I think I hit the mark actually. Always glad to entertain in the process.

 

He must work for Toyota also from this quote on the Camry forum:

I feel honored to bask in the glow of humbleness from his posts and to be able to read his lines gives me joy.....

 

Hey PKI, has Honda given you any software updates for your PHEV?

I would think by now they would have released an update or two (or service bulletins), and they may address some of your issues.

The dealers are sometimes behind on these issues and you may even have to shop around to other dealers till you find someone that knows more

 

I think the fact that he doesn't deny the fact that he works for, or benefits from, Honda sales says it all.

 

They did give me an update about 2 months ago. It actually made the car run more on gas and less on electric. I think they've released at least two updates. The reality, I've found, is that they don't put much time into the PHEV Accord. There are probably less than 200 of them on the road in the U.S., and I'm not hearing any news as to any efforts to expand their PHEV line.

I get that the economics dictate that they pay more attention to their "traditional" car and truck lines. I just want people to be aware of what I'm dealing with so that they go into the PHEV with their expectations adjusted accordingly and with full knowledge of what they are getting into.

 

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ indicates there are 595 that were sold/leased in the US.

Below are some comparative numbers. Honda sold 366K Accords in the US in total for 2013...

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/01...-year-end.html
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/04...es-ranked.html

 

Youre actually wrong on almost all counts.

 

Thanks for the data from goodcarbadcar.net cwerdna. Apparently my Honda Service Advisor was wrong when he told me that there were only about 200 on the road, unless cars on the road is different than sales numbers. More importantly though, the numbers you highlight show how many more regular Accords Honda sells, which supports what my experience has been and what my Service Advisor has been telling me; Honda pays attention to the models that it sells hundreds of thousands of versus a model that it has only sold in the hundreds. I had hoped that Honda was going to make a serious push into the PHEV market when I bought the PHEV Accord, but so far all evidence points to the fact that it was just a limited experiment.

 

I think you simply had unrealistic expectations. You cant expect a 1st year model to be flawless. Every car has problems in its 1st year. The new models of the Camry, Focus and Escape all had lots of issues. If you are going to buy the 1st year, thats great but expect that its not going to be perfect.
Second, you said Honda claims the PHEV has a 15 mile range in EV mode. That is wrong. Even Honda themselves says it only has a 13 mile range and even then, thats under optimal conditions and it depends how you drive. Just like with my Camry. Yeah, they claim it gets 34 mpg highway but most of the time it doesnt because I drive too fast for the range that reading was take in.
Third, you complain that the EV range does down in cold conditions. Well...yeah. Everyone knows that batteries lose some of their power in the cold, so you cant really complain if you lose some EV range in the cold.
Fourth, you said Honda isnt offering any support, yet you yourself admit theyve released a couple updates.
To me, this reminds me of people who bought the 1st generation Prius, thinking it would get 50 mpg and then complain when they do all highway driving and it only gets 35 mpg; not realizing how a hybrid works and that the car gets its best milage in the city. Now, Im not saying that you dont understand how your car works, Im just giving an example of unrealistic expectations.
I understand your frustration but I dont think youre being very realistic and want to take your frustration out on an internet forum.

 

For a guy who allegedly has no stake in Honda, you sure like to fight for them. They should give you a job if you don't have one with them now!

First, my expectations, much like the Honda vehicle that I've owned for a year, are not something you have a clue about. My expectations were that Honda would stand behind it's product, whether a new to market product or not. I certainly didn't expect the car to work perfectly. I did expect Honda to resolve issues with the car in a reasonable period of time. This isn't my first Honda; their traditional line of cars are typically reliable and their customer service in relation to those cars was always top notch.

It is the uncharacteristically poor level of customer service that is my issue, not the fact that the car doesn't work as advertised. Anyone who buys this car expecting "typical" Honda service levels should not expect it. Like many, when I purchase a Honda it's just as much, if not more, about the customer service, as it is about the vehicle performance itself.

In fact, Honda puts little time and effort into supporting the PHEV, and that's the issue that concerns me. By all means keep speculating on a car you don't own, as well as the thoughts and expectations of a person you don't know since you seem to have a lot of free time to do so if that's what floats your boat.

Second, when a car gets 12 MPG in warm weather, it's losing 1/3 or more of its range in cold weather is a big deal. People should be aware of this. There are ways to insulate the batteries so that this doesn't happen, but Honda does not use any of this technology apparently. People should be aware of this if they are considering the car.

Third, numerous features on the vehicle don't work and there are electronic glitches on a regular basis that pop up. Maybe my "expectations" should be reasonable enough so that when important features don't work and Honda doesn't work towards a fix I should be okay with that, but I'm not.

Fourth, when Honda releases software updates that actually make the car perform worse, I don't consider that a good thing, and that has been my experience as well over the past year with the Accord PHEV.