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monkeyface

I am interested in purchasing this vehicle but am unsure as to the reliability of the IMA batteries (warranty expires 9/2013) and the CVT transmission on this lower cc engine (64,000km).
Any other reliability problems known about this model?

ABayliss

While we would normally have doubts around CVT transmissions, information available to us suggests that the Civic IMA CVT has been reliable. Perhaps this is due to the driving style of hybrid vehicle drivers, but one warranty company we spoke to says they can only ever recall replacing one CVT on a Civic IMA.
Batteries seem to be fairly reliable, however we are aware of the odd failure, with batteries being around $4,200 to replace.
With the long term future in mind, (depending on how long you keep your cars) a conventional car with a conventional transmission might be the preferable option.

monkeyface

Thank you for that information. We will look to a conventional vehicle with a long term ownership in mind.

Anthony12

Hi there,

I regularly read your forum as I think it is a great place for people to obtain information and recommendation from experts when purchasing vehicles.
I am happy to say that I work for Honda NZ and do just want to make a correction to your advice to this particular question regarding the IMA Civic. You are correct in saying that the cost of a replacement battery in an IMA Civic is $4,200 but it isn't mentioned that this cost is heavily subsidised by Honda NZ to be only $800 plus a total of $150 of Genuine Honda labour. This would make a total replacement of $950.00, substantially less than $4,200. These batteries also come with an 8 year/160,000km warranty which is nearly 3 times longer than a conventional car battery and shows extremely good value when considering the fuel savings that can be achieved.
I just wanted to point this out as in this case it seems that this advice has lead a potential Honda customer to disregard the Civic IMA. The Civic IMA has proved to be an extremely reliable vehicle with amazing fuel economy having placed 2nd in the 2010 AA Energywise Rally.
I hope this newly corrected information will be shared in the future if a similar query was to arise.
Thank you

ABayliss

That is excellent news - obviously our information was not quite up to date. We agree, the Civic IMA has a good reputation for reliability and fuel efficiency, so it's great to know that Honda is subsidising replacement batteries to that extent.

notooshabby

Do you know if the 8 year warranty is transferable between owners with NZ new Hondas? Is the Honda subsidy on batteries something that they're looking to continue doing or is it a fixed term promotion?

ABayliss

Yes, the 8 year/160,000km warranty on the IMA battery is transferable to subsequent owners. As far as the cost is concerned, the subsidy exists if the car was sold new in New Zealand. For import models, there is no subsidy so the cost remains around $4,200.