MOTOR WAS OUT & THEY FIXED IT. I THEN ASKED IF MAYBE IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELECTRICAL & IF THEY COULD CHECK THE ELECTRICAL WIRING ON THE CAR, I WAS TOLD BY OCTAVIO, SERVICE MANAGER AT NORM REEVES, IT WAS NOT THE ELECTRICAL THAT IT WAS THE DOOR LOCKS. I TOLD THE SERVICE MANAGER, OCTAVIO AT THIS TIME I FELT LIKE THE CAR ALSO GIVES A PUSH OR SKIP WHILE DRIVING & ALSO SMELLED A BURNING SMELL. OCTAVIO STATED THE HONDA WAS CHECKED BY A TECH & SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. I BEGAN TAKING THE HONDA CIVIC IN TO NORM REEVES EVERY MONTH COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CAR SKIPPING OR LOSING TRACTION. IT WAS FRIGHTENING DRIVING DOWN HILLS THINKING MY CAR WOULD NOT STOP OR LOSE CONTROL. THE BURNING SMELL WOULD BECOME GREATER WHEN DRIVING UP AN INCLINE OR THE HILLS OF ANY FREEWAY OR CITY. WHEN THE CAR WOULD BE PARKED AT AN INCLINE THE SHIFTER WOULD LOCK & BECOME HARD TO REMOVE FROM PARK. DURING EACH VISIT TO NORMA REEVES HONDA, WHICH OCCURRED MORE THAN 10 TIMES, I WAS NEVER TOLD OF ANY RECALLS OR EXAMINATIONS NEEDED IN REGARDS TO THE FUEL TANK PROBLEMS & ONLY FOUND OUT WHEN MY HONDA CIVIC WAS TAKEN TO ROCK HONDA OF FONTANA, CA. *TR

HONDA RELEASED AN "UPDATE" TO IMPROVE BATTERY PERFORMANCE OF THE HYBRID CAR. THIS UPDATE DEGRADED THE ACCELERATION PERFORMANCE. IT IS UNPREDICTABLE TO KNOW WHETHER THE CAR WILL ACCELERATE WHEN NECESSARY. MANY TIMES THE CAR HAS NOT ACCELERATED WHEN NECESSARY AND ALMOST CAUSED ACCIDENTS. I IMPLORE YOU INVESTIGATE THIS "UPDATE". IN MY OPINION, THIS UPDATE ONLY HIDES THE FACT THAT HONDA PRODUCED AN INFERIOR AND UNSAFE PRODUCT. *TR

MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID WAS REPROGRAMMED IN 2010 DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH THE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM. IT WAS A MANDATORY REPROGRAM THAT HAS RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE UTILIZATION OF THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) HYBRID SYSTEM. THIS DECREASE IN USE HAS HAD THE DIRECT EFFECT OF REDUCING POWER OF THE VEHICLE WHEN STARTING FROM A STOP, AND POSES A SAFETY THREAT WHEN MANEUVERING AT INTERSECTIONS AND IN TRAFFIC. IN SOME INSTANCES, THE VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE VERY SLOWLY REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE ACCELERATOR. THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT PRESENT BEFORE THE HYBRID SYSTEM WAS REPROGRAMMED BY HONDA, AND THEY WILL NOT REVERT THE SYSTEM TO ITS ORIGINAL STATE BECAUSE IT WILL RESULT IN COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH REPLACING DEFECTIVE BATTERIES UNDER WARRANTY. *TR