Just curious to see if you saw any improvement. I have been considering a new battery even though the last visit to the dealer yielded a favorable 12v battery test. Please let me know if this fix helped you. Thanks and best of luck.

 

Honestly, I suspect a dying IMA battery, but the dealer will have no interest in pursuing that possibility until the light comes on. My mileage is getting in the upper 20's now and its been pretty discouraging, I can get as high as 31.6 on the highway as a consolation! I like to think of the car as a plain 4 banger civic with fancy mirror mounted turn-signals. Thanks everyone for all the advice. It has been very illuminating.
Todd

 

We replaced our 12 volt about a month back now, with the spec'd replacement battery. It's a little odd, it is somewhat different, says "genuine Honda", and according to dealership is the battery for our model. Physically the same size, does not have the indicator window. Seems to be performing fine, and voltage check consistantly indicates 12.59 volts DC, when checked after an overnight sit, in west coast winter garage kept environment.

It seems IMA battery recallibrations have diminished, or disappeared, I can't recollect seeing one of late. OTOH, I'm the "weekend" driver, so not really sure.

I do think 12 volt replacement is a positive, particularly considering the OEM went 4 years. I've purchased a digital multimeter to keep on top of 12 volt state-of-charge better, and am picking up a CTEK 3300 in the next few days.

 

I have an appointment with the service department to have the 12V battery replaced today. I am hoping that it will help improve my car's performance and bring it back to the glory days of high MPG driving! I will update this post with any results of the visit to the dealer as well as any change in performance from the replacement.

 

Are we changing the 12v battery because it is defective or we suspect it might be a problem? Usually 12V batteries are quite reliable and can detect a bad one with a voltage check before replacement

 

I have gone in to have the battery checked. In fact, I am at the dealer now and the service representative has been very helpful in listening to my concerns and seeming like he wants a solution. I did request that they look over the battery and see if it needs replacement. This is the first time the dealer has shown any real concern for my mpg problems so maybe I might make some progress this time. I'll update the thread as soon as I get the car back and see where the care is after the service visit...

 

cool...look forward to the update because this more or less concerns us all. Cheers and Good luck

 

Well, I just got home from the dealer. I was there for about an hour and a half. The Service Advisor told me that after a drive, everything seemed to check out and that the battery rated very well, so replacement would not be advisable. He then told me that after further inspection, the tech found that the air filter was placed in the car backwards and would therefore not get enough air to the engine. As well, the gasket behind the air filter had come loose and that was also causing and airflow issue. He told me that although it seemed minor, it would indeed have quite an impact on the engine efficiency. On my drive home the trip computer reported a pretty steady result of between 42 and 44 MPG. I haven't seen that in a long time. Only time will tell if this was actually the cause of my issues, but at first blush my driving experience seemed better than it had been. The car felt like it was less sluggish and sounded smoother, but this could be hopeful imaginings.

Now for my reaction...really? I have only taken my car to Honda dealers to get it serviced. This is the second dealer after getting fed up with my original dealer Curry Honda in Atlanta. I have never even seen what an air filter looks like on this car. I have never missed or delayed a scheduled service on the car. In fact, part of the reason I left Curry is that they never rotated the tires which I discovered after I noticed on my service ticket after checkout that my tire tread was now below recommended levels. I had to go back to the dealer to have them explain what I read then ask why my advisor didn't even point this out to me. He then said that the tires would have lasted longer if I had rotated them. Isn't that what the service person should recommend? Part of the reason I pay the higher prices at the dealer is a perception (albeit incorrect) that they will make sure these items are being done in a timely manner. I admittedly know very little about cars and maintenance and I thought the dealer would help me stay on top of it. Now I find out that someone put the filter in wrong...really. From here on I will definitely pay closer attention to all the recommended items and make sure the dealer does them, but my faith in service is a bit shaken to say the least. I plan on calling Honda and complaining and I will never visit Curry again. I don't mean to sound so shrill, but this is really crazy...Hopefully my new dealer will take better care of me and so far that really feels like the case.

On another note...I am very hopeful that my mileage issues will continue to be good and I can go back to loving my little civic and loving Honda. It has been a relief to deal with a service rep that shows some concern and just doesn't say the same things. Thanks again for the advice and I will post any updates in my driving experience over the next couple of weeks.

Todd

 

That will make a big difference! I hope it wasn't sucking dust into the ICE? I would raise he** with however serviced your HCH2 last. I hope the air is clean in your area. Cheers, Hal

 

Air Filter backwards? That's really sad. At least it sounds like the tech that was investigating your car, this time, really was looking at everything that could affect the mileage, kudos to him.

Although I love my service department, there are certain things I will do myself and the things I can't, I want to know how it's done or what to look for to insure it was done correctly. It helps to at least confirm that they either know what they're doing or not.

Jess