2005 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID Complaints

ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THIS CAR HAS ACCELERATED DANGEROUSLY WHEN I WAS APPLYING THE BRAKES, INCLUDING AT INTERSECTIONS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED BEFORE. *TR

I WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION ON 1/13/2014. MY CAR WAS TOTALED AND MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THIS CAUSED EXTENSIVE INJURY TO MYSELF, IN WHICH I WAS ON LIFE SUPPORT AND IN A COMMA FOR ALMOST TWO DAYS, HOSPITALIZED FOR A WEEK. THE VEHICLE WAS SO DAMAGED THAT THE TOWING COMPANY EXPRESSED THEIR BEWILDERMENT THAT THE AIR BAGS HAD NOT DEPLOYED. THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS TAKING THE VEHICLE TO A SECURE LOCATION TO BE EXAMINED AND EVALUATED. I AM FORTUNATE TO BE ALIVE, BUT AM CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS. I OWN A HONDA FOR THE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY, I NOW QUESTION THAT SAFETY FACTOR. *TR

A FRIEND WAS DRIVING US BACK HOME ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS OF 55-65 MILES PER HOUR, GETTING ON AN OFF RAMPS. SHE IS AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME SHE HAD DRIVEN MY CAR. SHE TOLD ME THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY WOBBLY, THE CAR WAS SHAKING AND SHE FELT SHE HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE; SHE HAD TROUBLE STEERING. I HAD SEVERAL INCIDENTS AFTER THAT WHEN I HAD START-UP/JUDDER VIBRATION AND EXTREME GRINDING WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. IT FELT LIKE THE CAR WAS SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR. HONDA DETERMINED THE CVT TRANSMISSION WAS BAD; IT WAS CLASSIFIED AS SLIP/JUDDER IN HONDA'S SERVICE BULLETINS 07-049 AND 07-050 BUT I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE. HONDA PAID 50% OF THE COST OF REPLACING THE CLUTCH IN SEPTEMBER 2013 BUT THE SEVERE ACCELERATION/SLIPPING PROBLEMS CONTINUED AND WITHIN A WEEK OF HAVING THE CLUTCH REPLACED I SOLD THE CAR. I HAD BOUGHT IT USED WITH 28K MILES ON IT; I SOLD IT WHEN IT HAD 41K MILES (I HAD DRIVEN IT ONLY 12K MILES IN SIX YEARS AND TOOK A BIG LOSS ON THE SALE). I WAS AFRAID I WOULD HAVE A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT IN IT AS IT WAS ABSOLUTELY UNSAFE. WHEN I TOLD HONDA I WAS STILL HAVING THESE PROBLEMS AFTER THE CLUTCH REPLACEMENT THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER AGAIN; THIS HAD BEEN FOUR MONTHS OF DEALING WITH CVT TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND I HAD SPENT ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF TIME ON TRYING TO FIX A KNOWN CIVIC HYBRID DEFECT SO I TRADED IN THE CAR. *TR

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, I NOTICE MY CAR WOULD SHUDDER/ JUDDER WHEN IT STARTS TO DRIVE/GO. THEN I READ ONLINE THAT IT IS HAPPENING TO QUITE A FEW CARS FROM 2003 TO 2005 EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM. I BOUGHT A EXTEND WARRANTY (7 YEARS) BUT THE HONDA DEALERSHIP WILL NOT HONOR ANYTHING ANYMORE. I RECOMMEND THERE JUST BE A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE. IT'S DANGEROUS SITUATION. HTTP://TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM/DIRECT/VIEW/.F0B3259/0. *TR

IN 2007 A HONDA DEALERSHIP CONDUCTED UPGRADES TO MY 2005 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID COMPUTER SYSTEM WITHOUT MY CONSENT. IT WAS IN THE DEALERSHIP FOR RECALL NOTICES. IMMEDIATELY MY GAS MILEAGE WENT FROM 52MPG TO 26MPG. THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE UPGRADE TO THE COMPUTER SYSTEM SHOULD NOT HAVE DIMINISHED THE MPG. 2012 THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT IN THE CAR, I GOT THE RUN AROUND BY THE DEALERSHIP ON WHY THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. I WAS MISDIRECTED BY A TRANSMISSION COMPANY THAT SAID THEY COULD REBUILD MY TRANSMISSION. THE HONDA DEALERSHIP HAD TO STEP IN TO TRACK DOWN ISSUES WITH THE NEW TRANSMISSION. HONDA REFUSED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR BAD TRANSMISSION PARTS. 2013 THE IMA AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ARE ON. I AM UNABLE TO REGISTER MY VEHICLE DUE TO THE IMA AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DISQUALIFY MY CAR FROM PASSING A SMOG TEST. THE 2007 COMPUTER SYSTEM UPGRADE CAUSED MY IMA SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION FOR YEARS BY NOT HOLDING A CHARGE CAUSING LOW MPG. NOW THE IMA/BATTERY PACK IS MALFUNCTIONING TO THE POINT IT HAS TO BE REPLACED. HONDA REFUSES TO ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THEIR MISTAKES AND FIX MY IMA SYSTEM. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION STARTED "JUDDERING" (SLIPPING FROM START) EARLY ON AT AROUND 30K MILES. THE FLUID WAS THEN CHANGED AND IT WOULD BE FINE UNTIL AROUND 60K WHEN IT STARTED DOING IT AGAIN. WHEN THE CAR IS COLD, THE OCCURRENCE SEEM TO LESS THAN WHEN IT'S DRIVEN AFTER A FEW MILES. THE CAR NOW HAS 95K ON IT, AND THE SLIPPAGE AND JUDDERING" IS NOW MORE PRONOUNCED AND LOUDER SPECIALLY ON INCLINES, UP OR DOWN. *TR

MY CAR HAS WHAT HONDA CALLS A SLIP AND JUDDER THAT OCCURS FROM TRANSMISSION FAILURE UPON ACCELERATION FROM STOP. HONDA ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE FIRST GENERATION MODELS OF THE CIVIC HYBRID ('03-'05) IN JAPAN TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, BUT ONLY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE ONE'S IN THE UNITED STATES. THE FIX THAT HONDA RECOMMENDS WILL NOT ACTUALLY REMEDIATE THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THEY RECOMMEND BURNISHING THE STARTER CLUTCH AND CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. INDEPENDENT MECHANICS HAVE RECOMMENDED A NEW STARTER CLUTCH AND NEW BEARINGS, AN OBVIOUSLY MORE EXPENSIVE FIX. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT HONDA CHOSE TO USE A CVT THAT CANNOT HANDLE THE LOAD OF MORE THAN ONE PASSENGER IN A CAR ACCELERATING ON A FLAT OR DECLINE ROAD. THE CVT FAILS WHEN THE LOAD ON THE TRANSMISSION IS EXACERBATED BY MORE THAN ONE PASSENGER AND UPHILL DRIVING. THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAN BE DANGEROUS ACCELERATING ON AN ONRAMP TO A HIGHWAY, AS IN MY CASE. COMPLAINTS OF THE CVT ISSUE WERE NOT HARD TO COME ACROSS ON AUTOMOTIVE RELATED WEBSITES. SOME OF THE COMPLAINANTS HAD ISSUES AT 100,000 MILES, OTHERS AT ONLY 20,000. THE NHTSA SHOULD EXAMINE THIS ISSUE FURTHER FOR THE SAFETY OF FIRST GENERATION HONDA CIVIC HYBRID OWNERS. *TR

ON 26 FEBRUARY 2013, HONDA OF POWAY, CA PERFORMED CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES (DMV) MANDATED SERVICE #R83 REQUIRED TO REGISTER MY CAR FOR THE 2013 YEAR. THE MANDATED SERVICE WAS A SOFTWARE UPGRADE FOR MY VEHICLE'S IMA BATTERY. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN DIRECTLY HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES. ON 28 FEBRUARY 2013, I HAD DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES WHEN THE IMA AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. I CONTACTED HONDA OF POWAY THAT SAME MORNING AND WAS INFORMED BY COLLIN AT THE SERVICE DESK THAT MY IMA BATTERY HAD EITHER FAILED OR WAS IN THE PROCESS OF FAILING AND THAT THE IMA FAILURE WAS AN UNFORTUNATE COINCIDENCE COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE THAT THE DEALERSHIP HAD PERFORMED TWO DAYS PRIOR. MY VEHICLE IS AN ULTRA-LOW EMISSIONS VEHICLE (ULEV), IT IS APPARENTLY NOT COVERED UNDER THE CALIFORNIA EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 10 YEARS/150,000 MILES. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE ON THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS NEARLY IDENTICAL TO MINE, INCLUDING ONE COMPLAINT PREVIOUSLY FILED WITH THE NHTSA. I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THIS NOT BEING A WARRANTY ISSUE AND AM FORMALLY SUBMITTING A COMPLAINT AGAINST HONDA FOR A WELL-KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED MANUFACTURER DEFECT THAT THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND RESOLVE. *TR

2005 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE AND SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS AND AN INVESTIGATION OF DEALERSHIP. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THREE DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, IT STARTING SHAKING WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 55 MPH. THE CONSUMER RETURNED TO THE DEALER, WHERE THEY ROTATED THE TIRES AND INSULATED THE PILLAR. FOUR MONTHS LATER, THE CONSUMER RETURNED TO THE DEALER, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL SHAKING. THE DEALER PERFORMED AN OIL CHANGE. THE FOLLOWING MONTH, AS THE CONSUMERS DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE, ALL OF THE OIL LEAKED OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED THE DEALER, WHERE THEY OIL PAN WAS REPLACED, DUE TO IT BEING STRIPPED OUT. THE AC COMPRESSOR CLUTCH WAS REPLACED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT RAIN PENETRATED THROUGH THE TRUNK, REAR PASSENGERS SEAT AND THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 117,000.