My 06 Civic Hybrid will engage auto stop when at complete stop and then will start engine and show IMA is charging while I'm still at complete stop, have not taken foot off brake. Upon accelleration, IMA indicator will drain quickly from full/half charge to no charge within a few feet in motion. And engine has little power because IMA is no longer assisting engine. Taken to dealership, they claimed that IMA motor & battery plus pgm-fi and cvt trans (????) needed updating. Now auto shop is not engaging when it should and IMA is still 'charging' at odd times when it shouldn't. My MPG is terrible, only in low to mid 30s. Anyone else having similar issues?

 

I would have the dealership do the updates, especially if it's covered under warranty. If any of the issues can be resolved by their particular computer update, that would be a good thing. It seems like it would be the simplest thing to try first, and should be cheaper and easier to do than a mechanical fix.

Maybe get the 12V battery checked too.

 

I believe the pack is recalibrating. It has happened once with my 2006, but people living in very hot climate have it occur almost every day.You will find posts on this subject elsewhere on this site. Hal

 

You say AutoStop is not happening "when it should". Is it happening at all? Just less frequently? It can be prevented for various reasons: transmission in "S" mode, "defog" mode chosen, sudden stops (as a safety measure), low IMA battery state-of-charge, or just if the engine is not full warmed.

One other possible factor in changing AutoStop behavior is software updates. It's not clear to me from your posting: did you follow through and get some software updates?

The symptoms of IMA battery state-of-charge suddenly dropping, coupled with lack of assist and forced charging, all point to recalibration by the car's computer. The computer calculates the IMA battery's state-of-charge somewhat indirectly. Over time the computer's perception of the state-of-charge can drift, compared to actual state-of-charge. It uses this recalibration process to re-align it's perception.

What climate are you in? Are you using the airconditioning a lot? The A/C will run during AutoStop, using just the IMA battery for power. This can run down the state-of-charge quickly, and eventually prevent AutoStop.

I'd concur the 12 volt battery could be a factor, especially considering the year of your vehicle. If it's weak it can affect the rest of the system. I really don't understand the hows and whys of this, just hearsay.

If the recalibrations are frequent and your fuel consumption is climbing, particularly if it's significantly worse than you got in the past (ruling out driving behaviour), maybe it's a borderline IMA battery. Or more hopefully: a failing 12 volt battery.

Worsening fuel consumption could have many causes, though. Just the obvious:

1. Are you the sole driver, or has some one else started using the car?
2. Are your trips the same as in the past?
3. Have you had a recent oil change (possibly with wrong oil grade)?
4. Are you keeping on top of all the Maintenance Minder items? The engine air filter comes to mind.
5. How many clicks does it take to lock your Parking Brake? It should be should be 8~10 clicks to lock, when pulled up with moderate force. In my experience Service Departments tend to tighten it to around 2 clicks.
5. Did you replace tires recently? The original tires were chosen for Low Rolling Resistance, and it can be difficult to find replacment tires in the same league, if you're even looking for LRR.

Some easy checks:

* check the indicator window on the 12 volt battery. Is it red/blue (good), or just clear?
* check your service records as to when the engine air filter was last checked. I nothing turns up, have a look at it your self.
* check that parking brake adjustment.

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Yes, I did have dealership preform lastest updates. But still having similiar issues. I will have them look at the 12v battery next visit. (which will be very soon) I am the original owner and sole driver of my 06 HCH. I do live in Florida and the summers have been hot. But I've never experienced this problem in the last 3 summers since owning the car. But I will keep an eye on the auto-stop problem once it cools down in Fall/Winter.
As far as fuel consumption, I did replace tires at 30k miles, but made sure that Low Rolling Resistant tires were replacing my old, original tires. I do get hybrid oil changes regularly and take care of all maintenance reminders.
I will check 12v battery and see when last engine air filter was replaced.

 

One of the things that the power control software update does is disable auto stop if the battery is too low--especially when the A/C is on. This was done to help stop the power drain which was causing your battery to crash. It also charges more aggressively if your battery is at 4 bars or below. On the other hand, it also assists more aggressively if your battery is above 5 bars.

A few people have reported their mileage has increased with these new updates, athough mine is about the same as before they were applied. What were you getting before the dealership put the upgrade on?

I also drive an '06 and had frequent battery recalibrations (the term for those crashes you describe). Getting these updates have significantly reduced how often they happen in my case--I've had 2 in the last month vs. 2-3 times per week before.

Here is some good information about what is happening when your car has a recalibration: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24097. This should help you understand why the car recalibrates, and why the changes that Honda made should help.

I could understand why someone might take a slight hit on fuel economy with this upgraded logic, but it shouldn't be a significant decrease.

 

I've still been dealing with my IMA battery issues. But you guys were right about my 12v battery. It went out yesterday, so I've replaced it at the Honda dealership. So we'll see if my IMA issues level off.