2008 HCH IMA Battery Replacement - Help Me Deal With the Dealer!
 

I am looking for any and all advice before I go to the dealer with my ailing 2008 HCH. Recently, the IMA/Check Engine/Batt lights went on, I have been having low mileage for a while now, and the battery always loses its charge when my car sits undriven overnight. So, I need a replacement battery. However, I am dreading the run-around I may be facing when I take it for service, thus I am looking for advice from people who know lots more than me!

- I live/purchased the car in Illinois. It has 77,000 miles and I bought it 01/18/08; will the battery still be under warranty?

- The lights that came on have since gone off. Would it be a good idea to buy an OBD2 scanner and use a program like Torque Pro to document the codes before I go to the dealer? If so, which scanner would be best to buy?

- Any other tips?

Thanks to anyone who has any advice; I am confused by a lot of the info I have read about this issue. Also, I have gotten the run-around from the dealer in the past, so I want to go to them armed with knowledge this time!!

Kathy

Re: 2008 HCH IMA Battery Replacement - Help Me Deal With the Dealer!
 

You should update your profile to reflect your location and provide some information on your situation.

The warranty for the '08 in most states is 9yr/92k miles. A handful of states get 10 year/150k miles (CA for sure and a few others). There are exclusions by VIN as well. If you are outside the warranty period, consider yourself screwed. You MIGHT get some sort of small discount. Don't count on it though.

A bad or weak 12V battery can cause IMA failures/codes. Replace with a larger 51R instead of the 151R.

You have aftermarket replacement options such as bumblebee batteries and hybrid revolt that are cheaper than the dealer and come with a 3 year warranty. IIRC the dealer only offers 1 yr, and the Honda replacement packs have reliability issues.

There are alternatives to replacement. The battery can be bypassed and operated as a gas-only engine. Your mileage will likely improve over what you get now, and highway mileage will be as good as it ever was. however, for regions that require emissions testing, and a "Check Engine" like fails you, you will fail emissions even if the pipe is putting out the proper amount of pollutants.

You can grid charge/discharge your battery to restore capacity and cell balance. This done on a regular basis (monthly to quarterly) can often extend a recently failed pack's life by 1-2 years.

Good luck,

Steve

Re: 2008 HCH IMA Battery Replacement - Help Me Deal With the Dealer!
 

Thanks for the quick reply, Steve. My original post was nowhere near complete when my cat decided to walk on my keyboard and submit it for me before I was done! I've edited it now and it has more info. It sounds like the battery is definitely still under warranty, but should I go ahead and get the codes scanned before I take the car in, since the lights have now gone out?

Thanks so much!!

Kathy

Re: 2008 HCH IMA Battery Replacement - Help Me Deal With the Dealer!
 

Kathy,

If the IMA came on, the CEL comes on. The CEL is likely still on. Even if it's not, the code is retained for a period. Take it in immediately.

Steve