Alan Bowler <atbowler@thinkage.ca> wrote:
> > One I'm specifically looking at is a Civic Hybrid, 2003, with 9x000
> > miles, for $7888.

I have a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, about 101,000 miles.

> > Am I setting myself up for a few thousand dollar battery replacement
> > and maybe a transmission?

There was a problem with some of the CVT transmissions, and Honda extended
the warranty to 150,000 miles on it. I don't have a problem, although I do
have a delay engaging reverse, which I read about in one of the first road
tests long ago, and I don't think the effect has changed at all on my car
over the years.

I asked the dealer about it, and he suggested that even if I do detect a
problem, I should wait until nearly 150,000 miles, as the fix is to replace
the transmission with a factory rebuilt, and I might as well get as many
miles as possible.

> averaged about 47 miles per US gallon (including winter driving).

I get around 53mpg on the highway, 47 in a mix of city/highway, and about
43-45 around my house, in very hilly country, with few freeway miles any
more. I have hit 62mpg, with cruise control at 50mph on a hilly country
road on a 60 mile drive. A/C, even for defrost in the winter, is probably
a 2mpg penalty. 80mph on I-5 for several hours gave me 42mpg.

> I'm still on the original big battery, so I can't say that
> you are likely in for a battery replacement. There is a
> guy in New York that does battery refurbs (replaces some cells
> etc.) for much less than a full replacement.

I expected that would be true before they started needing replacement.
It's just a lot of D cell NiMH. I priced it at about $600 for just the
cells on the Internet, in a higher capacity than the originals.

> Most of the battery problems with Honda hybrids have been
> reported on early manual transmission Insights where there

There was a problem with the quality of a single soldered connection on the
Insights, as I recall, that would cause the pack to fail.

Just by eyeball, the IMA battery is as good as it ever was. I still have
original brakes, due to regen working so well. I did replace the tiny
little 12v battery, that the auto parts lady thought was from a motorcycle,
but I think the problem was actually a cable clamp that was somehow
mysteriously loose on the post, even though the bolt was tight.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5