Twuelfing

I thought you had been having this problem in Oct. '07. I must have misunderstood your prior post:

10-31-2007, 09:32 AM
Replies: 18
HCH-II Defrost autostop hack
Views: 1,030
Posted By twuelfing
Re: HCH-II Defrost autostop hack

I have already tried resetting the computers by disconnecting the battery.

I really just need the procedure for the autostop trick. My last theory before taking it to the dealership is that the...


Rick

 

I thinks this is just the facts of life for batteries. It's been around 105 here in Dallas lately. Luckily I park under my work in a parking garage so no big deal. But we had one of those work "team events" where we all went to watch a movie. Well after 2 hours of movie (with my car in the hot sun on a 105 degree day, no tint, no sunshade on front windows) on the way back to the office, SOC dropped to 0 and I had absolutely no assist half way back til the AC cooled things down. Of course on the way home I got nothing but forced regen but I still ended the day at 40mpg which is still better than most cars (normally I'd get 50mpg).

I can really understand your frustration if you had to deal with this all summer long.

 

My car doesn't ever do forced regen while cruising anymore. I only get regen while breaking or coasting down a substantial hill.

my state of charge is very rarely over 50 percent.

I didnt have time to contact the dealer today

as for rpecora, that problem seemed to have worked itself out. I stopped having issues. Perhaps the two instances are related, I have no idea.

 

just a little update.

I wont ever be buying a honda again. This is saying something as every car I have ever owned has been a honda starting with a 1982 i believe it was accord, then a 1988 accord then a 1992 prelude then a 2000 integra type R and finally my civic hybrid. I also own 2 brand new honda ATVs and a honda dirt bike. But never again, not after the problems I have been having and hondas methods to deal with them

I have gained a more refined picture of the issues I have been having.
if its above about 85 degrees F and I have more than 2 people in the car the IMA system will shut off leaving me with nearly no power. If I am by myself and the temp is above 100 it will most of the time overtemp and shut off.

The dealer recognises there is a "drivability issue", but they cant fix it because its a design flaw. The honda regional service manager told the dealer the car is operating how it should and is shutting down to protect itself. No one will recognize that the car shouldnt be overtemping under normal operating situations.

I have pulled onto a road to have the IMA shut down and the car then takes many many seconds to accelerate to 20 or 30 mph. The tach revs up and the car hardly moves.

When all this is happening the AC gets very hot and driving is very terrifying. I have gone from 47 mpg down to as low as 32. Short runs in the middle of the day yield closer to 20mpg.

Basically the dealer knows the car isnt working, but the service rep told them to tell customer care the car is working properly, so customer care wont help, but can still say they are listening to the dealer even though they are really listening to themselves.

I urge everyone to tell anyone interested in buying a civic hybrid to reconsider as the car wont work when its warm out and or you have passengers.

I am going to start making as much noise about this as possible as it is now my goal to get them to address the issue and to inform people about the issues with the car before they buy one.

I am looking forward to a plugin hybrid from toyota. The prius doesnt have these issues with overtemp and passenger hauling.

additionally the dealer told me they have other cars in the area with the same problem. If you have the same or similar issues please contact me, there needs to be a class action or TSB or recall or something to address this. I am getting worse milage than i would with a standard civic. I am about to go trade it in at the dealer that is saying there isnt an issue partly because i dont want the car anymore and partly because I want to see what they do about valuating the vehicle.

 

What's wrong with the A/C? If your air conditioning isn't performing correctly then the rest will suffer. Do you get no A/C at all, or is it extremely weak? If you need more airflow, like on a highway, then that could point to radiator issues. Have them check your A/C coolant charge. Maybe it leaked out.

 

the AC gets hot at stop lights when the IMA has shutdown.
when i am cruising at speed without stop go traffic it works fine.

 

tell your buddies wife to wait for a hot day, 90 or more degrees will probably do it, then get 4 people in the car. Her IMA system WILL fail. This isnt a problem isolated to my vehicle.

and it happens whenever its over 85 degrees or so, this isnt just a 3 month period here in tucson, this is most of the year.

this is unacceptable.

 

I've never heard of any issue like this on any of the FEH forums... so while it may be a fact of life for batteries... it seems to be able to be overcome by design factors. If any thing the Escape needs MORE assist to get going and should have an even larger problem with this... we've got Escapes in Nevada and Arizona with no issues I've ever heard of other than the A/C forcing the engine on all the time... but the battery still gives assist.

It looks to me like Honda has a design flaw and should be working to fix it rather than making excuses and saying its just a "driveability issue"

 

Besides using a Sun Shield for front and back windows , has any one tried using a car cover and if that keeps interior temp down ? Once the thermal mass of a Dash's plastic and the seats heat up it takes some time to cool down the heat built up in that mass. The AC is blowing on you feels cold but the heat from interior dash and back seats are still radiating heat out. Does any one make those window vents you see on trucks for a Honda and a Prius ? That way you can leave windows open a bit and not worry about rain.

 

I can leave the windows open
A car cover is not an option as i drive on dirt roads so my car is covered with dust and my parking lot at work is exposed to wind, this means the cover will wear the paid very rapidly.
The car shouldn't require the use of dual sun shields to function normally. I can see doing this for comfort, but not to keep the car working.

I have tried window vents, leaving the windows down all the way, sun shields in the front and back, parking in the shade fans on the battery vent behind the seat. I went so far as to rig a 45 watt solar panel to some blowers to run ambient temp air into the battery compartment, none of this helped.

there is a serious design flaw with this car, Honda has been looking into it since September 19 2007. The Name of the issue appears to be 15367 it is apparently a HOT issue is known to affect hybrids from 2003 - 2008. Ed Brothers is the person at Honda that created the issue. It is known to shut down the IMA system as low as 90 degrees, but i have experienced shut down as low as 85 possibly lower. Perhaps I should post the document the dealer gave me that they were given from honda.

the dealer knows its a serious problem, but is afraid to do anything but tow the company line for Honda, they are a bunch of cowards. They have been friendly, but refuse to tell the truth.

Incase your wondering the dealership is Chapman Honda in Tucson Arizona.

Please if you have similar symptoms please contact me. this is unacceptable and the more people that speak up the higher the chance of getting honda to address the flaw.