Originally Posted by ButchVA

I purchased by 2003 Civic Hybrid (which until this afternoon, I loved) from a private individual in January 2006. It had 48k on it when I purchased it. I've had exactly zero problems with the car until last week, when the IMA system light came on and stayed on. Today I took it in and the dealer tells me the code indicates I need a new battery. He said it had an 8 year/80k mile warranty from Honda, which I understand. He also told me Honda has a reputation for working with people on things like this.

So I called American Honda's customer service number and explained the situation. The gentleman I spoke to said there was nothing he could do since it was out of warranty. I told him what the dealer people had said, and that I've been a loyal Honda customer since 1986. He said that might make a difference, and if I had the VIN's of some or all of the previous Hondas, that would help. I do have the VIN of my 1994 Civic, which had 248,000 miles on it when I sold it in 2006. He promised to have the customer service manager call me back on it.

"Armen" called me back this afternoon, and basically said "sorry Charlie". I'm out of luck. I'm stuck with a car, the heart of which is now dead, and which Honda has no interest in helping me out with. The new (actually remanufactured) battery and labor will be almost $2500. They weren't willing to meet me half way, or basically to give me the time of day. "Armen" didn't ask for my previous VIN, and didn't seem to care that I've been a Honda customer for probably longer than he's been alive.

He said that since I don't have a service history with this car at the local dealer (that's because nothing has broken...), they have no way to know how I've treated the car. I could understand that, except that he's talking about oil changes and tire rotations - none of which has anything whatever to do with the maintenance-free IMA system.

So basically, I'm stuck. I have an IMA battery that's on its way out, and I'm stuck for $2500 worth of repair on a five year old car that I only paid $13k for.

As I told "Armen" - this is my last Honda. I'll talk to Toyota from now on. He didn't seem to give a rat's behind about losing a customer over $1000 worth of customer service good will. If he'd even said they'd knock $500 off of it, I'd have been elated. Instead, he dug in his heels and has lost a customer of almost 25 years standing.

I hope you all enjoy your Civic Hybrids. I'm in the market for a used Prius at the moment.

Butch

Originally Posted by Chris(CA)

If you feel like being brave you could find someone who is good with electronics. The battery pack itself isn't "dead" only one or two of the cells are crapping out (they are wired in series, it only take one bad one to cause a problem).

You could negtiate with said electronics expert to remove the pack, open it up and check each cell, when you find the bad one(s) remove them and replace them with new ones (at a cost of $10-12 each) and re-assemble. The cost of the parts is cheap, it will be the labor that costs.

Your pack should be good for at least another 25k miles maybe another 50k miles.

good luck.

Originally Posted by privatejoker

There is a definite source for single cells?

Originally Posted by holicow

A friend of mine with an Insight had his batteries replaced free of charge at the exact mileage a few months ago.