Primarily I have the problem with the hard engagement. Like you, I feel a hard jolt. I don't reverse too often so I haven't noticed anything, but I will make sure to pay attention for it. Good Luck on Saturday. I'm done with finals this week, so I might be able to take it in next week.

 

If Honda makes the CVT engage a bit later like the Prius, that will help alot. 5-10 more hp on the IMA will solve that problem.

 

did you get a chance to head to the dealership? I just change my oil for the first time last week, and it seems to be happening a bit less. but we'll have to see. it's only been a couple of days.

 

Reviving an old post here. I have had this issue as well and there should finally be a fix. Note, whatever you do do not let them just search your vin number because it won't come up (don't ask me why I know this the hard way). Have them pull up TSB 08-014 for Harsh Transmission Engagement on the Hybrid. The cause is excess fluid pressure in the valve body that engages the start clutch. The fix is to put the latest software in the car and it should get rid of it. I have an appointment on Tuesday to get my update and I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Only problem, this only is listed for all 2007 cars and a large chunk of the 2008 cars. 2006's I'm not sure, but getting the latest software upgrade from the dealership can't hurt. Getting one update already has made the air conditioning work so much better on the car.

 

Thanks Rick! I'll get it checked out soon!

 

Soneone asked recently if there were any software upgrades for the HCH-II and the reply was "No."

So, now there are a few? What are the details of the AC upgrade?

 

I should say that I know one of the mechanics at the Honda dealer so I probably have more access to these things than most people. Still, what I've found I found by Googling it.

I've had at least two software updates on my 2007 thus far. The first one was regarding a TSB about poor air conditioning performance. This applied to all Civics. Basically the AC compressor would kick off for 8 seconds when you took off from a stop at 50% throttle or more. The software update made it not kick off for so long. I received this update at the end of last summer I think after suffering here in Phoenix. It immediately was noticeably colder after getting the update. When I got that one he said I'd already missed two other updates before that.

If I can find the link to that I'll post it. If you get the update for harsh transmission engagement it should have all the previous ones included. I think the trick is knowing how to complain right. I also got the new rear upper control arms by complaining of general looseness in the rear end and tire roar.

 

First the good news, the car got its update and thus far I have not been able to produce a harsh start clutch engagement I had previously had. It was over 100 degrees when I got the car back so I wasn't expecting auto stop, but it did eventually start doing it and I could not cause the harsh engagement no matter what I tried. Specifically I think everyone experiencing it will agree it typically happened when you were still moving in auto stop and let off the brake. I drove around my neighborhood at low speeds to try and simulate this and I only had smooth start clutch engagements. In fact now I'd say that the engagements are all very consistent given varying conditions, this wasn't the case before!

Regarding other questions, here's the TSB for the poor AC performance:
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A07-062.pdf
It does not list the hybrid, but when they updated my car all those months ago it most definitely made an appreciable improvement in the AC performance. Also, if you get the newer update for the transmission it will cover the AC too so I wouldn't even worry about it.

Here is the TSB for the harsh transmission engagement:
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A08-014.pdf
This TSB came out on March 1st so if anyone has had their car in for this problem and the dealer was unable to fix it between then and now I'd be questioning how good that dealer really is.

 

If you understand how the transmission works it will help you prevent this problem.

The CVT transmission has an auto clutch in it, so that the engine can be left running while the car is stopped. Such as idling etc.

As you slow down/stop at traffic lights the clutch is disengaged and then a moment later the engine shuts down (normally, sometimes it will still run).

When the lights change and you take your foot off the brake, the car immediately starts the engine back up, then it goes through the process of smoothly engaging the clutch, this is not as simple as switching a light bulb and takes the cars computer/mechanics about 1 second to complete. It does not seem to take into account the engine RPM when it does this action.

If you simply take your foot off the brake and stamp on the gas, the engine RPM will rise just before the car can start the engagment process, when it does engage, the car will lurch and put more stress on the drive belt and the clutch itself.

The problem is worse when the car is new, the clutch mechanism is not polished nice and smooth with use, so when it does grab, it grabs faster and harder. With a few thousand miles on it, it will take up smoother.

In the future be a little more patient with the brake/gas, give the car just under a second between taking your foot off the brake and pressing the gas pedal so it can go through its process.

 

and ask...Hmm that was me, mines a 2006, perhaps I need to call the dealer and ask...

Woohoo, Honda is giving me the software update for free tomorrow even though my car is a salvage! I love honda!

Curiously the dealer doesn't "flash" the update, they just switch the ECU's which takes a couple of hours...odd..