Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Honda Civic Hybrid - part 2

2009 Honda Civic Hybrid was coming to a stop in traffic. The ima went from charge to assist while braking (foot on the brake pedal), lurching the car forward (tires locked up). Same event happened 5 minutes later. Dropped of at dealer the next day, but they have not been able to reproduce the surge. American Honda called and said they will not address an issue if the dealer can not reproduce the failure. They ask for the car to be driven home.

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Honda did a recall on the software, supposedly to save the hybrid batteries for early failure. After the change the car experienced les miles per gallon gas efficiency, and worse, the car's acceleration was drastically reduced. Now when I try to enter a freeway I feel I am taking my life in my own hand. It is difficult to get up to speed quickly enough to match traffic. Also when I try to cross traffic lanes from a stop sign or light I am fearful the car will accelerate quickly enough to get across. I'd like to go back to the original software, I felt it was safer!.

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My Civic Hybrid battery has been declining in power for about the last 2 years, most likely due to a failing hybrid battery that Honda refuses to replace. On numerous occasions, my hybrid batter will fail to provide any assist during accelerations. This seems to occur a couple times a week as the system suddenly notices the battery has no charge (it instantly goes from about 1/2 the bars of charge to just 1). This has happened at a critical moment when I need power to make a left turn when there was heavy traffic and I needed to make a left turn. One normally expects a consistent amount of power when pressing the accelerator, and imagine what harm can occur if suddenly a substantially less mount of power is delivered without any warning whatsoever.

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The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. When he applied pressure to the accelerator pedal while entering a parking space, the vehicle accelerated without intention. The vehicle jumped the roadway curb. The engine had to be turned off to discontinue vehicle acceleration. The manufacturer was notified of the malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 12,329. The current mileage was 13,000. Updated 11/23/09. Updated 11/24/29.

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.

The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. While driving 10 mph the vehicle was not responsive. As he depressed the accelerator pedal the vehicle moved slowly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed him that they were aware of the problem but the vehicle was functioning the way it was designed. The manufacturer was notified and stated that they are familiar with the failure and since it was designed that way there was no way to repair it. The failure mileage was 31,000. Updated 01/12/lj updated 02/09/lj the consumer stated due to suspected battery failure, Honda offered a software update to prolong the battery. The consumer did not get the software update it may have reduced the fuel economy. Updated 03/08/11.

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1. I attempted to turn left on a busy 6 lane farm to market road. When there was an opening in traffic I pressed the accelerator and the car moved out into the traffic lanes, but with greatly reduced acceleration. My hybrid had lost the electric motor assist needed to accelerate normally. I was almost broadsided by a speeding SUV because I could not accelerate out of the way quickly. 2. This loss of electric motor assist or integrated motor assist (ima) started off happening once or twice a month. Now it is happening a couple of times a week. There is no audible or visual warning light that this loss has occurred. The only evidence is the loss of acceleration and the battery charge level will drop from "normal" (6 or 7 bars) to one or two "bars" on the battery charge display. This unexpected loss of normal acceleration can be very dangerous when merging into busy traffic. It is only after the driver commits that they discover they cannot accelerate "normally" 3. I have taken the vehicle to the Honda dealership five times and opened a case at american Honda. Their position is that since they can't replicate the failure, they can't fix the problem. After doing my own research, I discovered that this loss of acceleration is due to a programmed function in their ima system. The system is designed to periodically reset the state of charge for the battery pack to a minimal value to eliminate accumulated errors. When this happens, the electric motor assist is disabled and the system uses the electric motor to recharge the battery pack. The problem is that this "reset" occurs at the worst possible time; when the vehicle is stopped and the driver needs the high torque/low rpm electric motor to provide adequate acceleration. In my opinion, this unannounced reset function at a stop is a design flaw and makes this vehicle dangerous to operate.

The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. While driving approximately 55 to 60 mph on normal road conditions there was pressure applied to the brake pedal, followed by a squealing noise and the vehicle lunged forward violently. The aggressive force caused the seat belt to secure the driver extremely tight. There were no personal injuries. The contact was able to operate the vehicle without any restrictions; however, the identical failures occurred two months later while driving on an incline. The technician stated that the vehicle was functioning properly and there were no resolutions. The contact is aware of the safety the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 15,000.

I'm a Honda Civic Hybrid owner (2006). I have not reported the lack of acceleration to my dealer, assuming that was the low power of the car due to the hybrid nature. The lack of acceleration at times when it's needed has put me in unsafe situations. Additionally, my hybrid does not consistently auto stop as designed.

This vehicle is not safe for highway or city driving. It decelerates when you need power, making it very dangerous to merge in high speed or heavy traffic conditions. In the summer when the a/c is running, acceleration is extremely unreliable. The driver's side has severe blind spots. I have also experienced long delays in the engine restarting after pulling out into traffic from a dead stop at lights or stop signs. I have nearly been hit by oncoming traffic -- planning for adequate gaps in traffic is a challenge and very different from the other vehicles I drive. I am an experienced driver with over 37 years behind the wheel and an excellent driving record. I have owned 4 Hondas and this so-called hybrid has been an engineering disaster.

2003 Civic Hybrid- 80k miles. Bought in 2006 with 60k miles. The vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. There is about a 5-8 second delay in pressing the gas and the car going, which has caused me to almost be rear ended a few times. The vehicle also slows down extremely rapidly when the foot is removed from the gas pedal. Even with no pressure applied to the break pedal. To ordinary (not hybrid) cars, it seems like I am pressing my brake, they just see me slowing down, but there are no lights to warn them, I have almost been in two really bad car accidents that were avoided by mere inches when: on the highway I have taken my foot off the accelerator to slow my vehicle, but I did not need the breaks since the car slowed down so fast on it's own. I threw on my emergency lights and tapped the brake to signal to cars behind me who were moving much faster still. I think that Honda should put in smaller lights or a different safety light when you remove your foot from the accelerator on the Civic Hybrids, to avoid rear-ending accidents due to rapid decrease in speed with no usage of the braking system. History of problem: during test drive vehicle made slight shudder noise and hesitation before starting to accelerate. The dealer told me that it was a normal noise for hybrids. I foolishly believed him. A few months later the shuddering was worse and I knew that it wasn't a normal noise for any transmission to be making at 60,000 miles! over the last 2 years I have taken the car to the dealership many times to "fix" this problem, which is only patched up and the shuddering comes back a few thousand miles later. Honda knows about this problem and has a service bulletin for it, yet their dealerships try to put off fixing the problem until someone's warranty is almost over, or over. Honda needs to be held responsible for this faulty vehicle. A recall should be done at the very least, to fix the cars driving around with bad transmissions.

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While backing out of my garage the accelerator sped out of control while in reverse causing my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid to crash into my house.

2005 Honda Civic Hybrid accelerates when brake is suddenly engaged.

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The contact owns a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. While driving at approximate speeds of 25 mph on icy road conditions, the contact depressed the brake pedal and attempted to make a turn into a driveway. The vehicle did not decrease in speed and suddenly began to accelerate without warning. The contact decided to continue driving forward with her foot depressing the brake pedal. Later, the contact shifted into neutral gear and was able to bring the vehicle to a stop. The rpms continued to increase and she began tapping the pedal until the rpms decreased. The dealer confirmed that there were no failures within the throttle system. The failure has not recurred. The failure mileage was 5,662 and the current mileage is 30,000. Updated 5/24/10 updated 07/07/10.

In light of the current issues with Toyota, I thought I should report to you a similar problem I was having with my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (I no longer have the vehicle). I reported this to the dealer when I took it in for repairs, but did not receive a satisfactory response to my complaint. This was not just one event, it happened often. Date given below is just a random date from the time I owned the vehicle. Whenever I approached a stopping point, be it a stop light, stop sign, or parking spot, while having the brakes applied, if I hit a bump in the road, such as a pothole or low traffic light sensor, the car would suddenly get a burst of acceleration. It would respond to my added brake pressure, but always left me with an eerie feeling. The dealerships response was that it was the abs taking control. Nothing was done about it. Since I no longer have the vehicle, I do not readily have the VIN #. If it becomes essential, I sure it is probably in the files I have in storage and can dig it up for you.

In 2006 the car was jolting when you took off or were traveling at low speeds. The dealership burnished the starter clutch/engine and the problem went away. Now in 2012 the problem has begun again and reading through blogs and posts is seems there may be a design change in the transmission from plastic belts to metal. . . So if this fixes the problem, then my older model should be retrofit to repair the faulty issue.

Every time I start my Honda Civic Hybrid from 2004 it shudders. I have spent more then the value of the car on repairs and fluid replacements which Honda does not deem necessary to pay for. This car is a dangerous lemon. It sometimes shudders going onto highways and can even just stop before starting up again. I have had near accidents dozens of times because of this faulty car. Honda made a bad car and even though people complain about it they will not issue a recall. Each time they issue a warranty bonus to try to fix the problem the whole thing either gets worse or slightly better for 1000 miles. I feel like I'm dealing with a no good used car salesmen trying to bate and switch a hybrid. But this car was bought direct from Honda. There needs to be accountability. I guarantee you that all users of 2003-04 Honda's would be a part of this case as it is a pervasive issue among the majority of hch users. We are all angry, we all asked Honda for help and we got no response. We are now looking to governmental intervention. Please help us avoid accidents, lemon cars, and misleading advertisement.

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My car Honda hybrid 2004 was lurching a little bit on inclines, then the steering was acting weird. Anyway, I took it into the shop for my 5,000 mile check up and the guy there at Honda dealer said everything was fine. Well, I was driving up the CA I 5, stopped over and pulled in, in front of a 7/11 and the car slowed down and I pulled up to the cement stop, with foot on brake. All of a sudden the car lurched at a high speed three times, and I was trying to brake it to make it quit and it wouldn't quit or brake. My car bashed in the window of the 7/11 and my foot was not on the gas. . . . . It was a horrible experience. However, Honda dealer is saying they cannot find anything wrong with it. I was just on the forum and there are lurching problems. I am sick over this whole thing.

Immediately after I purchased my 2005 Civic Hybrid, I noticed that my car would speed up suddenly whenever I drove over an unsmooth surface, such as over a manhole cover. At first I dismissed it thinking it was a fluke, but it has occurred regularly since then. I have told my Honda dealer's services team numerous times and they have looked into it but not able to replicate it (I notice it occuring 1-2x/mo). The most they could conjecture is that the computer located in the wheel miscalculates when one of the tires moves over an uneven surface and then recalculates it when both tires are on the same surface again. I do not know if this is true, but I have been able to always re-apply the brakes immediately in order to prevent an accident from happening (I have come close several times). I actually wrote to Honda many years ago about this problem, asking them to address it because it is a safety hazard. I am thankful that the NHTSA may be investigating this now because it appears I am not the only one with this issue. I have saved my references in case you need to contact them: Honda customer service: case # n012006-02-2301532. Representative caroline, 1-800-999-1009 ext 118197. First texas Honda dealership, services team manager armando, 512-381-1341.