I have been in the market for a vehicle and ran across an 05 Honda Civic Hybrid. We loved it not only for the gas saving opportunity but pretty much everything about it. I don't know what to look for on a hybrid because I have never owned one.

How long do the engines normally last? I would think longer than a non hybrid typically since the engine is not being used as often.

What about batteries, I took a look under the hood and only found a single battery, where are all the batteries? Is there a way to test the length of life of the batteries?

Just a few points I am unsure about, but if anyone can help me with those questions as well as anything else I should be looking for or asking my next time around which will be tomorrow morning when I pick it up and take it to my mechanic, then please do let me know, thanks.

 

*BumpBump*

 

I think '05 Civic didn't have the current generation IMA system which means engine will be on all the time when car is moving. So there is no reason why engine would last longer than non-hybrid models. There may be some difference in longevity since you might not be putting as much stress on the engine with the IMA motor helping out with acceleration.

Hybrid batteries are behind rear seats. I am not sure if any one other than a dealer can test the condition of hybrid batteries.

As for what to look for on a hybrid car, I am not sure. I have been driving an '06 HAH for 4 years and it feels just like a normal car, so I would look for the same things I look for on any other car.

 

How many miles are on it?
Manual or Auto Transmission?
Have there been issues with the IMA since it was first sold?
What is the climate where you will be driving the car?

I ask these questions because I own and drive an '04 HCH with Automatic Trans. I recently got the bad news that my IMA battery module is on the fritz. I got an estimate of $2800 to replace it! OUCH! Now I've owned the car for 4 years and I knew when I bought it that eventually this pack (behind the rear seat) would need to be replaced. It is drained and recharged multiple times while operating the vehicle. If you've ever owned anything with a rechargeable battery, then you know what I mean. Eventually the rechargeable batteries will croak rending the item useless until you replace the battery. Fortunately with the HCH, you can still drive it will a dead pack but you will not get the same MPG and you may run into other issues. So I would ask these questions and go from there. If it is fairly low mileage, then you may be okay for a number of years. If it's high mileage and it's not had an IMA problem, it is bound to have one soon. I've read reports of IMA battery module issues from a range of mileages from low 20k's to mine at 164,000 (highest I've seen).

 

Oh and by the way, it's warranted for 8 years or 80,000 miles so if it's out of that period in miles then the cost is all yours. A few states like CA extend the warranty to 150,000 miles.

 

That's interesting, I am thinking of buying a used 05 Civic HCH I. It has 133K miles.