awbooth

I'm looking for as much feedback as possible to decide on whether or not I should invest into a 2003 honda civic hybrid?? I need to hear about the pro's and con's.... Not even sure what I should pay, it has 95,000 miles. Thanks
Anthony

ezone

Has it had a battery yet?

Edit: The hybrid battery pack is an expensive item if you have to buy it, check the warranty coverage for it. Few real problems other than that with the hybrid part of it.
Make sure all of the recalls and software updates have been done, see a dealer for this.
Get a Prepurchase Inspection done BEFORE you buy it.
The rest of the car is just a Civic. Same issues as the rest of them.
Some people can trash them in a hurry, some people take care of them.
The CVT trans can shudder on takeoff, most of them do eventually. Some people want it fixed , some want it fixed until they hear the price and just live with it. Get regular fluid changes on it, at least every 30k if not even more often.

awbooth

Dealer doesn't know, what kind of battery does it take, expensive I'm assuming

ezone

Dealer doesn't know WHAT? The dealer SHOULD be your trusted source for almost all pertinent information about the car. You need to give them the VIN# and they can do the checking.

They can tell you what the warranty coverage is/was for the IMA battery. Some had up to 10 years and 150k coverage on the IMA battery, so see what yours has.
They can check for recalls and warranty extensions.
They can check for software updates (if necessary, they must plug in to the car to find out though.) Some of the recalls were software updates, so there's a good chance it is up to date if the recalls were done recently.
I'd imagine you can also get most of this info by calling the customer assistance number.

The dealer might not be able to tell you if the IMA battery has already been replaced though. (The IMA or hybrid battery pack is the one behind the back seat, you can't see it. It ain't cheap if you have to buy it. Nobody can tell you what its life expectancy is or will be. Only the computers in the car can tell us when it needs replaced, there isn't any way to check it. It has to cause certain code(s) before it can be replaced.)
The IMA battery is NOT the regular 12v car battery under the hood (it has one of those too).

Any clue why the owner is getting rid of it? There's ALWAYS a reason.
Can you get its service history from the owner?

awbooth

The vehicle went through an auction. I live in CT, THE CT "USED" car dealer is selling it. Meaning, he knows nothing about the history as he is not a "Honda Dealer". I'm concerned because he is selling it on Ebay for a good price. Does a Honda Hybrid battery warrantly transfer to a 2nd or 3rd owner? Not sure on the software updates either???

ezone

Auction cars went to auction for a reason. We don't always know the reason, but I can figure out why on about half of them I get to see.
Hopefully a prepurchase inspection would reveal something worthwhile, and let you know of any needed work.
There's a darn good reason to have an inspection done BEFORE you buy.

IMO If the seller won't let you take the car to get an inspection done at the place of your choosing, just walk away. He probably knows what is wrong with it and you don't want it.

That said, there ARE good cars that go to auction too.
Is this one of them? Get it inspected.



The IMA battery warranty goes with the car, not the owner AFAIK.

You would need to check with your dealer for more info. They will need the VIN#.
I bet they would do an inspection for you, they SHOULD know the cars well.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

Is this a HONDA dealership or just a regular car dealership ?

ezone

I'm gonna go waaay out on a limb and guess it isn't a Honda dealer that's selling it.
That's just a guess though, because I can't read.

awbooth

It's not a toyota dealer, I didn't end up buying it but I will continue to persue the hybrids.
Another question... Can the hybrid function without the battery? Can you just bypass the electric part of the car and burn fuel like a regular civic? If so, the battery isn't that big a deal... thanks
Ant

ezone

Do you know where you are?




Yeah, there's a great big switch hidden behind the back seat to disable the IMA battery pack for service. That pretty much takes it out of the system.
Couldn't tell you about completely removing it, I've replaced several but never tried to run or drive a car without one. Probably have the dash lit up like a Christmas tree but the gas engine would still work just fine. Crappy gas mileage with a dead battery pack though.

I know the cars are seriously lacking in power when the IMA battery is dying/dead.

There are places that rebuild and ways to replace individual cells in the IMA battery pack. Research it.

awbooth

Do I know where I am? Strange question.....
Ok, I see what your saying, you can disconnect the battery but the car will not run right? Is it worth the trouble, I think I will persue a regular civic, too expensive with the hybrid

ezone

That was in regard to your Toyota comment. This is a Honda forum.

I said you will lose a lot of engine power if the IMA is disabled. The car won't accelerate well, it will be a slug. With the IMA operable, performance is comparable to a regular Civic. Without it, it's like losing 1/4 of your engine power.


The car can be just fine overall, but it is at the age where I see them needing the hybrid battery pack replaced here. That's the only reason I asked if you knew about the warranty or if it had been replaced already, since it can be a major out-of-pocket expense.

Other than that, the rest of it is pretty much like a regular Civic.

awbooth

gottcha... Yah, I meant Honda...
Not sure if it's worth it, think about it, you get 40 mpg if the batteries stay good, you always will get 30mpg for the regular civic, gotta think it over I guess.... thanks for all your help!