Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 02/01/2008 | 40000 | ||
| I would very much like to share my concerns over the safety of the 2006 honda civic hybrid that we purchased new from a dealer. the car performed well for a few years, until honda decided to tell me to go to the dealer and upgrade the software controlling the hybrid motor-battery system. immediately following the software update, the car was utterly devoid of power, and dangerous to drive when merging on the freeway, even when driving alone without other weight in the car. if i drive my two young children with me, it's very scary as the car must be absolutely floored the entire time while merging. no doubt this is strongly affecting the fuel economy of the car as well, as it gets only in the mid 30s, when originally advertised much higher. also, i can't imagine anyone ever buying this car with the pathetic level of power it exhibits, therefore the resale value is now next to nothing. i would be happy to have a software downgrade and get back to original performance, but honda tells me this is not possible for whatever reason. i urge you to begin or continue an investigation concerning the detrimental safety impacts of the 2006 honda civic hybrid software update. **03/01/2012 update bf | |||
| 02/28/2012 | |||
| I purchased this 2006 honda civic hybrid new in april 2006. the window sticker said 49 mpg city and 51 mpg highway. i have 121,xxx miles on the vehicle and have tried hard to get the best milage possible. the best i can achieve on the average combined is 38-39. it is clear fraud. the class action suit which was filed is not a reasonable compensation to me for my damages. maybe to the lawyers who represent the class, but not me. i should be compensated the damages between what was sold to me and what was delivered plus punitive damages. i would like your help. | |||
| 02/01/2008 | 40000 | ||
| I would very much like to share my concerns over the safety of the 2006 honda civic hybrid that we purchased new from a dealer. the car performed well for a few years, until honda decided to tell me to go to the dealer and upgrade the software controlling the hybrid motor-battery system. immediately following the software update, the car was utterly devoid of power, and dangerous to drive when merging on the freeway, even when driving alone without other weight in the car. if i drive my two young children with me, it's very scary as the car must be absolutely floored the entire time while merging. no doubt this is strongly affecting the fuel economy of the car as well, as it gets only in the mid 30s, when originally advertised much higher. also, i can't imagine anyone ever buying this car with the pathetic level of power it exhibits, therefore the resale value is now next to nothing. i would be happy to have a software downgrade and get back to original performance, but honda tells me this is not possible for whatever reason. i urge you to begin or continue an investigation concerning the detrimental safety impacts of the 2006 honda civic hybrid software update. **03/01/2012 update bf | |||
| 02/28/2012 | |||
| I purchased this 2006 honda civic hybrid new in april 2006. the window sticker said 49 mpg city and 51 mpg highway. i have 121,xxx miles on the vehicle and have tried hard to get the best milage possible. the best i can achieve on the average combined is 38-39. it is clear fraud. the class action suit which was filed is not a reasonable compensation to me for my damages. maybe to the lawyers who represent the class, but not me. i should be compensated the damages between what was sold to me and what was delivered plus punitive damages. i would like your help. | |||
| 02/01/2008 | 40000 | ||
| I would very much like to share my concerns over the safety of the 2006 honda civic hybrid that we purchased new from a dealer. the car performed well for a few years, until honda decided to tell me to go to the dealer and upgrade the software controlling the hybrid motor-battery system. immediately following the software update, the car was utterly devoid of power, and dangerous to drive when merging on the freeway, even when driving alone without other weight in the car. if i drive my two young children with me, it's very scary as the car must be absolutely floored the entire time while merging. no doubt this is strongly affecting the fuel economy of the car as well, as it gets only in the mid 30s, when originally advertised much higher. also, i can't imagine anyone ever buying this car with the pathetic level of power it exhibits, therefore the resale value is now next to nothing. i would be happy to have a software downgrade and get back to original performance, but honda tells me this is not possible for whatever reason. i urge you to begin or continue an investigation concerning the detrimental safety impacts of the 2006 honda civic hybrid software update. | |||
| 02/28/2012 | |||
| I purchased this 2006 honda civic hybrid new in april 2006. the window sticker said 49 mpg city and 51 mpg highway. i have 121,xxx miles on the vehicle and have tried hard to get the best milage possible. the best i can achieve on the average combined is 38-39. it is clear fraud. the class action suit which was filed is not a reasonable compensation to me for my damages. maybe to the lawyers who represent the class, but not me. i should be compensated the damages between what was sold to me and what was delivered plus punitive damages. i would like your help. | |||
| 04/22/2011 | 70504 | ||
| The integrated motor assist (ima) hybrid system loses power with no known precipitating factors or advance indication of failure. the vehicle will immediately reduce power train output prior to the dash gauges indicating a near-complete loss of ima battery charge and function moments later, with only the internal combustion engine providing motive power. within 3-4 miles of driving, the ima battery charge, as indicated by the dash meter, will then immediately jump to a completely full level in a similarly unexplained fashion. independent of these transient but regular failures of the high-voltage hybrid system, the vehicle functions as expected. currently, i have documented over 160 instances since 4/22/11, occurring an average of once every day the vehicle is driven, increasing to 2-3 times daily since mid-november, 2011 (data available on request). symptoms occur independent of ambient temperature, nature of drive (high/low speed) and despite changing the 12 volt battery and disconnecting or turning off all power accessories possible. following a satisfaction campaign by honda in late summer/fall, 2010 that involved a software update installed at a honda dealership and replacement of the dc-dc converter portion of the hybrid system under recall shortly after, the episodes of loss of power impairing vehicle operation have increased in frequency. an additional software update by honda completed on 11/10/11 has further exacerbated the rate of transient failures of the ima system and impacted vehicle driveability. multiple software updates pertaining the the ima hybrid system have also been installed on the vehicle by honda dealer technicians over the previous 3 years. | |||
| 10/25/2010 | 111500 | ||
| The car loses power upon acceleration and going up a hill from a complete standstill. the car at times can not climb up a hill. this causes a safety issue. i have discussed this honda and i was told that given that there was not a computer record in the memory there was not a problem. on the freeway the engine revs upon acceleration without any increase in speed. i think the battery electrical assist system is defective and needs to be replaced, honda added a computer patch to the car that slowed down the electric engine assist and comprimised the power and acceleration. | |||
| 07/06/2010 | 35000 | ||
| My car is a 2006 honda civic hybrid. i purchased it used two years ago. in the first year, i was gratified to see that it was regularly getting between 40 and 45 mpg (up to 50 mph if it was all hwy. miles!). this summer, i got a letter from honda telling me that i needed to have a faulty ima updated. i complied. now my car gets 29-33 mpg | |||
| 12/16/2010 | 50000 | ||
| Battery began performing what is know as a calibration where all motor assist ceases and the battery recharges. once in a while this is okay however it gradually got more and more frequent to the point it became a daily routine or even occurred multiple times within the day. one cold morning the ima (battery light) came on. after taking the car into honda, they performed 6 software updates. since that time calibrations have increased in frequency. the battery will now calibrate after sitting for as little as 1 hour and will often calibrate several times within a single commute. at one point over the course of the day, about 80 miles, there were 5 calibrations. a few days later the car performed 4 calibrations in a 20 mile stretch. the ima light has not came back on at this point but i did take the car to honda. they were unable to reproduce the the condition. at this time nothing has become of the calibrations. while they have been merely annoying i am concerned that they pose a high safety risk as should the calibration come at the beginning or in the middle of a heavy acceleration, the car will loose significant power and can potentially cause a hazardous situation that could easily result in a collision.(when the battery calibrates, getting the car to accelerate is like pushing a freight train) | |||
| 09/02/2010 | 7203 | ||
| Bought car in may 2006, by aug 2006 i was only getting 36 miles per gallon. brought car to dealer. they said they replaced a part to fix problem. problem not fixed! brought car back 3 more times and dealer said i was driving the car wrong. i told them to keep the car for a week, they did but still could not get the mileage over 37 mpg. they told us they didnt know what the problem was and there was nothing they could do about it. went through 3 back tires on drivers side. they still wouldnt do anything about it! i had to pay for it! the car was getting worse and worse. finally we took it to another dealer. they found that something was broken by the back tire (which is why i had to keep replacing them) and i needed a new transmission. all of that was covered under warranty. that was in september 2010. they also told me thats why i never got the mileage i was supposed to get. that was when they told me that i needed to get the software update!! now my car is not drivable! the battery doesnt charge, the car cant accelerate! the service manager and the forman told honda america that the car is not safe and honda america doesnt care! i filed a claim and i was told that there is no problem with the car. i just need to get used to driving it differently! when i pressed them and told them my car is now undrivable, i was told that they had nothing else to say to me! honda really messed this one up! people are going to get killed driving these cars....and they know it! my car was a lemon since the day i bought it! paid $5,000.00 extra for it , never got the mpg, and now i cant drive it! | |||
| 10/01/2006 | 10000 | ||
| Honda civic hybrid - 2006 model. battery assist loses charge and drains of any battery life leaving gas powered engine to supply all power during driving. the batter can drain at any time and at any speed. happens 2-3 times per day and has happened going uphill where 1.3ltr engine is not capable of maintaining safe speed with rest of traffic. this was very dangerous. this has occurred since 2006 on a once per day frequency and now 2-3 times per day frequency after getting software upgrade from factory that was supposed to extend battery life in august 2010. honda claims that this is normal operating conditions. if no ima trouble indicator comes on, then it's normal. i have video of battery drain if desired. | |||
| 10/10/2010 | 77805 | ||
| I have a honda civic hybrid 2006, last days i have my ima light and check engine light come up, i went o the dealer o'hare honda and they refused me to do the a recall update to the software and fix my check engine light and ima light that is related to the electric engine with battery. i will mention that the warranty book says that they need to fix these issues under a federal law 8/80k but they treat me bad and not even open to discuss. when i asked to talk with somebody else they old that no manager was friday at 12 pm. i mention that my warranty was canceled and car mileage is 78.000, i don't feel comfortable to drive this car is losses power and is dangerous when you try to pass another car or an intersection with these issues. | |||
| 08/15/2010 | |||
| In response to a recall notice, i took my 2006 honda civic hybrid in to update the software to extend the life of the battery. unfortunately, my car no longer drives like a hybrid: the motor does not stop, even if i am stopped for several minutes, whereas, before, it stopped every time the car did. the battery does not assist nearly as often, and the gas mileage has decreased significantly. i called the dealer, freeway honda in tustin, and requested that they reinstall the old software, but they refused. i purchased the car largely because of the excellent mileage: i would never have chosen to basically turn it into a regular, non-hybrid, civic, which is what the software did. the honda case # is n012010-08-27-010 | |||
| 08/04/2010 | 39138 | ||
| Honda has performed a software update on my 2006 civic hybrid. the results are tantamount to having replaced my car with another that has markedly inferior response, performance, and gas milage: * about 10 mpg decrease since the 8/4/2010 ima software update * rare iva assist on starting from 0, resulting in a noticeable lag between depressing the gas pedal and movement from a stopped position - this is a safety issue. * responsiveness of acceleration at highway speeds inconsistent and unpredictable - since this affects driver reaction and responsiveness this is a safety issue note: the software update renders the electric motor practically moot. since in my case the battery drops its charge radically over a 24 hour period if not used, the update appears to be doing little more than preventing an already compromised battery from failing. | |||
| 08/01/2009 | 33000 | ||
| Great car for the first 2 years of ownership. started losing hybrid battery power and hybrid assist around 8.09 power and mileage suffer multiple trip to dealer and several software patches installed. vehicle continues to lose battery at worst possible time and suddenly start at stoplights this is my wifes primary vehicle to drive to work and school by herself in the rideshare line. she no longer drives this vehicle because i fear for her saftey on busy california freeways. hybrid battery finally replaced by honda after consuting an attorney and mentioning all the folks on the nhtsa site having the same concern. sudden starts at stops no longer there but still has a total lack of power on acceleration due to new software package desinged to save the battery recieved new recall letter for hybrid system that states it will further reduce hybrid usage, there is no way i am going to have that patch installed this car is useless to my family now and recently tried to trade it in, dealership do not want it due to the rising concern with customer complanits, lousy mileage, etc i would love to talk to somebody about this vehicle and even provide it to you to drive and test. this problem is amplified in warm weather and when the a/c is on. this car did not do this in the first to years of service. thank you and regards, jack batson | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 90747 | ||
| 1. honda civic hybrid battery loses power, does not perform idle stops that recharge integrated motor assist battery, inability to accelerate on freeway onramps or when driving circumstances necessitate acceleration, decreased gas mileage. 2. at 34,347 miles began noticing ima battery doesn't last long and makes acceleration difficult. at 62, 430 miles i am concerned for myself and my family's safety. car extremely difficult to accelerate even on streets. at 69.388 problems continue with a noticeable dip in gas mileage. at 90,747 miles ima battery sensor indicates a problem. battery not working properly. 3. per honda at each service only software was updated. no parts replaced. therefore, battery is still only charges up to halfway. the battery isn't consistently dead to start with but it does die down again with driving. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 107000 | ||
| Several times in the past the acceleration in my 2006 honda civic hybrid has failed to provide the extra burst of speed when needed, making me uncomfortable in traffic. when this situation happens as i am leaving my subdivision i feel helpless in a situation of which i have little control. when i need to make turn from my subdivision from a stop, i need to rapidly accerate to 45 mph uphill. much of the time there is traffic approaching from the left which i am unable see to until they are on the crest of that hill, approx. 150' away. as you can see, i depend on the hybrid system working properly for that extra burst of speed. when this happens i notice the ima battery charge indicator showing the battery is in a depleted state. i do not know why this occurs so rapidly when 99% of the time it is just fine. i was relieved that honda motor co. was proactive in notifing me of a software patch to enhance the performance of the ima system of which i had immediately installed. what my wife and i have noticed since the software patch was installed is the engine revs up higher during acceleration then there is a momentary hesitation before the ima system assisted the engine to get up to speed. also since the patch was installed, the ima battery level indicator is at or near full charge. i have noticed an apparent decrease in fuel efficiency, but i am still compiling data to make an exact deterimination of the extent of that problem. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 90747 | ||
| 1. honda civic hybrid battery loses power, does not perform idle stops that recharge integrated motor assist battery, inability to accelerate on freeway onramps or when driving circumstances necessitate acceleration, decreased gas mileage. 2. at 34,347 miles began noticing ima battery doesn't last long and makes acceleration difficult. at 62, 430 miles i am concerned for myself and my family's safety. car extremely difficult to accelerate even on streets. at 69.388 problems continue with a noticeable dip in gas mileage. at 90,747 miles ima battery sensor indicates a problem. battery not working properly. 3. per honda at each service only software was updated. no parts replaced. therefore, battery is still only charges up to halfway. the battery isn't consistently dead to start with but it does die down again with driving. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 107000 | ||
| Several times in the past the acceleration in my 2006 honda civic hybrid has failed to provide the extra burst of speed when needed, making me uncomfortable in traffic. when this situation happens as i am leaving my subdivision i feel helpless in a situation of which i have little control. when i need to make turn from my subdivision from a stop, i need to rapidly accerate to 45 mph uphill. much of the time there is traffic approaching from the left which i am unable see to until they are on the crest of that hill, approx. 150' away. as you can see, i depend on the hybrid system working properly for that extra burst of speed. when this happens i notice the ima battery charge indicator showing the battery is in a depleted state. i do not know why this occurs so rapidly when 99% of the time it is just fine. i was relieved that honda motor co. was proactive in notifing me of a software patch to enhance the performance of the ima system of which i had immediately installed. what my wife and i have noticed since the software patch was installed is the engine revs up higher during acceleration then there is a momentary hesitation before the ima system assisted the engine to get up to speed. also since the patch was installed, the ima battery level indicator is at or near full charge. i have noticed an apparent decrease in fuel efficiency, but i am still compiling data to make an exact deterimination of the extent of that problem. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 90747 | ||
| 1. honda civic hybrid battery loses power, does not perform idle stops that recharge integrated motor assist battery, inability to accelerate on freeway onramps or when driving circumstances necessitate acceleration, decreased gas mileage. 2. at 34,347 miles began noticing ima battery doesn't last long and makes acceleration difficult. at 62, 430 miles i am concerned for myself and my family's safety. car extremely difficult to accelerate even on streets. at 69.388 problems continue with a noticeable dip in gas mileage. at 90,747 miles ima battery sensor indicates a problem. battery not working properly. 3. per honda at each service only software was updated. no parts replaced. therefore, battery is still only charges up to halfway. the battery isn't consistently dead to start with but it does die down again with driving. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 107000 | ||
| Several times in the past the acceleration in my 2006 honda civic hybrid has failed to provide the extra burst of speed when needed, making me uncomfortable in traffic. when this situation happens as i am leaving my subdivision i feel helpless in a situation of which i have little control. when i need to make turn from my subdivision from a stop, i need to rapidly accerate to 45 mph uphill. much of the time there is traffic approaching from the left which i am unable see to until they are on the crest of that hill, approx. 150' away. as you can see, i depend on the hybrid system working properly for that extra burst of speed. when this happens i notice the ima battery charge indicator showing the battery is in a depleted state. i do not know why this occurs so rapidly when 99% of the time it is just fine. i was relieved that honda motor co. was proactive in notifing me of a software patch to enhance the performance of the ima system of which i had immediately installed. what my wife and i have noticed since the software patch was installed is the engine revs up higher during acceleration then there is a momentary hesitation before the ima system assisted the engine to get up to speed. also since the patch was installed, the ima battery level indicator is at or near full charge. i have noticed an apparent decrease in fuel efficiency, but i am still compiling data to make an exact deterimination of the extent of that problem. | |||