I have recommended the honda civic hybrid to a friend who is a salesman. He came back to me the next day and clearly stated the batteries fail at 80000 miles and cost 4k to replace . He says he puts on 80k per year and cant afford the , according to his research, assured battery failure I like to some how find out just how many batteries are failing and what is it costing to replace. The only sign of my 04 manual failing , and i dont think it is a failure but a software control clamp of battery cycling depths during hot wather. . What is the battery reality

My own 2004 CVT has 122,000 miles and drives/starts/runs just as new and have not noticed any changes what so ever. I have also used the battery as sparingly as reasonably possible over the life of the car.

Last I heard the replacement cost dropped to $2,400, which not only includes the battery pack but also it's associated controlling hardware.

My lead-acid battery under the hood died around 70,000 miles. $49.00 at my local auto store.

-Steve

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

Your friend is mistaken. The batteries last varying lengths of time and mileage. Not 80K and then - blip - they're toast. It depends on many factors, it appears. I suspect most HCH1 batteries last well over 100K miles.
I bought the extended warranty on my HCH2, so I know I'm covered for at least 120K miles or 8 years. Just the fact that you CAN buy such a warranty implies that Honda expects my battery to last at least 120K miles.
And, I believe the costs associated with replacement ARE coming down, as Hot_Georgia_2004 said.
Last, if your friend drives 80K miles a year, he CLEARLY needs some vehicle that gets darn good MPG, whatever it is.

Steve

STOP terrorism - Drive a HYBRID

Vehicles:
350 miles a week ------------ 2006 HCH II, Magnetic Pearl, w/NAVI (born on May 25, 2006)
350 miles a month ---------- 2003 Mazda Tribute ES-V6
350 miles a year (for now) - 1986 Mercedes 560SL

My battery is showing signs of age at 125K, but still working fine.

On the replacements, are we getting the Gen2 packs plus voltage controller to match it with our IMA?

Thanks!
--Larry

My battery pack is fine at 170,000 + miles.

147,000 and still goin!

Wow! Your friend must literally live in his car. Assuming he only takes 2 weeks vacation, and never has a holiday, 80,000 miles per year works out to 1600 miles per week or 320 miles per day--for EVERY work day. I hope he listens to some relaxing music while he's travelling. Yes, with this kind of driving he really needs a super-hybrid.

The IMA battery in my 2003 HCH CVT was replaced about three months ago at 75,000 miles. YMMV, of course.

Ymmv?

Your
Mileage
May
Vary.