IMA/Battery behavior/issues

[wicked1]

I made a post about running out of power while sporting around in the country. Well, I ran out of power again today at 3 bars. And again, felt it was dangerous. I was accelerating up a long on-ramp to the highway, in the middle of traffic, and after about 20 seconds my battery had depleted from full to 3 bars, and IMA stopped.

SO, this isn't about my driving technique or the power of the gas engine w/out ima, I get all that. This is about the IMA stopping, battery being dead, before the meter shows it should be. This is a hazard!

Could anyone who has noticed similar issues post here and describe them. Basically, how many bars does the display show when the IMA stops assisting, and how long does the IMA last (Like when doing a long climb up a hill or entrance ramp)? Also, about how many miles are on the vehicle.

If your meter shows the full range, full bars to no bars, let me know that too.
I want to know if my car has issues and should be serviced, or if these are expected behaviors and the limits of the vehicle.


thanks!

[David_PA]

Wicked1 - this doesn't sound right. I've not been monitoring precisely how quickly the charge bars drop, but it's definitely not from full to 3 bars in 20 seconds. I'm climbing hills 1/4 to 1/2 mile long every day and not seeing the charge meter go all the way down to 3 bars even from 6 or 7 to 3 bars on just one, or even two hills.

[CrzyKly]

i dont have mine yet (this weekend supposedly!) but when i test drove it (for almost 2 hours) i was beating on it and didnt notice significant depletion like that!

[bizzybear]

you should record this somehow on video... not for proving to us you're having this issue... but to show the Honda dealership this is happening and if it is an issue you will have proof to show them... sometimes the dealer will say "cannot replicate the issue" and send you on your way being frustrated... even the video isn't a 100% way to prove u have an issue...

i'd say get it checked at the dealer if you have real worries about this...

[Dolph]

Could be some bad/defective cells in the battery. Runs fine when it's pulling power from the good cells, then dies when it gets to those bad cells. I had a Zune(bought brand new) some years back that got pretty bad battery life, though I didn't think anything of it untill I got a warranty replacement for a unrelated issue, and the replacement unit had easily 2-3 times the battery life...due to some bad cells in the battery, that I was told.

[Scotty001]

I'm in Washington State around the Puget Sound. No such thing as a flat piece of road - or - very few. Have not seen the same issue on mine - even when going up hills or mountains in sport mode (CVT). Agree, it could be some bad cells or a software issue. Would definitely document if you can and take it in. Maybe there is someplace close to the dealership where you can replicate the problem and do a little show-n-tell.

I traded in my 07 CIVIC Hybrid which had an HFP package on it with 18" HFP rims/tires for the CR-Z and also never experienced that type of drop off on the IMA on the CIVIC - even when going up Mt Rainier.

[wicked1]

Damn.. I've got a bad feeling about this one.. like it could be difficult to get them to do anything.. (I guess that comes from reading the threads about the past honda hybrids, and all the law suits that were required to get the dealers to help w/ battery issues)
Personally, the feeling I got from the other hybrid threads was that the mechanics simply didn't understand issues w/ the batteries, the test equipment at the dealerships is extremely sub par for advanced battery/electrical work. Things would test ok, even tho real world use caused it to fail....... Plus I've never had a new car, and every other used car I've had never had a single problem. I've never in my life been to a mechanic! Owel.. first time for everything.

And this battery issue does seem to be getting worse.. This thread was started after normal driving around town. I was using ECON mode, which seems to exercise the battery more than normal, but yeah.. it shouldn't be failing on normal around town drives.

[tsh]

Unless they are using a 5 year old ECU, the battery performance ought to be logged for service info. A dealer ought to be able to extract the same sort of info on battery as your laptop gives you. If it is a couple of duff cells, it should be pretty simple to diagnose. If we can work out a good benchmark people can do their own testing on the road...

[Dio]

Wicked1....I do feel your concerns. I have simulated your 3 bars on the IMA and no more assist but the 3 bars drained lower when the fan for the AC or headlight (lighting in general) are used.

I believed the IMA batteries reserved the last 3 bars for emergency usage such as starting a vehicle (electric motor start), lighting and radio.

Now for how fast IMA batteries drained....I have not experience that drastic battery drained you are experiencing. Have Honda dealer check it and let us know so we could be aware of it. I climbed lots of mountain everyday and the stretched varies but could go up to 3 miles stretched or more (don't exactly know because did not pay attention to distance). I will try to time drainage when possible.

My experience when IMA batteries dropped to 3 bars...you do loose lots of power but not enough to put you in danger with no power. The gas engine takes completely over and I was still able to maintain speed limits or stay with traffic. Yes your fuel economy suffers during these instances (and I am not the one to hold traffic to a crawl so I could gain fuel economy).

[wicked1]

Thanks.
The 3 bar thing is weird... Its behavior should be documented somewhere. It's not the same as the other Honda hybrids.