I have a 2004 Honda Civic. Although I am very familiar with most Honda cars, I am new to hybrid vehicles. When I 1st start my Honda Civic Hybrid, the IMA battery usually will show to be completely depleted, but will then proceed to charge as the engine runs. Even after only being off for a few minutes, like running in the convenience store, when I restart, it will show as completely depleted, or very low, maybe 1 or 2 bars, even if it was fully charged when shut down. Is this normal? Does the IMA battery reset every time the car is shut off? It has nvr failed to start, nor had any problem charging while the engine runs, either.
But this being my 1 exposure to a hybrid vehicle, I have no frame of reference on whether or not this is normal, or indicates a problem. So I thought I'd bring it here, & ask people that have a little more experience with these Honda Hybrids. Thank you, in advance, for your help.

 

Welcome, Matthew.

That seems strange. Even if all I do is turn the key to the accessory setting to have the dash gauges turn on, the IMA battery level indicator shows pretty much the same level that it did when I last turned off the car.

Is your car starting with the IMA battery back behind the back seat, or is it starting with the conventional starter in the engine bay? The IMA starts relatively silently, where the conventional starter has the sound one is usually used to hearing when a car is started up.

Did you buy it from an individual or a dealership? If if was from a Honda dealer I wonder if they did some work on it and maybe forgot to do something when setting it up for you?

 

UPDATE: I just bought this Honda about a week ago. I bought it from a friend of mine who is an auto wholesaler. He purchased it from an auto auction. So who knows how long it's been sitting. The radio & power locks didn't work when I got it. Also, the check engine light & IMA lights were both on, even though it ran like a top. I tried getting an OBD test @ my local parts store, that does free tests, but they were unable to get a reading. Yesterday, I tracked down the radio problem to the memory fuse under the hood. This fuse replacement not only fixed the radio, but also the power locks. Apparently they operate on the same circuit, so that was a bonus. This morning when I got into it, I noticed that, for the 1st time, the IMA battery wasn't reading 0. Also, the check engine & IMA lights were both out too. Maybe this fuse fixed these problems as well. Idk. Maybe it was just a coincidence. It could be maybe from sitting for a while, maybe it needed some time to get everything flowing & working right. But in any case, it seems that all of my problems have been solved. No more warning lights, & everything is working & running like a top, including the IMA battery maintaining it's charge just fine.
But 1 of your questions above makes me curious. I thought the Hybrid started exclusively on the IMA motor. Even when the battery indicator read 0 charge, it has always started on the IMA motor. I didn't even think that it had a conventional starter. So does it have a back-up starter, than, in-case the IMA motor malfunctions? That would be comforting to know, if it does.

 

Hey, I'm glad everything is working better! I think the memory fuse had a lot to do with what was going on. Either that, or the car did need to be driven for a while to get its memory and settings back.

You are correct, the hybrid starts on the IMA battery. The conventional starter is a backup which the car will use in special circumstances. I've never heard my car start from the conventional starter.

If you have a manual for the car, there should be information in it that explains about this. I think in cases of very low outside temperatures, the car might use the conventional starter, as well as when the IMA is having problems.

 

Learn something new everyday. I didn't know our cars had conventional staters like that! Cool. I have also never heard mine too.

 

Yeah, I didn't know that they have conventional starters either. But that's good to know.