2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Complaint Log

THE VEHICLES BATTERY HAS FAILED AND THE CAR DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO SAFELY PULL INTO INTERSECTIONS OR INCOMING TRAFFIC. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL NEAR MISSES DUE TO THIS ISSUE. WE ARE TERRIFIED WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE. *TR

HONDA DID A RECALL ON THE SOFTWARE, SUPPOSEDLY TO SAVE THE HYBRID BATTERIES FOR EARLY FAILURE. AFTER THE CHANGE THE CAR EXPERIENCED LES MILES PER GALLON GAS EFFICIENCY, AND WORSE, THE CAR'S ACCELERATION WAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED. NOW WHEN I TRY TO ENTER A FREEWAY I FEEL I AM TAKING MY LIFE IN MY OWN HAND. IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET UP TO SPEED QUICKLY ENOUGH TO MATCH TRAFFIC. ALSO WHEN I TRY TO CROSS TRAFFIC LANES FROM A STOP SIGN OR LIGHT I AM FEARFUL THE CAR WILL ACCELERATE QUICKLY ENOUGH TO GET ACROSS. I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE, I FELT IT WAS SAFER! *TR

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) BATTERY IS FAILING PREMATURELY ON MY CAR, THE ASSIST WORKS SPORADICALLY. WHEN PASSING TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY I HAVE TO REALLY MASH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, BECAUSE THE ASSIST IS ABSENT FOR LACK OF POWER. HONDA INSTALLED A SOFTWARE FIX(BULLETIN 10-034) THAT GREATLY REDUCES THE BATTERY ABILITY TO FUNCTION AT FULL CAPACITY, SO THEY COULD MAKE THE BATTERY LAST LONGER AND NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY. I GET THE CODE P0A7F (ONE OF THE BLOCKS IN THE BATTERY PACK HAS DETERIORATED: ITS DYNAMIC RESISTANCE IS TOO HIGH) ON MY CAR COMPUTER. HONDA ERASED IT MANUALLY AND SENT ME HOME WITHOUT REPLACING MY IMA BATTERY. WHEN COMING TO A STOP THE CAR SURGES AS I MAKE A COMPLETE STOP, BECAUSE THE CAR IS REGENERATING POWER TO REPLENISH THE SPENT BATTERY. THE SO CALLED PATCH 10-034 IS REALLY MAKING THE CAR UNSTABLE TO DRIVE, THE ENGINE REEVES VERY HIGH WITHOUT MUCH POWER PRODUCED IN PASSING OR ENTERING HIGHWAYS SITUATIONS. WHEN THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE, A LITTLE TOUCH OF THE GAS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO PASS TRAFFIC OR CLIMB STEEP HILLS. NOW THE ASSIST ONLY WORKS SOMETIMES AND KEEPS ME GUESSING IF I WILL HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO PASS OR NOT. THE IMA BATTERY IS DEFINITELY NOT UP TO THE JOB. *TR

I'M A HONDA CIVIC HYBRID OWNER (2006). I HAVE NOT REPORTED THE LACK OF ACCELERATION TO MY DEALER, ASSUMING THAT WAS THE LOW POWER OF THE CAR DUE TO THE HYBRID NATURE. THE LACK OF ACCELERATION AT TIMES WHEN IT'S NEEDED HAS PUT ME IN UNSAFE SITUATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, MY HYBRID DOES NOT CONSISTENTLY AUTO STOP AS DESIGNED. *TR

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO SHARE MY CONCERNS OVER THE SAFETY OF THE 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID THAT WE PURCHASED NEW FROM A DEALER. THE CAR PERFORMED WELL FOR A FEW YEARS, UNTIL HONDA DECIDED TO TELL ME TO GO TO THE DEALER AND "UPGRADE" THE SOFTWARE CONTROLLING THE HYBRID MOTOR-BATTERY SYSTEM. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE CAR WAS UTTERLY DEVOID OF POWER, AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE WHEN MERGING ON THE FREEWAY, EVEN WHEN DRIVING ALONE WITHOUT OTHER WEIGHT IN THE CAR. IF I DRIVE MY TWO YOUNG CHILDREN WITH ME, IT'S VERY SCARY AS THE CAR MUST BE ABSOLUTELY FLOORED THE ENTIRE TIME WHILE MERGING. NO DOUBT THIS IS STRONGLY AFFECTING THE FUEL ECONOMY OF THE CAR AS WELL, AS IT GETS ONLY IN THE MID 30S, WHEN ORIGINALLY ADVERTISED MUCH HIGHER. ALSO, I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYONE EVER BUYING THIS CAR WITH THE PATHETIC LEVEL OF POWER IT EXHIBITS, THEREFORE THE RESALE VALUE IS NOW NEXT TO NOTHING. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE A SOFTWARE DOWNGRADE AND GET BACK TO ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE, BUT HONDA TELLS ME THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR WHATEVER REASON. I URGE YOU TO BEGIN OR CONTINUE AN INVESTIGATION CONCERNING THE DETRIMENTAL SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID SOFTWARE UPDATE. **03/01/2012 UPDATED BF UPDATED 03/16/12 *TR