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Do you own a 2006 – 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid whose battery just doesn’t seem to be holding a charge like it used to? You are not alone. In fact, according to a story found in the Los Angeles Times a growing number of complaints from Honda Civic Hybrid owners has kicked off an investigation by the California Air Resources Board (carB), as well as attracted the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
A growing chorus of Honda Civic Hybrid owners has voiced its anger and disappointment with the shrinking range of their electrically-powered automobiles, with many Honda Civic buyers going straight to Honda demanding some kind of fix. A significant number of Honda Civic Hybrid drivers have had to have the battery packs on their automobiles replaced due to the deterioration of the nickel-metal-hydride units that store the electricity needed to motivate the automobile. In fact, carB automatically became involved when more than four percent of the 2006-2008 Honda Civic Hybrids sold in California underwent this replacement procedure, which is the highest battery failure rate in the hybrid automobile industry.
Honda Civic Hybrid owners are specifically concerned about the dismal fuel economy and dramatically reduced battery range associated with the battery failures. Some owners have reported losing as many as 10 miles per gallon or more – dropping down from the factory rating of 45 miles per gallon in the city to the low 30s. In fact, about 30 percent of all complaints received by the NHTSA for certain model years of the Honda Civic Hybrid have been about poor battery performance. In extreme cases, the battery system “crashes” entirely, which not only impacts fuel mileage but also removes the additional power generated by the battery entirely from the driving equation.
Honda finally responded to both regulatory and customer inquiries on the issue by sending notice to over 100,000 Honda Civic Hybrid owners that a software patch would be made available in order to preserve battery life by altering certain characteristics of the vehicle’s electric charging system. Among the changes made: reducing the amount of additional thrust provided by the electric motor while working in tandem with the car’s gasoline engine, which limits the number of charging cycles for the battery, and also changing the vehicle’s shutdown behavior at idle.
Some owners were placated by the software patch and lauded Honda for stepping up. Others, however, have been disappointed by seemingly tempered fuel mileage compared to when the automobile was new, and many have reported that their vehicle no longer seems to enjoy the same acceleration as it did before. This latter point is related to the absence of full battery-powered assist under full throttle. An additional wrinkle is added by fact that the patch itself does not repair any batteries which may already have deteriorated. Given that Honda will only install new batteries if the original ones are completely dead, there are many Honda Civic Hybrids out there which are currently running on only a partial charge, with their owners counting down the days until they finally run out of steam so that they can get a warranty replacement.
If you are considering purchasing a used Honda Civic Hybrid, make sure to ask about the condition of the vehicle’s battery pack. If the vehicle has ever experienced any battery crashes, or if its fuel mileage is considerably less than it once was, you may want to move on. You should also inquire as to whether the Honda software patch has been installed on the vehicle, and if so, take it out for a test drive to see if you can live with what many have termed a compromised hybrid system. Finally, you may wish to put off purchasing this vehicle if you live in the state of California, as carB is currently investigating whether the patched Civic Hybrid is still capable of meeting emissions regulations.
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Tags: auto, automobile, car, cars, Hybrid
Posted in Cars and Trucks · September 4th, 2010 · Comments (0)
Car stereo wholesale refers to the bulk sale of car audio equipment. It also generally refers to various types of related equipment which are available for purchase at prices that are lower than regular retail prices. You might be interested in car stereo wholesale particularly if you are involved in doing business in this field. However if you are an individual it is highly unlikely that you will buy a horde of various vehicle audio equipment just for the price benefit. You may find various websites and dealers that promise you car stereo wholesale prices but watch out for the strings attached. Sometimes they may sell certain elements such as woofers and other audio components at reduced prices to trick you into believing that you are getting a good deal. However they may also require you to sign up with a sign up or joining fee, charge you shipping and delivery charges and an assortment of other similar charges which at the end could mean you have pretty much paid retail price for what you thought was going to be car stereo wholesale price.
Online auction and shopping websites such as ‘eBay’, may however be able to offer you car stereo wholesale prices. While you may come across vendors with stocks they are willing to dispose of at low costs here, you may also find certain manufacturers who are looking to get rid of their stocks at a price slightly above wholesale making such websites good hunting grounds for excellent bargains and car stereo wholesale prices in particular. Another reason for this is because certain vendors buy at car stereo wholesale prices from the manufacturers. They then place a few of these purchased items for sale at their stores and the rest go on these online auction and shopping websites at break-even prices. At the end of the day such vendors would have recovered their costs and made a cool profit with the items sold at the retail stores they operate.
You might also be able to secure these equipment for much less if you have someone working for the manufacturing companies. These companies usually sell their products at extremely reduced prices to its staff and getting to know one of these staff members could give you the opportunity to get car stereo wholesale prices you can be content with. Yet another way to get car stereo wholesale prices is to band up as a group and inquire around for wholesale prices or bargains. The complexity here is that not all of you might want equipment from the same manufacturer or that your needs as per make, model and output may differ. Nevertheless it is an option worth considering if you are particular about the price you pay for your vehicle’s audio equipment.
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Posted in Cars and Trucks · September 3rd, 2010 · Comments (0)