NHTSA Complaint #10544564 — 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO ACCESS ON RAMP OF FREEWAY, THE BATTERY IMA HYBRID SYSTEM SUDDENLY WAS LOW CAUSING THE CAR TO HAVE LESS ACCELERATION THAN USUAL, MAKING MERGING WITH FASTER TRAFFIC UNSAFE. AFTER TAKING THE CAR IN FOR EVALUATION, THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER INDICATED THE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM WAS FAILING BUT NOT TO THE POINT THAT HONDA OF AMERICA WOULD REPLACE IT. THEY STATED THE BATTERY WOULD HAVE TO GET EVEN LOWER AND A DASH LIGHT OR CODE WOULD HAVE TO APPEAR. THE BATTERY/IMA/HYBRID SYSTEM IS COVERED UP TO 92000 MILES AND CANNOT BE REPLACED BY HONDA UNLESS THE ABOVE CONDITIONS ARE MET. THE SYSTEM IS POORLY ENGINEERED AND THE PROGRAM UPDATE ALLOWS THE BATTERY TO FUNCTION AT TOO LOW A LEVEL TO ALLOW ADEQUATE ACCELERATION. THANK YOU. *TR