Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 08/09/2010 | 41232 | ||
| Upon receiving the 'mandatory' ima recall issued by honda, i noticed my honda civic hybrid (2008) acted very differently when it came to accelerating from a stop, particularly on a hill. from a stop it takes several seconds before the car will move forward at a reasonable speed (which it did not do prior to the update). prior to the update, the car would accelerate like a normal car with the ima kicking in to assist the car forward. post update it's like the gas engine wants the ima to engage but the new firmware won't allow it to. the first time i experienced this, i was nearly hit coming out into traffic as my car hesitated. honda has stated there is no way to reverse the update. this decrease in power continues to affect me today (at 60,000 miles and climbing). this update has affected my fuel economy as well (having dropped between 30-33 mpg on a good day). while the fuel economy may not be a personal safety issue, it is an environmental safety issue. | |||
| 04/30/2011 | 39073 | ||
| Took car in for oil change 4/30/2011 at honda dealer. service department performed reflash campaign 10-034 without asking. previously had declined this service and is noted in service records not to perform this service ever. car performance has been significantly diminished since this service has been performed. car will not reliably accelerate smoothly from standstill (red light) or when merging into highway traffic at 40-50 mph. when accelerating from a stop, vehicle may or may not move at acceptable speed causing the potential to enter traffic with inadequate power to get up to speed of oncoming traffic creating a hazardous situation. this is an accident waiting to happen, especially since the performance is now inconsistent and you do not know when it may not accelerate as needed. the engine will rev very high but the car will only go 5-10 mph with pedal all the way to the floor. honda dealer has been unresponsive. i am limiting driving this car as much as possible as this car is unsafe in traffic situations. also, the auto-stop feature does not work as prior to the reflash, engine idles much higher at stops and does not cut off. this has decreased gas mileage significantly. | |||
| 02/12/2009 | 8000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2008 honda civic hybrid. the contact was driving approximately 20 mph when the engine stalled without prior warning. the engine restarted and resumed normally yet the failure recurred intermittently. also, when driving up an incline the vehicle would not accelerate over a certain speed. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer five different times for the identical failure. the computerized system software was upgraded and the technician stated that the vehicle would operate properly yet the failure persisted. the failure mileage was approximately 8,000. | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 13500 | ||
| In august 2010 i took my 2008 honda civic hybrid to the dealer for routine maintenance. the dealer performed a purported software update on the battery system without notifying me until afterwards. immmediately upon leaving the dealer, i noticed a profond reduction in power and acceleration. on the freeway portion of the drive home, i was almost rear-ended twice as i drove in the slow lane up a minor grade where the vehicle could not accelerate over 40 miles per hour (with the pedal fully depressed in the passing gear)-- prior to this date i had driven my vehicle for its prior 20 months of ownership up that same grade at 70mph. additonally, prior to this date i had never even utilized the s gear on my transmission. ever since honda's software update my car has become a severely underpowered accident waiting to happen. i am reduced to driving in the slow lane on the freeway with vehicles flashing me as they approach a 40-45 mph vehicle at 60-70 mph from behind. i have called the honda service departments at several local dealers regarding this problem, and get a universal response- wait for your system to adjust to the software update or you need to adjust your driving. what the heck does this mean? i drove the vehicle fine for 20 months prior to the software update and now it drives like a 20 year old 4 cylinder engine with 2 bad pistons. the decreased power and acceleration are a dangerous accident in the making. i am fearful of being rear ended. this is an every day problem that was caused by this software update and i suspect that it is happening to every 2006-2008 honda civic hybrid that goes to the dealer for this software update. an additional consequence of this alleged software update is a profound drop in gas mileage from approximately 37 combined mpg prior to update to 29-30 post update. i have never lodged a complaint with any organization before, but like i've previously stated, this update is a danger to the public. | |||
| 08/04/2010 | 21010 | ||
| We received a letter from honda stating that there was a recall on the software stating that a software update was needed to be done on the car to help the battery life of the car. so we brought it in to be serviced and ever since, we've lost power to the car, and lost mpg that used to be aprrox. 38 mpg to now 29 mpg, the same as our '99 civic coup dx, that is not a hybrid. my wife, while going onto the freeway was almost hit, while trying to accelerate. my wife is now hates driving the car she used to love. we live in a hilly area. when trying to accelerate up a hill we drive everyday, if the battery charge is 4 blocks or lower, it doesn't even assist. it's all the gas engine. the battery rarely kicks in so that defeats the hybrid theory and just adds more pollution that honda purports that it doesn't. to put it straight, this is not the car i bought and have been frustrated with the experience. i've brought my car back to honda to try to get the software issue resolved. they stated that there is nothing wrong with the car, engine or battery that everything is fine. when asked for an explanation for the loss of power and mpg, they said that i should try a higher octane of gas or a different brand. i have always used the highest octane gas from different gas stations without any issues before the software upgrade. so that isn't the problem. they have refused to say that there is an issue with their software upgrade. i have pretty much wasted $26,000+ on purchasing this car. all i can say is this is shame on another big company, trying to save $$ by taking advantage of their own loyal customers. thank you honda! | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 40000 | ||
| After the honda dealer performed a software update per a recall to extend the life of the battery on my 2008 honda civic hybrid, the vehicle began losing power intermittently and the gas mileage dropped significantly. returned to dealer and was told everything checked out. problem still unresolved. | |||
| 08/04/2010 | 21010 | ||
| We received a letter from honda stating that there was a recall on the software stating that a software update was needed to be done on the car to help the battery life of the car. so we brought it in to be serviced and ever since, we've lost power to the car, and lost mpg that used to be aprrox. 38 mpg to now 29 mpg, the same as our '99 civic coup dx, that is not a hybrid. my wife, while going onto the freeway was almost hit, while trying to accelerate. my wife is now hates driving the car she used to love. we live in a hilly area. when trying to accelerate up a hill we drive everyday, if the battery charge is 4 blocks or lower, it doesn't even assist. it's all the gas engine. the battery rarely kicks in so that defeats the hybrid theory and just adds more pollution that honda purports that it doesn't. to put it straight, this is not the car i bought and have been frustrated with the experience. i've brought my car back to honda to try to get the software issue resolved. they stated that there is nothing wrong with the car, engine or battery that everything is fine. when asked for an explanation for the loss of power and mpg, they said that i should try a higher octane of gas or a different brand. i have always used the highest octane gas from different gas stations without any issues before the software upgrade. so that isn't the problem. they have refused to say that there is an issue with their software upgrade. i have pretty much wasted $26,000+ on purchasing this car. all i can say is this is shame on another big company, trying to save $$ by taking advantage of their own loyal customers. thank you honda! | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 40000 | ||
| After the honda dealer performed a software update per a recall to extend the life of the battery on my 2008 honda civic hybrid, the vehicle began losing power intermittently and the gas mileage dropped significantly. returned to dealer and was told everything checked out. problem still unresolved. | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 23000 | ||
| 2008 honda civic hybrid with 24,000 miles with hybrid battery and performance degradation that is, at times, a real issue. battery doesn't hold charge very long and very adversely affects acceleration. problem is very repetitive and very adversely affects acceleration. honda's recall software update was applied within the last 30 days but battery is still not holding a charge and acceleration degradation and safety remains an increasing concern. honda should replace these degraded batteries but won't take any action until an ima light comes on - at which time, the battery would be almost fully degraded. battery degradations happens very often - even after the recent honda software update and many honda civic hybrid owners are very concerned about this performance issue. | |||
| 06/04/2008 | 2000 | 1 | |
| While driving at various speeds from local road to highway use, attempts to accelerate moderately cause car to jerk forward and backward, and car does not accelerate properly. engine seems fine and seems as if power is transmitted intermittently to wheels. occurs every now and then, approximately 5 times over 10 month period (first occurrence listed below). taking foot off gas, and then re-accelerating usually restores normal operation. the model is the honda civic hybrid, so believe it is slippage in the cvt (continuously variable transmission). *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 02/28/2010 | 14000 | ||
| Currently i have 32,277 miles and don't drive it, it's not safe to drive. i take a bus :) 1# trans locked at 60mph on highway and caused almost a fatal crush! at 23,000 miles. car was able to drive up to 15mpg having appx. 6000rpms. car left at dealership and only pcm software was updated. no lockups are occurring, but trans is weaving, harsh start/stop often!/unexpected shutdown. dealership found service bulleting #08-014 (harsh engagement), updated the on board computer and symptoms are much worse than previously. lower mpg ( 25-28 ), much worse performance, unexpected battery discharge, weaving, low acceleration. dealer duplicated problems, but said | |||
| 09/04/2009 | 24000 | 1 | |
| Intermittent transmission slippage. first time had one passenger, a/c was on, terrain was flat. automatic transmission failed to engage properly. 2nd time: had 2 passengers in rear, a/c was on, going uphill. automatic transmission failed to engage properly. engine revved and car crept uphill. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2009 | 1 | ||
| I am the person who filed consumer complaint: odi case number: 10252727. i went to the appointment and they said that they had to see the car jerking. as i stated, it happens periodically. they ran diagnostics, said nothing was wrong and sent me on my way. also for everyone's knowledge. my hybrid is currently getting an average of 27.2 mpg. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 02/28/2010 | 14000 | ||
| Currently i have 32,277 miles and don't drive it, it's not safe to drive. i take a bus :) 1# trans locked at 60mph on highway and caused almost a fatal crush! at 23,000 miles. car was able to drive up to 15mpg having appx. 6000rpms. car left at dealership and only pcm software was updated. no lockups are occurring, but trans is weaving, harsh start/stop often!/unexpected shutdown. dealership found service bulleting #08-014 (harsh engagement), updated the on board computer and symptoms are much worse than previously. lower mpg ( 25-28 ), much worse performance, unexpected battery discharge, weaving, low acceleration. dealer duplicated problems, but said | |||
| 07/06/2009 | 35000 | 1 | |
| 1. after normal 30k mileage service and tire rotation/balancing 5/23/2009, with highway handling car shook extremely and wobbled at speeds 60 and above, pulls to the right going downhill. 2. problem remains with 2008 hybrid past 35k, reproducible at highway speeds (60mph-70 mph, 2000 rpm to 2500 rpm) going on straight stretch and downhill. front of car pulling sideways is reproducible in rain or when breaking going down low/medium grade hill. 8/18, the problem continues to occur, is a safety concern when on highway,especially going downhill or on straight stretch. 3. reported to dealer, went in for check, dealer contacted warranty and replaced transmission fluid. problem still occurs, dealer recommends change front tires now as tires rippled between may 23rd and june 3rd, 2009. paid for 2 new tires to replace old per dealers recommendation friday 6/11. dealer goes through extended warranty to replace transmission 6/11. the problem dissipated 30%,but shaking occurs. return vehicle to dealer to verify if software updates were made 6/24 after transmission was replaced. dealer made software update 7/6 received car back and problem showed up within a day. reported issue. dealer received honda recommendation to disconnect egr valve 7/31. problem reduced by ~20% but still remains at 60mph etc. 8/8 follow-up with concern of driving in rain dealer recommends contacting honda corporate customer service. dealer contacts factory rep, whose recommendation is there is nothing further that can be done. there was no inspection made for any joint/bolt/belt slippage etc. honda customer service contacted dealer and factory representative and stated nothing else can be done 8/18 as f.rep has closed the case, cannot override f.rep, and does not have statistics to confirm either way whether the problem exists in other 2008 hybrids with similar mileage. dealer is unaware of the root of shaking/steering problem (software/d/drivetrain/cooling/exhaust just a worn belt loose bolt etc.). *tr | |||