2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

GAS TANK CRACKED AT 132K MILES, LEAKING GAS, FUMES IN CABIN AND CAUSING A SAFETY CONCERN. IT'S UNCLEAR EXACTLY WHEN IT HAPPENED, BUT IT WAS IN THE DRIVEWAY, STATIONARY AND EMITTING FUMES AFTER BEING FILLED UP WITH GAS WHEN I FIRST NOTICED AND STOPPED DRIVING IT. TURNS OUT, HONDA KNEW ABOUT THE ISSUE AND ISSUED A TECHNICAL BULLETIN TO DEALERSHIPS EXTENDINGWARRANTY FOR 10 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES BUT DESPITE REGULAR SERVICES AND OTHER RECALL FIXES, I WAS NEVER INFORMED THAT THIS COULD BE AN ISSUE, AND THE TANK WAS NEVER CHECKED FOR CRACKS BY THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE.

I JUST BOUGHT A CAR FROM A SMALL USED CAR DEALER LAST NOV.9, 2015. I CAN SAVE MONEY FOR MY GASOLINE EXPENSES BECAUSE THE CAR I BOUGHT IS A HYBRID. I DROVE HOME THIS CAR WITH MY SON WITH 1/4 TANK (25%) GASOLINE IN THE TANK. BUT, AFTER 3-DAYS SINCE THE GASOLINE WAS BELOW 1/4 OF THE TANK, I FULL TANK MY CAR WITH GASOLINE (FULL TANK). THE NEXT DAY WHEN I OPEN MY GARAGE FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, I SMELL VERY STRONG GASOLINE VAPOR. I THOUGHT IT'S ONLY SOME CONTAINER OF CHEMICAL IN THE GARAGE THAT I SMELL THAT REALLY SMELL TERRIBLE. I CHECKED THE BOTTOM OF THE GROUND AND I SAW GAS SPILLING ONTO THE GROUND UNDERNEATH THE GASOLINE TANK. BY CHECKING A LOT OF REVIEWS FROM CONSUMERS/ AUTOMOBILE OWNER OF 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUE OF CRACK GASOLINE TANK OF THIS PARTICULAR CAR,LEAKING FROM THE RUBBER GASKET BETWEEN THE GAS TANK AND THE FUEL FILLER NECK ALSO. WHEN THE GASOLINE IS LEAKING ON THE GROUND THAT GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE GASOLINE TANK, WHILE RUNNING THE FRICTION OF THE RUNNING METAL WHEELS CAN START A FIRE. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS ALSO IN THE PUBLIC. MY VIN# [XXX]. I CHECKED THE ONLINE REPORT THAT THE AMERICAN HONDA ARE EXTENDING 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID FROM 80,000 TO 120,000 MILES FOR THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. BECAUSE, OF THE CONSUMER'S/ AUTOMOBILE OWNER'S COMPLAINTS ABOUT LEAKING GASOLINE TANK. IT IS THE FAULTY OF ENGINEERING DESIGN. BUT, WE CANNOT JUST LET THIS PAST BY. IT'S VERY RISKY OF THE LIFE OF MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE OR PROBLEM. SOME 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID OWNERS MIGHT NOT EVEN NOTICED THE LEAKING PROBLEM THAT CAN PUT THEIR OWN FAMILY IN GREAT DANGER.. PLEASE, DO SOMETHING TO AVOID MANY LIFE OF OTHER PEOPLE IN GREAT DANGER AND CAUSING LIFE TO DEATH. I DON'T WANT TO SPEND MONEY IN THIS FACTORY INEFFICIENT DESIGN AND DEFECTIVE PARTS OF THE CAR. THIS SUPPOSED TO BE AN URGENT RECALL FOR AMERICAN HONDA. PLEASE HELP. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A FUEL ODOR PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE BEFORE AND AFTER REFUELING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE I.M.A AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

I HAD THE HONDA DEALERSHIP PERFORM THE IMA SOFTWARE 'UPGRADE' IN 2010 AS PART OF THE RECALL FOR THIS VEHICLE TO FURTHER EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE IMA BATTERY. SINCE THAT TIME, THE IMA BATTERY HAS FAILED TWICE. FIRST IN JAN 2012. THIS BATTERY WAS REPLACED UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS PART PROVIDED BY HONDA WHEN THEY INITIALLY IDENTIFIED THE ISSUE WITH THE IMA BATTERY. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED A SHORT 3-YEARS LATER. EACH TIME, THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL ABILITY TO ACCELERATE AND CREATES AN UNSAFE SITUATION WHEN TRYING TO MERGE OR PERFORM TURNS WHEN ACCELERATION IS NEEDED. EVEN THOUGH THE IMA BATTERY WAS ONLY 3-YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF THIS SECOND FAILURE, HONDA IS NOT COVERING THE FULL COST OF REPAIR. THE IMA SOFTWARE 'UPGRADE' HAS DONE NOTHING TO ADDRESS THE FAILURE RATE OF THE IMA BATTERY AND CREATES AN UNSAFE SITUATION WHEN ACCELERATION IN UNEXPECTEDLY LOST DUE TO DRASTIC POWER FLUCTUATIONS. *TR

THE GAS TANK STARTED LEAKING AND I FOUND OUT THERE WAS NOT A RECALL BUT THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THE GAS TANK IN WHICH HONDA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS AND 120,000 MILES. HONDA KNOWS THERE ARE DEFECTIVE GAS TANKS AND WILL NOT REPLACE THEM IF THE CAR HAS OVER 120,000. WHAT DOES MILEAGE HAVE TO DO WITH A GAS TANK THAT JUST HANGS UNDER A CAR THAT HAS SO LITTLE GROUND CLEARANCE YOU WOULD GET STUCK ON A ROUGH ROAD. THEY KNOW THE GAS TANKS WILL LEAK AND BECOME DANGEROUS AND YET THEY WON'T REPLACE THEM AND GET THEM OFF THE ROAD. *TR

FLASHING IGNITION "IMMOBILIZER" LIGHT - SYSTEM CODE "C-1": WITH LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE, OR A DISCONNECTED OR "DEAD" BATTERY, VEHICLE CANNOT BE STARTED, EITHER BY "JUMP STARTING" OR REPLACING THE 12V CAR BATTERY. THIS IS DUE TO A DEFECT, IN ALL "J VIN" CIVIC HYBRIDS, ON THE MICU BOARD LOCATED IN THE UNDER-DASH FUSE RELAY BOX. DEFECT RESULTS IN THE ELECTRONIC KEY CODES BEING LOST WITH LOW OR NO 12V IGNITION SYSTEM VOLTAGE. THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER TO HAVE ALL KEYS (CAR COMES WITH 3 SETS OF KEYS) REPROGRAMMED TO THE IGNITION IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM. ONLY A HONDA DEALER CAN PERFORM THIS OPERATION. BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECT, VEHICLE OPERATOR AND ANY PASSENGERS CAN BE LEFT STRANDED AND IN AN UNSAFE POSITION. THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO A DEALER, IF AVAILABLE, TO HAVE THE IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM REPROGRAMMED. HONDA WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER TO PERFORM THIS OPERATION BECAUSE OF SECURITY AND VEHICLE THEFT CONCERNS. DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE IMMOBILIZER FAILURE, THIS CAN BE A LIFE THREATENING SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE VEHICLE OPERATOR, DEPENDING ON WHERE AND WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS. IN ADDITION, ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS REQUIRING THE VEHICLE BATTERY TO BE DISCONNECTED, WILL RESULT IN AN INOPERABLE VEHICLE AND REQUIRE THAT THE VEHICLE CAR KEYS BE REPROGRAMMED, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THE PLANNED MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR AND THE KEY REPROGRAMMING WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE AT ONLY A HONDA DEALER.

MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN DRIVING A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID; AFTER ABOUT A MONTH AND HALF, EVERYTIME SHE FILLS UP THE GAS TANK. THERE'S A ORDER/SMELL OF GASOLINE. SOMETIME IN DECEMBER, WE TOOK THE CAR TO ELK GROVE HONDA FOR THE SMELL OF GASOLINE. ELK GROVE HONDA SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD US; WE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE FUEL TANK COSTING ABOUT $800.00. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH; THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED, ON 12-19-11 GAS LEAKS WITH 2006-2011 HONDA CIVIC HYBRIDS FUEL TANKS. HOWEVER, IN THE ARTICLE, HONDA IS NOT DOING A RECALL BUT EXTENDING THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES. MY DAUGHTER'S CAR IS NOT TEN YEARS OLD BUT IS OVER THE 120,000 MILES AND NOW WE ARE SUBJECTED TO PAYING THE ENORMOUS $800.00 BILL TO FIX, THE ACKNOWLEDGED HONDA PROBLEM. HOW CAN WE GET HONDA TO PAY FOR THE LEAKING FUEL AND HAVE MY DAUGHTER DRIVE A SAFE CARE? *TR