Civic hybrid reliability?

Civic hybrids are sooooooo tempting because of their low prices.

There is a reason for the low prices.
Bad cvt transmissions.
Failing Hybrid battery packs.

Check the service history to see if yours has already been brought in with symptoms for either of those problems.

Start changing the cvt fluid regularly.

Buy or build a pack charger/discharger as a preventive measure. Do a full 3 charge/discharge cycles initially. Then keep up the habit at least twice a year. More if necessary.

 

Honda makes some of the worst transmissions along with Nissan. Only thing Honda got going on is their strong reliable engines.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

We never had any transmission problems, in 30+ Honda years. That said, the Civic Hybrid's CVT is a new design, and there have been problems, slipping mainly?

Our 06 Civic Hybrid is still going, no transmission problems, so far, at around 220K km's. We (my son and I) put fresh fluid whenever the Maintenance Minder dictates, every 2~3 years I think.

 

As far as I know CVTs have been around since the 2001 Insight. The main flaw is NOT the belt, but the pulleys. They are constantly changing in size, so they wear-out very quickly. The "splines" are the failure piece.

Don't buy a Civic Hybrid.
Don't buy a hybrid.
Just buy a standard model of whatever car you like. If you prefer Civic there is the Civic HF or HX that gets 40mpg highway. Or the base Civic which is around $16,000 new.

 

I bought 2008 HCH 5 years ago uded. That was my first hybrid car. Even though I knew about the high battery failure rate on this model and pending class action lawsuit, the price was just too good to pass. For five years of ownership, I had tigh rod and 02 sensor repairs, as well as replacing all four TPMS. The car is at 135K miles and still going strong on original hybrid battery. It is now being driven by my son, for I purchased a new Prius in 2015. All and all, it was a good buy for us, considering that I could not find any Prius for the price at that time. I wish your HCH serves you well.

 

It's a little more complicated than that, but the plain old starter should still be there. So you can disconnect the traction pack and run it like a traditional car. At least it was an option on the first Insight.

 

I am no expert on this subject, but I currently own 2008 HCH with 137K miles. I bought it over five years ago with 70k miles. As far as I know, it is still with the original hybrid IMA battery. I knew of the premature battery failure issue on this year model, but the price was sooo good I took a chance with a purchase of dealer offered 3 years extended warranty (which I ended-up not using any portion of it). Although I previously had regular gas Civic, this was my first hybrid car. I, since then, purchased a new Prius, and let my son drive this HCH. The car has been mostly trouble free, except multiple TPMS failures which wasn't covered by the extended warranty, and O2 sensor replacement at 125k mile after the extended warranty expired. I did not have any sign of IMA battery problem, that is until last Winter when it started showing calibration event at 132k miles mark. Since then, we have basically ignored it with a hope that if the battery is to fail, I wanted it to fail earlier rather than later, for we live in PZEV state that offers IMA Battery Warranty (Years/miles)= 10/150,000. I have about one more year or 13k miles before the warranty expires. Even after the calibration event became frequent, the car has been driving very well and my son was getting about 40mpg during winter with studded snow tires, and now it is warmer and it has new LRR all season tires on it, it is getting average of 48mpg. My understanding is that unless IMA light comes up, dealer will not perform any repair. I am not aware of any preventive service that can slow the eventual battery failure. BTW, my son recently wrecked this car. It was a minor accident that caused only cosmetic damages to mostly front and side of the body. I had full coverage on this car, and after the accident, it was declared to be total loss by my insurance company. Lucky thing is that the car was still mechanically sound, so I purchased the car back at salvaged price and pocketed the rest of insurance settlement. I then spend a few hundred bucks to fix minor body damages to make it street legal. I just got it back from the body shop, and so far it is running great as before. I am going to let my son keep driving it until it falls apart.

 

I bought a 2003 new; sold it to my daughter to go to school with. She traded this past winter after 277K miles. Honda replaced the hybrid battery at 120K under warranty. Other than consumables, tires, brakes and routine maintenance there were no issues.

 

Was that a stick shift or cvt?

 

Manual transmission

 

Out of all the civic hybrids the Gen 1 with manual transmissions are the only one I would trust.

The others are much more prone to battery issues or cvt transmission issues, or both.

I would never let anyone I liked buy a cvt civic hybrid. They would be much better off buying a non-hybrid civic.

 

We own a 2003 Civic Hybrid with the manual tranny, currently has 257K on it. Honda bought the first pack which crapped out at 98K, we bought the second (Dorman) at 223K. It is dying of body cancer now, we will probably be selling/retiring it soon. It is a fun car to drive with the stick, to be sure.

 

My first hybrid car ever, 2008 HCH which is now driven by my son, had IMA and check engine lights on (P0A7F code, deteriorating hybrid battery pack). Odometer reading is at 147320 and it is 9 years 9 mo old. I was so glad that we live in PZEV state that the HONDA warranty covers IMA battery for 10 years/ 150K miles. I just brought the car into HONDA dealer and they said it is covered by the warranty. If not, I would have given up on this car already.

 

Our 2007 HCHII was awesome for a few years until battery troubles started. It took 4 years and countless efforts to get Honda to admit battery was on its last legs and to replace it. Car has now just over 100k and it driveable but nowhere near as well as when it was new. I highly suggest anybody thinking of getting one to just get a used Prius. Other than battery and rust due to Northeast salt it's been OK. Here is my writeup of the battery issues: Rant: Our 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid (HCHII) troubles or how not to treat customers | KuzyaTech

I hope the new powertrain used in Accords and Clarity is better!

 

my daughters 99 accord was a rust bucket. i thought they would have improved by '07. how are the newer ones doing?

 

Our 06 Civic Hybrid overall is not bad. But lately I noticed a rear anti-sway bar that's pretty much rust-dust. And the AC radiator (aka condenser) in the front is dropping rows of fins.

 

Yeah, the cylindrical modules were in my view, more able to dissipate heat than prismatic, and shouldn't have being having such issues.

Just as you've pointed out, shorted cells, and all that could be the cause of failures.