I have the same problem and car is in shop for 3 days to pull motor to replace crank sensor of some type. Dealer had to order tool just to get motor out. would run fine for 30 min then the light would come on and no electic motor support. 3 times at dealer until they decide to pull motor. free rental car which surprised me. day 2 and counting.

 

Dan,

I hopy you get this resolved. If it is a new car with low mileage, I would just try and get it replaced under the lemon laws (does CA have that?). I think they get 3 chances to fix the problem or you get a new car.

I have the service manual, and the chances that the deal pulls and reinstalls the engine properly on a car this complicated, especially if it is the first one they have done is practically zilch...

Good Luck, and keep us posted....

BTW, I have 2007 HCH w/NAV with about 1700 miles and so good so far. I got rear ended a week after having the car and now need to get the bumper replaced (aggrrrhhhh).

Dobe.

 

Yike, Dobe, that's not good. Hope you're okay, though, and I'm glad it's just a bumper- think of it this way. It could have been a lot worse.

 

unfortunately this has just happened to me within the past day.... 2007 HCH-II w/ 3257 miles on the odo. I guess I'll have to take it in this week-- really sux driving in non-IMA mode.

What is the exact problem and fix (so I'll have a better idea of what to expect when I hit the stealership)?


EDIT: Anyone in the DC Metro area have any suggestions for which dealership to go to?

 

It was some kind of crank postioning sesor that was between the gas engine and the elect motor. I will look for paper work but it takes at least two days to pull engine to repair. Honda did give free rental. They may try some other quick fixes frist to be sure before doing such a big job whick is ok since there is a chance for errors pulling the motor whick could lead to other problems. They did tell me that for the two days I waited for parts i could drive the car without worry of addtional damage or a dead battery. There was also some special tool they also had to order to get the engine out they didn't have so mention that to be sure they check before starting it set me back a day.

good luck

 

Did you find out the codes the car is giving you when the IMA, Battery and Engine lights come on? Mine came on with 3000 miles and it turned out to be the Motor Rotor Sensor codes P0A3F (Motor Rotor Position Sensor Malfunction) and P15A5 (Motor Current Sensor Malfunction) . I took it to the dealer and they called Honda and were told to replace the Sensor (Honda has seen this problem on the 2007). The dealer did that and the car has been fine ever since. In order to replace the sensor, they have to take out the transmission (after ordering the tool to do it). Is this similar to your problem or do they really have to pull out the engine? Sometimes the dealer just starts fishing for fixes. Talk to the service manager and
make sure you are getting all the info. I've noticed that communication is a big problem when servicing these hybrids. Many techs don't have experience on all the computer controls and many have not worked on hybrids. These forums have helped me point the dealer in the right direction and it worked out fine.

 

my warning lights have gone away and come back a few times now, when the lights go away the car is fine (drives normal as it should) but the last time the 3 lights came on I noticed that the engine would have trouble at a stop maintaining idle (it even stalled out once ). I'm wondering if the dealer will be able to read the codes even if the warning lights are not lit up--- I have a feeling they'll say "if there are no warning lights, there's no problem."

Plus, I used a shop's OBD-II tool to try and read the codes myself, but the reader said there were no codes or MIL's to read....

 

Your problem sounds exactly like mine. It was an intermittent problem at first. If I turned the engine off and back on, the lights would clear but the engine (MIL) light would stay on and everything was normal. Then the lights would come on again and the IMA would shut down. The computer is supposed to keep the codes but when I took it to the dealer they also said the codes were gone. So what I did was take my scanner (OBDII) with me and when it happened again, I stopped the car and left it running then connected the scanner and found the codes. I'm not sure if the dealer ever saw the codes but when I told him what they were, the dealer called Honda for help and Honda told them what to fix. They replaced the sensor and everything seems to be okay.
Also, I think I read somewhere that the engine (MIL) light will clear itself after a few days of driving, so I am not sure that the service manager is correct when he told me the codes will stay in the system. The first time I took it in they also told me no codes...no problem and couldn't find anything. It took me three more days of driving before the problem popped up again. Then it started to happen more often and I had to wait for the part anyway, but I am glad I finally had a more consistent failure to prove my point.
Yes, my car was sluggish without the IMA also but seemed to adjust itself and I tried not to drive it much until the problem was fixed. Also my S/N is 4325...... the last four digits of the VIN. If your is around this number, I'm thinking that Honda may have gotten a bad batch of sensors. I've been driving Hondas for years and they are very reliable, so I was surprised with this problem.
The interesting part of the story is that the Honda dealer was glad to hear that Honda had a fix for this because they had no clue on what to do. Also, don't be satisfied with what they tell you. If you have questions they can't answer, call Honda Customer Service. Let me know if I can help with anything else.....

 

MIL - It SHOULD keep any codes it collects. That is odd that they weren't there.

After disconnecting the battery, or a dead 12V battery (or any true overall electrical power failure) or resetting the MIL, the MIL sensors for various systems are in a "gathering information" state, and are not READY to declare their particular system "GOOD". It takes a short variety of driving conditions to get the sensors all in the READY state. If you take your car in to be inspected when these sensors are not all READY, they'll ask you to come back in a couple of days for a re-test.
In our manuals, there is an easy way to tell if all the sensors are READY or not. p 229:
Turn ignition switch to ON, without starting the engine. The MIL indicator lamp will come on for 20 seconds. If it then goes off, the readiness codes are set. If it blinks 5 times, the readiness codes are not set.
Also, if you have an OBDII scanner, you can check for the codes and such, and the scanner will tell you if there are any that are NOT ready, and which ones. I have an OBDII scanner. It's helpful occasionally, as ChrisG found out. A good one is NOT cheap, though.

 

ChrisG

Last four of VIN is 3283, so it must be some sort of bad batch as you say.... Everything you described is exactly how it has been with regard to the problem.... MIL code went off today --- actually thought it might have been a gas cap issue as the vehicle was filled up recently (not by me) and I noticed that the cap didn't seem to be fully tightened when I checked it.

I'll try to catch the codes the next time it happens....