Software problems of the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid

At the end of October 2012, I began to have issues with the ima battery failing on my Honda Civic Hybrid (2009). I took it to the local Honda shop, and the battery failed because of high voltage and deterioration. The software update was tried first. Within 5 miles, the battery failed again. The car stopped using the hybrid motor, so I had no assist when I was pulling into traffic. The gas engine revved, but it did not move the car. I was in the middle of a busy road with an 85 hp engine that was revving high but going nowhere. I got lucky that I could go into reverse. The next day, I tried to return the vehicle to the shop, but the car and battery were acting funny again. I would get a green light for the battery to charge, the white lights would indicate an assist, but the car would not go in reverse, and it would rev high but not go forward. That car and its flawed battery and horrible software update could have killed me. That combination indicates a serious design and engineering flaw. It took three days to get a new battery, and that new battery is the third for this car.

I own a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. I've had issues with low power and halting acceleration due to low battery conditions accompanied with the dash engine light coming on. Honda dealership has applied software updates to my vehicle to address this twice, but those simply trade mileage for battery life, degrading the value of a hybrid. I believe that the ima battery has known problems and that Honda is not addressing the issue. I'm afraid to merge onto highways with a low battery due to the lack of power and acceleration.

Ima battery is defective, wears out earlier than designed, causes dangerously slow episodes of being able to accelerate from a stand still and accelerate to merge with highway speed traffic. Gets horrible fuel mileage, no where as advertised, especially in very hot weather. */01/2012 updated bf the consumer stated the ima battery light illuminated. The dealer suggested a software upgrade update. When the consumer turned the vehicle off, and back on again, the light did not illuminate. Updated 03/16/12.

Honda is calling in hch owners for a software update to "preserve the battery. " the result of this software update essentially shuts the ima battery down frequently, leaving the car to run on just the motor which was intended to run with the ima. Aside from the "switch and bate" issues (mileage dropped below a standard civic), the safety issue involved is a frequent lack of acceleration capability, especially on an incline or merging into traffic.

I currently am the lessee of a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid starting this January, the hybrid battery charge level goes from almost full (8-10 out of 10 bars) to virtually zero (1 bar) every other week (the technical term for this is a "recall" or recalibrating). This summer, it started happening every 3-4 days, and whenever I had the a/c on. Then, it started to happen every 100 miles (which made it very predictable). The problem is that when in the 'recall' state, the car is almost unresponsive and does not accelerate much, if at all. This poses a safety hazard especially when making left turns when the oncoming traffic has a blind spot, or is coming around a corner. It also impacts fuel efficiency substantially. I have seen about a 7 mile-per-gallon drop in fuel economy. I took the car to the dealer who told me that there were no codes in the system but there were 3 software updates, so they installed those and that if I still had the problem, to come back. I still have the problem so I schedule the appointment and I take the mechanic for a test drive and he sees the charge drop rapidly and states that it's completely normal. I argue that is happens too often and he still says "it's fine. " about 3 weeks later the ima light and 'check engine' light come on. Turns out, it was a blown fuse (for the a/c electric drive, fuse #22) so they replace it, and tell me that they checked the current draw on the a/c just to be safe and claimed everything was fine. Now, about 2 weeks later, every time I start the car it does a recall. This is beyond annoying and now I'm starting to see drops of about 10 mpg because of this problem, as opposed to the previous 6 or 7. I'm thinking that Honda knows that their nimh battery cells are prone to premature failure and will not do anything to fix the issue.

Tl * the contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated that the electronic motor assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the battery was replaced and the software was updated. The contact noticed after repairs that the vehicle would drive sluggish and there was limited acceleration power. He stated that the electronic motor assist did not assist with the acceleration of the vehicle as intended. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was 11,962. Updated 12/08/10.