Should I buy this civic Hybrid? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

jasonck08 · 11-01-2009, 01:28 AM

Found quite a good deal I think on a Civic hybrid, but I'm a little concerned about the battery.

So here is the deal.

It's a 2003 Honda Civic hybrid. The car has 184K on it.

The Gas motor was replaced at 103K under warranty, so the newer motor only has 81K on it.

The car has a clean title and is in very good shape overall.

I'm just concerned about the longevity of the battery / hybrid system.

The car is for sale on craigslist at an asking price of $4,800. Thinking I may be able to get it at $4500 or less.

What do you guys think?

How much is a new battery? I read on this site that perhaps honda has dropped hybrid batteries down to around $2k. Is that true?

So is it worth considering?

Thanks,

Jason

Clev · 11-01-2009, 01:56 AM

A replacement pack is about $2,500 from Honda, or this guy will rebuild the pack using packs from wrecked Civics for about $1,200 shipped.

Hybrid-Battery-Repair

I know a person with a Civic Hybrid (148,000 miles) who loves it, but I'm reading a lot of sites on the Internet where users (possibly due to a software upgrade at the dealer) are not seeing the batteries fully charge, and mileage dropping from 50 mpg to the mid 30's. I would certainly do a test drive and make sure it is getting to 8 bars on the battery, that IMA assist is working (and you're getting the mileage you expect), and that after an hour of sitting, the battery isn't down to 4 or 5 bars.

SentraSE-R · 11-03-2009, 10:02 AM

What Clev said, especially if it's a manual transmission HCH. I wouldn't worry if it was a Prius, but Honda hybrids seem to see more battery failures.

4more · 11-03-2009, 02:29 PM

here is a question what voltage are these batteries?could they or do they have any use in a full ev?

Clev · 11-03-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4more

here is a question what voltage are these batteries?could they or do they have any use in a full ev?

Probably not. The Insight and Civic batteries are 144V, but the Insight was only about 6.5Ah if I recall. They're basically D-sized cells. 936Wh is worth about 4 miles at 250Wh/mile, which is about the average for a full-size EV.

RobertSmalls · 11-03-2009, 06:33 PM

You should definitely go test drive it, especially if it's a stick.

My IMA battery is dying at 10 years / 45000 miles. I mostly drive around with the IMA assist and regen disabled, and I'm getting pretty good mileage.