Greetings from the owner of a HCH1 2003
 

Bismillah Alhamdulillah
Hiya,

This is Abdullah, owner of a HCH1, year 2003, 121k miles, purchased used Dec. 2008, with no warranty. My check engine light just came on for the first time, in association with the IMA light (which had come on before but went away on its own). I read the instruction manual and saw that the gas cap might not have been "3-clicks" tight, so I checked it, and sure enough, it clicked.

My mechanic's computer gave a code P1600, which is a general IMA code. So when I took it to the Honda dealer they did a $113 diagnostic test which gave them a P1447. Recommended action by the dealer: $2500 for a new battery (not including labor + tax + whatever else). In reality, I could get another used Civic (non-hybrid) for less than that.

As for the car, it runs fine. However, noticed a slight drop in mileage (44 -> 40) since the IMA light came on.

Not sure what I'm going to do. I'll probably just keep driving the hybrid around town until I notice something seriously wrong, and then stash it somewhere and find another car to drive until I can afford to replace the IMA battery.

Just wanted to share my experience and introduce myself, since you may see me here again =]
Abdullah

Re: Greetings from the owner of a HCH1 2003
 

I have a thread in here about making the Hybrid a "non" hybrid. You can get a D17 or K20 and drop that in your car for less than the cost of replacing the battery pack. Below is a link from HondaTech about the swap.


http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2695836

Re: Greetings from the owner of a HCH1 2003
 

What has happened since you first posted this? I also have a 2003 HCH with both of those lights now on and a dealer (not one I particularly trust) saying it needs the full battery replacement.

Re: Greetings from the owner of a HCH1 2003
 

Bismillah Alhamdulillah, For now, I'm still driving the car. The mileage has actually gone back up to about 42 -- it could have been the weather. Both of those lights (IMA and check-engine) have been coming on and going off from time to time.

By now I've seen someone at just about every department at the local Honda dealer (sales, parts, service...) about the car. They've actually been really helpful, meeting me in the evening, running diagnostics for me for free, etc. They still say I need to get the IMA battery replaced, especially now that I'm giving a more advanced error code of 1449. I was quoted about $3,400 for the full cost of the procedure.

I'm still investigating other options. InshaAllah, I'll post an update here once everything is over and done with.