I purchased it when it was new in 2008, and it now only has 25K miles on it. Another stored code is P1570 (Unknown Diagnostic Code).

I purchased a Honda Care Warranty for six years - 100K miles. That warranty along with the HCH settlement warranty should have taken me to July 2015.

Am I screwed, or is there a different warranty for these battery packs in New York State?

 

Settlement warranty is 9yr/92K or so, so you should be covered, and I think NY may be the longer 10yr/150k mile warranty. Not sure why you say 7/2015. You should be good to 2017 on settlement alone.

P1570 is "battery module individual voltage problem" and it's likely the cause of the P0a7f.

There are 11 pairs of sticks. The voltage of each pair is monitored. You either have a break in a sensor wire (unlikely), or one of the pairs is reading much lower voltage than the others.

Get to the dealer immediately. Do not reset codes.

FWIW, if you continue to drive it so little, you can expect nothing but problems. It is the likely cause of the P1570. IMHO, you need 2-3 trips per week of > 20 miles to keep the batteries healthy. Your total mileage could be okay, but if you're going 1-2 weeks between drives, it's likely a contributing factor.

 

Thanks for the information.
I will schedule an appointment with my local dealer right away.

 

BTW... check your owner's manual. It says somewhere in there how often the car needs to be driven. Make sure you know this fact, and make sure you indicate you have always complied with this requirement.

Steve

 

Looks like I lucked out with a 10/150K warranty for the battery assembly because I am in NY.
I also get a 15/150 warranty for the other various parts of the IMA system.

 

Good deal.

I thought NY was one of the handful of states that get the longer warranty. The IMA is part of the emission system and those states have more stringent emission requirements, thus the components get a longer warranty.

 

The dealer is going to order a new battery pack today.
Will I get new batteries with better technology than those that existed in 2008?

 

No. NiMH technology hasn't advanced significantly since 1999. The 2003 model HCH1 had some improvements in construction that improved internal resistance, and those improvements were passed to the 2006 model (used in 2006-2011).

In fact, you will likely receive less reliable batteries. The replacement rate for 2009 and 2010 batteries exceeded 30% as of 2013. So nearly 1 out of every 3 cars received replacements. The 06-08 models were in the 10-15% range.

Around this time, Panasonic divested it's 50% share of Primearth to 20% to address concerns with their acquisition of Sanyo. Toyota went from 50% to 80% ownership.

Primearth (Toyota/Panasonic joint venture) has ALWAYS made both Prius and Honda IMA battery packs. Always. Packs prior to the ownership transitions were labeled "Panasonic EV Energy". Since then they are "Primearth EV Energy".

Aftermarket battery builders for Honda IMA systems (people who make a living building and selling packs containing NEW chinese made cells) have noted very high replacement rates of Primearth labeled packs. Additionally, when the individual battery modules are tested, the have a higher failure rate than the early "Panasonic" labeled modules.

Due to massive battery failures, in Mar/2015 Honda extended the 09-11 HCH battery warranty to 10yr/150k miles in ALL states, not just the CA, NY, etc., states. This tells me they haven't fixed the problem.

IMHO, it is unlikely that your replacement pack with last anywhere near as long as the original. Hopefully, it will fail one more time before the 150k mi limit, and you'll have another few years after that. 2-3 years on warranty packs seems to be typical.

Note that there are cost effective replacements in the aftermarket, AND there are preventative maintenance options (grid charging) that can extend the life of the pack for years.

Steve

 

Thanks. I will look at the grid charger options you've mentioned in other discussions.