Well, finally decided to throw in the towel on the whole HCH situation.

The IMA battery started showing greater signs of wear, got a "0 bar" IMA indicator (went 4,2,1,0 bars in 10 seconds) and the engine actually stalled on the highway (stopped in traffic with A/C on though), not an Auto Stop but rather an actual stall with all indicator lights turning on, etc. Car restarted on normal starter and it took a very long time (I'd say about 15-20 minutes) before it started registering charge bars again, of course with A/C off and windows down. It got as high as 5 bars and then zoomed all the way up to 8 bars. Hmm, recal. Not good.

Went to Honda for an analysis of both the IMA and 12V battery states. Said everything was normal and that'll be $200 for our work please! (still had 2 years and 35000km on the extended warranty). I know the battery's not fine, it only has a fraction of its original capacity left and will go from 7 bars down to 4 in a single slow acceleration up to 90km/h. As soon as A/C is on at slow speed, the IMA charge bars can go really low (2 or less) in no time.

Decided to trade it in while it still has _some_ value left.

Got my new 2013 TCH LE "base model" (ha!) last week and couldn't be happier! Now that's a real hybrid car and for about the same amount that I paid back in 2008 for my HCH. First few drives, still in break-in period, already got an 5.0l/100km (47MPG) trip on it. Tank averaging 5.5l/100km (43mpg) so far. Yes, driving it easy like I did with the HCH for 5 years.

This one I plan to be able to drive it TO the speed limit without incurring too much of a fuel consumption hit.

Got a bit of a pinch to the heart driving the HCH for the last time but that only lasted until I drove off with the TCH! This car is incredible.

 

Daniel,

Congratulations on your new Camry hybrid. I have the same car as your old one and so far have not had serious issues with the IMA battery. However, I live in a much milder climate than you so that may be a factor. Before I bought my HCH II I looked at the Prius but was turned off by the odd dash display and body styling. I readily admit the hatchback design is handy.

The Toyota hybrid system is definitely superior and the Camry is one smart looking car. I'm sure you will see even better mpg once you get used to the different system. City driving is where it truly stands out compared with Honda's IMA design. Enjoy!!

Cheers,

Roger

 

I realize this is a Honda forum so I don't want to spend too much time discussing the Toyota ;-) but so far, I couldn't be happier. Got a 4.6l/100km trip this morning (40km in to work) and the tank average is down to 5.3l/100km in total comfort and near silence.

I would've happily kept the Honda for another 5 years (that was my goal) but with the impending IMA doom hanging over my head, most likely no support from Honda and 0% 60 months Toyota financing, the decision was easy to take.

I wish you good luck with your Honda (and all others who stick with it) but I don't plan on buying another Honda, they've lost me.

(Did I mention I also had to spend $800 to replace my tires after 30,000km due to severe cupping because on incorrect rear suspension camber while Honda was again telling me everything was normal? I added a front and rear camber kit to the car, adjusted the alignment to be as neutral as possible and my new tires were still ok 90,000+km later).

Daniel