Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

Hi there, I am new to this forum. I have recently purchase a used Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 with only 36000 km on it. I was very happy with the car as it was a pleasant drive.

However after just a week of ownership, I started noticing what many people describe in this forum as battery recalibration. I brush it off at first as it happens about once or twice a day but gradually progressing to almost 3 times or more a day! Subsequently my IMA light came on last week Friday and just prior to that my car's IMA was behaving erratically (refusing to charge/assist for long periods).

I immediately made an appointment on Monday morning with Honda to check on this issue as the IMA light remain on throughout the weekend no matter what I did to the car. I was told by Honda that I can only bring my car in 2-3 days later as they are fully booked at the moment. However just this evening, when I started my car the IMA light was GONE completely! I tried restarting my car and etc but to no avail, the light is gone now!

I have only own this car for barely 2 weeks. I heard that IMA light coming on is an indication that the battery is deteriorating and in light of my frequent battery recalibration, I have a reason to believe that the IMA maybe faulty. However, given that the IMA light has disappear now, will Honda be able to check for the faults?

I am really worried that they will just claim that nothing happen since no indicator is present to show that the IMA is faulty although the truth is that the IMA light was there for the last 4 days. Reading through various posts in this forum has made me more worried that Honda will not do anything to address the problem unless there is a clear indication (IMA light) that the problem is there. Has anybody experience such issue and can anyone shed some light on this matter?

I really appreciate any feedback and thank you!

Re: Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

The code will still be in the system. It does sound like your IMA pack is in trouble. 09 have a history of bad packs. Keep us posted. H

Re: Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

Well, I took my car to my Honda Dealer this morning. Surprisingly the IMA light came on just this morning when I was flooring the accelerator a couple of times on my way there. I was really happy it did happen.

So, Honda did the checks and call me later in the day to say that they need to replace the IMA battery and it is still covered under warranty apparently due to a 'manufacturing defect'. Of course I was please with the decision and accepted that immediately. They have placed an order for the batteries and will contact me again as soon as they have it (not sure how long it will take though)

Well, sounds too easy to be true? I hope this will be the last of my problem with the batteries. I love this car a lot besides the IMA problem. Nonetheless, I am happy with the way Honda handled my case today. :D

Re: Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

You are one of few lucky ones! Most HCH2 do not light up unforchantly. Must have been a defect in the 2009 Packs? H

Re: Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

My '09 hch is in the shop today for the second battery replacement in 11 months. I was told today that there was a problem batch of replacment batteries shipped in the fall of 2011. The dealer figured it out quickly by calling Honda's Technicians corporate support. No yelling or screaming, the dealer picked up on the replacment frequency and checked into it.

First battery pack lasted from 3/09 to 11/11 and 35k miles. This on lasted 11 months and car now has 53k miles on it.

Even after software updates the car has been a solid 40-45 mpg in various driving conditions. It does drop off when it is bitter cold, but then batteries just aren't as efficient when things get really cold.

I like the car, I'd buy another. But we'll see how this works out after the 3rd battery pack.

Re: Honda Civic Hybrid 2009 - IMA Light Question?
 

I'm having my second hybrid battery pack replaced on my '09 HCH later this morning under warranty. The first one was replaced at approximately 20,000 miles. I'm now at 60,000. I'm hoping that the most recent software updates result in the new pack lasting longer than 40,000 miles!

I had the usual symptoms although it took a very long time for the IMA and Check Engine light to illuminate. I was getting frequent recharge cycles and my gas mileage dropped from 40 mpg+ to ~35 mpg. The IMA and Check Engine Light illuminated last Wednesday. After that the Check Engine Light stayed on for a day or so and than both lights turned off. Fortunately, the bad hybrid battery pack code was still in the system when I made it to the dealer yesterday.