Hi Everyone,

I am considering buying a 2006 HAH with 95,000 km on it.

I can't make up my mind. I am worry about the Hybrid system dying on me.

Please send some advise,

Thanks

Thomas

 

What is your objective in this purchase?
The hybrid system is least to die in this car. I would rather worry about transmission life at this point especially if it was not replaced before. You will face a big maintenance job pretty soon (at 105k miles). Does the car have maintenance records?

 

Yes, full maintenance records. The objective is to use it everyday as my primary car. I like the smoothness and power from this particular model. I have found other ones but they all have been in a accident and they are all with lower mileage (between 40k and 80k).

 

OK. If you test drove this car and did not experience any hesitation, jerkiness or rough gear shifting and car was serviced at Honda dealer with maintenance minder schedule then you can try to buy this car. Just note that this car has not good city MPG. This car is not cheap to maintain also. I would definitely do not recommend to buy hybrid been in an accident. Do not pay premium on HAH versus Accord EX-L V6 in the same condition.

 

I would buy it without hesitation. I am selling an '06 HAH gray with 98,000 mi. on it, but it has been the best car I have ever had....no significant problems, since I first bought it (and replaced the hydraulic control module for the brakes, under warranty). I am selling it, because I
found an '07 HAH with very few miles and a very low price, and will save money in making the exchange. I'm in Cleburne, TX 817-909-9150....
Ran Amsoil in motor and transmission since purchase. No problems.
Honda dealer put in new seat belts for free at 89,000, since the retractor was wearing.

 

If I were you I wouldn't buy one. I bought my 05 two years ago and I do a lot of highway driving for work. I get fairly descent mileage in the summer only maybe around 35 but in the winter my mileage really drops. Driving in town also kills my mileage. I have nearly 150k on this car though and some think the battery will last for a lot longer, knock on wood......

 

Tiggerx1, I've owned my '05 HAH for nearly 5 years now and absolutely love it. I've never had any serious problems with it. I had a check engine light come on that fixed itself before I was able to get to the dealer, once. Strange thing. No codes were stored either. The dealer couldn't explain it. But other than that, no real problems. I think I just rolled 87K miles.

Lebloom, I haven't seen a single hybrid battery failure for the HAH, but I noticed several HAH folks have had to replace their catalytic converters around 80-90K. Did you have to replace yours?

 

The '05 and prior Honda Accord Hybrids had too many problems, I gathered, mainly it was the catalytic converters.
But not the '06 and '07 models, generally. That being said, I just bought an
'07 HAH with 45,000mi. which had been a lease vehicle. The day I drove it off the used car lot, after signing the "as is, no warranty" paper, before
I got home the IMA indicator light came on. Apparently, it quit assisting the engine, but I didn't notice any difference. I immediately took it to
a Honda dealer, as it was Memorial Day. They analyzed it the next day, and found a bad IMA battery, which they replaced for free under warranty.
They showed me what the bill would have been.... $2990. .. ($2885 + $105 labor). This was less than expected.
( I would have no problem driving an '06 till 200,000mi, then spending $2990....after all, you've saved more than double (maybe triple that by having it, figuring in the
$1600 tax rebate I got for purchasing it, plus the fuel savings of $1K - $2K per year.
I paid nothing because it was under 8 yrs/80,000mi. So I got virtually a brand new car that day, as I felt the car was in supurb condition.
I have an '06 with 99,000mi, ran AMSOIL in engine and transmission, and have never had a problem with IMA or transmission, getting 24mpg around the city on regular gas, as an aggressive driver.
Once the service engine soon light came on...it was because my gas cap wasn't on tight enough....I took it to the dealer....they told me to turn it until you hear 3 clicks...so I did...and the code reset
itself in 2 days... and never came back on. The Honda dealer also replaced the seat belts for free at 95,000 when an indicator came on, since the seat belt retractor became a little weak.

 

Spen2much, Yeah that engine trouble light done the same with my 05 HAH and they found that the battery cable was loose. So I dodge the big one that day. I guess if I were to get 200k on mine buying the battery might be worth it also. Maybe that battery will go down in price again, lol.

"The Honda dealer also replaced the seat belts for free at 95,000 when an indicator came on, since the seat belt retractor became a little weak."

How did you get the dealer to give you free seat belt when you weren't the original buyer?

 

Lebloom, dealers will generally replace mandatory safety items, such as seatbelts, for free.

Spent2much, there weren't any prior HAH's to the '05. That's the first model year. I've seen several (but less than 10) people with bad catalytic converters on HAHs. But, I never did pay attention to what year models they were. I suppose they could have all been '05s. And, that's the only problem I've ever seen anybody have with the '05s. The rest of the car seems to do pretty well.

Your '07 is the first HAH I've ever heard of that needed a new IMA battery. Wow! I really thought it would be much cheaper at this point to replace those batteries. If I recall correctly, back in 2005 the packs were estimated at $2,500 to replace with the cost decreasing through the years. Here it is 2010, 5 years later, and the pack actually costs $500 more than it did back in 2005. Glad to see you got your battery replaced under warranty!

I get about the same mileage as you do in the city. My current commute is about 3 miles. I mostly use my car for commuting, so strictly city driving I'm getting about 24 MPG. When I used to commute 540 miles round trip between Phoenix and Vegas every week I was averaging 35 MPG. And for anybody that's done that route before, through Route 93, understands the 5,000 ft gain/loss in elevation while driving that commute really doesn't do much to help with fuel economy! On long roadtrips with virtually level ground, I can easily maintain 40+ MPG for the whole trip. I absolutely am satisfied with my terrific balance of fuel economy and excellent horsepower. Too bad the HAH didn't catch on.