Honda Hybrid: Love Gone Bad

A first new car purchase is so much like falling in love for the first time.  And just like the human object of your affection, it takes a few years of living with it and getting to know the whole "family" before you begin to see just what you've done!

To the many consumers still reading Honda Civic Hybrid love letters, it may be time to get to know just what you're "marrying" should you take that big step.

Sure, the first year - sometimes called a honeymoon - is wonderful.   The object of your affection responds exactly as you had hoped, it never fails you, it loves to do whatever you want to do!  In other words, it is delivering on that solemn vow to deliver 50 MPG and perform flawlessly.

Somewhere, around the second year, you begin to notice little irritating quirks but you don't pay much attention to it. Actually, you try not to notice. The MPG is down to 40 and it just doesn't always respond as it should.  A little less interested, so to speak.  

Around the third year - or about the time the pre-nup is about to expire - and your payments are about over, things go bad really fast....in fact, it seems the problems are showing up much faster than your car travels now because it just doesn't go at all. It stalls on hills (the coward!), it stalls at stop lights (the moron!), it stalls if you dare touch the air conditioner ON button (the jerk!).  On a good day, you may get about 30 MPG.  Of course, some days you get 0MPG because it won't go even one mile; it's been deemed "irreparable" and you can't drive it at all

Yep, the love of your life has decided to quit work, stay home and just let you support it.  How you might get to your job is of little concern to this creep.

If you think you might get some sympathy or help from the friends or family of your true love - also known as your dealer or Honda Customer Support - think again.  They are still shaking their corporate heads in disbelief that you "married" this loser.  

So you are all alone in the cruel world that seemed so happy and new just a year or so ago. And you've got this huge liability sitting around for months, unwilling and unable to perform at all.  Honda, Inc. sure doesn't care.  They provide you with a "marriage counsellor" - though they call her a customer satisfaction representative - who seems so eager to listen and help. You feel a bit more hopeful for a week or so.  After all, you have a case number and everything; some one must be doing something.  Mustn't they? As the weeks go by, you begin to realize however that the marriage counsellor is never going to call you back and has been toying with you all along.  The guy who introduced you to this creep - called a "dealer"- isn't any better. 

The day comes when you realize that the only person who is going to listen, care and help is a lawyer and he only does so because you pay him.  But, if you want to divorce yourself from this mistake and move on with your life, it's the last resort.  

This little story is completely true, I'm sorry to say.  The complaints are only now surfacing, but they are consistent in their reports: steadily declining MPG before things get really bad and the car becomes unusable, or as Honda, Inc. described it in the little story above, "irreparable." Read the serious postings at http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/civic-hybrid-battery-ima-problems.html.  

Certainly, just like there are many happy "human" marriages, some people report success, love and unending bliss with their hybrids.  May the love endure if they have "tied the knot" already.  But if you are still at the just looking stage, maybe a little background check would be a good thing.  Or maybe you should just keep looking.