An update (you'll love this)...

Dropped my HCH II at a local dealer today to have the engine block coolant drain plug removed and the block heater element put in for the quoted price of $56. Then I went to work.

About an hour later I get a call from the service writer who tells me they can't get the drain plug out either *unless* they remove the right-side axle shaft so they could get a clean shot at it with a breaker bar... and that would cost me an additional $149! Ouch! I thought about it for a moment, and decided I really want a block heater, so I gave them approval to go ahead.

Later in the afternoon I send an email to the service writer to see how the job went, and he calls me back. He starts stuttering a bit and tells me they were successful at getting the drain plug out, but in the process the damaged the right-front wheel ABS wire harness, but they of course would pay for that. Only problem is they don't have a replacement wiring harness in stock, so in the mean time the ABS will not function and the "ABS" and "BRAKE SYSTEM" warning lights will stay lit on the instrument panel. No big deal I thought... I've lived without ABS for more years than I've actually had it, and I can ignore the warning lights for a few days. So I made a new appointment for Tuesday of next week to get the new ABS wire harness replaced after it arrives.

It's kind of funny though... this is the first time I've taken a vehicle I own to an outside machanic in probably 15+ years, because they always seem to screw-up two items for every one they fix, and this little episode seems to reinforce this!

Later I picked up the car and drove my 43 mile commute home. Now I'm a bit pissed about the way the car is acting and I **** sure hope that little wiring harness will fix everything...

First off, the Auto-Stop doesn't work at all. According to the Honda shop manual, this is probably understandable, as Auto-Stop is disabled when a fault is detected in any related system. Next, regenerative braking only works under very limited conditions... maybe half as much as it did before. Ditto for IMA battery charging from deceleration. As a result, the IMA battery won't fully charge and I'm also not getting full assist from the IMA.

The Auto-Stop not working I can understand, but the regenerative braking and deceleration has me concerned.

Lastly, I get home, pop the hood, find coolant spilled all over the engine compartment (presumably from when they refilled the radiator), and I find the CVT fluid and coolant levels are low. I peek under the car and found the machanic put the wrong bolts in the wrong locations to hold the undershield on. Makes me wonder what else he did wrong where I can't easily see it.

What fun!

I'll post another update next week once the ABS wire harness is replaced.

Drive safe,

John L.

Last update:

Just had the damaged right-front wheel ABS sensor wiring harness replaced at the local dealer (no charge). Everything is back now to normal.

With the sensor broken, I lost about 2-3 mpg due to the Auto-Stop not working and regenerative deceleration and braking not working below about 35 miles per hour (see previous posts).

BTW, before I left the dealership, I spoke to the Honda mechanic who did the work on my car. He told me it's pretty much impossible to remove the engine block coolant plug on the rear of the engine without removing the right axle shaft first.

Definitely not a job for those without good tools and patience.

I installed the engine block heater wiring harness this past weekend. Because it's *not* the kit for the hybrid (the kit I bought is for a regular Civic), the harness is too short to route via Honda's instructions. Instead, I had to use an alternate routing, but it still worked out fine. Now my Civic is ready for a cold winter.

Drive safe,

John L.

I wonder if you had originally opted for the dealer to do the entire install for $164 labor, would they have asked you for the additional $149 to remove the axle or sucked it up and did the extra labor at no additional charge?

Oh well, glad everything worked out in the end.

Matt

2006 Taffeta HCHII with Navi

[quote=sixpak]I wonder if you had originally opted for the dealer to do the entire install for $164 labor, would they have asked you for the additional $149 to remove the axle or sucked it up and did the extra labor at no additional charge?[quote]Matt,

I've wondered about that too.

I do know that the service writers at the dealership I used are a lot wiser now about the time required to install a block heater in the hybrid. If asked to quote the job again, surely they would add the axle removal to the time.

I forgot to mention earlier that I asked the Honda mechanic if he'd had the opportunity to work on many hybrids yet. He said "no"... they don't see many of them in the shop. That pretty much confirms why many owners here on the forum report frustrating repair experiences at dealers.

I still need to have the heating element installed in my wife's HCHII, and despite the cost, I'm inclined to have the same mechanic at the same dealership do the work, because at least he should be able to do an ever better job this time around. Ya know, I've never had a problem with paying for good work. In fact, I don't even mind *tipping* a mechanic for great work. I mean why not... most of us tip waiters and waitresses for the normal mediocre service we've become accustomed to getting.

Best regards,

John L.

here is how i got mine out,

i cut a breaker bar down to exactly the longest length that would fit
this length positioned it on the passenger side shock tower, directly below what I remember to be rigid ABS lines.
i then put a small piece of very thin wood about 1/8 of an inch behind the breaker
next i put a pry bar between the piece of wood and the shock tower, using the wood to protect the shock tower. I pried it with the bar and it snapped loose. I was then able to take it out by hand.

then coolant drained all over the floor, you cant get a big enough pan to catch it all.
I know this thread is old, but I wanted to post how i got mine loose in case anyone else searches.