2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Powertrain & Transmission Problems

HONDA CVT TRANSMISSION SLIPS WHEN STARTING OUT , ESPECIALLY WHEN STARTING UPHILL . HAVE TAKEN TO HONDA AND PRIVATE MECHANICS NO SOLUTION. THIS THING SLIPPING WHEN I TRY TO START OUT INTO TRAFFIC CAN AND WILL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT SOMEDAY .

"VEHICLE SHUDDER PROBLEM" I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A JOLTING/SHUDDERING ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE SINCE I PURCHASED IT IN 2013. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP POSITION, THE VEHICLE SHUDDERS WITH THE STEERING VIBRATING BEFORE MOVING. ON A SNOWING OR RAINING DAY, SOME SKIDDING OCCURS WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SAFETY ISSUES. IT APPEARS THAT THERE HAS BEEN RECALLS IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES, I WOULD ENCOURAGE SIMILAR RECALL IN NORTH AMERICA FROM HONDA. I CALLED HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE @ 1-800-999-1009 THIS MORNING, AND WAS INFORMED THERE IS NO SHUDDER RECALL AT THIS TIME. IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE IF THE ADMINISTRATION COULD LIAISE WITH HONDA. WE SHOULDN'T REALLY WAIT UNTIL THERE IS FATALITIES BEFORE AN ACTION IS TAKEN. LET'S SAVE LIVES!

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

CVT IS SLIPPING, HARD TO POWER UP HILLS, DOESN'T KICK IN AFTER A STOP AND SOMETIMES STAYS ON OR SPEEDS UP AROUND CORNERS. JUST HAD THE TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGED AND PROBLEM HAS NOT IMPROVED. *TR

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) HYBRID SYSTEM LOSES POWER WITH NO KNOWN PRECIPITATING FACTORS OR ADVANCE INDICATION OF FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WILL IMMEDIATELY REDUCE POWER TRAIN OUTPUT PRIOR TO THE DASH GAUGES INDICATING A NEAR-COMPLETE LOSS OF IMA BATTERY CHARGE AND FUNCTION MOMENTS LATER, WITH ONLY THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PROVIDING MOTIVE POWER. WITHIN 3-4 MILES OF DRIVING, THE IMA BATTERY CHARGE, AS INDICATED BY THE DASH METER, WILL THEN IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO A COMPLETELY FULL LEVEL IN A SIMILARLY UNEXPLAINED FASHION. INDEPENDENT OF THESE TRANSIENT BUT REGULAR FAILURES OF THE HIGH-VOLTAGE HYBRID SYSTEM, THE VEHICLE FUNCTIONS AS EXPECTED. CURRENTLY, I HAVE DOCUMENTED OVER 160 INSTANCES SINCE 4/22/11, OCCURRING AN AVERAGE OF ONCE EVERY DAY THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN, INCREASING TO 2-3 TIMES DAILY SINCE MID-NOVEMBER, 2011 (DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST). SYMPTOMS OCCUR INDEPENDENT OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, NATURE OF DRIVE (HIGH/LOW SPEED) AND DESPITE CHANGING THE 12 VOLT BATTERY AND DISCONNECTING OR TURNING OFF ALL POWER ACCESSORIES POSSIBLE. FOLLOWING A SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN BY HONDA IN LATE SUMMER/FALL, 2010 THAT INVOLVED A SOFTWARE UPDATE INSTALLED AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP AND REPLACEMENT OF THE DC-DC CONVERTER PORTION OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM UNDER RECALL SHORTLY AFTER, THE EPISODES OF LOSS OF POWER IMPAIRING VEHICLE OPERATION HAVE INCREASED IN FREQUENCY. AN ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE UPDATE BY HONDA COMPLETED ON 11/10/11 HAS FURTHER EXACERBATED THE RATE OF TRANSIENT FAILURES OF THE IMA SYSTEM AND IMPACTED VEHICLE DRIVEABILITY. MULTIPLE SOFTWARE UPDATES PERTAINING THE THE IMA HYBRID SYSTEM HAVE ALSO BEEN INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE BY HONDA DEALER TECHNICIANS OVER THE PREVIOUS 3 YEARS. *TR

HONDA PERFORMED AN IMA SOFTWARE UPDATE ON 12/22/2010. SINCE THAT TIME THE AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRICAL ASSIST HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED. EVEN WHEN THE BATTERY READS FULL, I CANNOT BE SURE THAT ELECTRICAL ASSIST WILL BE AVAILABLE, OR, IF IT IS AVAILABLE, HOW LONG IT WILL LAST. SEVERAL TIMES IT HAS SUDDENLY FAILED IN THE MIDDLE OF A MERGE OR LANE CHANGE. *TR

SUMMARY: MY 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID RECEIVED THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) SOFTWARE UPGRADE IN 2010, SINCE THEN VEHICLE PERFORMANCE IS UNRELIABLE. IF THE CAR IS NOT USED FOR ABOUT 10 HOURS OR MORE I.E. ONE DAY THE IMA BATTERY WILL DRAIN IN LESS THAN A MILE OF LEAVING MY HOME THE NEXT DAY, ON A LEVEL ROADWAY. THIS LEAVES ME WITH THE GAS ENGINE ONLY AND DRIVEABILITY IN TRAFFIC SUFFERS A LOT WITH SLOW ACCELERATION AND POOR OVERTAKING CAPABILITY TO THE POINT OF BEING DANGEROUS. AFTER ABOUT 2-3 MILES THE IMA SYSTEM WILL START TO INDICATE CHARGING AND WITHIN A SHORT DISTANCE THE IMA INDICATOR WILL SUDDENLY JUMP FROM 3 BARS (LOW) TO 8 BARS (FULL) IN A MATTER OF 3-5 SECONDS. THIS IS NOT NORMAL NIMH BATTERY BEHAVIOR MY HONDA DEALER SAYS THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE IMA SYSTEM LIGHT DOES NOT ILLUMINATE (OBD DOES NOT SHOW A FAULT). IN MY OPINION FROM DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE IMA SOFTWARE UPGRADE HAS DONE NOTHING TO SOLVE THE BASIC PROBLEM AND HAS REDUCED MY ECONOMY BY ABOUT 8 MPG!. *TR

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) BATTERY IS FAILING PREMATURELY ON MY CAR, THE ASSIST WORKS SPORADICALLY. WHEN PASSING TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY I HAVE TO REALLY MASH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, BECAUSE THE ASSIST IS ABSENT FOR LACK OF POWER. HONDA INSTALLED A SOFTWARE FIX(BULLETIN 10-034) THAT GREATLY REDUCES THE BATTERY ABILITY TO FUNCTION AT FULL CAPACITY, SO THEY COULD MAKE THE BATTERY LAST LONGER AND NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY. I GET THE CODE P0A7F (ONE OF THE BLOCKS IN THE BATTERY PACK HAS DETERIORATED: ITS DYNAMIC RESISTANCE IS TOO HIGH) ON MY CAR COMPUTER. HONDA ERASED IT MANUALLY AND SENT ME HOME WITHOUT REPLACING MY IMA BATTERY. WHEN COMING TO A STOP THE CAR SURGES AS I MAKE A COMPLETE STOP, BECAUSE THE CAR IS REGENERATING POWER TO REPLENISH THE SPENT BATTERY. THE SO CALLED PATCH 10-034 IS REALLY MAKING THE CAR UNSTABLE TO DRIVE, THE ENGINE REEVES VERY HIGH WITHOUT MUCH POWER PRODUCED IN PASSING OR ENTERING HIGHWAYS SITUATIONS. WHEN THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE, A LITTLE TOUCH OF THE GAS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO PASS TRAFFIC OR CLIMB STEEP HILLS. NOW THE ASSIST ONLY WORKS SOMETIMES AND KEEPS ME GUESSING IF I WILL HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO PASS OR NOT. THE IMA BATTERY IS DEFINITELY NOT UP TO THE JOB. *TR