To add a little more data - my 2005 HAH has 110,305 miles and battery is still like new. Only failure I've had with this car has been the driver's door lock actuator at 97,163 miles. After driving a lot of new hybrids, including the Accord plug-in, I still prefer the driving feel of my 2005. Also none of the new hybrids come with spare tires which is a deal killer for me.

 

It's been long time since I've posted here, but I'm sitting here at the Honda dealer getting my IMA battery replaced. I'm in the Navy so my 2005 HAH has low mileage (about 66,600 miles) because I've been gone so much (just finished a 14-month tour in Bahrain) and left the HAH back home in VA with the wife and kids.

Anyway, the IMA and Check Engine lights came on while we were driving a couple weeks ago. Took it into the dealer and the IMA required replacement. After I left the shop (they had to order the battery), about a day later the IMA and Check Engine lights went off and I was able to see the ECO light, etc, but the acceleration was sluggish. My guess is the IMA was still having issues.

My biggest issue with all if this is that I purchased the car in April 2005 so the 8-year warranty for the IMA just ended only a couple of months ago. The dealer contacted Honda and at least they are willing to cover 40% of the cost so while it will still be a but pricey, I won't have to pay the full almost $3,000 for the IMA replacement.

My HAH is in great shape and looks brand new. I figured paying this vice buying another car was well worth it. Somewhat troubled that the IMA failed with only about 66,600 miles on the car, though. It was driven from time to time when I was underway and also in Bahrain so the car didn't just sit in the driveway. Hopefully, the new IMA lasts a long time....I'd like to keep the car because it's in such great shape!

 

Did you consider other source of replacement IMA battery?
How much did you pay finally?
I contacted Re-Involt who AFAIK is the only source of remanufactured IMA batteries for HAH for the moment. They had a good offer for IMA battery. Plus they said that their batteries are better then OEM and have a longer warranty too. I spoke to David (the owner) ad found his very knowledgeable about hybrid batteries.
I sold my HAH and bought 2013 Accord Touring which gives me same gas mileage as HAH with my log commute. But I miss a fast take off from stop of my HAH.

 

Good info but no I just took it into the dealer. My dealer does have a great service department and they have done right by us in the past (wife has a Honda Odyssey) and they have done some maintenance/replacements for free when they really didn't have to.

I wasn't expecting Honda HQ to even fund any of the IMA battery replacement so while $1600 was a lot of money, it was better than almost $3000.

I did notice a difference when I drove out of the shop. Even though the Check Engine light and IMA lights weren't showing up anymore before I brought it in, I could tell I wasn't getting the assist from the battery, etc. now the acceleration is back a brisk!

 

Right now at 175,000kms IMA battery is still running strong. Thank god so far, I guess but my mileage are nowhere near most of your folks, right?

I live in Toronto Canada and we are suffering the most intense heat since a long while back. This summer is VERY HOT. A/C have been running great...the last maintenance I did for the past 2 years was rear brakes...rotors and pads plus cleaning a 4's. Add a 12V battery about 1.5 years ago which have falsely affected the IMA system (with all symptoms of IMA failure but actually not...just 12V battery at the end) which shows "D" blinking, IMA, Battery, Engine lights all on.

Any other comments about IMA battery failures? Mine is still good...really thank god as I really want to keep this car. The IMA could be the ultimate deal breaker!!

I am in Canada and it is so hard to find re-furbished batteries without crossing the border to get it which cost $$$ for freight, right?

 

69000 miles and I got the IMA light with check engine. DTC was P0A7F, but I really don't think my IMA battery was going. It had been very very cold in Colorado when that happened. There is a TSB from Honda (07-003) that says cold temperatures trigger a bug in firmware and it can set set P0A7F code erroneously. Honda's recommended fix is to update the firmware first and replace IMA battery if code returns. This makes perfect sense to me. In my case absolutely nothing changed with the car, acceleration, mpg, inspite of IMA battery light. Took it to dealer and dealer said they would replace the IMA battery under warranty. So I got a new IMA batter under warranty even though I don't really think I needed one, but I am not going to complain

 

Another data point on IMA battery for the benefit of the community. My 2006 HAH battery failed at 103k miles, diagnosed and replaced under warranty by Honda. Vehicle purchased new in early 2007, and driven entirely in the SFBay area. The failure mode was IMA and MIL lights on dash, and I used my (harbor freight) code reader to pull 9 DTC's with "N/A". Dealer service dept was able to diagnose and replace battery in two days, with new cells in a refurbished/used container. Cost listed on the invoice was $3k even, but was under warranty, so no cost to me. The service department stated that it is safe to drive the vehicle with IMA and MIL lights on for the intervening day between diagnosis and battery unit arriving at the shop. During the weeks leading up to the failure, the charge/assist cycles were extremely short, measured in a few dozen seconds, relative to previous times on the same route and similar conditions. ECO stop continued to operate normally when charge indicator was non-zero. However, the charge level indicator dropped to zero bars at times, which I've not seen previously. After the battery replacement, the drive back from the shop displayed 5 bars, and little assist under acceleration as previously expected. Will keep monitoring to assess if this is transient due to new battery. There is no warranty on the battery replacements performed under the 10year/150kmiles (California) original warranty.

 

For more data reporting, this was just about my experience a few months ago EXCEPT, for the warranty. We're 2 years out of the 8 year limit so $3k to replace or a few $$ less with aftermarket. Still deciding what to do.

 

So far my experience after replacing the battery provided by BumbleBee Batteries, it have been running great so far...2 years in. I got them November 2015, have it installed less than a month later.

Longer power duration in "assist" mode before it drains out less than 4 bars. Significant difference in terms of how long it stays on assist burst of power from the IMA system.

But it takes a little longer to charge back up though but while driving that's not a problem. Getting 2 bars back (1 or 0 bars kicks in Engine no matter what) doesn't take long in city traffic.

So if you are looking to replace this battery, this is definitely a good choice.

May all our Gen 1 Accord Hybrid last longer and longer...and stay on the road. We are the last breed of V6 powered Hybrid Accords which make us very special!