NHTSA Complaint #10349611 — 2006 HONDA CIVIC

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID--2006. IMA ASSIST ABNORMALITIES FOLLOWING MOST RECENT HONDA REPAIR CAMPAIGN. MY 2006 CIVIC HYBRID WAS GIVEN A SOFTWARE UPDATE BY HONDA ON 8/5/2010 FOLLOWING A CAMPAIGN INITIATED BY HONDA TO ADDRESS LOSS OF POWER AND PERFORMANCE DUE TO IMA HYBRID BATTERY DETERIORATION AND FAILURE. PRIOR TO THE UPDATE THE VEHICLE WOULD OFTEN LOSE BATTERY CHARGE SUDDENLY, RESULTING IN A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER AND AT ONE POINT STRANDING ME IN AN INTERSECTION WHILE TURNING LEFT IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC IN JULY, 2010. THE MOST RECENT UPDATE (I HAVE HAD SEVERAL FROM HONDA IN OVER THE 4.25 YRS OF OWNERSHIP) HAS NOT FIXED THE ISSUE OF SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER FROM TRANSIENT BATTERY FAILURES THAT OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING, OFTEN WHEN ACCELERATING UP STEEP INCLINES OR ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC. IN ADDITION TO THE ONGOING ISSUES, THE HYBRID BATTERY NOW FAILS TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE ASSISTANCE WHEN ACCELERATING, MERGING INTO HIGH-SPEED TRAFFIC, ETC. AND EXPERIENCES WIDE FLUCTUATIONS IN CHARGE, JUMPING FROM 1/3 CHARGE TO COMPLETELY FULL WITH SUDDEN DROPS OF A SIMILAR FASHION. THESE FLUCTUATIONS CONTINUE TO OCCUR REGARDLESS OF DRIVING CONDITIONS, AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, ACCESSORY OR A/C USE OR OTHER EXTENUATING FACTORS AND OCCUR MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK, AND MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY ON OCCASION (6 BATTERY FAILURES IN THE LAST WEEK ALONE SINCE THE UPDATE). I HAVE EXPERIENCED AT LEAST 1 NEAR-MISS ACCIDENT IN THE LAST 30 DAYS DUE TO SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND HONDA'S MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS THE FAILURES FROM A SOFTWARE PERSPECTIVE HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. *TR