well, just heard back from the dealership and this is the problem - a motor rotor system sensor. They do have to take the trans out (with only 5200 miles on it!!) among other things that they will explain when I get to the dealership. It will take several days to get the parts (they are on backorder). Luckly they will pay for a rental car... Honda better! This is my forth Honda, and it's not very Honda-like to have major repairs at such low miles. Wish the Honda luck in the operating room!

 

My October (2006) 2007 HCH had its motor position sensor replaced in January. I was wondering if any of you have gotten really good FE since this repair. I was getting about 26 MPG in the winter and prior to first oil change. Now I'm getting about 33 in mostly hilly city (Seattle) driving. I expected better - my '83 Civic did 36 MPG with a lot more torque to boot.

 

yes, I noticed a decrease in FE before this happed. I generally drive the same route and have the same driving habits. it was around 50 before, then down to 44ish before it happened.

winter affects all hybrids, but yes, that does seem pretty low for a hybrid (26MPG)!

I had a 84 CRX in the early 90's. I wish I still had that!! I didn't track my MPG then, but remember not having to fill it up very often.

Strange... I'm not an engineer, but it seems an easy fix for FE would be to "revert" back to lower HP, liter engines... at least offer it as a engine option. Look at europe they have many (like 6 or more) engine choices!!

 

I had the motor rotor sensor replaced in February and have not noticed any change in fuel mileage. Pretty much the same before and after, averaging about 50 mpg. Almost 7000 miles on it now and almost ready for first oil change.

 

I guess I may be looking for someone to compare notes with who drives urban hills (Seattle) on a daily basis. If my IMA is still not working quite right I'd be interested to see if anybody else gets higher FE on a "good" car in hilly terrain.

 

I just had my sensor fail but have a success story in getting it fixed.

I had the IMA, MIL, and battery turn on on Monday night with about 6700 miles on the car. I was a block from home so I turned around and switched cars to the IMA-free Corolla. I had already scheduled my first maintenance service at the dealer for Tuesday so I had them look at it. I did my research here and told him to check the motor rotation sensor. My car was manufactured in october 2006 so it was in the date range. Sure enough, that was the problem. They ordered the part that day (Tuesday), Wednesday was a holiday (July 4), and they called me Thursday afternoon that the part was in. I dropped it off Thursday evening so they could have it all day Friday, and I got the car back by about 6 pm. And the dealer paid for my rental car, I guess they are making enough off of Honda to do the warranty repair that they could chip in $25 for a rental. Fortunately the dealer had the tools and the head mechanic was the one who did the repair. I talked to him personally so I would have confidence in what he's doing. So in less than 3 business days from when the lights went on, I had it fixed. In case anyone is interested, it was Power Honda in Valencia, CA.

I've only driven it home from the dealer so I can't say anything about MPG but it does seem that the battery charges faster now when going downhill.

 

I had the IMA, Check Engine and Battery Light at 27500Km (17000 miles). The IMA light turned off itself when restarting the car then the engin light turned off the day after.

I was scheduled for the 2nd maintenance anyways. I had to insist for a engin scan and they got the P1673 and PO037. They told me they reset something but I don't beleve them. They just didn't do anything since the engin and IMA lights were closed. Anyways, I have all this written on the invoice for warranty need, if required.

I keep you informed.


Pierre M.

 

Pierre;

Perform a power reset on your system by disconnecting the 12V battery for 30 seconds. Then go for a 10-15 minute drive to get everything back to normal.

Also, get your 12V battery load tested. These "IMA" related issues are more often than not, due to a weak 12V battery. Let's not panic and give that a try.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Follow MSantos' lead. He's very knowledgeable on these things.
Your P1673 code deals with the Motor Control Module (MCM) Relay staying activated. Looking in the service manual, most of the troubleshooting deals with looking for loose connections or maybe a software update. I couldn't find anything on the other code PO037.
But MSantos had a good suggestion on the reset.

Chris

 

Well, everthing is already back to normal and I am not really worried. However, MSantros, what you said is good to know. So far my worst concern is that winter that doen't seams to ends.

thanks for your advises,


PierreM