2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Both my Check Engine and IMA Lights on came on today. I took it to the dealer because I was due for an oil change. That did not help. I was on my lunch break and in a hurry, but I asked the cost to check it out. They wanted $175 just to look at it! He also said it was well over $2000 to replace the battery!!!

The guy who changed my oil told me my IMA battery was probably bad.

A friend who owns a body shop told me to hold the odometer button, turn the key on, and continue holding the button for a minute intil the light goes off. It never did go off. He also told me there is no battery, just a capacitor.

I have heard that AutoZone and AAMCO will read the computer codes for free, but I've never used either of them.

I need to know if the car is safe to drive. It runs fine.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Remove the positive battery cable and reconnect, the light should be gone. I would try a new dealer! Good luck,H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Hi John,
Yes, try disconnecting the 12v battery located under the hood (front) then reconnect (safety glasses needed here please). I have the same vehicle and have not had a problem with the IMA. The honda IMA warranty is good for 150,000 miles depending on what state you live in. There is definitely a 144 VDC nickel metal hydride battery pack located behind the rear seat, (no capacitor). :)

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I am going to AAMCO at lunchtime tomorrow. They will read the code for free. Autozone no longer offers that service in California.

I want to know what the computer thinks is wrong before I try to clear it myself.

All tips are greatly appreciated!!!

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Good idea checking code first. I still have concerns about your dealer! H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

AAMCO read codes P1433 and P1600 from the computer in my HCH for free. They can't tell me anything about what the codes mean, only that they are "manufacturer specific codes". Now they say they need to do a "pinpoint test" to find out what components are bad - at a cost of $220.

I declined and will try disconnecting the 12V battery myself to see if that helps.

I guess there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

Anyone out there know what these two codes really mean?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

You live in California so your IMA system is covered for 10 years 150,000 miles. Take it in and have the warranty work done. It should all be covered! H:)

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

My vehicle has a salvaged title, so I don't know if they will honor that warranty. I have had no problems in the 2 years I have owned the car.

I did notice that I have a headlight out. I replaced it, but that did not help. There is no power to the socket for the bulb. I tried checking the fuses, but could not find fuses for the headlights in the main fuse block under the dash.

I'm hoping this could all be a simple electrical problem.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Have you tried removing the positve battery cable and replacing it. Could be a simple fix. Its not going to hurt anything and it may correct the problem! Hal

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Headlight fuses (there's one for each side) are in engine compartment fuse box (driver's side near battery).

Good luck on CEL and IMA. Find a good dealer and be polite but persistent. Sometimes there will be hurdles or initial resistance from the dealer to handing out expensive warranty repairs. They likely get flack from Honda Corporate if they "over prescribe" warranty work.

If you give the dealer the codes you had read, they should at least be able to give you a general idea of nature of the problem, and whether or not it would be a warranty repair. Also, finding out whether it is still safe (for both you and for the vehice) to continue to drive would be a must for me.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I am in a similar situation. Both the IMA and Eng lights came on. I have 125k and took it into a dealer in MA. The hybrid battery is bad. I purchased the car in CT. So I have the 150k mile warranty. Find a good dealer, they should want to help you. $99 to get the codes figured out at the dealership BTW.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

If your starter battery is still being charged and the car starts, then run it without the IMA system. The car will perform well without the IMA and still be very reasonable on gas consumsion. Due to the salvage tag, you may be out of luck for any warranty work, but it doesn't hurt to try. If you got the car at a reasonable price, then maybe it is worth the fix? The cost of the packs is down to around $2000 dollars witch is not to bad to swallow! Hal

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Disconnecting the battery did cause the IMA and Check Engine lights to stay off. So far so good.

Now I need to figure out the code to get my radio to start working again. Anyone know how to do that?

Still no luck on the headlight. I did find the fuses. They were good. I tried swapping the relays, but that didn't help. With the relays removed, the voltage on the good (passenger) side was 12V between both sets of receptacles. On the bad side, one was 12V and one was 9.6V. Any thoughts on that? The brights work as do the running lights.

Thanks to all for the great advice!

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

John, now that the IMA light is out are you getting assist and regen? It is possible you have a cat. converter problem witch will also turn on the IMA check engine light. I think the cats run a grand or so as well. Hopefully the car will run normal for you. Cant help you with the radio or light. H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

How would I know if I am getting "assist" and "regen"?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

There should be a indication on the dash showing you the assist your electric mtr. is using while under load. Assist bars are mormally white and # from 1-10. Regen are green bars and they show amount of charge going into the pack.Regen also helps with the slowing down of the car. Adds to braking. You should have a inticator of the SOC as well. Get yourself a manual it will help alot. H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

If the '05 is like my '04, you will see the Charge/Assist meter on the right-side of your dash readouts. The charge bars are the ones that show in green when the battery is being charged (for example, when you brake the car and it does regenerative braking) and the assist bars will show up in blue (for example when you accelerate from a stop).
The radio code is specific to your particular vehicle. If you have a salvage car, maybe you don't have the car's manual, but if you do, check to see if the original owner wrote the code somewhere in the manual. It's a 5-digit code that you need to program into the radio pre-sets to reset the radio. If you don't have any record of what the code is, try signing up to Honda Owner link (you can google that link), and I believe when you sign up your car's VIN number, they will provide you with your car's radio code.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

My IMA Battery Needs To Be Replaced!!!

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I was just informed by a Honda Dealer that the battery in my 2005 HCH has failed.

My computer Codes were P1600 - IMA System Malfunction and P1433 Battery Module Deterioration. These code definitions are different than the ones I found online.

The cost is $3003 for the battery and another $300 for labor. Ouch!

The worst part is that even through I have under 80k miles, my car has a salvage title and they are saying that this voids the warranty for everything except for safety related issues.

I have read some horror stories about how power steering and brakes stopped working on HCHs with failed IMA batteries. Can anyone provide any technical details as to how the IMA battery failure could result in a safety issue?

I plan to call Honda's Customer Service number to plead my case, but I need to have a good rationale for asking them to cover the replacement cost.

I was also told that I will not be able to pass a smog test because my check engine light is on. Also, my IMA light comes on intermittently. My gas mileage has not changed - 36 mpg. I think hybrids are exempt from smog tests until some time in 2010 - correct?

I cannot afford to replace this battery. Any suggestions on alternatives would be appreciated. I've thought about Ebay, junkyards, and aftermarket batteries, but have not come up with a good option.

I replaced the cable from th ebattery to the chassis and the bulb and the headlight now works.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Hi John
Bad news!I guess that was $3000 installed. How do you feel the car is performance wise? If you are happy with the cars performance I would drive it as is. You can turn the check engine light off by disconecting the positive battery cable, can you not? If you can, then do this every now and then or when you require air-care. Remember with those IMA packs, it is usually only one faulty cell causing the problem so the pack is still doing some work.Your steering is still powered? Is your pack still starting the car?
Honda should cover it, regardless of the salvage tag. 80,000 thousand miles and the pack packing it in , thats crap!!! Keep pestering the hell out of them and maybe they will come around with something better. H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

They want $300 more to install it.

IO only have 63000 miles. So far it drives OK but I have heard that the power steering can go out and I am trying to find some documentation of this or a technical explanation for it so I can appeal.

If it is safety related they are supposed to honor the warranty on salvaged vehicles.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

John: Have Honda sign a document that it is safe to drive without worry of steering failure. H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Do you know how I can document to them that this failure can happen?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I beleive that the steering is rack and pinion with electric assist. You still should be able to steer if you loose electric? H

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I just had my ima and check engine light come on. Mine was caused because fuse #9 in the fuse box under the hood blew. I just thought I'd mention it in case someone else is reading this thread and could find the info useful. I was replacing a radio and must have shorted something.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I had the ima, check engine lights coming on, and when i took it to the dealership, they replaced the 12V battery and did some software upgrades, and all is well! My mpg went up as well. Find a good dealership somehow.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I have a 2006 Civic Hybrid (around 45000 miles) and had the IMA and engine lights come on today. Code POA7F - Battery Module Deterioration. I will try to drop it off at the dealer tomorrow and see what they say.

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Took it to the dealer. They are ordering an IMA battery.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Hey, I'm having the same problems with my HCH 2004, does anyone know if in florida they will take care of that under the warranty? my Car has 130.000 miles.

Thanks.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I had the same thing happened to me to my 2006 Hybrid just recently. Please do tell what happens. :)

Thanks,

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Hi,
Well I had to sell the car, after a while everything stopped working in the car, even the transmission was affected by the IMA problem, took the Car to several diferent Honda Mechanics and they had the same answer, Change the IMA system ( battery and Cables), wich they sad would cost me around 3,000. So I sold the car and got a VW Passat.

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Okay, someone please chime in if you disagree with my theory here...

So i'm seeing a trend for the HCHI owners where there batteries are dying and seems as if Honda won't replace due to their warranty expiring. Granted Hondas last forever (early 90's model still on the roads up to this day), it seems that the Hybrids will have to suffer costly battery replacements year after year just to keep the car. As a HCHII owner, I'm seeing this trend to happen again if Honda dosen't come up with an affordable solution on how to keep our cars in the long run compared to a conventional gas-powered car. I'm all for the enviornment, but at what cost???:(

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I have a 2005 HCH (80k miles). For the past month, I had the IMA and check engine lights coming on, until one day I lost the power steering, and had it towed to the dealer. The dealer spent a day and concluded that there was nothing wrong with the car. Very soon, the IMA lights etc. problem is back.
I plan to take it to a different Honda dealer tomorrow - any suggestions on what specifically I can ask the dealer to change - also, is all of this 12V battery and software upgrade covered by warranty in MA?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

p2185

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

I had exactly same problem. Roughly 90K miles on my '05 Accord Hybrid. IMA & Engine lights came on yesterday. Tried the battery thing (disconnect-reconnect + terminal). It worked! Both lights out & mpg indicator display (which had also stopped functioning) is working again. I'm still taking it to dealer tomorrow to have it checked. Anybody know why this works?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

It was no sense to do it if you take it to the dealer. How do they suppose to diagnose the car if you cleared tho codes and freeze frame data?

Re: 2005 HCH Check Engine and IMA Lights on
 

Absolutely. There is inadequate support for the Hybrids and that is not an oversight.