Headlights Problems of Honda Civic Hybrid

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. While driving 65 mph, the headlights shut off without warning. The contact drove with the high beams illuminated for the remainder of the trip. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 215,000.

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On 8-14-15 noticed right headlight out; may have been out before that. Shop replaced it on 8-14-15. It went out again within a few days. Noticed it only later again. Was able to return to shop 3/14/16; no ticket was done. Honda guy put hand behind light and said "the connector wasn't turned all the way. " light went out again within a few days. After talking to manager, dropped it off 5/23/16, manager arrived later; he and other staff denied light was out when they took the car. The light was back on (they must have done something. ) the light stayed on only for one day. Next day light was out again. Once it's out, it stays out until a workman does something to bring it back on. Without this light, I can't pass state inspection; moreover, it is dangerous to drive on rainy days or at night because cars don't see the passenger side of my car. Honda put the light on and made me pass the inspection, but their remedy is only temporary. Why doesn't Honda fix this problem? why do they tell me it's been on when they got the car, when I know it's been out? I do not want to return to the shop if all they do is lie and not fix the problem. I need to see if this problem is related to the 2007 recall on Civic Hybrids for "DC-DC converter diode". This failure will cause the headlights to turn off, among other more risky things, as the problem develops. I did not ask them about this specific recall, but Honda denied that there is any recall for this situation. Perhaps they do not want to go through the trouble of replacing the voltage converter free of charge. Other lights have been going out and been replaced repeatedly since Aug. 2015, as my receipts show. But this headlight is not staying on when they put it on. On 5-23-16 when they last turned the headlight back on, I drove it all day and it was on. But on another day, not sure when, it was out and has stayed out.

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Low beam headlights provide light only out to fifty or sixty feet. This requires me to drive with the high beams almost continually. The lack of night time visibility is a major safety problem.

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In August of 2011, I noticed a burning smell while using the low beam headlights. Sometimes the smell was quite strong, but I could not find where it was coming from. Until I could find the problem, I decided only to use the car when I did not need to use the headlights. A couple of times I had to use the lights. Eventually, they stopped working and I had to find the problem. When I took the collar off of the steering column, I noticed that the connector to the headlight (combination switch) was melted. There was a greenish/blue corrosion on all of the terminals and it looks like the switch terminals are made of a different metal from the connectors. It now makes sense. . . Two dissimilar metals can cause a galvanic reaction which leads to corrosion which leads to high resistance which leads to heat build up. Current draw on the wire for the low beams is 9 amps. I also have fog lights connected to this wire, but through a relay that only draws 0. 1 amps. I called Honda and they state that my VIN is not covered at this point. The local Honda dealer claims that the cause is the fog light wire being connected to the low beam wire. My response is that wire only adds 0. 1 amps to the circuit and cannot be the cause of the melted connector. . . The cause is from the corrosion at the terminals. After some research, I see that my headlight switch (part #35255-s5a-a02) is used on many Honda products that have the same issue with melted connectors. These models include the civic, fit, insight, and crv. Millions are being recalled for this, but Honda will not include mine. They know there is a problem and have developed a repair kit. . . Part # 35012-s5a-307 to remedy. It includes the switch, a connector, and some wire. A recall campaign needs to be started for the 2003 model year (like mine) and any year or model that this headlight switch (#35255-s5a-a02) is used in. Updated 11/25/11.

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated that the plastic that covered the headlight became foggy, preventing the light from illuminating. The contact stated that he believed that the failure was a safety hazard since it prevented him from seeing when driving the vehicle at night time. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician verified the failure but failed to provide a remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 170,000.