Hybrid News

LED Taillight project – 2007 Civic Hybrid

LED – Superflux HPTW-DH00-F4000 (red/orange)
QTY. – 100 PCS.
Led forward voltage – 2.67
70ma
Voltage regulator – LM7812A (qty. 2)
Supply power (after regulator and diode) – 11.57V (with the engine on)
PWM (1)
.1µF Capacitor (qty. 2) One for each circuit board/taillight
.33µF CAPACITOR (qty. 2) One for each circuit board/taillight
1N4742A 1-Watt Zener Diode (bundle) three per circuit board
Circuit boards
Soldering gun/solder/flux
15 ohm resistors 1/4w (bundle)

I chose to modify the stock tail lights. I used a dremel to take the lens off.

56 total LEDs used.Outer tail lights are finished. Real close but not as bright as the stock lights but they do stand out at night. Next is to modify the trunk tail lights.

Okay, yes, I’m a newbie here, but I have run a few searches and tried to read up about this before posting. I haven’t seen anything quite like this. Typically I’ve read references to a more spuratic/short-lived occurance than what I’m experiencing.

I’ve had an issue with my 2006 (bought used @ 20k miles, put about 4k miles on it over 4mo; ave 43.2 mpg) and the AutoStop failing to engage.

In general autostop will run fine and engage regularly right off the bat, but every now and then it will go through a period where it just WILL NOT engage -at all -for anywhere from 4 days to a week. Then, just as suddenly as it stopped it will engage again and work pretty consistently for another few weeks. Sometimes the period at which it kicks in would be part way through a trip that it hadn’t been engaging, sometimes it’s just the "next trip" where it runs from the get-go.

Same driving route.
Same (perceived) behaviors.
Similar environmental conditions.
Outside temp ranging in the 60-80*F zone (not too cold/hot).
35min commute, so car gets plenty of chance to warm up.
No A/C, No defrost used.
Full consistent pressure on brakes (no weakness or let-up).
Battery charged to 4 bars or greater.
Regen/assistive braking working as expected.

No error codes triggered. Car has always had all the routine maintenance that the maintenance minder triggered.

Mentioned it during the last oil change, but no ideas from the techs.

It’s the sustained long-lived nature of its failure to engage that concerns me. I kind of ‘get’ an inconsistent periodic event, but not something like this.

Any others with something similar, or any ideas?

I’ve noticed whenever I use Auto air conditioning on my ‘08 it goes into Recycle mode; if I want to use outside air, the Auto indicator turns off. I’ve tried leaving it in Auto for a long time and it stays in Recycle. Is this proper operation? Is it still maintaining the temperature that’s set even when Auto is off? Thanks.

I understand for 2009 the Civic Hybrid will have a tire pressure monitor feature and a Vehicle Stability Assist.

What actually is the Vehicle Stability Assist and does it take away from the MPG. I noticed that the Hybrid MPG from the EPA is down from what
it used to be. I wonder if the VSA may be a contributing factor.

Alster

I was stuck in slow traffic, and watching my fuel (thanks to IKE and long gas lines) so I was using the the gas to try to get the CVT to shift into a higher range when the MPG jumped to 100+ I looked down and had 3 bars of ASSIST I was doing miles per hour, this kept up for about 15 min. before I had to brake, the highest speed I got was 17 MPH! I’m going to have to find out what the limits are unless some one out there can fill me in. I thought only the Priris ran on battery alone.:P

Took my 08 to Flow Honda in Winston-Salem, NC as my driver’s window would intermittently not shut all the way and would return down. 45 minutes later, car was washed, fixed and ready to go. Turned out to be the safety mechanism to keep ya from closing your head up in the auto close mode. Another customer with an ‘89 accord had an oil change done and he also got a free wash. Great dealer.
On a secondary note, I went to the parts counter to get some of the clips for the underside cover in case I have any problems with one after the oil change. I asked for 3. He came back with them, I asked how much, and he said no charge. And have a nice day. Kinda shocking when they know you are doing your own changes and that is money they won’t be making. Hope others have positive dealer experiences as well.

I am considering replacing the OEM wheels on my HCHII with Motegi Traklite wheels (10.4 lbs. forged aluminum) Has anybody else had experience with changing rims to reduce unsprung weight? Any comments on the impact on FE in the area of reducing weight vs aero-advantage?

Hi all - I’m going to be getting a bike rack, and am leaning toward the hitch mount after reading your various posts on the topic (thanks!!!). In a couple threads, there is a link to some pics Sledge posted, but it seems to be a dead link now. Any chance anyone with a hitch installed could post some pics - hitch + bike rack would be ideal? Want to be sure it won’t (a) look bad and (b) require messing with the shell.

Thanks! And thanks to those that did the research on the warranty issues. Since I have no plans to tow anything I am ok going forward - on a separate tangent… seems like the HCHII would be a tad underpowered to tow much more than a tiny trailer, but that’s another discussion! :zip:

Thanks again everyone!!!

I live in Oregon. Now, if I take a days ride to California and purchase
a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid will I have the 150,000 mile / 15 year warranty
on the vehicle even when I register the vehicle in Oregon?

Alster

I currently have a 2003 VW TDI Jetta Wagon GL with a 5 speed.

Car runs good with a average 53-54 MPG.

I do like Honda cars and my ex-girlfriend had one of the first of the new 2006 Honda Civics Hybrids in the N/W U.S back in Oct. 2005. I recall that on one trip to Reno Nevada from N/W Oregon it averaged about 53 MPG.

In the news there is a report that in the spring of 2009, which is not that
far off, Honda will have a new model Insight Hybrid that is a five passenger car with maybe over 50 MPG combined (new EPA Figures), and the car will MRSP at $19,000.

This is far less money that a 2009 Jetta TDI or a 2009 Civic Hybrid.

Is there any info on what type of batteries the new Insight will use, hopefully they will be Lithium Polymer.

Anyway, those are the three cars I am looking at

If anyone out there as any outside or inside info on the new Honda Insight please let me know. It will be helpful in my buying descision.

Alster

Yesterday was my first time to drive the HCHll to work (Houston, TX Belt-Way How do I force the CVT to down shift so I can accelerate quickly?
:omg:

Just had TSB 08-001 done on my car today after tire noise became unbearable — dealer’s verdict is my tires are shot, I concur. I have a call into American Honda asking for some relief on a new set of tires. Hopefully they’ll send some love my way.

Now I need to choose some good replacement tires. I don’t mind spending $ for the best since I feel the comfort, performance, and safety of a top tire is well worth it.

I’m looking for recommendations from those that have switched from OEMs (Dunlops in my case) and have been happy with their choice. I am willing to give up a tiny bit of MPG if I get better ride, handling, grip and less noise in return.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

– John

Hi,

I am wondering the mileage you can get on a tank of gas in your HCH II. There are some threads about the best mileage/tank. I am interested in an average mileage - day to day driving without obsession with FE.

Thanks.

Yesterday I went from Las Vegas (2500ft) to Mt. Charleston (8000ft) My MPG started at 59MPG and by the time I got to the top had dropped to about 43.5 I said to myself no worried I will make it up and some more on the way down. And I was dead wrong…

I descended mostly in "D" then some downgrades I had to put it in "S" and the briefly in "L". I noticed that as the car was coasting downhill my MPG numbers never recovered. At times my RPM’s in "D" were at 2500 and when I would depress the gas pedel it would actually drop to 2000.

In the end My MPG was 48. What was I doing wrong. The scanguage showed 0 ign and MPG at 9999 for over 10 miles.

Any ideas???

-AJ

Well my 3 month trial on XM is about to expire and I need to choose a plan to subscribe to. Anyone come across any discounts or promos for XM?