Problems with 2006 Honda Civic ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 mileage: * 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. *tr

2006 honda civic hybrid, battery software update. i took car to dealer for this update and it was installed. after the update i've seen an erratic change in the battery assist and this is a driving safety hazard. the battery assist disappears and there is no acceleration. i've taken the car back to the dealer twice after the software update and they insist their computer says all is ok. this vehicle was sold as a hybrid and there was a income tax credit but this software update just about makes it a non hybrid in addition to the safety hazard by losing the battery assist thereby losing acceleration. for instance waiting for a break in traffic to make a left turn, if what they call the ima battery assist is not working then you don't get the acceleration you expect and leave you vulnerable to being in an accident while making the turn. *tr

I have a 2006 honda civic hybrid that i purchased new in california in july, 2006. i'm having a serious and dangerous problem with the hybrid system (ima as honda calls it), but honda keeps telling me its normal because there has not been a fault code. the problem is that last year i started to notice the hybrid battery was having increasing trouble holding a charge and accurately reporting it's charge condition. the most common symptom is that i'll start driving with the charge being reported at 70% full or so, and without warning, the charge drops to 0 and the car begins to aggressively recharge the battery. this aggressive recharging takes about 5-10 minutes after which is reports it is full. but here's where the danger lies, in the first couple of minutes, there is no assist available from the hybrid battery. when starting from a stopped position, the car is extremely sluggish and slow. i have had several cases where i have been pulling across an intersection with cross traffic that doesn't stop and the car, without warning, had slipped into this recharge state and nearly resulted in an accident - the oncoming cars had to brake as i moved slowly across the intersection. my honda dealer and honda of america will not look into the problem unless there is a fault code. i know that others have had almost the exact same problem with their civics. some of them have been lucky enough to have honda replace them hybrid battery and their problems have gone away. i am incredible upset that i have to put myself and my family at risk each time i drive this car - it is a daily problem. please investigate. i hope you observe what i've heard from fellow owners which is that there is a wide-spread problem that honda is trying to ignore because the solution is very expensive. *tr

I own a 2006 honda civic hybrid. approximately two weeks ago i had a software update on the ima system and since that time the acceleration of my car has dramatically (and perhaps dangerously) decreased. honda claims it was done in order to preserve the life of the battery however at no time did they say it would adversely affect the performance of the car. the gas mileage has also suffered badly. prior to the software update the car was running fine and i was getting excellent mileage. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact stated that she received notification of an unknown manufacturers recall pertaining to an engine software upgrade. the recall repair was performed by an authorized dealer however following repairs, the hybrid battery became non-functional and would not hold a charge. the vehicle began to exhibit poor gas mileage and the vehicle would sluggishly accelerate. the manufacturer advised that they were in the process of designing an additional software upgrade. the vehicle was not further repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 80,000 and the current mileage was approximately 82,000.

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 accelerate 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 notifying 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 determination of the extent of that problem. *tr

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'and i am driving so carefully that i sometimes irritate the people behind me. in talking with the dealership, i've been getting answers like: -it's the ethanol in oregon's gas -it's probably the new tires i purchased -it's the way i'm driving the car finally one brave soul at the dealership admitted that many of their hybrid owners are coming in with the same concern. ever since the ima update, they've been getting considerably lower gas mileage. he said the dealership has voiced its concern to honda usa, but there is no action being taken on honda's part. i called honda usa. the answer i got was this: we acknowledge your concern, but there is nothing we are planning to do about it. *tr

2006 honda civic hybrid -- this vehicle relies on battery assistance for an additional 20+ horsepower but is now severely compromised by battery degradation that honda is trying to cover up with a "software update" that only decreases vehicle's dependence on the battery thus ensures less horsepower than advertised. the car has become very dangerous due to the inability to rely on it responding appropriately when the accelerator is pressed, sudden losses of power, dying battery, and more. *tr

My honda civic hybrid ima battery (not the regular electrical system but the integrated motor) will not retain charge. when driving begins, the motor assist battery quickly (within 5 miles) will drop to zero charge leaving the car with absolutely no acceleration power. at times it is unknown if the battery is depleted until it is necessary to put my foot to the floor to avoid a problem on the road. at that point, the battery refuses to respond. several times i have needed to accelerate to avoid an accident and the car will not respond. honda has looked at my car and has decided that "without the ima light coming on, there is no way to diagnose the problem," this problem occurs almost every day i drive the car (documented every day for 2 months.) i have nearly been hit 3 times, once with my children in the car. honda refuses to do anything except "software updates" and refuses to "throw parts" (direct honda quote) at the problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the battery began to lose power and the acceleration was sluggish. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the software was updated. the failure continued and was becoming progressively worse. the vehicle was taken to another dealer who stated that there was nothing wrong. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 60,000 and the current mileage was approximately 64,000. updated 02/08/11*lj the consume stated the hybrid battery began frequently discharging at least once a day in early june 2010. the frequent discharging of the battery resulted in sudden and unexpected loss of acceleration. the consumer obtained the software upgrade from honda in late august 2010 and it did not improve the functioning of the ima battery. the ima battery continued to discharge at least once a day and sometimes three times a day. updated 04/29/11

The integrated motor assist system fails for no apparent reason. this has happened multiple times. the first time i had parked the car overnight and the battery charge indicator was near the top. when i drove to town in the morning and stopped at a stop light on a hill, when i accelerated there was no motor assist and the car was very underpowered. the battery charge indicator showed no charge. it does charge again to normal, but you never know when this may happen. i believe this could be very dangerous in on a freeway on ramp or two lane road passing situation.

Was at a stop sign on sunday 5pm on driver's side window i went to close the window the window shot straight up off the track i was able to catch it before it hit ground the driver's side window is now unusable. *dt

While driving on the highway, all the dashboard lights turned off and the accelerator was not responsive. however, the brakes still worked. after coasting to a stop, the car was able to restart immediately. this failure has not yet recurred. the symptoms are very similar to those caused by a defective ignition switch, which was recalled on 2002 honda models. *tr

Electronic motor assist (ema) battery failure in a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the car had 60,000 miles on it and the battery that powers the electronic motor failed. when the batteries become faulty: gas mileage is decreased as well as the car's overall horsepower(by about 20-25 hp if i am correct). this makes driving the car unpredictable when in traffic. the $3,000 battery was replaced by honda through warranty(stops at 80,000 miles). honda had stated that the batteries should last at least 100,000 miles. the batteries seem to be going be failing in 50,000-70,000 mileage area at an extraordinary rate. i believe this may be my second replacement as in 2007 i had a complete ema failure on the highway. the electronic motor assist failed 100%. all the lights on my dashboard turned on and the rpms shot way up. the dealership had my car for over a week and then told me that it needed a software update which takes minutes to update. *tr

Hybrid battery immediately & without warning loses its entire charge (from full to zero immediately) causing a forced major recharge of hybrid battery, giving the car almost no power with no warning (under normal conditions it never reaches zero--a mild recharge will kick in once it gets half-full). but now it goes from full to zero immediately with no warning. almost caused accident this month when it happened again while on freeway (almost got smashed into when lost power on fwy). honda's techs verified the problem with my car but because they receive no error code they refuse to do any fixes and replace the batteries even though problem is well-known (just search the hybrid car forums for others with the exact same problem). happens a few times each month now, always without warning, always immediately from full (or near full) to zero. this is not the same as a normal gradual depletion as you use the hybrid system under normal use. it suddenly discharges the hybrid battery from full to zero and forces a major recharge pulling away most of the car's power that can easily cause an accident. but even though honda has verified the problem on my car themselves and it's a known problem, they refuse to replace the hybrid battery because they don't get an error code (and in calif by law, hybrid battery has 8-10yr warranty). their answer to me was to just keep driving the car no matter how unsafe it is because without a code they won't fix it (too expensive for a "blind" fix). for others who've reported the same problem, honda got "rid" of the problem by "updating" the car's software to basically turn off the hybrid system so the defective battery won't even be used). this is not a fix. they don't want to fix problem even though they're obligated to. happens numerous times now. they've verified it. and recently 2 times that almost got me smashed into. latest 2 times was sept 2009, but has happened for about the last 8-9 months. honda admits problem, but refuses to fix. *tr

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 wife's 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 safety on busy california freeways. hybrid battery finally replaced by honda after consulting 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 designed to save the battery received 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 complaints, 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. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. when the accelerator pedal was engaged he noticed that the vehicle was not as powerful as usual. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the integrated motor assist was experiencing intermittent failures. the vehicle was not repaired. the problem had continued to occur intermittently. the vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer where the software system was updated. the failure became progressively worse. the failure mileage was 43,381 and the current mileage was 56,000. the consumer stated the safety issued is that ima batteries lose their ability to hold a charge and the reprogramming implemented by honda causes the acceleration capability of the vehicle to become extremely erratic. sometimes, it will accelerate normally and sometimes it doesn't. updated 03/11/11

My 2006 civic hybrid has multiple problems with the ima: here's a short list: 1. cannot sit at traffic light more than 20 seconds without hybrid battery draining itself and causing car not to be able to accelerate when light turns green. 2. cannot use a/c when over 95 degrees outside or hybrid battery drains itself, making car unable to function correctly 3. cannot use cruise control at all or hybrid battery drains itself 4. cannot go over 70 mph or tac revs so high that car acts as though it will overheat or shut down. multiple trips to honda service for help resulted in 5 computer updates in last 3 months. was assured this would fix all problems. hasn't fixed a one yet. have been driving a loaner car from dealer for 1.5 weeks until they figure out problem. feel like sitting duck on the road, especially at stop lights because when light turns green, there is a real possibility that i will not be able to move and fear getting rear-ended. problems seemed to center around use of compressor with a/c or defrost. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact stated that when driving at least 35 mph uphill, the vehicle would drive sluggish and with limited power. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer who informed the contact that he would need to replace the battery to correct the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000. updated 2/23/11 *cn the consumer stated the auto stop feature and main battery began acting erratic and the vehicle began losing power. updated 05/20/11

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that while the vehicle was in drive and her foot was on the brake pedal she was able to take her keys out of the ignition. the vehicle was not in park. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the vehicle would not start since the vehicle was in drive. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 25000. the current mileage was 70000.

My 2006 honda civic si has an issue with "hanging revs" that even after the release of the gas pedal the rpms seems to stay steady for 1-2 seconds. the inability of the dbw system will eventually lead to early clutch failure, also there is surging and jerking in 1st-2nd gear. i must say that it makes me very nervous to drive because i can't predict what the car will do. the car also seems to have a notchy, stiff, and grinding 3rd gear that won't seem to go away even with recommended fluid. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while driving at any speed, especially when making a turn, the wheels feel as if they will detach from the vehicle. the vehicle bounces and shakes and the speedometer displays inaccurate readings. while driving 30 mph, the speedometer will display 50 mph and vice versa. the dealer informed the contact to check the gas cover. on one of the four occasions that she went to the dealer, she was informed that the failure was internal. repairs were made, but the failure persists. on another occasion, the contact was informed that there were no failures. she is afraid to drive the vehicle with her children. the current mileage was 24,358 and failure mileage was 15,000. updated 09/24/08 *bf updated 09/26/08. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact received a recall notice in december of 2007 for the integrated motor assist cable, which stated that it could cause an electrical shortage. he called the dealer numerous times and was informed that the part was not available. the consequence of this defect is that the battery may explode. there had been no failure to date. the recall number was unknown. the current mileage was 14,000 and failure mileage was 12,000.

i have had three incidents of complete battery failure on my honda civc hybrid 2007. with the last incident, on oct. 26, 2007. i felt very shaken because i was pulling onto a highway and an 18 wheeler was coming - the battery failed and i only had the power of a small gas engine. i was forced to pull onto the shoulder of the road to avoid a collision. i have had my car at the dealership three times for the same problem and currently it remains at the dealership since nov. 1. i am being told that they cannot fix the problem because they do not know the cause and they are unable to get the car to repeat the problem. all three times that my battery failed, i was driving in the city. the temperature outside was probably high 80s to mid 90s. the honda dealership has re-worked the electronics twice without success. *tr

I have a honda civic 2006 (lease) this car has 2 recall one on 8/30/07 and on 11/07 but the dealer never sent me any warning, note, letter or call to notify this situation, i read that by fed law they should contact me and let me know the ricks that this issue can cause me. i called because i had a problem with my car keys code and they told about this and they said sorry because they do not know why i was not notify about this i very disappointed because that is very dangerous and i do not get notify at all, i had 3 cars with the honda all 3 are lease cars so it is not excuse that they cannot contact me also i am living t the same place for more than one year and i got my honda bill every month. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid which was purchased in november 2005. she noticed a significant decrease in the gas mileage between 10 to 15 mpg. she also stated that while driving uphill or accelerating the vehicle would lose power. there were no recalls pertaining to the failure. the failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. updated 10/26/09. *lj the consumer stated since the vehicle passed the 50,000 mile mark, it looses power when traveling up hill and/or acceleration. the dealer performed computer upgrades but to no avail. updated 10/26/09. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that the front windshield and the front and rear driver and passenger side windows were opened without the vehicle being occupied. in addition, the exterior lighting became inoperable. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. in late april of 2007, the engine light, ica light, and battery light illuminated while exiting the highway at 10 mph. the vehicle stopped accelerating and the failure occurred three times. the dealer performed a repair on the vehicle, but the failure still occurs. the current mileage is 5,400 and failure mileage was 3,500.

While driving at highway speeds, my cars instrument panel went blank, all gauges went out. this is an electronic panel. in addition, the cars engine lost all power. i had to coast to the side of the road. there was no indication that the car was running. it is a hybrid and it felt like it was in the auto stop mode when you are at a light, the engine was not running (at least you could not tell it was running). i turned the cars ignition off and then restarted the car. it started up again and the gauges were working and i was able to continue driving. i brought the car to the dealer and explained the symptoms. they checked the computer for error codes and found none. they were not able to find anything wrong. this is a safety hazard since the car is not drivable when this occurs. i expressed my concerned to the service manager and he stated that there were to many computers and wires for then to check them all and we would have to wait until it happened again. this occurred one other time while the car was in the drive way during the winter idling. when we got in the car after a few minutes, we noticed that all gauges were out. again, turning the ignition off and restarting the car cleared the problem. *tr

My 2006 honda hybrid has a surge problem. i've smelled battery fluids before plus the ima drive shuts down under load (long-distance freeway driving) which causes multiple drivability issues. the vehicle does not come close to the advertised mpg levels while under normal driving conditions and i have also experienced an accident that i believe may have been surge instigated as this problem happens when depressing the brake pedal. when you depress the pedal the vehicle surges forward. i was parked and had just covered the brake after assessing the roadway when a woman hit me. she stated it was my fault but i had the brake on and my work partner saw something related to this on the televisions at a shell gas station relaying the information to me. i have not been able to acquire any other information about this vehicle and due to the fact i have paid (paying) 35 thousand dollars for this vehicle i feel honda owes me an explanation at the very least. i never reported the defects as i was under the belief it was just my amplifier that was smelling but now i am unsure. i have had poor service from carson honda in the past and am reluctant to use them in the future so if you can help me, i would appreciate it. thank you. *jb

I have an intermittent problem with a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the car on 8 occasions has not restarted when in the auto stop mode when i take my foot off the brake. my dealer and american honda refuse to address the problem since it is intermittent. i am stuck in traffic until i restart the car by going to park. i feel i am a sitting duck and sooner or later will be rear ended. *nm

Purchased new honda civic ex on 5/25/06 1st failure on 7/21/2006: front and rear (tail) running lights failed with 1666 miles on the car ---- dealership replaced fuse box. kept car for several days 2nd failure on 7/31/2006: front and rear (tail) running lights again failed ---- headlight switch replaced, car driven by dealership for almost two weeks to ensure repair successful 3rd failure on 10/22/2006: front and rear (tail) running lights again stopped working ---- honda america wanted car back to investigate/repair lights ---- declined request and instead have asked honda to repurchase the vehicle, invoking the lemon law buyback provision because unreliable/intermittent rear running lights failure can lead to death or serious bodily injury and two failed repair attempts are sufficient to invoke the buyback provision in our state. honda sent this demand to internal honda arbitration board. it is now 11/2/2006 - 11 days after notifying them of lights failing for 3rd time. *nm

After driving 10 miles and parking, the vehicle was put into reverse. upon backing out the steering wheel locked. after this, the car was put into drive to go back into the parking space. with the vehicle in drive the car continued in reverse. the engine was then turned off and restarted 1 minute later. everything was back to normal. this occurred 11-oct-2006 and 1 previous time last month. honda has no record of this on 2006 civic. *nm

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. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated the horn was not blowing correctly. the horn made a buzzing noise when depressed and the vehicle vibrated. the dealership was notified.

At about 11,000 miles when the vehicle was 6 months old, the engine light came on for no apparent reason. from that point forward, the problems began to escalate. the vehicle engine began to reduce the speed of the vehicle from 75 to 50, 50 to 35 and on another occasion, 45 to 25 while merging into traffic on the interstate. on all occasions, the vehicle was being driven on the interstate at high speeds. the vehicle is a manual transmission. the service department at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased on 2/2006 finally conceded that they could not fix the vehicle. the vehicle was referred to american honda corporation for mediation and a buy back price. at this point in time, the vehicle meets all test requirements for the north carolina lemon law. american honda wants to trade in the vehicle and replace the engine, then resell.. honda civic sedan with navigation. this vehicle should be destroyed and not resold on the marketplace. *jb

Rear running lights failed twice in one week. fuse box with electronic chip replaced on first visit and lights failed again after two days. abs light also came on during first visit for rear running light problem and service dept replaced the abs modulator and bled the brakes before returning car. service dept baffled by electrical problem and consulted with honda engineers in los angeles who recommended replacing fuse box which is new design and has electronic chip in it,unlike earlier honda civic models. dealer had driven approx. 30 miles and thought problem resolved. severe safety issue as car has no rear lights visible at night. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact stated that the low charge ima battery caused the vehicle to accelerate at low power. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who could not find a problem or any diagnostic codes. the contact received a letter to have the computer software upgraded. the failure continued after the upgrade. the failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

The radio antenna (located in the rear window defroster) is nothing but static. i live in a major metropolitan area and can not get one radio station to come in clearly. i've had the radio replaced and by the dealer when the car was under warranty with no luck. there is no static with cd's - only radio (fm mostly). wiring in rear defroster/radio is compromised. honda service dealerships have not been helpful in resolving this issue or informing me of what the issue was. *tr