2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID Complaints

BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW. I WON'T EVEN GO INTO THE RIDICULOUS 49/51 MPG WINDOW STICKER THAT IS A BLATANT LIE BUT THAT DOES PLAY INTO MY COMPLAINT AS YOU WILL SEE. HONDA, AFTER RECEIVING COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE BATTERY PACK AND HAVING PROBLEMS WITH IT, HAS THIS BRAINSTORM TO REFLASH OR REPROGRAM THE COMPUTER/BATTERY PACK AS PART OF A RECALL THIS PAST YEAR. THIS WAS DONE AT MY LAST OIL CHANGE. PRIOR TO THAT TIME MY SOLE COMPLAINT WITH MY CAR WAS THAT THE MPG AVERAGED ABOUT 35MPG PERIOD. SINCE THIS LAST RECALL AND REPROGRAM NOT ONLY HAS MY FUEL ECONOMY GONE DOWN BUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CAR IS ESSENTIALLY UNSAFE FROM A STOPPED POSITION. LET'S FACE IT, THE CAR NEVER WAS A NASCAR BUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN IT WAS NOT A GOLF CAR EITHER. NOW WHEN STARTING OUT FROM A STOPPED POSITION, WHETHER AT A STOP LIGHT OR ANYWHERE AND WHETHER THE MOTOR HAS SHUT OFF OR NOT, THE HYBRID IS SO BOGGED DOWN THAT I HONESTLY BELIEVE MY GOLF CAR ACCELERATES BETTER AND MORE QUICKLY. LET'S SET THIS STRAIGHT TOO. I'M 41 AND NOT TRYING TO DRAG RACE I'M MERELY TRYING TO DRIVE THE CAR IN A NORMAL SAFE MANNER. AT TIMES IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS GOING TO LITERALLY DIE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN OR INTERSECTION WHICH CAN BE A BAD THING ONCE YOU COMMIT TO A TURN AND THERE'S A 53 FOOT 100,000LBS OF FUN COMING IN YOUR DIRECTION. HONDA HAS GOTTEN AWAY WITH IGNORING MY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE HYDROPLANING OF THIS VEHICLE, THE RIDICULOUSLY LOW FUEL ECONOMY, AND NOW THEY WILL LIKELY DO THE SAME WITH THEIR ATTEMPT AT MAKING THEIR BATTERY LAST LONGER WHICH HAS MADE THE VEHICLE LESS SAFE FOR ME AND MY WIFE AND KIDS. THIS "RECALL" WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A BATTERY LIFE EXTENDER TO PROTECT HONDA'S WALLET. HOW ABOUT REPLACING EVERYONE'S BATTERY ONCE FOR THE LIFE OF THE CAR? THAT'D MAKE SENSE TO ME...YOU KNOW...THE GUY THAT SHELLED OUT 24,000.00 FOR YOUR CAR EXPECTING TO RECEIVE MID TO UPPER 40'S IN FUEL ECONOMY. FIX IT. *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

AFTER MY 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID RECEIVED AN INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) SOFTWARE UPGRADE IN 2010, IF THE CAR IS PARKED FOR ONE DAY (SUCH AS A SUNDAY, IF I DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR) THE IMA BATTERY WILL DRAIN WITHIN ONE HALF MILE OF LEAVING MY HOME THE NEXT DAY, ON A LEVEL ROADWAY, EVEN IF THE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND RADIO ARE OFF TO REDUCE ELECTRICAL LOAD. FUEL ECONOMY ALSO DROPPED ABOUT 10 MPG AFTER THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE. WITHOUT IMA, THE CAR HAS SLOW FREEWAY ACCELERATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN TRAVELING UPHILL. THE HONDA DEALER SAYS THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE IMA SYSTEM LIGHT DOES NOT ILLUMINATE (OBD DOES NOT SHOW A FAULT) ALTHOUGH THE DEALER CAN REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM AFTER KEEPING THE CAR OVERNIGHT. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE IMA SOFTWARE UPGRADE DOES NOT PREVENT THE IMA LIGHT FROM ILLUMINATING WHEN THERE IS AN IMA BATTERY FAULT, THEREFORE NOT REQUIRING HONDA TO REPLACE THE IMA BATTERIES UNDER WARRANTY? *TR