I have an early build 2007 (October) HCH II. About a week ago, I had the IMA, Check Engine, Battery Light issue which has been discussed in other threads. I went to the dealership and they diagnosed the problem within an hour stating that the rotor sensor needed to be replaced. They told me that they would try a software update first to see if that would fix the problem. Apparently, that did not work because the software was already up to date.

A couple days later, I got my car back from the dealership and so far there seems to be no mechanical/electrical problems but I have noticed the following:
1) There is a low volume high pitch whirring sound whenever I accelerate
2) My FE seems to have taken a 3-5 mpg hit where the IMA does not seem to kick in as readily and therefore the ICE has to work harder

Has anyone else with this problem experienced anything similar?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds just like my car, but I'm blaming the weather since I haven't had any work done lately--are you in a cold place?

I hope you're able to figure out what's going on--good luck!

 

I'm in SoCal. It's been about 60 degrees during the day and raining the last couple days so I'm also hoping it's the weather hurting the FE. Maybe it's mental but it just doesn't feel the same to me and the gauges (IMA and Instant FE) don't seem to be acting the way they used to either. The IMA does not seem to kick in as quickly but when it does, it kicks in harder and so the battery drains quicker. In the past, the IMA seemed more linear and easier to control. For example, the IMA only coasting seemed a lot easier to achieve.

At a minimum, the high pitch noise is new since my wife asked me about it without me telling her about it.

I called the dealership and they said to bring it in. I'll post back what they find, if they find anything.

 

How is your auto-stop working? After my motor rotor sensor replacement, the HVAC controller failed, making the auto-stop intermittent. this caused a mpg drop.

Also the whine is normal, mine started doing it after the replacement.

 

"1) There is a low volume high pitch whirring sound whenever I accelerate"

That's the electric motor kicking in. The only weird thing is why you didn't notice it before.

 

My auto-stop is working as it always did in the past. It's always been predictable and continues to be the same.

Orient Express, when you say the sound is normal, do you mean our cars were abnormal for not having the noise before the rotor sensor replacement or that it is normal since others have experienced the same sound after the replacement?

As for the electric motor kicking in sound, I've heard in the past. That is more like the sound of a car in "The Jetsons" cartoon from back in the days which I typically noticed at lower speeds. This is more high pitched and gets louder as my speed increases. It's similar to when you install a custom sound system without good electrical insulation and you hear interference from the radio. Is that consistent with the sound the rest of you have?
Thanks.

 

With the revised motor rotor sensor, the whining sound is now normal. The original one did not make the sound.

 

I live in SoCal too and my mpg has dropped in the past couple of weeks. It should just be the weather, but there's not really any way to find out until it warms back up (hopefully soon!)

 

"This [sounds] is more high pitched and gets louder as my speed increases."

I don't own a HCH; I have only taken a test ride in one, but I learn as much as I can about the car as I really love IMA. I don't know about this sound you described. It certainly sounds strange however. It might be normal, but I wouldn't worry. Hondas are super reliable.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I won't be taking my car in after all. As for Honda reliability, you are preaching to the choir. Between my wife and I, our cars have been:

2007 Civic Hybrid
2007 Acura MDX
2004 Acura TL
2001 Acura MDX
1999 Honda Accord
1996 Honda Civic
1990 Acura Integra

We are definitely Honda loyalists.