[UPDATE June 29 2011]: There seem to be a lot of interest on IMA battery replacement. I just called my local dealer, and he said, for sure Honda does NOT offer free replacement of the IMA battery. He was not aware of any service bulletin that offers it. He also said the California State EPA law may extend the warranty for the IMA battery, but not the 2003 HCH. So, unfortunately, for those who still have the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, you’ll need to shell out $4000 (plus labor) to get a new IMA battery. Alternatively, sell it and get a regular non-Hybrid car because IMA batteries are just costly to replace.
Every car owner worry about spending money to repair his/her car due to regular wear and tear. An equipment with so many moving parts will require a lot of maintenance work. It’s a necessary evil. With an electric-gasoline hybrid cars, there is an added problem: the main battery. When it’s damaged, it’s going to be expensive to replace. This is what hybrid owners have been dreading, including myself.
Honda does not have an official word on why a Civic Hybrid’s IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) battery might fail. But a technical bulletin to service dealers suggested a similar problem with Honda’s first hybrid cars, the Insight, which used the same IMA technology. The letter said modules controlling the battery charging mechanism, allowed overcharging. However, repeated overcharging could cause overheating and reduce the life of the battery. Combine that with the hot weather in places like California or Arizona, the battery would die even faster.
The letter might explain my situation. For the past few weeks, there have been record high temperatures in Southern California. I noticed my 2003 Civic Hybrid car’s IMA light came on and off, indicating a possible problem with the main engine battery.
Last week, I took the car to a local Honda dealer down the street and had them check it out. They told me that it was possibly due to a false reading in the ECM (Electronic Control Module) device. This should also fix the issue I had with the Check Engine light reporting a catalytic converter failure. They summarily reset both indicators and returned the car to me. This Monday morning, the light came back on! It looks like the ECM software update doesn’t fix anything.
In California, there is a warranty extension for the IMA battery to 10 years/150k miles. However, this only applies to Civic Hybrids with SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicles) specification. For some odd reason, the State only gave my car a ULEV. So I’m out of luck.
Now, I may not have a choice but to replace my IMA battery. I called a few other dealers and they quoted me about $3000 to get a new one! I can buy a lot of gas with that money! Or a down payment for a new car!
I don’t want to give up on my car just yet. In the past few weeks, I watched the battery charge and MPG indicators. I noticed I was down to 41 MPG on a full tank, or roughly 500 miles per 12 gallons. Even with the IMA battery poor condition, I’m still getting a much better mileage than all economy/compact/sub-compact cars out there. So it got me thinking: Do I really need to replace the main battery? My answer, at this point, is no. The car is still drive-able and still saves a lot of fuel.
Some people suggested, after 5 years, the car’s life is at the end anyway, so it might better off for me to buy a new car. It may be true in a cold climate cities when the car goes through adverse weather conditions and salted roads. In Southern California, the weather is moderate and mostly dry. A well maintained car can last more than 10 years in this part of the country. My last Civic was 8 years old when I had to trade it in for a larger car. Similarly, I plan on using this Civic Hybrid, if it lets me, to go beyond 10 years, or at least until 2011 when my car pool lane HOV sticker expires. There’s really no motivation for me to get rid of this car right now.
With the IMA battery still operational in a somewhat limited capacity, the car still getting a quite decent mileage and still in good condition, my hybrid car woe is not too bad. In the meantime, I think I’ll write to American Honda to petition a warranty exception for my car’s battery. I’m hoping Honda has the sense to take care of me, one of their loyal customer. I’ll update this blog when (if) I get a word from them.
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Rudy,
You better re-read the warranty on your Civic Hybrid. That extended warranty isn’t for 5 years– It’s for 15 years.
Also, if your Civic Hybrid isn’t rated SULEV, it still has an 8-year / 80,000-mile warranty on the battery.
You should stick to your guns and tell Honda to replace the thing. That battery SHOULD still be under warranty until 2011 or 80,000 miles.
Good luck.
I wrote about how to extend battery life for portable gadgets such as laptops and mp3 players, it never occurred to me that it could be pertinent to hybrid drivers.
http://www.sciencetext.com/boost-your-battery.html
David Bradley’s last blog post..Identifying Digital Gems
@Quincy:
Actually, the IMA battery is extended to 10 years, not 5 nor 15. Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve made the correction in my post. My car is at 122k miles already, so I’m way past the regular warranty for the IMA battery.
_
@David:
I read your tips for laptop batteries, but how exactly do they relate to hybrid cars?
Well…okay, they don’t really…it was your mention of the heat. Maybe thinking about keeping the car in the shade when you can might help?
David Bradley’s last blog post..Identifying Digital Gems
I believe the heat issue is also during run time. I did wonder why my car’s cabin was always hot, and my AC couldn’t do enough to keep it cool. Since the battery is behind the back seat, it might have something to do with it.
Unless they can come up with a decent battery cooling system it’s going to be another black mark for the hybrids. Even if they guarantee to replace them if they fail that really defeats the object as the metals and other materials cost a lot initially in energy to extract and produce these beasts…
David Bradley’s last blog post..Identifying Digital Gems
Yeah, producing hybrid batteries are definitely not a “green” process. The nickel mined in Canada, shipped to China for processing, and then to Japan for manufacturing. That’s a lot of fuel and materials wasted.
I think so. It seems that when they make claims of eco friendliness for products they rarely mention the sourcing of materials nor the long-term consequences of using them. There was a study done a couple of years back, I think New Scientist reported on it, that basically said the amount of energy and resources required to build a new car far outweighs the energy savings even after 20 years of simply driving an old lemon, at least for UK drivers (possibly different if you’re talking about 5 mpg gas guzzlers from 1950s US.
Trouble is, drivers want the latest bells and whistles, like climate control and iPod docking and you don’t get that with an old lemon.
David Bradley’s last blog post..Identifying Digital Gems
Looks pretty cool. Would love to see it in motion
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Honda is really ahead of the game in this market! Look out Toyota!
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I’m still think that Toyota are better. There support are great, well at least in my country.
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Hey guys,
In terms of who’s better in the Hybrid business, Toyota or Honda, I believe Toyota overall has the best technology. However, I think both support for hybrid batteries are the same. I’ve read them on the Prius user groups. They both try to avoid paying for the battery replacements.
Toyota is big in South East Asia. I’m not sure about their support over there, but sales are definitely impressive.
Hey Rudy,
I have a 2003 HCH CVT with 92k and the dealer just told me I need to replace the IMA battery to the tune of $2400. I’m going to take the wait and see approach like you. I’d like a new car, but it so much cheaper to keep my HCH for now. What did you end up doing?
Hey Jeff,
I ended up mangling my HCH in a car accident! So I got a new 2008 Civic LX.
I went non-hybrid this time around because the prices back in late 2008 was still high. Now, with a terrible car sales, hybrids are way cheaper so it might be your best opportunity to trade in for a new car now.
I’ve owned two Civic Hybrids. My 06 got 56 mpg regularly on a commuter trip of 300 mi. My 09 gets 43 at best. Same route, same driver, same model car, same time of year. What has happened?
Dan
Dan,
I have a 2003 HCH. I get from 40 to 45 with it depending on how hard I drive it, what the temperature outside is and how much weight is in the car. That mileage is calculated based on how much gas I put in the tank and how many miles since the last fill-up. I have noticed that the calculated gas mileage is 5 to 7 mpg less then what the display on the car says. I am wondering if Honda might have fixed that issue on the 09. Did you calculate the mpg or is that what the display reported?
John
The nickel mined in Canada, shipped to China for processing, and then to Japan for manufacturing. That’s a lot of fuel and materials wasted.
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m dealing w/the same IMA & check engine light problems that other people have mentioned on car websites. If there’s no chance my car will just give out on the highway, I’ll keep driving it w/the IMA light on then. It is very frustrating as I have already had the catalytic converter and an oxygen sensor replaced in the past 1.5 years. Maybe this is why the previous owner was itching to sell this car.
Hi Judy,
I know what you mean. Good thing I don’t have to deal with it anymore since mine was wrecked in a car accident. I sure hope they improved the NiMH batteries that requires less maintenance. Or at least drastically lower the replacement cost. Otherwise, I’m never gonna buy another hybrid car.
Hi John,
Thanks for the observations. I use both calculations. I fill up when the light comes on. This is almost always 10 gallons. The MPG meter always shows the same. i.e. 56mpg and 560 mi./10 gal. I now have about 65,000 miles on the ’09. By carefully watching the instruments I’ve noticed a lot of charging taking place. I wonder if the batteries are different than those in my ’06. Whatever might be causing it, there is a difference of about 10 MPG than with my ’06. Thanks again,
Dan
My 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid’s IMA just went dead and it will cost me $3700 to replace it.I read that this IMA is not needed if I don’t care about the “energy saving “part. Hard to believe it is still driveable since this component is the heart of the hybrid.
Anyone have cold hard facts?
Thanks
Sheldon
Hey Sheldon,
Using Motortrend’s site for the cold hard facts, the combustion engine in the 03 HCH can do about 85 horse power, while the battery only delivers an additional 13 HP. So if you’re not trying to race the car, nor carry heavy loads, then the gas engine, by itself, is sufficient as a commuter car.
My 03 HCH just took the big plunge, but I think I can revive it! I’ve been doing lots of research on how to do this. It takes about 3 weeks to do. I’ll keep you guys up on it.
Mike
My wife has a 2003 HCH. Her IMA light just came on Saturday. We took the car to Honda and they told us that the battery needed to be replaced, like many of y’all. We did a little research, before spending the $3,000.00 for a replacement, and found a company in NY that says they can repair an IMA battery for much less than a replacement, around $1,200.00, and the battery should last for an aditional 5yrs rather than 7yrs with a new battery. This is there website to check it out for yourself http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com. We will keep you posted if we take this route.
Curt
Today I got the bad news about needing to replace my IMA battery for a mere $5960 Cdn. The warranty extension isn’t applicable in Canada, but my boss is the best and found a used battery at a reputable wrecker for $800 Cdn. Now looking for someone to do the labour.
How can I find out if my Hybrid is an ULEV or SULEV?
ulev or sulev sticker fund on small back window of the drivers side.
I find myself with an 8 year old HCH that now needs a new IMA battery. The dealer told me $3300, and I’ve decided to forego doing it. The car has already cost us $6000 in replacement of oxygen sensors and two, yes, TWO, catalytic converters. Did YOU know that car has two catalytic converters? I certainly didn’t. I commute up and down I-95, and will just drive the thing until it falls apart. I will not buy another hybrid until somebody makes it more economical to repair.
I have found a way to rebuild the IMA Battery on the 2003-2005 Honda Civic Batteries. I have been able to rebuild a battery, give print-outs of the changes and extend the life of the battery for 3-5 years and then you can rebuild the battery when the problem comes again and continue to extend the life of your battery for an extended period of time.
that’s great todd, care to share how we can do that?
I currently own an 03 HCH and my IMA light has been on now for about 3 months. The car hasn’t changed as far a milage, I think I will leave it alone.
I have been a mechanic since I was 15 years old (lets just say over 30 years experience).
The rebuilding (RECONDITIONING) of the HYBRID Battery is a very dangerous process and should not be done by just anyone. TWO people passed away working on Hybrid Batteries in a 6 month period in Utah so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…. Be Careful but the long and short of the process is this. SAFETY – SAFETY – Safety. There is more AMPs in this Battery than in your HOUSE…. Do you now understand how dangerous this is???
Inside the Battery pack is (20) Sticks of Batteries (6 D-cell batteries welded together) What you need to do is this…. Charge/Recycle ALL 20 sticks THREE TIMES (Yes, this can take you a few weeks to do depending on the number of chargers you have and record the information Before and After and wait a week and see what happens to the batteries.
ONE STICK will take 15-22 hours.
Once you determine which stick is BAD, you have to RECONDITION the new battery and replace the old. Once you are complete, you must clear the ECM Codes with a Reader.
Here is the Hard part. They do not make replacement sticks so you have to have access to someone who has some extra sticks. I have found the cost of the individual sticks to be approximately $50-$60 each. Or you can purchase a BAD BATTERY PACK and you will then have extra’s (this is what I did)
It normally takes 2-4 sticks to recondition your old battery to last another 5 to 7 years.
TOOLS NEEDED – 7.2 volt “HOBBY BATTERY CHARGER”
Great info, Todd. Thanks!
Hi Rudy–
2003 HCH owner…replaced one CAT already and have the task every 2 years of getting the emissions light to go away in order to pass…
Inevitably it comes back on after reset after approx 80 miles..
Anyway, now my IMA light is also on…can you give me a recap of what youve found thus far…the IMA failure will not prevent me from driving the car? Thx very much!
Shane
Hey Shane,
The IMA failures indicate the early hybrid technology is not so good. I would say it’s time for you to trade the car in for a newer one. I got rid of mine already.
I’m back again, after driving my hybrid for about a year w/the IMA and check engine lights coming off and on. The car sputtered to a stop and would not start at all. It’s been very hot lately, and for the past couple of days, the battery light was coming on briefly whenever I started the car. Luckily, I was able to pull off the side of the road safely, but it could have been a very dangerous situation had the car broken down in the middle of a highway. I am being quoted almost $4500 for a new cat. converter, spark plugs, small battery, and hybrid battery. Bad news, but at least I knew it was coming after reading websites like this one. To those of you on the fence about replacing your battery, it’s better to be safe than sorry– your car might be drivable for months, but then it could quit on you whenever and wherever. Still, I am happy w/the car (bought it used), love the great gas mileage, and hope that after it’s fixed, I get at least 3-5 more yrs. out of it to make the cost worth it.
Judy / Rudy / Other online mechanics–
Sorry for the news…is there a chance that with all other pieces functioning correctly that the IMA will in fact allow you to continue driving the car?
Could it have been the fact that your spark plugs and car battery needed to be replaced?
I’, looking for answers here because I am relying on the fact that I just swapped out my normal car battery ($100), changed all the plugs and just dropped $1100 on a new A/C compressor…hoping that I can drive it for a few more years with the IMA light on…it has been unbearably hot in DC area lately so now I’m worried/…any thoughts from the community?
Hey, I just did a Google search and ended up here, so I’m brand new. I have an ’03 Hybrid Civic and I’m trying to get info on the extended warranty for the IMA. I’m past the regular warranty standard, but a dealer in upstate New York (where the car was purchased) told me about a recent “bulletin #06057″ that made it look like “there’s a good chance I still qualify for a free replacement”. I can’t seem to find anything about that bulletin online. I’m trying to get more info about it from a dealer in TX (near where I live now). I’m afraid that they might not look real hard because they have reason to believe they’d be the ones doing it for me. Does anyone have any info they could arm me with here?
Sonny,
Please see my updated post above.
For clarification for many of the older Honda Civic Drivers. The IMA light that comes on is the assist to increase the Miles Per Gallon. How long can you drive with the IMA light on is partially dependent upon which part of the IMA system is not working properly.
I have seen there the IMA System not working properly and will degrade the charging system and the car will die due to killing the 12V Battery
I have seen where the IMA will run for Thousands of miles with little to no effect on the normal operations of the vehicle.
There are too many variables so it is up to each individual to find the cause for the IMA Light and troubleshoot your own car.
So if your IMA is on and you can drive for an extended period, you are good. IF your car dies… you need to get it fixed
Made mention of a bulletin that a New York Honda dealer told me might declare that my extended warranty would qualify me for a free IMA replacement for my ’03 HCH. However, I thought y’all might like to know that my dealer in Texas says that only applies to the Insight.
Oh well.
That’s good news for you Insight owners, though, because she knew what bulletin the other dealer was talking about. It is out there! I had the impression that it was a recent bulletin, too, so y’all might look for it if you drive the Insight..
Hi,
I came across this beautiful blog after having issues with IMA Battery in my Honda Hybrid 2003. One thing I’ve noticed is that if I park the car under a shaded area and roll down all windows a little bits, the IMA light will dissapear but will come back after travelling some miles, i’ve also noticed the dash board getting extremely hot as well. I just thought i should share this especially when David mentioned something like laptop battery hot/keeping cool. I’m not looking to changing mine in any case as the car now reading 254000 miles, will just used until dead drop and buy another one.
Many thanks folks
I called my dealer and they did confirm that I am still under warranty. If anyone has any concerns try giving them a call.
Hey guys,
Just came across this very informative blog. I have a 2004 HCH with about 130k miles on it. The check engine and IMA light came on so I took it to the mechanic.
They said the Catalytic Convert is faulty and needs to be replaced for the car to pass emissions testing.
Catalytic converters cost around $700, and after labor costs they are about a $1000 to replace
The IMA light indicates that the battery needs to be replaced, which will cost around $3000.
I bought the car last June for around $6500.
Should I keep the car and continue driving it until the battery fails completely or should I sell it for a loss of $4000? I’ve been out of the state for the last 8 months so I haven’t driven since. And the lights have been on since last November.
Thanks for sharing!
I purchased my 2003 HCH new in August of 03. Since that time, I’ve replaced 3 catalytic converters (1 on me and two under warranty), 2 IMA systems (both under warranty), and the ECU (under warranty). Warranty was extended to 150k (and the IMA light came on again just before the warranty was up). This IMA lasted for about 100k miles until the lights came back on (same deal – P1443 code), but I opted not to replace it at $3000. So, I have driven about 50k miles with the IMA/Engine light on. No new codes (as with each maintenance the dealership checks). This last week, the engine started misfiring, causing the engine light to blink for about 3 sec and then the light would go solid. Took it in, and three cylinders were misfiring. Spark plugs in really bad condition, so replaced all 8. Interestingly, never once replaced on my car, and I’ve taken it to the same dealership since day 1. I am going to dig through the 10 inches of service records I have to investigate this as I thought spark plugs are replaced during the major maintenances. In any event, at 302,000-ish miles, things are back to normal – well, in terms of the IMA/engine light only generating a P1443 code. I have only driven it about 30 miles, but performance has improved.
Last year I purchased a charger/reconditioner (Super Brain 989), and a battery pack from a wrecked 05 HCH. I am trying to work up the courage and confidence to recondition it to replace the sticks in my HCH. I have already taken the spare battery apart, but programming the 989 is where I am completely lost.
[...] step guide for you because we hate to see big companies taking advantage of the consumer, and we…This Guide would also be a good investment for the future. Hybrid batteries have a limited life span…on all 01'-09' Prius. In the summer of 2008, I bought a Prius from a guy that forgot to mention that [...]
Have 185k on 2006 Hybrid (lots of commuting and 2 jobs). I think I have gotten money’s worth with the great gas mileage and nothing other than routine maintenance. IMA light came on and I am on my way into Honda. Will see what they say. Hoping I can get by without replacing IMA and be able to drive it for a few more months. Then it’s probably time for a new car…If anyone has any updated info about driving without replacing, please advise…thanks, great blog!
Thanks to this site I just realized that I have a SULEV 03 HCH and according to this site my vehicle its still under warranty for my Integrated motor assist problem. My HCH has 90k miles. Now this warranty transfers from old owner to new owner right? I bought mine used a year ago and my IMA light has been off and on , mostly on for the last 2 months
Hello, I will follow Todd’s instructions, thanks a lot about that. I already purchased a charger over ebay, link is http://www.ebay.com/itm/iMAX-B.....0691225736
I guess that will work, do you think so Todd?
By the way, I have purchased a Salvage 04 HCH with near to 7 months not been used at all, and I’m uncertain about the IMA battery status, so I have been doing lots of research such as how to connect a grid charger for the IMA battery (link http://ecomodder.com/forum/sho.....post177615) But so far I haven’t found on how to do it, there is only instruction for Honda Insight. Does any one know?, I would need to build the grid charger, I have the schematic if any one is interested ask me for it.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… Be careful in taking the battery apart to recharge the bad batteries. I am not kidding, if you do not understand what you are doing, this process can kill you. Make sure you use non-conductive nut drivers or insulated. Go slowly and you may be able to locate the bad battery and recondition/recycle the new one. If you want to contact me directly, hobbit_who@hotmail.com
Remember Be careful and be SAFE