Dealer put new ima battery in?

[ninferno21]

Bit of a dilemma. I have an 09 civic hybrid that recently had the check engine and IMA light come on. I took it immediately to the dealer and was told it needs a new IMA battery that will cost $5000 but luckily it is still under warranty. I have about 12k miles left until I hit the 80K mile warranty expiration.

Previous to all of this happening I replaced the actual car battery. I know that usually fixes the IMA issue but it was done previous the IMA light coming on.

The day after the IMA and engine light came on, it turned off. And even while the light was on it went through the SoC levels from depleted to full. The car has driven the same light on or not. Granted it was about 15 degrees outside, I wonder if the temperature had anything to do with it. I drive the car daily.

From what I have read Honda sometimes may use a refurbished battery. Which I would hope is not the case because those have about 2 years on them. I was going to ask Honda if I could keep the old battery "just in case". Which would cure my qualms about having it replaced with a possible refurb.

Any whoot my main debate is to replace or not to replace a possibly non defected battery. What do you all think?

[Cobb]

A bad starter battery causes all the idiot lights to come on.

A weak one will tax the IMA system and cause it to provide little assist and mostly regen.

Disconnecting and reattaching the ground for 15 minutes will "fix" any honda Ima light for a matter of miles til the computer sees the actual capacity is like 10% of the orignal and its triggered again.

In extreme cold the newer Insight turns on the battery logo meaning the charging system is limited til it warms up. It also uses the tradational 12 volt starter to crank over vs the IMA rotor.

Originally Posted by ninferno21

Previous to all of this happening I replaced the actual car battery. I know that usually fixes the IMA issue but it was done previous the IMA light coming on.

Any whoot my main debate is to replace or not to replace a possibly non defected battery. What do you all think?

[ninferno21]

I noticed on a colder day it started "traditionally" and cranked like a normal car. I know that happens when it is too hot or too cold from reading the manual when I bought the car.

My big debate is: Honda thinks the battery needs to be replaced. I don't feel so as it acts normal, the light is gone, it could have been a weak starter battery, etc... Should I let them think that and replace it while it is still warrantied or roll the dice and leave it be?

[user removed]

If the dealer is willing to replace the battery under warranty, I would not hesitate to take advantage of that offer. In my Insight (1st gen) when they replaced the battery under warranty I could easily tell the difference in power available from the replacement battery. You paid for the warranty when you bought the car. Now is the time to reap the rewards of your investment.

regards
Mech

[Ryland]

I have not heard of dealers replacing drive batteries with refurbished ones except when the car is no longer covered by warranty, at that point I've heard of it being presented as an option.
I would for sure ask them about keeping the parts that they replace, because it's a warranty repair they might not let you do that, if you were paying out of pocket for the work then they should if you want the part.

[raylit20]

Accept the warranty work and have the refurbished/rebuilt pack installed. From what I understand, these packs are tested and certified to perform as they do in any new Civic Hybrid.

Honda is not likely to have offered this replacement to you if the car didn't need the work done, so chances are you may have issues down the line with the current pack if you decline the offer.