Advice on Failing Civic Hybrid (2007)

Wondering if anyone has hybrid experience and can give me any advice.

If anyone has been keeping up with Honda hybrids, you'll know that failed hybrid batteries are a huge issue. I think there was a class-action lawsuit over it? Anyway the Honda dealership refuses to do anything but tell me the battery needs to be replaced, and quotes me around $3k for that. The car is not really even worth that much. So # Honda, first of all.

I bought a 2007 civic hybrid in 2016, and pretty soon after I bought it, problems started. I had no recourse with the shady dealer despite my best efforts. Check engine light is always on, and I was having a lot of electrical issues in the beginning. In addition to check engine, I also have the IMA battery indicator light come up. Both lights are pretty much on all the time, they go off when I complete a drive cycle and come back on every time the computer runs through its checks on the hybrid battery system. OBD-II codes are for failing hybrid battery.
I get pretty laughable mileage for driving a hybrid, sometimes under 20 mpg because I do mostly city driving. This improves substantially if I take a long drive on the highway with cruise control. I have an after-market grid charging device that doesn't seem to do much of anything, but I'm not sure I understand how to use it properly.

Aside from the annoying indicator lights and poor mileage, the car has run *approximately* reliably for almost 2 years after being diagnosed with a failing battery. The electrical issues haven't resurfaced in a while. I'm suspicious of the OBD-II codes that were thrown, and starting to feel like the system was designed to fail, or appear to fail, after a certain amount of drive time even if there isn't a real problem.

What would you do?
If I sell, it would be at a serious loss since I'm not going to lie to anyone about the condition of this car, and I can't afford another vehicle. I'm obviously not dumping $3000 into it either, if I had that much I could probably buy a more reliable used car. Do I just try to forget about it until the car quits on me? Someone at the Honda dealership told me it could fail completely while I'm driving, which I'd imagine would be somewhat inconvenient....

a reply to: Kitsunegari

bummer my friend.
i dont know # about hybrids but i read real fast that the batteries life is about 7 years so you are right there.

personally i would sell the car and pick another. i have taken losses many times in cars and probably will do so again so my advice may not be the best. i am usually driving cars in the 2500 dollar range.

personally i would not put that much into a car that is only worth that much so i would dump it.

article said you can take it to the dealer and have it reprogrammed for battery load differences or whatever but many people say the car does not really run the same after.

First, have the codes read by a different place and don't trust the dash idiot lights. A malfunctioning voltage regulator in a ECM/PCM can/will show electrical issues that are actually the control module misreading the battery.
Autozone will read them free.

How badly do you really want to keep it? You may just have to take the loss and get rid of it. 3k is like buying a new engine every 7 years and while many don't keep a car that long, it's still a pain for you. One of the main reasons I won't buy a new truck is all the useless crap they add on that takes thousands of dollars, a computer expert and an electrical engineer to fix.

I never liked the idea of cars with batteries that are hard and expensive to replace. The only way it makes any sense is if the battery back is cheap and easy to replace. Either that or the car is cheap enough to be disposable when the battery wears out. If you bought it in 2007 and it still stings to have to get rid of it, I am assuming you're still not liking the price you paid.

Put it on Craigslist and sell it as is. Holding on to it only makes it even more of a boat anchor when you don't plan on repairing it. Sell it with full disclosure, 'Honda Civic Hybrid, fully function except old batteries 2,000 OBO.'

Someone that has a Civic Hybrid may need it for - other then batteries - or they have batteries, and create/get a deal, and, you get out from under.

It may take some time to sell; you need the right buyer. Don't forget to renew the add because Craiglist car people are picture scroll-ers... meaning your car add will get 4 or 5 pages deep and no longer on the visible edge of browsing habits... quickly and become invisible.

Sell it, or break it down and sell the parts. Can often make more money that way.

But yes, once a part costs more than the car it's time for it to go.

Sadly it's the whole supply and demand thing. Until everyone is driving hybrids or electric cars, they're gonna be expensive in terms of parts.

Even seen newer hybrids go through the batteries and they cost the same.

So yeah. Not gonna change in a hurry sadly. Count your losses and call it a day.

a reply to: Kitsunegari

In Orange Calif they sell rebuilt ones for about a thousand dollars,easy to install,save lot's of money

Gee, for three grand you can get a new rebuilt engine installed in a car.

I'm never going to even consider buying a hybrid, I hate the cordless drills because the batteries keep failing.

originally posted by: rickymouse I hate the cordless drills because the batteries keep failing.

Actually, they're way better than they used to be. It took them long enough though. Battery technology was pretty much at a standstill in consumer grade stuff until the cell phone craze started. I hate smartphones but I'll give them that much. They caused the electronics people to get their asses in gear and work on better batteries. Cordless drills that actually work when you need them is a nice side benefit. My first cordless drill was always completely dead when I needed it. Bought a cheapo lithium cordless screwdriver a couple of years ago and just have to top it off now and then.

But there are limits. A car that depends on batteries is maybe not so hot of an idea for now.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: rickymouse I hate the cordless drills because the batteries keep failing.

Actually, they're way better than they used to be. It took them long enough though. Battery technology was pretty much at a standstill in consumer grade stuff until the cell phone craze started. I hate smartphones but I'll give them that much. They caused the electronics people to get their asses in gear and work on better batteries. Cordless drills that actually work when you need them is a nice side benefit. My first cordless drill was always completely dead when I needed it. Bought a cheapo lithium cordless screwdriver a couple of years ago and just have to top it off now and then.

But there are limits. A car that depends on batteries is maybe not so hot of an idea for now.

I bought a cordless drill in nineteen 86. It was a Makita commercial drill, nine point six volts. I got an extra battery, I still have that drill, although the original batteries died from everyday use around twelve years ago, powering up fully till the day they died. Noe, I also had a dewalt drill, twelve volt, and those batteries only lasted about four or five years on the job, using them every day. The Makita was a way better product, it actually was more powerful than the contractor version of the dewalt, the dewalt wore out too, the Makita is still going strong, the new batteries I got for it are not as good as the ones I originally got with it.

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: rickymouse I hate the cordless drills because the batteries keep failing.

Actually, they're way better than they used to be. It took them long enough though. Battery technology was pretty much at a standstill in consumer grade stuff until the cell phone craze started. I hate smartphones but I'll give them that much. They caused the electronics people to get their asses in gear and work on better batteries. Cordless drills that actually work when you need them is a nice side benefit. My first cordless drill was always completely dead when I needed it. Bought a cheapo lithium cordless screwdriver a couple of years ago and just have to top it off now and then.

But there are limits. A car that depends on batteries is maybe not so hot of an idea for now.

I bought a cordless drill in nineteen 86. It was a Makita commercial drill, nine point six volts. I got an extra battery, I still have that drill, although the original batteries died from everyday use around twelve years ago, powering up fully till the day they died. Noe, I also had a dewalt drill, twelve volt, and those batteries only lasted about four or five years on the job, using them every day. The Makita was a way better product, it actually was more powerful than the contractor version of the dewalt, the dewalt wore out too, the Makita is still going strong, the new batteries I got for it are not as good as the ones I originally got with it.

Well, the more "professional" level stuff was always better than the typical consumer grade stuff. But most people would not pay $300 for a drill to use around the house. And back in the day, what they would have gotten for $30 - $50 was garbage and the battery would probably not hold a charge within a few months. Especially if they rarely used it.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: rickymouse I hate the cordless drills because the batteries keep failing.

Actually, they're way better than they used to be. It took them long enough though. Battery technology was pretty much at a standstill in consumer grade stuff until the cell phone craze started. I hate smartphones but I'll give them that much. They caused the electronics people to get their asses in gear and work on better batteries. Cordless drills that actually work when you need them is a nice side benefit. My first cordless drill was always completely dead when I needed it. Bought a cheapo lithium cordless screwdriver a couple of years ago and just have to top it off now and then.

But there are limits. A car that depends on batteries is maybe not so hot of an idea for now.

I bought a cordless drill in nineteen 86. It was a Makita commercial drill, nine point six volts. I got an extra battery, I still have that drill, although the original batteries died from everyday use around twelve years ago, powering up fully till the day they died. Noe, I also had a dewalt drill, twelve volt, and those batteries only lasted about four or five years on the job, using them every day. The Makita was a way better product, it actually was more powerful than the contractor version of the dewalt, the dewalt wore out too, the Makita is still going strong, the new batteries I got for it are not as good as the ones I originally got with it.

Well, the more "professional" level stuff was always better than the typical consumer grade stuff. But most people would not pay $300 for a drill to use around the house. And back in the day, what they would have gotten for $30 - $50 was garbage and the battery would probably not hold a charge within a few months. Especially if they rarely used it.

I paid a hundred sixty nine for the Makita drill back then, it is a good drill yet. The Dewalt wore out within eight years and it was about two hundred ten when I bought that one. When they raised the voltage up, it did not mean the drills got better, I actually have a consumer based 9.6 Makita someone gave me and it is way lighter and not nearly as powerful. The original drill has more torque than an eighteen volt one has. Bigger windings in the armature I suppose, maybe two more ounces of copper.

Have you tried a Google search?

Reconditioning NiMh hybrid car battery packs is time-consuming—you cannot rush it! However, if you have the patience, reconditioning them yourself can save you more than 90% of the cost of having a car a dealer do the job.

Rebuilding a Hybrid Vehicle Battery Pack

dealership told me the Hybrid needs a new $3k battery , The car is not even worth that much. So # Honda,

It's Obsolete, thereby annulling any of the carbon offsets...