2008 Honda Civic Hybrid Electrical System Problems

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED STATE INSPECTION BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL DEALER (DCH ACADEMY HONDA, 1101 U.S 9, OLD BRIDGE, NJ, 08857) WHERE THE P0A7F CODE APPEARED (HYBRID BATTERY FAILED). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED DUE TO THE PRICE OF THE PART. THE CONTACT ALSO HAD AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE FOR A SECOND OPINION. BOTH THE FAILURE AND PART COST WERE CONFIRMED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND ADVISED THE CONTACT TO KEEP CALLING THE DEALER. NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000.

VEHICLE MOVING IN TRAFFIC ON FREEWAY, ALL POWER LOST NOT ABLE TO MOVE AND INVOLVED IN ACCIDENT. CHP REPORT PENDING. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST BATTERY DEPLETED FROM FULL TO ONLY TWO BARS IN A MATTER OF SECONDS. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY RECHARGED IN APPROXIMATELY TWO MINUTES. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE OR REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 126,000.

THE CAR IS A HYBRID, IN WHICH HEAVILY RELIES ON A BATTERY. HOWEVER, THE BATTERY UNIT IS NOT SO GREAT AND DIES EVERY FEW YEARS. IF ONE DAY THE BATTERY DIES WHEN I'M DRIVING, IT CAN BE EXTREMELY HARD TO STEER AS IT ALSO POWERS THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS CAN CAUSE A INCIDENT IN THE ROAD OR AT AN INTERSECTION. MOREOVER IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO BE BUYING A NEW BATTERY EVERY FEW YEARS, SO PEOPLE REMOVE THE ERROR CODE AND SELL THE CAR, WHICH CAUSES THIS TO BECOME AN NEVER ENDING CHAIN.

NOW THE THING IS THAT I BOUGHT A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID FROM UK AND IMPORTED TO PAKISTAN . FEW DAYS BACK THE IMA LIGHT IN THE CAR CAME ON AND A WEEK LATER I WAS REAR ENDED BY A CAR WHICH WAS CAUSED DUE TO BATTERY NOT RESPONDING AND LOSS OF ACCELERATION MY DAD WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED . NOW I KNOW THAT THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED OUTSIDE USA SO YOU MAY SAY THAT IT IS OUT OF YOUR JURISDICTION BUT AS IAM DEVASTATED BY THE ACCIDENT AND YOU SEEM TO BE THE ONLY SOURCE WHICH CAN HAVE SOME SAY IN THE ISSUE AS HONDA CIVIC HYBRID IS VERY POPULAR CAR IN THE USA . GOD FORBID SAME THING COULD ALSO HAPPEN IN USA . SO I WANT YOU TO TAKE THESE DEATH MACHINES OF THE ROAD . P.S THE PHONE NUMBER IS FAKE BUT THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS MINE. *TR

AFTER YEARS OF POOR PERFORMANCE WITH THIS HYBRID, I DISCOVERED THAT MY IMA BATTERY WAS GOING BAD. HONDA HAD SOME RECALLS WHERE THEY INSTALLED A NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE, BUT IT DID NOTHING. AS A HONDA HYBRID OWNER, I BOUGHT A HYBRID BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT WAS THE PATRIOTIC THING TO DO AND HOPED THAT THE BENEFIT WOULD BE GREATER GAS MILEAGE. AS IT TURNS OUT, IT COSTS MORE INITIALLY THAN A REGULAR CIVIC, IS NO BETTER THAN A REGULAR CIVIC ON GAS MILEAGE AND THE IMA REPLACEMENT RUNS AROUND $3500. IF MY BATTERY DIES ON A DARK HIGHWAY I'M STUCK BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE PERFORMANCE IS NO BETTER THAN A REGULAR CIVIC, I HAVE TO HAVE THAT IMA FOR IT TO RUN. REALLY FEEL SCAMMED AND AT RISK. *TR

WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO ACCESS ON RAMP OF FREEWAY, THE BATTERY IMA HYBRID SYSTEM SUDDENLY WAS LOW CAUSING THE CAR TO HAVE LESS ACCELERATION THAN USUAL, MAKING MERGING WITH FASTER TRAFFIC UNSAFE. AFTER TAKING THE CAR IN FOR EVALUATION, THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER INDICATED THE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM WAS FAILING BUT NOT TO THE POINT THAT HONDA OF AMERICA WOULD REPLACE IT. THEY STATED THE BATTERY WOULD HAVE TO GET EVEN LOWER AND A DASH LIGHT OR CODE WOULD HAVE TO APPEAR. THE BATTERY/IMA/HYBRID SYSTEM IS COVERED UP TO 92000 MILES AND CANNOT BE REPLACED BY HONDA UNLESS THE ABOVE CONDITIONS ARE MET. THE SYSTEM IS POORLY ENGINEERED AND THE PROGRAM UPDATE ALLOWS THE BATTERY TO FUNCTION AT TOO LOW A LEVEL TO ALLOW ADEQUATE ACCELERATION. THANK YOU. *TR

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

ON OR AROUND 11/20/2011, THE CONTROL PANEL ON MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID LOST ALL POWER WHILE DRIVING ON IH-10 W IN HOUSTON, TX. AS A RESULT, I HAD NO INFORMATION ABOUT MY SPEED, FUEL LEVEL, RPM, ETC. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM WAS RELATED TO MY HYBRID BATTERY AS IT HAD TO BE REPLACED SHORTLY THEREAFTER. CURRENTLY, I AM HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE REPLACEMENT HYBRID BATTERY AND HONDA IS REFUSING TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM UNDER THE WARRANTY. I AM WRITING TO THE NHTSA IMPLORE IT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT ISSUES WITH HONDA'S HYBRID BATTERIES. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT THESE BATTERIES ARE FAILING AT A HIGH RATE AND THERE ARE SEVERAL CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS CONCERNING THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE BATTERIES. THIS PROBLEM IS WELL KNOWN TO HONDA AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE AS IT IS PUTTING PEOPLES' LIVES AT RISK. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE UNDER A MANUFACTURER'S RECALL FOR THE IMA BATTERY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER AFTER THE REPAIRS, THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED A HESITATION IN ACCELERATION POWER WHEN TRAVELING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS OR ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE UPHILL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

HONDA APPLIED A SOFTWARE PATCH TO EXTEND THE IMA BATTERY, DRIVING HOME FROM THE APPOINTMENT WHERE THEY UPDATED THE SOFTWARE I NOTICED THAT AT TIMES WHEN I GO TO ACCELERATE THE CAR WILL BOG DOWN AND HAVE NO SPEED. IT HAPPENS RANDOMLY, NO SET PATTERN, ITS A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN YOU ARE ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY AND YOU PULLED OUT TO PASS SOMEONE AND YOU HAVE NO POWER. OR YOU ARE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU LOSE POWER. THEN LIVING IN MINNESOTA HAVING THESE ISSUES WHEN YOU ON ICE IS DOWN RIGHT SCARY! WHEN YOU CAR DOES DECIDE TO GO YOU ALL SUDDEN LOSE CONTROL BECAUSE ITS ON ICE. HONDA HAS UPDATED THE SOFTWARE PATCH AGAIN AND THERE IS SOME IMPROVEMENT BUT STILL I CAN'T TRUST IT TO DRIVE IN RUSH HOUR SITUATIONS OR HAVE YOUNGER DRIVERS DRIVE MY CAR. NOW WHEN I COMPLAIN TO HONDA THEY TELL ME IT DRIVES THE WAY ITS DESIGNED, WELL IF THAT'S THE CASE ALL HONDA'S NEED TO BE TAKEN OFF THE ROAD BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY HURT. PLEASE HELP US HONDA DRIVERS WHO ARE STUCK WITH THIS CAR.... *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN THE HEAT, THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT IF THE BATTERY OVER HEATED IT WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO STALL AND THEY DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THAT WAS THE WAY THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000.