[TCroly]

Honda has recently sent notices to 100,000 Civic hybrid owners urging them to bring their cars in too get a software update designed to increase their battery pack life. Aparently some Civic hybrid batteries are failing prematurely.

Some Civic hybrid owners who have gotten the update report that it has caused them to achieve worse gas milage and slower acceleration. This is not very promising.

What I am wondering, is this the reason the CRZ ended up with a significantly lower fuel ecomomy rating than the Civic hybrid? I would assume that the CRZs software already has the updates that are deigned for the longer battery life.

 

[bizzybear]

sounds like i've heard this b4 somewhere... not sure if this is new news exactly is what i'm saying...

the update probably uses the batteries for charging/assist slightly different than b4... maybe it uses less battery which would extend the life and hurt fuel numbers a tad...

the CR-Z uses a bigger engine and smaller motor, so i'm assuming that's why the drop i EPA figures...

 

[TCroly]

sounds like i've heard this b4 somewhere... not sure if this is new news exactly is what i'm saying...

It looks like pretty new news to me with about 50 news stories and hundreds of message boards posts about it just this week.

Civic hybrids: Honda's fix for dying batteries may reduce mpg, acceleration - latimes.com

Some stories note that the CRZ is indeed designed with the updated software that uses the IMA less and depends more on the gas engine for power resulting in lower fuel mileage.

Several Civic hybrid owners report their fuel economy has decreased from 45 to 50 MPG before the update to 35 to 38 after the update or just about the amount that those posting their real world CRZ numbers are acheiveing.

 

[bizzybear]

those are bad figures for a Civic Hybrid... i get those numbers in an '09 Civic LX...

 

[CR-Z Insight]

those are bad figures for a Civic Hybrid... i get those numbers in an '09 Civic LX...

It sounds like your 09 Civic LX needs an "Update".

 

[bizzybear]

:rotfl: and i'm not the only one with those numbers... see this thread http://www.crzforum.com/forum/off-topic-lounge/1055-all-cars-your-current-mpg.html

 

[GoHuskies]

Over at cleanmpg they spent a week with a CR-Z 6-speed. One of the points taken fro reading the review is this newest Honda hybrid uses the electric assist much less and maintains a battery charge much better than the Civic or Insight.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33372

Owning a Civic I received the update letter. Looks like it mostly targets those who drive short city trips in hot climates. In such conditions the battery may overheat often and force deplete itself. Repeating this over and over probably isn't good for the battery life. The solution Honda has is to slow the regen at times such as first starting out when your car has been sitting in 100 degree sun all day.

Less regen = less battery charge = less electric assist = more load on the gas engine = lower city MPG'.

 

[TCroly]

Over at cleanmpg they spent a week with a CR-Z 6-speed. One of the points taken fro reading the review is this newest Honda hybrid uses the electric assist much less and maintains a battery charge much better than the Civic or Insight.

Honda Is Entrusting CleanMPG With the 6-speed CR-Z For A Week - CleanMPG Forums

Owning a Civic I received the update letter. Looks like it mostly targets those who drive short city trips in hot climates. In such conditions the battery may overheat often and force deplete itself. Repeating this over and over probably isn't good for the battery life. The solution Honda has is to slow the regen at times such as first starting out when your car has been sitting in 100 degree sun all day.

Less regen = less battery charge = less electric assist = more load on the gas engine = lower city MPG'.

This is bad news for me living in Maui. My drives are typically 5 miles or less (we have no highways) and we have year round hot sunshine. I consistently average 35 MPG in my Honda fit. I am actually wondering if the IMG will result in my CRZ actually getting LESS MPG than my fit.

 

[bizzybear]

IMG? Intake Manifold Gasket?

i wouldn't worry about losing gas... on my test drive the CR-Z read the outside temp at 101* mg: and the batteries were more than 75% charged and didn't drop under that...