I own a 2006 Civic Hybrid which has provided trouble-free performance since I purchased it in May 2006. Unfortunately, its perfect record came to a screeching halt this past Monday. I was about to leave for work when the Malfunction Indicator (aka Check Engine) and EPS Indicator lamps both illuminated simultaneously. I put the car in reverse to attempt navigation out of my driveway and I couldn't turn the wheel. The car had to be towed to the dealer.

I was informed that the oxygen sensor and EPS control unit had both failed, but that the failures were independent of one another. The oxygen sensor (a $590 part) was covered by the stringent emissions warranty; however, the EPS control unit (a $965 part) was not covered because my vehicle has more than 36k miles. The tech at Honda said that they had never seen the EPS control unit fail on any Honda. I am in the process of a reimbursement request through American Honda Co. They said that they will review my case and consider a partial reimbursement of the $965.

Anyone have a similar failure with their Civic? Seems like a catastophic failure for such a young car.

 

I've never heard that before. I have a 2006, and now I'm paranoid about this.

 

I had my 1st check engine light appear. I tried plugging in a OBD2 scanner from autozone and murray's and niether of them worked. Does anyone know why it doesnt work???

So I brought my 06 HCH into the dealer for an oil change yesterday and told them about the check engine light. (Dealer charges 80 bucks to scan the CEL code) Of course the light goes on after 36,000. My odometer had around 37,200

I told them about Honda's lawsuit on the odometer reading which actually gives me 37,800 or 3 years. The rep verified that my VIN number was part of the lawsuit and fixed CEL with no charge since it was still under warranty. He said the oxygen sensor failed and had to be replaced. That would have costed me $422 !!! If i wasn't an informed consumer, the dealer would have charged me for the repair. I hate it when everyone is out to get your money.

I did not notice any decrease in MPG since the light went on over the weekend.

 

Dealers
This is so typical.
Maybe, just maybe, they would've discovered this anyway, as part of the work on your car. Then again...

 

isn't the o2 sensor under warranty

 

From what i'v researched online, the o2 sensor is only part of the 3yr-36,000 mile warranty. One might be able to argue that it is part of the emissions warranty. Anyhow, I didnt have to pay anything.

anyone know why the odbii scanner didnt work on my hybrid?

 

OBDII Scanner.
I had a check engine light come on once briefly (March 2008), and I took it to Autozone. It worked. It wasn't the best description for the issue, but it DID give a code. The dealer's scanner gave much better diagnostics, but the problem disappeared within another few minutes and has never returned. And, no, Honda (nor Autozone) reset it. It just went away.
Not sure what the issue was with your car or the scanners.

 

Thanks steve

Yeah, i plugged it in and when it said waiting for connection i turned the key to ON. After that didnt work. I took the key out and when it said waiting for connection, i turned on the engine. nothing.

I was even considering buying a 60-80 dollar odbii scanner, but trying 2 of them that didnt work, I'll save my money.

 

The oxygen sensor is covered by the emissions warranty, which is 10 year / 150K in certain states, and certainly greater than 3/36K.

 

Just had a front oxygen sensor failure on my 2006 at 87000 miles last night. I went to Autozone this morning, and they plugged in their scanner and the diagnosis came right up.
The part was $375 special order at Autozone! Does anyone know the emissions warranty for a car in MI? I don't know if I qualify for OEM warranty or if I should be looking around for the part.