Honda Civic IMA battery issue

christy02

Hi all,

I bought a 08 Honda civic hybrid a couple of weeks ago. Mainly used for school runs.

Not that many around so was lucky to find one locally that fitted the bill. I have an accord also and has been fantastically reliable hence I wanted a civic in particular.

Test drove it and mechanically sound. However a few days after buying it I noticed an issue with hybrid battery. It works fine around town, but when getting car up to speed on motorway for example, the Ima battery drains and light comes on.

It charges away fine though and works again when is charged. A few YouTube videos confirm that this is sign battery is starting to fail.

I found a company in Clare online that specialise in reconditioned batteries. I sent him on a video of the battery display and he confirmed battery is in early stages of failure. He does reconditioned battery for 800euro.

I brought car back to garage as it has a warranty with it and he said he knew little about these and would have to contact Honda and would come back to me. Surprise surprise he hasn't as of yet!

I will chase him up again, but should I accept a reconditioned battery or should I expect a new battery from Honda? Around 2,500euro I believe. I feel if he covers the cost of the reconditioned battery I will get it done and be happy with that. In fairness it is 10 years old and I expect that whoever traded car probably knew battery was on way out and garage didn't realise. Hard enough to pick up on without a reasonably long test drive..

What I don't want is an ecu update that Honda do that basically tells battery to ignore damaged cells. This just makes battery last a bit longer.

Just wondering what I should be looking for from garage? Feeling I am going to have to chase them, however they are reputable and well established in the area.

TIA

colm_mcm

I think realistically you should be looking for the reconditioning to be covered, failing that a refund.

It’ll depend on what was actually covered by the warranty too.

christy02

Thanks Colm. Tbf to garage, he didn't question if it was covered. Warranty covers normal mechanical items. Doesn't cover wear parts. However I feel that hybrid battery is I tegral part of the engine, and has not work out in two weeks.

I would be happy if he covered the cost of reconditioned battery. I would also be happy to bring car to Clare to get work done. I'll give him another day or two to get back to me and will chase him again.

If he kept giving me run around would I go through small claims court or would I be wasting my time?

I don't want a refund. I am happy with car apart from this and got it for a decent price, as well as him taking old Micra in exchange. If I had to pay for reconditioned battery myself then I would. I am aware that with any 10yr old hybrid there could be battery issues.

Toyotafanboi

I agree, I think if you got the cost of the refurbed battery covered that'd be a good result all round. Hopefully they are decent and work with you on it.

It'll largely depend on what you paid for the car, if it was say <€3k the car may not have been profitable enough for them to shell out €800 in warranty repairs and a buy back situation may be more practical for you both.

christy02

I paid 5400 for car, part of which was a trade in (700). If he bought it back what would he do with it apart from sell it to someone else with same issue?

Realistically should I offer to pay part of cost? Place I looked up offer a repaired battery for 400. Guy I spoke to said if I wa t to keep car for few years then reconditioned battery would last longer.

Did think if garage covered 400 for repaired battery cost I would cover rest to get reconditioned one. Or should I hold out for him to cover as much of cost as possible?

colm_mcm

Don’t even get into offering to pay anything. Go on the basis that you’re being fair and only pushing for the reconditioned battery

Toyotafanboi

At €5400 I'd be expecting them to pay for an €800 repair I reckon. If they bought it back it would get traded on or perhaps sold on again but at least it wouldn't be your issue.

See what the dealers stance is and how you feel about his honesty towards you before you go reaching into your own pocket.

christy02

Fair point. Hopefully he will be fair about it. If he refused to do anything, would I get anywhere through small claims court?

Also I have sourced the guy that does reconditioned batteries, not him. Should I mention that or let him source his own battery?

Toyotafanboi

I'd probably mention that. They might be glad of a recommendation as hybrid repairs like this still aren't the norm a lot of places mightn't have a great knowledge of them and might think a new battery costing thousands is the only option.

christy02

Yeah the guy hadn't a clue about them. If he rang Honda I'd imagine they told him it would be a couple of grand. No chance he'll come back to me!

The company I spoke to in Clare they said they would speak to garage if I wanted. I'll look around some more at other options also.

Thanks for replies.

NomadicGray

Can you tell me who is doing the reconditioned batteries? Ive been toying with the idea of getting a CRZ and id like to know theres someone out there that could help if needed,

Thanks

colm_mcm

NomadicGray wrote: »

Can you tell me who is doing the reconditioned batteries? Ive been toying with the idea of getting a CRZ and id like to know theres someone out there that could help if needed,

Thanks

They’re called Hybrid Batteries Ireland, and they’re in East Clare (down near Tula AFAIK)

christy02

NomadicGray wrote:

Can you tell me who is doing the reconditioned batteries? Ive been toying with the idea of getting a CRZ and id like to know theres someone out there that could help if needed,

They are in feakle hybrid batteries ireland. On Facebook as well.
Guy seems ok to deal with.

Contacted garage again and they are still putting me off saying they waiting for Honda to come back to them, which I don't believe.
I rang Honda garage and they could tell me over phone price of a new battery.

What should I do as next steps?

colm_mcm

Call in to them. Have a chat.

christy02

colm_mcm wrote:

Call in to them. Have a chat.

Good advice Colm. Will do.

colm_mcm

Better when it’s face to face.

Hellrazer

christy02 wrote: »

What I don't want is an ecu update that Honda do that basically tells battery to ignore damaged cells. This just makes battery last a bit longer.

The update doesn't make it "ignore" bad cells.
The update adjusts the charging parameters on the battery and can actually fix the issue for good.
Originally these batteries came with 10 year Honda warranty so it may be a case that its still inside the Honda warranty depending on the build date.
Definitely worth checking this out as a new Honda battery will outlast any remanufactured one. And a lot of those remanufactured ones are made up of failed batteries by just switching good cells out into the old housing.

gibbon75

Hellrazer wrote: »

The update doesn't make it "ignore" bad cells.
The update adjusts the charging parameters on the battery and can actually fix the issue for good.
Originally these batteries came with 10 year Honda warranty so it may be a case that its still inside the Honda warranty depending on the build date.
Definitely worth checking this out as a new Honda battery will outlast any remanufactured one. And a lot of those remanufactured ones are made up of failed batteries by just switching good cells out into the old housing.

As far as I remember the warranty was for 7 years on the hybrid system.Toyota had 10 years maybe.

colm_mcm

Warranty on the Civic IMA battery was 8 years or 160000km assuming it’s european spec

christy02

Just an update on this. Garage I bought car from brought car to Honda dealer to confirm issue. Honda confirmed that battery was not functioning correctly.

Garage organised hybrid batteries ireland (I had sourced these) and paid for a reconditioned battery. They also covered the cost of them to travel to Cork and fit battery in my driveway.

Car is working beautifully now. I also have a year warranty on the battery for peace of mind.

Good service by the car dealer even though I was sceptical at the start.