2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED, THE HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF, AND THE ENGINE STALLED. A WARNING ILLUMINATED AFTER THE FAILURES OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPAIRED BY A DEALER UNDER A RECALL; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN, NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER, AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE UNAVAILABLE.

DRIVER WAS COMING DOWN A HILL AND AROUND A CURVE AND PRESSED THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE FROM THE BRAKES. THE DRIVER WAS FORCED TO PULL THE HAND BRAKE ON THE CAR - CAUSING THE CAR TO SWERVE INTO THE ONCOMING LANE. THE CAR WAS THEN HIT BY AN ONCOMING CAR. THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY TOTALED AND THE DRIVER SUFFERED MULTIPLE INJURIES. *TR

MY DAUGHTER, [XXX] WAS ENTERING ON FREEWAY FROM RAMP AND THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST ACCELERATION, SHE HAD TO STOP ON RIGHT SIDE OF EMERGENCY LANE. FORTUNATELY THE TIME WAS NOT RUSH HOUR AND NO VEHICLES BEHIND HER HIT HER CAR. WE TOOK TO A HONDA DEALER THEY DIAGNOSED IMA BATTERY IS NO GOOD AND NEED TO REPLACE. 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.

WINDSHIELD WIPERS SUDDENLY STOP WORKING PROPERLY - THEY FAIL TO STOP WIPING WHEN THE SWITCH IS TURNED OFF, THE INTERMITTENT SETTINGS FAIL TO WORK AT ALL, AND WHEN THE WIPERS DO STOP IT IS OFTEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SWIPE, OBSCURING THE DRIVER'S VISION. AN INTERNET SEARCH OF THE PROBLEM REVEALED THAT THOUSANDS OF HONDA OWNERS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT HONDA HAS ISSUED TECHNICAL BULLETINS DESCRIBING THE EXACT PROBLEM. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND OCCURS WHEN ONE IS USING THE WIPERS. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT THE FAILURE OF THE WIPERS TO PARK PROPERLY BLOCKS THE DRIVER'S LINE OF SIGHT. *TR

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

WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 20 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGED FROM THE ENGINE. WHEN ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED, THE ENGINE WOULD FREELY REV TO THE REDLINE BUT THERE WAS NO MOVEMENT OF THE CAR. THE CAR WAS GOING UP A HILL WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE CAR WAS ROLLED BACKWARD, ALMOST INTO TRAFFIC AT A BUSY INTERSECTION. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. AT THE DEALER BIG ISLAND HONDA, THEY DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE MALFUNCTION AND COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. WE DROVE THE CAR HOME. THE NEXT DAY WE DROVE IT AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM FLARED UP AGAIN. THIS TIME WE MANAGED TO GET IT TO THE DEALER IN TIME WHILE RISKING OUR LIVES TO GET IT THERE. HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED AND THE CAR WASN'T RELEASED TO US WHEN THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THE ISSUE COULD INDEED CONTRIBUTE TO CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE SHUTTING DOWN ALL ENGINE OPERATION WHILE DRIVING! I WAS SHOCKED SINCE I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER WHO UNDERSTANDS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN MACHINES. THEY TOOK TWO WEEKS TO DIAGNOSE ISSUE AND REPLACE COMPUTER CHIP. IS THIS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, DESIGN FAILURE, OR LIFE ENDANGERING MALFUNCTION? *TR

DURING OCT 2013 I BEGAN TO SEE THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT COME ON SPORADICALLY. ASKED THE HONDA DEALER TO INVESTIGATE AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS NOT ON ALL THE TIME. I WENT TO ANOTHER MECHANIC THAT I USE AND THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND SAID IT WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I PAID $2289.17 TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG AND HARNESS. I WANT HONDA TO VERIFY THE CURRENT AIRBAGS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL, I WANT HONDA TO VERIFY THE REPLACEMENT AIRBAG IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL AND I WANT TO BE REIMBURSED FOR MY AIRBAG REPLACEMENT DUE TO A DEFECTIVE AIRBAG THAT HONDA IGNORED WHEN I RAISED THE ISSUE AT THEIR REPAIR FACILITY IN TARRYTOWN NEW YORK. I HAVE ALSO WRITTEN TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO, INC IN TORRANCE, CA. AND AM AWAITING THEIR RESPONSE.

DUE TO POOR PERFORMANCE AFTER A RECENT HONDA IMA HYBRID BATTERY SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE ELECTRONIC BATTERY HAD TURNED ITSELF OFF IN ORDER TO EXTEND ITS LIFE. WHEN THE BATTERY TURNED OFF, THE PRIMARY ELECTRONIC BRAKES WERE ALSO TURNED OFF. WHEN AN ACCIDENT HAPPENED ON THE OPPOSING DIRECTION OF TRAFFIC, IT SENT DEBRIS ACROSS THE FREEWAY BARRIER INTO MY LANE. I ATTEMPTED TO DECREASE MY SPEED IN ORDER TO MANEUVER AROUND THE DEBRIS, BUT I DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT BRAKING POWER. IF THE BRAKES WERE NOT DISABLED IN ORDER TO EXTEND THE BATTERY LIFE AND DECREASE HONDA OF AMERICA'S FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE BATTERIES UNDER WARRANTY, I WOULD NOT HAVE RAN OVER THE DEBRIS THAT ALMOST SENT ME STRAIGHT INTO THE MEDIAN WALL. I HAD SEEN THE ACCIDENT WITH PLENTY OF TIME TO SLOW DOWN AND I WOULD HAVE MADE IT SAFELY AROUND THE DEBRIS IF I HAD PROPER WORKING BRAKES. THE BRAKES REMAIN INTERMITTENT SOMETIMES WORKING AS THEY SHOULD, OTHER TIMES NOT AT ALL AS STATED ABOVE. *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