2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID Complaints

MY DAUGHTER, [XXX] WAS ENTERING ON FREEWAY FROM RAMP AND THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST ACCELERATION, SHE HAD TO STOP ON RIGHT SIDE OF EMERGENCY LANE. FORTUNATELY THE TIME WAS NOT RUSH HOUR AND NO VEHICLES BEHIND HER HIT HER CAR. WE TOOK TO A HONDA DEALER THEY DIAGNOSED IMA BATTERY IS NO GOOD AND NEED TO REPLACE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A FUEL ODOR PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE BEFORE AND AFTER REFUELING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE I.M.A AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

WINDSHIELD WIPERS SUDDENLY STOP WORKING PROPERLY - THEY FAIL TO STOP WIPING WHEN THE SWITCH IS TURNED OFF, THE INTERMITTENT SETTINGS FAIL TO WORK AT ALL, AND WHEN THE WIPERS DO STOP IT IS OFTEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SWIPE, OBSCURING THE DRIVER'S VISION. AN INTERNET SEARCH OF THE PROBLEM REVEALED THAT THOUSANDS OF HONDA OWNERS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT HONDA HAS ISSUED TECHNICAL BULLETINS DESCRIBING THE EXACT PROBLEM. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND OCCURS WHEN ONE IS USING THE WIPERS. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT THE FAILURE OF THE WIPERS TO PARK PROPERLY BLOCKS THE DRIVER'S LINE OF SIGHT. *TR

I HAD THE HONDA DEALERSHIP PERFORM THE IMA SOFTWARE 'UPGRADE' IN 2010 AS PART OF THE RECALL FOR THIS VEHICLE TO FURTHER EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE IMA BATTERY. SINCE THAT TIME, THE IMA BATTERY HAS FAILED TWICE. FIRST IN JAN 2012. THIS BATTERY WAS REPLACED UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS PART PROVIDED BY HONDA WHEN THEY INITIALLY IDENTIFIED THE ISSUE WITH THE IMA BATTERY. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED A SHORT 3-YEARS LATER. EACH TIME, THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL ABILITY TO ACCELERATE AND CREATES AN UNSAFE SITUATION WHEN TRYING TO MERGE OR PERFORM TURNS WHEN ACCELERATION IS NEEDED. EVEN THOUGH THE IMA BATTERY WAS ONLY 3-YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF THIS SECOND FAILURE, HONDA IS NOT COVERING THE FULL COST OF REPAIR. THE IMA SOFTWARE 'UPGRADE' HAS DONE NOTHING TO ADDRESS THE FAILURE RATE OF THE IMA BATTERY AND CREATES AN UNSAFE SITUATION WHEN ACCELERATION IN UNEXPECTEDLY LOST DUE TO DRASTIC POWER FLUCTUATIONS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 20 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGED FROM THE ENGINE. WHEN ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED, THE ENGINE WOULD FREELY REV TO THE REDLINE BUT THERE WAS NO MOVEMENT OF THE CAR. THE CAR WAS GOING UP A HILL WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE CAR WAS ROLLED BACKWARD, ALMOST INTO TRAFFIC AT A BUSY INTERSECTION. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. AT THE DEALER BIG ISLAND HONDA, THEY DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE MALFUNCTION AND COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. WE DROVE THE CAR HOME. THE NEXT DAY WE DROVE IT AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM FLARED UP AGAIN. THIS TIME WE MANAGED TO GET IT TO THE DEALER IN TIME WHILE RISKING OUR LIVES TO GET IT THERE. HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED AND THE CAR WASN'T RELEASED TO US WHEN THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THE ISSUE COULD INDEED CONTRIBUTE TO CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE SHUTTING DOWN ALL ENGINE OPERATION WHILE DRIVING! I WAS SHOCKED SINCE I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER WHO UNDERSTANDS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN MACHINES. THEY TOOK TWO WEEKS TO DIAGNOSE ISSUE AND REPLACE COMPUTER CHIP. IS THIS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, DESIGN FAILURE, OR LIFE ENDANGERING MALFUNCTION? *TR

DURING OCT 2013 I BEGAN TO SEE THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT COME ON SPORADICALLY. ASKED THE HONDA DEALER TO INVESTIGATE AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS NOT ON ALL THE TIME. I WENT TO ANOTHER MECHANIC THAT I USE AND THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND SAID IT WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I PAID $2289.17 TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG AND HARNESS. I WANT HONDA TO VERIFY THE CURRENT AIRBAGS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL, I WANT HONDA TO VERIFY THE REPLACEMENT AIRBAG IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL AND I WANT TO BE REIMBURSED FOR MY AIRBAG REPLACEMENT DUE TO A DEFECTIVE AIRBAG THAT HONDA IGNORED WHEN I RAISED THE ISSUE AT THEIR REPAIR FACILITY IN TARRYTOWN NEW YORK. I HAVE ALSO WRITTEN TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO, INC IN TORRANCE, CA. AND AM AWAITING THEIR RESPONSE.

DUE TO POOR PERFORMANCE AFTER A RECENT HONDA IMA HYBRID BATTERY SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE ELECTRONIC BATTERY HAD TURNED ITSELF OFF IN ORDER TO EXTEND ITS LIFE. WHEN THE BATTERY TURNED OFF, THE PRIMARY ELECTRONIC BRAKES WERE ALSO TURNED OFF. WHEN AN ACCIDENT HAPPENED ON THE OPPOSING DIRECTION OF TRAFFIC, IT SENT DEBRIS ACROSS THE FREEWAY BARRIER INTO MY LANE. I ATTEMPTED TO DECREASE MY SPEED IN ORDER TO MANEUVER AROUND THE DEBRIS, BUT I DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT BRAKING POWER. IF THE BRAKES WERE NOT DISABLED IN ORDER TO EXTEND THE BATTERY LIFE AND DECREASE HONDA OF AMERICA'S FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE BATTERIES UNDER WARRANTY, I WOULD NOT HAVE RAN OVER THE DEBRIS THAT ALMOST SENT ME STRAIGHT INTO THE MEDIAN WALL. I HAD SEEN THE ACCIDENT WITH PLENTY OF TIME TO SLOW DOWN AND I WOULD HAVE MADE IT SAFELY AROUND THE DEBRIS IF I HAD PROPER WORKING BRAKES. THE BRAKES REMAIN INTERMITTENT SOMETIMES WORKING AS THEY SHOULD, OTHER TIMES NOT AT ALL AS STATED ABOVE. *TR

THE GAS TANK STARTED LEAKING AND I FOUND OUT THERE WAS NOT A RECALL BUT THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THE GAS TANK IN WHICH HONDA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS AND 120,000 MILES. HONDA KNOWS THERE ARE DEFECTIVE GAS TANKS AND WILL NOT REPLACE THEM IF THE CAR HAS OVER 120,000. WHAT DOES MILEAGE HAVE TO DO WITH A GAS TANK THAT JUST HANGS UNDER A CAR THAT HAS SO LITTLE GROUND CLEARANCE YOU WOULD GET STUCK ON A ROUGH ROAD. THEY KNOW THE GAS TANKS WILL LEAK AND BECOME DANGEROUS AND YET THEY WON'T REPLACE THEM AND GET THEM OFF THE ROAD. *TR

FLASHING IGNITION "IMMOBILIZER" LIGHT - SYSTEM CODE "C-1": WITH LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE, OR A DISCONNECTED OR "DEAD" BATTERY, VEHICLE CANNOT BE STARTED, EITHER BY "JUMP STARTING" OR REPLACING THE 12V CAR BATTERY. THIS IS DUE TO A DEFECT, IN ALL "J VIN" CIVIC HYBRIDS, ON THE MICU BOARD LOCATED IN THE UNDER-DASH FUSE RELAY BOX. DEFECT RESULTS IN THE ELECTRONIC KEY CODES BEING LOST WITH LOW OR NO 12V IGNITION SYSTEM VOLTAGE. THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER TO HAVE ALL KEYS (CAR COMES WITH 3 SETS OF KEYS) REPROGRAMMED TO THE IGNITION IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM. ONLY A HONDA DEALER CAN PERFORM THIS OPERATION. BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECT, VEHICLE OPERATOR AND ANY PASSENGERS CAN BE LEFT STRANDED AND IN AN UNSAFE POSITION. THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO A DEALER, IF AVAILABLE, TO HAVE THE IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM REPROGRAMMED. HONDA WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER TO PERFORM THIS OPERATION BECAUSE OF SECURITY AND VEHICLE THEFT CONCERNS. DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE IMMOBILIZER FAILURE, THIS CAN BE A LIFE THREATENING SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE VEHICLE OPERATOR, DEPENDING ON WHERE AND WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS. IN ADDITION, ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS REQUIRING THE VEHICLE BATTERY TO BE DISCONNECTED, WILL RESULT IN AN INOPERABLE VEHICLE AND REQUIRE THAT THE VEHICLE CAR KEYS BE REPROGRAMMED, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THE PLANNED MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR AND THE KEY REPROGRAMMING WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE AT ONLY A HONDA DEALER.

MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN DRIVING A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID; AFTER ABOUT A MONTH AND HALF, EVERYTIME SHE FILLS UP THE GAS TANK. THERE'S A ORDER/SMELL OF GASOLINE. SOMETIME IN DECEMBER, WE TOOK THE CAR TO ELK GROVE HONDA FOR THE SMELL OF GASOLINE. ELK GROVE HONDA SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD US; WE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE FUEL TANK COSTING ABOUT $800.00. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH; THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED, ON 12-19-11 GAS LEAKS WITH 2006-2011 HONDA CIVIC HYBRIDS FUEL TANKS. HOWEVER, IN THE ARTICLE, HONDA IS NOT DOING A RECALL BUT EXTENDING THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES. MY DAUGHTER'S CAR IS NOT TEN YEARS OLD BUT IS OVER THE 120,000 MILES AND NOW WE ARE SUBJECTED TO PAYING THE ENORMOUS $800.00 BILL TO FIX, THE ACKNOWLEDGED HONDA PROBLEM. HOW CAN WE GET HONDA TO PAY FOR THE LEAKING FUEL AND HAVE MY DAUGHTER DRIVE A SAFE CARE? *TR