NHTSA Complaint #10349891 — 2007 HONDA CIVIC

THE INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) SYSTEM ON MY 2007 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID HAS BEEN MALFUNCTIONING ON A DAILY BASIS SINCE THE WEATHER HAS BEEN GREATER THAN 90 DEGREES THIS YEAR. THE SYSTEM BEHAVES ERRATICALLY WITHOUT WARNING, CAUSING AN EXTREME DECREASE IN THE HYBRID MOTOR BATTERY CHARGE AND OVERALL VEHICLE POWER AT UNEXPECTED TIMES. THIS LOSS OF POWER CAUSES A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE ANTICIPATED PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT POWER TO OVERTAKE A VEHICLE (PASS) OR TO MAINTAIN A SAFE SPEED RELATIVE TO OTHER CARS WHEN ON AN INCLINE, WITHOUT A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE GAS ENGINE RPM. ADDITIONALLY, THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP AT A COMPARABLE RATE TO OTHER VEHICLES IS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THE IMA, CAUSING UNEXPECTED BACKUPS OF TRAFFIC BEHIND MY VEHICLE. AT TIMES (INTERMITTENT PROBLEM) THE REGENERATIVE CHARGING SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE FIGHTING WITH THE VEHICLES ACCELERATION WHEN COMING TO A STOP. THIS CAUSES RANDOM CHANGES IN THE BRAKING POWER AND THE RESULTANT BRAKE PRESSURE REQUIRED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THIS RESULTS IN SMALL AND UNEXPECTED POWER/ACCELERATING SURGES WHEN COMING TO A STOP, WHICH COMPROMISES THE ABILITY TO SAFELY JUDGE THE DISTANCE AND SPEED AT WHICH TO BEGIN APPLYING THE BRAKE IN ANTICIPATION OF AN UPCOMING STOP. *TR