Honda Civic Hybrid 1.3 - To buy or not to buy

[E052798]

Half tank to KL not very impressive. My altis can do 400km with half tank. Bear in mind no battery support hor.

 

i second that on msia highways. So the hybrid must up this altis record.

[Jordanplus]

i second that on msia highways. So the hybrid must up this altis record.

 

i thought hybrid only activated on lower speed, when up to certain speed (think is above 80km/l will auto switch to petrol)? correct me if i'm wrong.

or can switch at anytime and any speed?

if at higher speed auto switch to petrol, it will be like normal petrol car. since civic hybrid is 1.3l, it should have better FC than altis anywhere

Edited July 2, 2012 by Jordanplus

[Passion]

i thought hybrid only activated on lower speed, when up to certain speed (think is above 80km/l will auto switch to petrol)? correct me if i'm wrong.

or can switch at anytime and any speed?

if at higher speed auto switch to petrol, it will be like normal petrol car. since civic hybrid is 1.3l, it should have better FC than altis anywhere

Technically you are right. That is why for taxi that goes hybrid, they will save more cause travel in city.

[Zhngmycar]

I decided to do a simple review on Honda civic hybrid.. basically from the outlook just like normal Civic, the ride is slightly lower then normal FD model that came with boot lip and side mirror indicator as standard. Rear wheel is Drum brake instead of disc just to save some weight, as the hybrid battery is 90kg heavier then normal FD.. the under carriage is wrapped with plastics cover throughout the whole chassis. this is to create better aerodynamic while cruising & as well as some sound proofing effects at the same time to give u better FC. Engine wise fitted with LEA13A I-VTEC 3 stages. its a 1.3Litre engine that produce 93bhp & 123mn of torque with additional power assist. with the IMA motor itself produce additional 15bhp and 110mn of torque.. it would roughly produce 110bhp & 160mn of torque. As what we believe Honda capped and locked it.. I do have a friend of mine actually unlocked his previous ride & it runs wild..

 

The torque is pretty much for a NA car which less then 1.8L . as for handling, the front is standard Mcpherson & the rear is double wishbone. handling is good.

 

As for battery issue, I believe battery might be expensive but in long terms u save a lot in fuel as well as road taxes & insurances. (If the battery is spoiled, the car still works)

 

This car came with Start & stop technology, which competitor the VW had it recently.

As It would rather useful as it save alot of petrol during traffic junction.

I had my best at 700km per tank of 42litres (full tank 45litres)

 

This civic is mated with a CVT gear box with Sports gear but without paddle shifter unlike the normal 5 speed civic.

which given me 80km/h on RPM 1400 & 110km/h on Rpm 2000 during cruising...

 

Maximum speed of the car itself is 179km/h (locked) 229km/h (unlocked) please do not try that u need a better brakes**

 

0-100km/h with S gear is around 9 to 10 secs its unstable because of the hybrid battery.

 

basically u will have more power then the 1.6L civic with a kia picanto FC & a 1.3litre road tax & cheap insurance. I have no reason not to get 1 of this. As there is alot of Aftermarket parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hotnyh]

Old thread...

 

I had one of these cars.

The tank is 40L only. On M'sian trunk roads to Lake Kenyir I was getting 19km/L. On NSH about 15km/L only as speeds were higher.

It's a great car when the IMA battery is new. As it deteriorates driving enjoyment drops as well.

My 1st IMA battery was replaced at 2y9m.

Then it gave an big error code and completely died (no IMA assist at all, 12V battery used to start car- very strange feeling) 2 months after battery change. Brought back to Kah in limp-home mode... change another battery pack. Lasted till car was 4.5yrs old then felt weak again. Sold car at that stage as I could see the COE starting to go ballistic.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Hotnyh

[Detach8]

Old thread...

 

I had one of these cars.

The tank is 40L only. On M'sian trunk roads to Lake Kenyir I was getting 19km/L. On NSH about 15km/L only as speeds were higher.

It's a great car when the IMA battery is new. As it deteriorates driving enjoyment drops as well.

My 1st IMA battery was replaced at 2y9m.

Then it gave an big error code and completely died (no IMA assist at all, 12V battery used to start car- very strange feeling) 2 months after battery change. Brought back to Kah in limp-home mode... change another battery pack. Lasted till car was 4.5yrs old then felt weak again. Sold car at that stage as I could see the COE starting to go ballistic.

So which battery did they replace? The 12V lead acid or the IMA battery (I assume is Lithium Ion?) and how much does it cost?

[Hotnyh]

It was the IMA battery.

There are actually 2 packs behind the back seat.

The second replacement was for one side only as it tested as bad.

Both replacements were done under warranty. I sold the car before I needed to change battery again.

These are not lith-ion batteries. Only the current Civic Hybrid uses those.

 

To change an IMA battery out of warranty would cost around $4000+ I was told.

 

Back then the IMA battery was warrantied only for 3 yrs. It's 10 yrs now...

Edited April 22, 2014 by Hotnyh

[Detach8]

Thanks, that was very good info. 4K is quite a bit of money considering that it does not really save you 4K of petrol in a year.

 

So does that mean that if I buy a used Honda Civic now I would have my IMA battery covered under the 10 year warranty, or does that only apply to the newer cars?

[Hotnyh]

I'm not sure when the 10yr warranty started. Honda has admitted that the FD3 Civic Hybrid was prone to premature battery failure and they had all cars' software changed to be more conservative in the output and recharge patterns- but this made the cars more sluggish so there were a lot of unhappy owners.

The new 1.5 Civic Hybrid I can't tell you very much about. I only know of one owner in the fdcivic forums driving one and he says he won't buy a hybrid again.
I think it is a better bet to get a 1.6 Civic. The hybrid battery packs don't like our heat and do not work well when we need to keep the a/c on all the time. Like I said the car is great when the battery works... but when it drains, the car is sluggish and no fun to drive at all. I think the 1.6 while not as powerful at the 1.8 and 2.0 would at least give you decent performance all the time instead of on and off...

[Baal]

Thanks, that was very good info. 4K is quite a bit of money considering that it does not really save you 4K of petrol in a year.

 

So does that mean that if I buy a used Honda Civic now I would have my IMA battery covered under the 10 year warranty, or does that only apply to the newer cars?

 

iirc, its only for the 1st owner. Read about it a couple of years back.

 

Yes, that's the prob with Hybrids, w/o warranty, whatever u save on petrol, u eventually put back (even more) when it fails. At 4k+, A Cat A BnB car could do an engine overhaul + GB rebuild.

 

Turbo Diesels are good for local driving, great avail torque + 30-40% FC improvement over petrol.

Not to mention, the engines are typically twice as lasting as a petrol engine accd to internet sources.

 

Only problem is, the special tax can be tweaked anytime & suffer the fate of CNG.

[JJaassoonn]

I'm driving a FD3, if I got a chance to change ride. I will not choose Hybird ride anymore.

[Hawkjaw]

I'm driving a FD3, if I got a chance to change ride. I will not choose Hybird ride anymore.

 

Wow. That bad ah.

[Dafansu]

I'm driving a FD3, if I got a chance to change ride. I will not choose Hybird ride anymore.

 

I tried my friend civic hybrid for less than 10 mins, very uncomfortable feeling, the engine will feel like stopping when stationary. wont get one also

[Zippaboy]

 

I tried my friend civic hybrid for less than 10 mins, very uncomfortable feeling, the engine will feel like stopping when stationary. wont get one also

My friend is driving a 1.8A Prius and I think it is pretty fast and zippy for a hybrid..

[JJaassoonn]

 

I tried my friend civic hybrid for less than 10 mins, very uncomfortable feeling, the engine will feel like stopping when stationary. wont get one also

I had drive almost 5 year, Yes the engine stop running as the electric activate when your rpm drop below 15km/h

 

Petrol wise I'm clocking 650km + at full tank

 

The ride was perfect, but the spare part was expensive then FD1 / FD2 & FD4 not only parts Hybrid battery also very expensive

Edited May 18, 2014 by JJaassoonn

[Hotnyh]

The engine cutting out is half the idea behind using a hybrid. (The other half is to use electricity to help accelerate the car so you don't have to press so hard on the accelerator). The large battery allows the car's a/c, ICE, etc to continue working while non-hybrids cannot. But newer cars may come with stop-start tech without the large battery. Cars like the Mazda 6 SkyActive use a capacitor to keep the electronics running. But because the capacitor cannot hold as much charge as the hybrid battery, the engine will come back on earlier than in a hybrid.

 

The Prius' battery has a far higher capacity than the FD3 so it should work much better.

 

I wouldn't buy a hybrid unless I lived in a cooler climate... the batteries hate the heat. Also the batteries deplete too quickly if you need the a/c to run.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Hotnyh

[JJaassoonn]

Just replace the IMA battery when it deteriorated (not a big deal) , my friend claim half tank to KL with a FC of 18-21 km/L with a constant speed of 110-120km/hr. His mileage is ard 100,000km currently.

 

He is still very happy with his Civic Hybrid and now waiting for the next model.

I

 

It true I also reach KL @ half tank. My mileage now is close to 189000km

[Babyt]

i heard honda civic coming out with facelift this month? not announce in kah motor website leh