Body has a few chips and nearly unnoticable dinks. Interior very good shape. Test drive went good. No sounds, vibrations, shakes, or shifting. New transmission (I've heard lots about the transmission problems) and comes with the warranty. 45,000 kilometers $10,800 canadian. Understand that the gas engine should shut down when stopped if the battery is charged to a certain extent. Battery charge indicated maybe 85% but the gas engine never went silent when braked at a stop light. Is salesman wrong about this? Any answers on this one appreciated. Final sitdown with the dealer on Tuesday (put down deposit). Any input appreciated.

Make sure the defroster is not on. And take a look at the settings for the air conditioning. The auto-stop should work if the fan control dial is set to "off".

Alternatively if you are using the AC, try setting the ECON button to "on". The AC will not cool as quickly, but the auto-stop feature should be enabled.
Hopefully there's a manual in the glove compartment for you to read; I found the operation of the heating/AC to be kind of confusing, but having the settings a certain way could disable the auto-stop, so it's something to check out.

Other things that could cause the auto-stop not to function are if the engine coolant is not up to normal operating temperature, the shift lever is not in either D or N, you release your foot off the brake, the outside temperature is below freezing, the IMA temperature is either too hot or too cold or the charge is too low, or the power brake vacuum reserve drops below an optimum level.

This info is listed in the manual under the heater/AC section and the transmission sections.

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/m.../car/5679.html

Thanks Gairwyn,
I was in the back seat with the manual as my wife drove and the salesman fiddled with the AC, ECO, and other buttons and switches. I think he had turned on the AC to cool down the car...its was a warm day yesterday. I've copied your note to my pod so I'll go in tomorrow and use it to check it out one more time.

Looking at the mileage per gallon, price and thinking how much a new Hybrid would cost and depreciate in the first three years, I think this is a very cheap way of getting into a Hybrid vehicle. The wifes 92 Honda Civic gets about 22 mpg so its going to make a hugh difference in Greenhouse gases.

The son in law is going to use the engine in one of his two Honda Civics so that will take a vehicle off the road as well.

Thanks again for the info. And a lot of good info on the forum. Hoping all goes well on Tuesday so I can make some good use of it.

We picked up the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid yesterday!!! The dealer agreed to add some mud flaps and a couple of other minor things...like a bug shield!!

Anyway...the auto stop works fine. Feels weird in the beginning ...especially on a hill and no roll back...but I'm sure we will get used to it in a short time.

Didnt see anything on the forum about this...probably just missed it...but the transmission now carries a 7 year 164 k warranty . I was told this is because there were so many probs with it.

I'm going a' googling and see if I can get a couple of answers.

Any special precautions when jumping the 12 volt battery if needed.

How much is a set of winter tires for this baby.

Does or does not the key have a chip in it so it cant be copied and used in the ignition .

If you are browsing thru and have any info or opinions please pass along. The wife and I are just excited about this. Never been excited about a 7 year old car before. *lol*

Congrats! I also was excited when I bought my HCH when it was 3 years old.
I'll try to answer the questions that I can.

As far as I know, yes the key has a chip in it which is part of the "Immobilizer System". There's info in the manual about it. If an improperly-coded key is inserted into the ignition, the car will not start.

I purchased Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi winter tires for my car. They were $89 each at my local tire shop. Prices may vary on other brands; I really like the Hakkas.

See if you can double-check on that warranty extension for the transmission. The paperwork I have (circa 2007) says the warranty on the CVT judder or slippage problem goes for 7 years/100,000 miles. (Maybe it's different in Canada? I'm not sure what the conversion is between kilometers and miles, so maybe it's the same.)

Glad to hear that your auto-stop function is working fine. Sometimes it just doesn't happen to activate during a test-drive (car not warmed up yet, AC on or whatever). I first experienced the auto-stop on an incline during the test drive, and the car did roll back a bit when I took my foot off the brake pedal, so I learned soon enough how to avoid rollback on a hill by keeping my foot on the brake, then when ready to move, step on the gas. My old car would hold its place on an upgrade without having my foot on either the brake or the gas; the CVT is very different.

I haven't had to jump start my 12V battery yet. There are tips in the manual regarding that.

I haven't ever seen a bug shield installed on an HCH. I guess it isn't too "buggy" around here. But the front of my car did come with a few tiny chips in the paint, probably due to little stones hitting it from the road.

Anyway, good luck with your "new" car!

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/m.../car/5679.html