There are 4 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2009 Honda Civic Hybridin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
VEHICLE FAILS TO ACCELERATE AND SHUTS DOWN AS MOVING THROUGH INTERSECTIONS. THIS HAS NEARLY CAUSED A CRASH. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES BELIEVE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE BATTERIES, ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. THE BATTERIES FAIL TO DRIVE THE ELECTRIC MOTORS, THE GAS ENGINE DOES NOT ENGAGE AND FOR SOME REASON IT WILL SHUT COMPLETELY OFF. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT DETECT A CODE OR DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED ON MANY SITES (INCLUDING THIS ONE). THERE IS A RECALL ON THE BATTERIES BUT HONDA DOES NOT WANT TO CHANGE OUT THE BATTERIES. THIS NEEDS TO BE A FORCED RECALL BEFORE PEOPLE GET HURT OR KILLED.
NOTICED ABOUT A WEEK AGO THAT THERE WAS A WHINING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE WHILE IN GEAR. IT DOESN'T MAKE THE NOISE IN PARK OR NEUTRAL OR WHEN AT A STOP AND THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF. TOOK IT TO DCH HONDA IN TEMECULA,CA AND AFTER AN HOUR THEY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME MY TRANSMISSION IS BAD AND IT WILL COST ME $5250 TO GET A NEW ONE INSTALLED. I HAD THE IMA BATTERY REPLACED LAST YEAR WITH LESS THAN 40K MILES ON THE CAR. STILL ONLY GET 38 MPG AVG. ON HIGHWAY. *TR
ABOUT 2 YEARS AFTER PURCHASING OUR 2009 CIVIC HYBRID, IT BEGAN TO HAVE SERIOUS ACCELERATION ISSUES. THE PROBLEMS APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE TRACTION BATTERY CHARGE LEVEL, AND IT IS WORSE WHEN AMBIENT TEMPS ARE HIGH. THE FAULT IS THAT THE VEHICLE WILL UNPREDICTABLY FAIL TO ACCELERATE, AS THE TRACTION ENGINE REFUSES TO ASSIST, AND THE GASOLINE ENGINE AND CVT BARELY ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE UNTIL RPMS GET UP HIGHER. AFTER GETTING A WARRANTY REPLACEMENT OF THE BATTERY, THE SITUATION WAS MUCH IMPROVED, BUT NOW AS THE VEHICLE AGES THE PROBLEM IS BACK, AND WORSE THAN EVER. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONFIDENTLY MERGE INTO TRAFFIC, AS THE VEHICLE IS DANGEROUSLY ERRATIC IN PERFORMANCE. *TR
THE CAR HAS A PROPENSITY TO LURCH FORWARD AT LOW SPEEDS. WHEN MAKING A TURN OR STOPPING AT A LIGHT THE ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY WILL REV AND THRUST THE VEHICLE FORWARD. IF THE DRIVER IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE OR PREPARED FOR THIS TENDENCY, THE VEHICLE CAN THRUST FORWARD AND STRIKE WHATEVER IS IN ITS PATH. THE SECOND PROBLEM THAT I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IS THAT THE VEHICLE USES A MALFUNCTIONING INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) FEATURE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO GIVE THE VEHICLE EXTRA POWER TO ENTER A HIGHWAY AND SAFELY MERGE WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS FEATURE IS UNRELIABLE AND CAN LEAVE THE VEHICLE AND DRIVER IN A POSITION OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH POWER TO SAFELY MERGE WITH HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC. THIS DIFFERENTIAL IN SPEED IS VERY UNSAFE. IN 2011 I HAD THE LI BATTERY FOR MY HYBRID VEHICLE REPLACED. THIS BATTERY FAILED IN LESS THAN A YEAR. I WAS TOLD BY THE SENIOR MECHANIC AT THE HONDA DEALERSHIP THAT HONDA CORPORATION WAS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT. AND THAT HONDA KNOWINGLY REPLACED THE LI BATTERIES LAST YEAR WITH KNOWN DEFECTIVE BATTERIES AS A QUICK FIX TO APPEASE CUSTOMERS. THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, AND I BELIEVE THAT HONDA IS INTENTIONALLY NOT DISCLOSING THE TRUE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM WITH THESE HYBRID VEHICLES. I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF THE HONDA CIVIC HYBRIDS ARE EXPERIENCING A HIGHER THAN NORMAL ACCIDENT RATE DUE TO ENGINE SURGING AT LOW SPEEDS AND INABILITY TO SAFELY MERGE WITH HIGHWAY TRAFFIC BECAUSE OF LOSS OF POWER DUE TO THE IMA SYSTEM. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026