Quote:
Originally Posted by elhigh
Hey,
Last summer I got an 03 Civic Hybrid and it was great until about October when it started throwing the IMA light. Babying would make it go away, but after awhile it became permanent.
I pulled the code and it came up an imbalanced battery. Looking at the price tags, grid charger vs. refurb battery, looked like a no-brainer.
I got mine from Hybrid Automotive. Not cheap, but cheaper than a new pack! Installation wasn't hard at all. Removing the seat and exposing the pack was the hardest part of that.
The first time on the charger brought the pack back to full state with no difficulties, and the mileage took a nice little jump - actually it held steady as the temperature around us plummeted - and so far I have no complaints. Best of all it made the IMA light go away. Get the radio code before you pull your 12v battery lead! According to one resource you can pull the IMA fuse so you won't have to redo the radio, but that didn't work quite right.
I've only had the grid charger for about three months, but as a peace of mind thing it's worth the investment for that alone. Having a part of the car that is otherwise a mysterious black box, something I cannot affect if it goes wrong, rankles. I believe in working on stuff.
Let us know which way you go.
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Thanks for the quick review. And all the info you guys have provided. The money I was waiting on just cleared, so I'm going to get up in the morning and put in an order with Hybrid Automotive. I like the idea of borrowing one or having someone else do it, but I would like my own for ease in future needs. Thanks again guys, I'll post an update when I get it hooked up.