Hi guys,

I bought my Civic Hybrid 2 months ago (may 08). I want to LOVE it, believe me, however at this point I can only say I like it, at best. I will describe the various noises below and MPG issues and would appreciate any feedback/comments as to whether these is normal or not...


1. I have done research on this and believe I have seen it described as "brake fart".. My car has done this since day one, and to me, it sounds as if you have a house fan, and you place some sort of obstruction near the blades... It lasts for about 5 seconds each time and comes from driver dash. Generally, if the radio is off, the front seat passenger can hear it. It makes this noise pretty regularly and there is no particular time it does it.. It will do it when Im braking, when Im accelerating, or when I let go of the gas.. It just does it at any randomn time. I believe this may be normal, but would appreciate feedback.

2. AC noise.. This started a 1-2 weeks ago.. One time I was driving and noticed a low lawnmower/yard work type noise.. I looked around.. Nothing.. I later came to find it was my AC.. VERY noisy for an AC.. I get that there should be SOME sound, however, this sounds as if somebody outside my car is doing yard work (weed wacker noise?).. It sounds as if my AC is struggling. Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't. Although lately its almost every time. I took this to the dealer. They heard the sound. I was told they compared it to another car and that the other car made it as well, and the other car was even louder.. its NORMAL! I don't know if the other car was a "lemon" or whether this is truly normal. It seems like horrible design to me if it is indeed "normal". Feed back/ advice appreciated.

3. Idle motor sound. When Im driving and I come to a stop, my car turns off so of course its super quiet. One time I dropped off a movie at blockbuster, and when I walked around my car I noticed how LOUD it is when its on idle. It sounds sputtery like an older car. I understand that cars should make noises, but I mean, its 2 months old.. Not 10 years old, you know? It just sounds too loud considering its a new car. Ooes anyone else have this problem?

4. MPG with passengers- Ok so I normally get 45 MPG without really trying.. I live in Southern California so we don't have extreme heat/cold weather. I drive about 70% freeway, 30% streets, usually by myself. I took a road trip with 3 of my friends. So there are 4 of us in my car, and my mileage drops to 37MPG.. The total trip was maybe 200 miles, and it was mostly freeway. Has anyone noticed such a drop with passengers? Just seems like a pretty steep decline in MPG.

At this point, I wouldn't go as far as to say I have a LEMON, but am seriously starting to wonder. I was so happy when I first bought this car, as I LOVE the idea of hybrids. I had read all the good reviews and everything. I was expecting a great car but instead I have one that if I could go back in time, I probably would not purchase again.

Is that you, Amanda? What kind of car did you drive before the hch?
1. haven't heard a sound like this.
2. nor this.
3. i don't leave my car idling when i'm outside the car, so i can't comment. idling is a huge no-no for hybrid drivers.
4. 45 mpg without really trying is definitely not a lemon. What was your mpg w/3 passengers in your previous vehicle? What is your tire air pressure?
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

I have the same 2 noises (car is a few weeks old). Was told on this forum that the noise coming from the drivers side dash was normal (search my other posts), and the AC noise I only heard today for the first time, so it's funny that you mention it today.

2008 HCHII - Navi, Magnetic Pearl

1. Those 2 noises are normal. However for the 2 years I've had mine, I've only heard the "fart" noise once.

2. I only hear the A/C fan when I'm in auto stop and it's quiet. BTW make sure you're using the Auto A/C feature and not just regular A/C. It senses the heat and humidity within the cabin, relative to what temp you want it and keeps it regulated automatically. This will put less strain on your battery and keep the car running efficiently.

3. I have to agree with 06hch2. I'm never outside the car when it's idling, so I have no idea how it should sound. If I'm outside the car, it's off. That's an impact to your mpg's.

4. Number of passengers may have some impact but very little. You may just find that your more distracted. I notice my numbers are a little lower when driving with the family versus just myself. Then again, there can be so many factors at play, but 37 mpg seems really low.

1- My car has farted only once in the 2.5 years I've had it, kind of took me by surprise, but it does seem to be fairly common for other folks.
2 and 3- The HCH2 should not be any louder than other car, both in terms of A/C or idling. Since you're in SoCal, see if you can't take kenny out for lunch one day and have him put an ear to it. And c'mon people, you mean to tell me you never listen to your engine idling or up at 6000rpm after doing an oil change to make sure it's right? You should know how your engine sounds with old oil, new oil, low speed, high speed, and everything in between. Same for how the CVT feel after its oil is changed, the IMA whine on a hard accel, the brake servo.... You're not going to break (and your lifetime mpg won't suffer) if you take a little bit of time to really learn your particular car's quirks.
4- Hard to say since I very rarely have passengers, but what the others have said does make sense... your A/C was on, you were carrying more weight, you weren't paying as much attention to the meters... and maybe it was a lot of stop and go. 37 does seem low, but without knowing how the other variables interact, I can't really say one way or the other if this is a problem.

Someday I might even beat that wascally kenny!

No whammies... no whammies... no whammies...

Our staff Civic Hybrid II does the brake fart too. The rear tires howl at low speed (bad suspension arms??) and there are a few other R2D2 noises as well.

2008 Mercedes-Benz B 200
2005 smart fortwo cdi pulse cabriolet
1966 Peugeot 404 Coupé Injection
1989 Peugeot 405 DL

1. Appparently this is a normal sound, so many other (including me) have experienced. Mine is pretty discreet, though.

3. Turn off your car if you are not driving it. Problem solved.


Last: lemon? Just because of a few "noises" that are unfamiliar to you? Hardly. Give it some time. You will appreciate it.

(1) One point. I experience the brake-farting occasionally. But - it ONLY occurs when braking, though, and sounds like air escaping from some plastic lowly pressurized contraption.
It does NOT occur on acceleration, nor any other time as best I can remember. It seems to be clearly linked to pressing the brake pedal. If you are hearing noises at these other times, be sure that they are not different sounds. Brake farting is just that - an objectionable BRAKING noise.

(2) Never noticed this. Isolate whether it occurs ONLY when the gas engine is off, ONLY when the gas engine is running, or EITHER. If it's ONLY when the gas engine is off (like Auto Stop), then maybe there is an issue with your electric AC components. What temp do you try to maintain? If you are set to AUTO, as it gets hotter, the AC will likely start out with a high fan-speed, which will be kind of loud. The fan is kind of loud on high, whether or not the AC itself is on.

(3) I've never noticed it being louder than other cars. It's a pretty small engine for an auto, so it shouldn't sound like a beast.

(4) MPG with passengers. Rarely do I have 4 people in it, but one recent such jaunt of 20 miles or so netted me 47 MPG. Also, I had one other passenger with me on a 4309 mile journey in late March and averaged nearly 47 MPG. Lots of stuff brought along for the trip (the car was pretty loaded down - back seat and trunk). Maybe on your trip it was raining - or windy - or you drove faster than normal - or paid less attention to your FE skills and more to your passengers ...)

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

Thanks for the reply guys. I appreciate the feedback.

1. I can live with this noise, it is more than tolerable, I was just wanting to make sure its normal.

2. I generally do not like air blowing in my face, so I keep it as "low" air flow at a temperature of about 70-75 degrees? I try to keep the AC off most of the time though (only air coming in to the cabin but no AC). Has anybody else had this problem? Is there something Hybrid-y about the AC or is AC the same as on "normal" cars? I know what "normal" AC should sound like, and I can tell you mine does not sound normal.

3. I guess I must have made it seem as though I park my car, and go in my house and take a shower, and oh brush my teeth too while Im at it... Ha ha. No I meant I literally parked my car right next to Blockbuster, ran out and around my car, and ran back in. Seems much more FE than turning my car on and off. Took like 10 seconds. Give me a break, nobody knows what their car sounds like on IDLE? You guys never accidentally let go of the break while waiting on a red light, which happens to turn your car on until the light turns green again? It was not intentional to know what my car sounds like on idle, its just unavoidable I think. PS who is kenny??

4. I noticed I was getting bad mileage, so I was looking at my gauges a lot more during my trip than usual, and I was actively "trying" to get better milieage... It appears it was just the load though, as now I am driving by myself and back up to 45mpg. Just seems odd that mileage would drop by 8mpg by merely increasing the weight by about 350lbs.

Thanks again guys.

Ha! I guess I could also turn up my radio and pretend the sound doesn't exist, huh? Problem solved! You my friend, must suscribe to the saying "ignorance is bliss"... Not to sound rude, but I am trying to figure out if what I am hearing is normal or not. Its as simple as that.