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I have a 2003 HCH with 162,000 miles and a manual trans. I bought it with 68,000 miles and it started having intermittent IMA problems around 85,000 miles, and it gradually got worse to the point where the battery couldn't provide any useful assist without setting an IMA light.
The way I work around this is to disable assist by closing the clutch safety switch, which stops IMA functions, and adding a relay to open the switch when the brakes are applied so I still have regen. I don't know if there is a way to do this on a car with an auto trans. With just an 85 hp motor to move the car it is pretty slow but it is manageable. The mileage is still excellent, generally 40-45 mpg in mixed driving and low 50's on the highway. The factory MPG gauge does read about 5% high.
The IMA battery is still strong enough to run the car's electrical system and accessories. I tried cycling the subpacks but the battery problems persist. At the moment I am entertaining the idea of buying an aftermarket battery for the car. The only other major issue it has is that it often sets trouble code P1420, for the three way catalytic converter, when driving on the highway. I just reset the light and make sure the computer shows ready if I need to go for an emissions test. I like the car, it's comfortable, nice interior, drives nice, handles well, and has needed very little work.
Basically the only thing that would stop me from buying the car in question is that it is an automatic, which are known to have issues, plus I don't know if I'd be able to fool the car into passing emissions like I can with mine. But other than the IMA systems and the CVT autos they are nice cars and very reliable.
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