Woman suing for Civic Hybrid's poor Mileage

[charlestonleafer]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/woman-takes-unique-road-sue-084530815.html

Hope they don't use this against Nissan for advertising 100 miles of range

 

[adric22]

I bet if I drove her car around, I'd get the advertised mileage. My buddy that works at a Toyota dealership says people bring in Prius's all of the time saying there is something wrong because the gas-mileage is too low. So then he has to go drive it around town for 20 minutes or so and make sure the engine was warmed up to operating temperature and drive it conservatively. Never once has he failed to have the car achieve the correct mileage.

 

[SanDust]

Not enough Leafs on the road to matter but between the claim of 100 "or more" miles of electric range and the recommendation to charge to 80% the outcome would more or less be assured. I've never understood how the 100 mile claim made it through legal. Hopefully they'll clean it up.

 

[RickS]

I got those class action notifications in the mail, I had two of them, a 2006 and a 2007. The claims I think are valid, there was a software update which limited battery use and as a result made the mileage noticeably worse after the update. Also, part of it was regarding poor battery performance, in particular after another software update. My 2007 gave me the battery code of death with less than 20K on it and after I got the software update the car was terrible. And of course they didn't replace the battery they just updated it and said if the code came back they would. I'd sold the car a while back, but I did send the claim forms in.

 

[Herm]

Honda has really messed up with their troubled nimh batteries and warranty shenanigans, hopefully their reputation is not permanently damaged. People still have bad memories of the 80's diesel engine nightmare that GM went through.

On the other hand, neither Ford or Toyota hybrids have had any problems with batteries. Thank G*d.

 

[N1ghtrider]

I have a Civic Hybrid I bought new 6 years ago and have 114,000 miles on it. I get more than 50 mpg on any highway trip at 65 mph or less w/o a/c and have averaged 42.5 mpg overall, including idling, highway trips at 80 mpph with a/c etc. The car is everything and more I hoped for and I have kept it for my long hauls.

I love the Leaf as well and have gone more than 100 miles on a single charge 4 times in the first 1100 miles (and am the first forum member in the 200 kilometer club), so maybe that says something about driving ability in connection with the car.

 

[garygid]

I think 200 km (125 miles) says more that you can drive slowly in flatland, mostly without stopping, and you keep driving after all the fuel bars are GONE.

 

[TickTock]

Since they got the EPA stamp on it, and presumably adhered to the federal regulations during the measurements, it will be a tough case. All ad's I've seen say 99 mpg equivalent EPA. Just adding the little "EPA" qualifier protects them.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I think 200 km (125 miles) says more that you can drive slowly in flatland, mostly without stopping, and you keep driving after all the fuel bars are GONE.

That, and it's not a cold battery!

 

[TomT]

No, in this case it is a real issue and there is also a class action lawsuit pending. Basically, the batteries lost capacity very quickly and Honda's answer was to reprogram the car so that it ran on the gas engine more often, dramatically reducing the mileage in some cases. The state of California was also considering suing them for violation of their emissions certification due to the affect of the software change...

I bet if I drove her car around, I'd get the advertised mileage.

 

[Herm]

Yeah Nightrider, you probably could get 160 miles if you were not a hypermiling slacker!, you letting us down.. :shock:

at least its going back up to 70° F today and for the rest of the week here in Miami.

 

[Ready2plugin]

I've gotten three class action letters in the last two weeks, one to me and two address to my wife. We sold our Civic a year ago when we got our LEAF. Have to agree that the software change was awful...battery died just going up one hill. Car on gas alone was a dog. Not sure what to do with all the letters since we do not have title anymore.

 

[TomT]

This is just one of the many reasons why I don't have much faith in Honda producing a decent PHEV...

I've gotten three class action letters in the last two weeks, one to me and two address to my wife. We sold our Civic a year ago when we got our LEAF. Have to agree that the software change was awful...battery died just going up one hill. Car on gas alone was a dog. Not sure what to do with all the letters since we do not have title anymore.

 

[RickS]

I've gotten three class action letters in the last two weeks, one to me and two address to my wife. We sold our Civic a year ago when we got our LEAF. Have to agree that the software change was awful...battery died just going up one hill. Car on gas alone was a dog. Not sure what to do with all the letters since we do not have title anymore.

You know, I read through it and it didn't say anything about having to own the car currently. I figure at least in part I sold the car because of these issues so I sent them in.

 

[N1ghtrider]

Did I mention that Honda "voluntarily" replaced my battery at 87,000 miles? I had to pay the labor (about $500), but I got a $2,500 battery 2 years after the warranty ran out.

 

[smkettner]

I think the article was more about going one on one in small claims instead of class action.
We all know who get the lion's share of any class action lawsuit :roll:

 

[Herm]

I think the article was more about going one on one in small claims instead of class action.
We all know who get the lion's share of any class action lawsuit :roll:

Not the lawyers, there is just fewer of them so it appears that way.

 

[Ready2plugin]

Interesting....looks like she won!

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/woman-wins-small-claims-suit-over-honda-civic-hybrid.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[smkettner]

I would like to know when she gets a check. I don't see why it could not be appealed.

 

[TomT]

In the class action lawsuit settlement, the lawyers are getting 8.7 million dollars.

I think the article was more about going one on one in small claims instead of class action.
We all know who get the lion's share of any class action lawsuit :roll:

Not the lawyers, there is just fewer of them so it appears that way.