When I first bought my HCHII, I loved the technology and fuel efficiency of the car, but it has faded. When I first got the car it was liking getting the cool gadget for Christmas that I mesmorized me with its blicking lights. However, over the three years that I have owned the car, my fascination has dwindled along with the fuel efficiency. As some of you could easily look up, I have made some alterations to my car since buying it that I accepted as causing a reduction in my fuel economy, however over the last year or so my fuel economy keeps dropping, yet nothing about my driving style or car has changed. First the fuel economy dropped like a rock becuase of problems with the computer and battery, that were supposedly fixed with a software update, but things have still been getting worse. I do mainly suburban driving on roads with 30 to 45 mph speed limits and frequent stop signs and lights, so I expected the original EPA city rating of 49 mpg, but that was then lowered by the EPA to 40 mpg, and on top of that my "modifications" lost me roughly 3-4 mpg. However, now that I have been driving my car for 3 years my fuel economy has dropped from a steady 36-37 mpg to barely sqeezing out 30 mpg. This is 19 mpg less than I originally expected, or 10 mpg less than current EPA standards, or 6-7 mpg less than I used to get.

So now, I just keep thinking to myself, why on Earth did I buy this thing? I could have bought a standard Civic for thousands less, and still be getting the same fuel economy.

I have not signed up for the class action lawsuit that people keep talking about, but it has crossed my mind on a couple of occassions. Instead, I keep thinking that it is going to get better, or that I am doing something wrong, or that maybe putting the original wheels back on my car that it will drastically increase, but I am really doubting this.

Any advice for a guy who is doing all he can to appreciate his car, but finding more and more reasons to want to jump off this hybrid train?

 

Amen.

A car's fuel economy should not drop over 25% after less than one year. But Honda somehow insists that this is "normal".

When people ask me if I would recommend a Honda Hybrid, I say "NO!!! Buy a Prius instead!!!"

 

I too have told people to consider the Prius instead, but personally I have been leaning more and more towards diesel. I have yet to see a review by someone who owns a VW or Audi TDI that is getting less gas mileage than the sticker, and virtually all say they get far better without even really trying. For a while I was salivating over the Chevy Volt, but I think my HCHII has turned me off from anything that reallies on a giant battery. Not to mention, I still can't comprehend the environmental impact of mining rare earth metals for all these giant lithium ion batteries.

 

I just steered a car buyer away from Hybrids of any make. My neighbor has an '03 Civic Hybrid, he is also done with this 'technology.' He had to replace his battery pack at ~125,000 miles, but found a replacement through an auto recycler, so he did not get hit with the Honda price, he paid ~$700 for a pack from a '05 Civic with 35,000 miles. One reason I bought was solo use of HOV lanes here in CA, which was set to expire this week but got a 6 month reprieve to June 1. This has saved my ~10 minutes a day for the past 5 years from bipassing other solo drivers waiting at a metering light to enter the freeway.

 

hi Balud, I've been wrestling with some of the same frustrations, but I've not given up yet on the car. There are many aspects of the HCHII that I really like compared to the Prius, which keeps me going. For what it's worth, I've found that performing the Power Reset procedure helped me regain some of my 'lost' performance-- 4-5 MPG better. I HAVE noticed that the new software seems to have made my car's performance much more temperature-sensitive, particularly in city driving (where it's often not completely warmed up in my short commute). And you get way colder temps than I do. The block heater I installed really helps in the AM commute- up to 10 MPG better over the first 5 miles (the duration of my morning drive). Have you tried putting one in? My apologies if you know all this already, just thought I'd mention what seems to be helping me.
Philip

 

Check your oil level and make sure you have NO MORE than 3.5 quarts installed. Dealers love to overfill to 4 quarts, and this will cost you 5+ MPG.

 

My 2008 Civic is my first hybrid and up to now am delighted with it,i bought it more as a "shopping trolley" as i do not do much mileage now i am retired,i do short local runs of 2-10 miles a lot and fuel consumption is 54 mpg,here in Yorkshire in UK hybrids are seldom seen as more people go for diesel..but we have to pay road tax and for my previous car a mercedes e220 diesel it was around £200 ($311) a year and increasing, the civic is £10 ($15) a year and going down to nil?..As well as oil level the correct grade of oil should also be used (Honda green oil) as this can have an adverse effect on fuel consumption....for anyone considering diesel just like to add my Mercedes E220 CDi auto was excellent on fuel and would easily do 56mpg on a run.........

 

Hybrids are not for everyone..if you enjoy trying to get good MPGs then it becomes fun to drive and notice your driving habits.
If you drive like a nascar driver, dont expect MPGs to equal what it said on the sticker. There are only a handful of cars/SUVs out there that give you 50+MPG. The way i see it is, those vehicles give you a chance to save money on gas, its up to you to handle the machine properly.

 

Couldn't agree more vincep5,bought my hybrid for the use it was intended for,the only modification i have made is rear parking sensors which i purchased off the net and fitted myself.For the summer and if i want to go faster i also have a Honda 750 shadow m/cycle....75mpg.....

 

And I agree with you both. vicep5 & paul.r . H