So I had an IMA light on and off for the last 2 months. It was getting to where it was on as much as it was off. So I went for the update 2 weeks ago since that was the first step.

The car has become more and more annoying to drive after the update. I have had 8 recals today so far on a 30 mile circle with 3 stops. When I recal, I have no IMA assist and on this trip that was almost 1/2 the time. The computer has no idea where the battery is as it cycles from full to empty way too fast to be real. So I am forced regen for a while then immediately to full.

Discussions with HofA have gone nowhere.

I'd really just like to kill off my battery as fast as possible. Ethical - maybe not. But in dealing with Honda, I don't see much alternative. I have 60k (on a 80k warranty). I am nearly positive the battery will be done by the warranty period but the car is so weak to drive that I really just want it done.

So - max assist and electric glide as much as possible?
Disconnect 12V battery and leave lights on?
Multiple small trips?
Heat would be good but not practical this time of year.

Any advice appreciated.

 

If it goes over the warranty period you can send the battery in for repair. It is not that expensive for this repair! Should be under a $1000 to repair it. H

 

Ok, I'll bite. so you want the update to be on-the-spot-fix-just-like-that even tho it can only do its thing with weeks or months after the flash?
I reckon that unless you play along you will not manage to kill the battery just like that. the computer will prevent that and you will just delay the fix even more by making it harder for the computer to do its thing. in the meantime you will also be wasting more $ in gas.

ks

 

Interesting. I am having similar issues with IMA light before update. I've had the update about 10 days and am suffering drivability issues. I've talked to my dealer and he said that it takes 2-3 days of driving to recalibrate everything. I also called Honda and they mentioned nothing about it taking some time to get it straight.

I don't think it is obvious that a software update wouldn't fix a problem instantly if it was going to fix the problem. You would think that either the dealer or Honda would state it might take months if that was indeed the case.

 

bah, every battery is different cause everybody drives their car differently so a dealer saying that is takes just a few days without know the shape of the battery is just as useless as getting them to explain how to evglide or fake-shift the car. they are bs'ing us or clueless.
I bet the Honda call centers are filled with people who also don't know jack when it comes to the hch.
the only clue we got is that life is getting better for the lucky blokes (like me) but others are still ticked at the updates cause their pack was in worse shape and they want the fix to work the same way they get their food at the fast food drive thru.

ks

 

KT - Why the hostility?

When you take your car to the dealer to get fixed, in general it is fixed. That is not an unrealistic assumption. Generally a software update is an instantaneous fix - the code does not morph over time.

I am glad to hear that things may get better over time. I am not an impatient person and once I was told that it would take a few days, I didn't get upset until over 2 weeks had passed with no signs of improvement. It is unrealistic for a customer to understand that this might make time especially when the dealer and call center do not understand. If this is true, then Honda has done a poor job of education of their employees and dealer technicians. But KT must know more than all of them about battery recalibrations.....

FWIW - I used to get mid 50s and have had 60 mpg tanks. I am currently at 43 which is very low for this time of year.

 

By all means, give that a try, LOL.

Is your IMA light still going on, post update?

 

No IMA light after update. Since my post it actually seems to be getting better.


Same loop today and only 5 recals. Mileage mid 40s which would have been mid 50s a year ago (i've gotten 70 on the same loop but I'm driving a bit faster now).

The division of labor of the 2 battery systems is unclear to me. It has been written that a 12v battery problem can drain the IMA - particularly causing it to be low after being parked for awhile. So it seems reasonable that leaving lights on but protecting the 12V battery by disconnecting it might work. The lights just might not come on of course. But since a dead 12V battery can cause the IMA to drain, there must be some crossover, right?

Simplest thing to me would be traction battery only driving traction motor with no crossover (ie no transformer). But if that were true, there would need to be a 12V alternator and I don't think there is one.

 

Sorry, I'll quit being smart: Disconnect the 12 volt and you'll get no response from the car. The 12 volt is essential for the computer. Without it the car won't "boot".

Sounds good, well except the no IMA light: it seems like no one is getting IMA warning lights after the software update...

Only? Yikes, that's not promising.


The software update may morph, at least in some sense: it's interacting with the battery pack, and might even be adjusting itself depending on the responses it gets from the pack. And hopefully over time the pack may morph too, back to more balanced and higher cell voltages.

But I'm sceptical too: in some instances it could be flogging a dead horse. If for 3~4~5 years you've been running the car with too aggressive programing that got it into a depleted and out-of-balance state, how much can be salvaged? This lands squarely on Honda's doorstep: they set up the programming, made the promises regarding mileage, performance, longevity.

In your shoes I'd just stay the course, run it as you usually do. With our '06 (prior to recently going to Prius, selling our Civic within the family) after the update, I noticed it still was fairly easy to slip into EV mode. I found myself blipping the gas a bit to restart the gas engine, to preserve the pack. I also found I was watching the state-of-charge much more closely, trying to stretch out braking regens, etcetera.

MSantos' credo is to stay off the pack as much as possible, both for regens and assists. He's also of the opinion that whatever's happening post software update, it takes time to happen.

 

no hostility meant; but this update was never billed as an instantaneous fix by honda or anyone who knows the hch.
so why would people assume the fix must be like a pill when not everyones situation is the same? yeah,the programming does not morph but the affects of the fix on the car does. How do I know? cause I can vouch for that and the people who know the hch always said so too.
I bet that disconnecting the 12v battery or having the lights on will do nothin for discharge the hybrid battery . a dead 12v battery does not cause the hybrid battery to drain. I dont know much but the little I learned is that the battery gauge is a guess of the charge of the battery and what you see is not really what you get.



ks