Civic Hybrid, don't buy one: here's why:

[seangerner]

Hey all,

Before you read this story and decide to spam me keep in mind that I keep my tire pressure optimal, I don't drive like an idiot, I get ALL necessary maintence done when needed, etc.

I have a 2006 HCH. The car is a joke and so is Honda corporate. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT PURCHASING ONE BECAUSE THE ADDED COST OF THE CAR WILL DEFINITELY NOT PAY YOU BACK IN GAS MILEAGE OVER A 5YEAR TIME PERIOD OR OVER A LIFETIME FOR THAT MATTER.

Thought I would post on here a quick synopsis of my Honda story. For the first 50,000 miles my car got roughly 42-45mpg on average. Then over a 2-3 week time period it drastically decreased and is only getting 32-34mpg on average.

1. I took my car to local dealership and told there was not a problem. I thought to myself ok it's not too bad yet I will just keep an eye on it. Of course it got worse, so...

2. Take my car back to dealership. They tell me they duplicated my issue. Called Honda tech line who told them they were working on a car with almost the same issue. Tech line told them they replaced the battery and loaded new software into the car but neither one fixed the problem. The dealership's resolution was to WAIT for a fix? Hmmm.

3. Called honda corporate. Was told to get a "second opinion" so I took my car to the only other dealership in Tucson, AZ (Dobbs Honda) who told me they also duplicated my problem, called Honda tech line, Tech line faxed them a Questionnaire surrounding my problem that I needed to fill out so they could fax back to them and then I needed to wait.

4. Called Honda corporate back, was asssigned a case manager who I spoke with about my IMA issues and he said he would talk to the dealerships and tech line then get back to me within 1 week. He called me back and told me my car was "operating within normal circumstances" and that there was nothing wrong with it. Heat can cause it to start its safety feature which automatically turns itself off so it doesnt get damaged, etc. He also told me to read page 76 (I think that's the page) of my manual.

5. I stayed in contact with him (Morris is his name, my case manager) over several months, continued calling and expressing my dissatisfaction. Finally today he called me back again and I had a rather lengthy discussion with him. Told him I wanted either my car replaced or a $4000 credit applied to the remainder of my loan because if I wanted Civic EX gas mileage then I would have purchased a Civic EX for $4000 less than a Hybrid. He basically told me to screw myself, wouldn't give me his supervisor's name and extension, etc, etc, etc. He and Honda corporate are a joke.

I told him I was going to no longer purchase Honda products, no longer refer people to Honda, no longer get my 2 Honda's serviced at Honda dealerships, file a NHTSA safety complaint, file a BBB complaint because I was blatantly lied to regarding Honda tech line's MYTH car that EVERYONE is told they have worked on, consistently send letters to corporate, my local dealership, and finally contact KGUN 9 News on your side here in Tucson, AZ to try and get my story aired.

Thanks for listening to my story,
Sean
Tucson, AZ


P.S. - This is a shortened version of my story, but if there are others out there who have a defective IMA motor/battery and have gotten similar treatment from Honda corporate and local dealerships I would highly suggest doing some of your own research. There are plenty of consumers out there being given the runaround from Honda just like I have. Multiple people have posted safety complaints with NHTSA. You can go to their website and check for yourself.

Here are a couple of complaint id #'s: 10241683 and 10254417

[Godiva]

Be sure you actually follow through.

And you might consider getting rid of that Honda and buying a Prius.

[dominicsavio]

Definately follow through. You might be lucky and find someone in Honda who would be as nice as you can imagine...

Its also a good idea to see if a similar forum exists for Honda/Hybrid etc so you can publicize this issue. Its definately something consumers need to be aware of...

[dogfriend]

Not a spam or a flame but I am curious about two things:

1. Did anyone at the dealer or Honda corporate ever explain the technical cause of the lower mpg? Is the battery capacity lower than before or is there a different cause?

2. What is the basis of the safety complaint to NHTSA? Does the car suddenly lose power or become otherwise unsafe to drive?

[KK6PD]

spamspamspam...oh its the Monty Python thing again, blast it....

Actually you seem t have a valid complaint. If you have boxes of paperwork to back your story, can prove you met all the maintenance requirements, you might have a good legal case. I would hope it does not come to that but sometimes a call from a lawyer can actually nudge the other party in line!

Any response from the HCH Chat areas, I would assume that you have visited your brothers and sisters there, what did they say?

I wish you luck, to steal a line from my one of my favorite movies ...

" Blade Runner. ...... LEON : I tell you, nothing is worse than having an itch you can never scratch. ..."

But when you get it worked out its going to feel good

73 de Pat KK6PD

[snead_c]

Sean, keep the faith and keep up your documentation. Honestly and accurately publicizing your plight is a good move. Remember you're ahead of the game with your previous mpg and while current is lower it's still better than most.
It might be time to get a new paint job...Lemon Yellow then check out the 2010 Prius !

[Tideland Prius]

Check out any Honda sites and see if anyone has a similar issue with the battery. You can try GreenHybrid.com. Sorry about your situation.

[hobbit]

Can you point us to the Honda forum where you posted the same
rant with the word "Prius" simply substituted in?
.
_H*

[RobH]

The symptoms sound like the battery system is defective. The agency/corporate is either incapable of diagnosing the problem, or stiffing you because a battery replacement would be expensive.

I don't know about the Honda, but the Prius has a 100,000 mile (150,000 in California) warranty on the battery. Sounds like a warranty issue to me. At least in California, the warranty is not an optional item; it is required by law.

Honda is generally a very responsible car company. If you can clarify the issues and get them presented to the right people, I would expect them to repair the car. So far you're getting lower level trash from people who don't want to get stuck with a big ticket repair. Try to contain your venom, and just present the facts in a firm manner to more people in the Honda corporate tree. If the battery warranty is like the Prius (as I would expect), then you have a legal case against them.

[cycledrum]

Oooh, that's not fun at all.

I hope you get everything documented, then get the help and repairs you need.