Honda Civic Hybrid Owner Testimonials
Please only write a Honda Civic Hybrid testimonial if you are an owner.
Be sure to include the year your Civic was made in your comments.
Entries will be moderated to prevent abuse, so you will not see your testimonial immediately. Inappropriate comments will be deleted.
Thanks for your understanding and participation.
Overall I am pleased with my Honda Civic Hybrid. However, the car is not perfect. The most annoying thing about the car by far is a rattling noise that comes from behind the dash. Various attempts to stifle this rattle have met with mixed success. (So far, the best solution has been to jam folded up business cards between the speakers and the dash panel.)
I've also had to get warranty work on both the gas cap cover (broken in the closed position!) and the paint job. (premature rust, after only 18 months!)
However, I've consistently averaged 45-46 mpg under mostly city driving, which is the reason I bought the car. No complaints there. The Continously Variable Transmission has a few odd tendencies (like a bit of hesitation when you first put the car in gear), but it's truly a pleasure to drive. Plenty of response and always a smooth feel on the road. The economy mode auto-shutoff at stop signs and traffic lights took about five minutes to get used to, and then I never really noticed it again. The car starts back up before you can get your foot from the brakes to the gas pedal.
Other attractive items include the safety features. Side impact airbags and anti-lock brakes are standard.
At the time I purchased the car, gasoline was still $1.30 a gallon, and demand for hybrids was nill. Thus, I got what I consider to be an exceptional deal at $18,400 for the cvt automatic transmission.
Overall I would give the car a 7 out of 10.
I bought my Civic Hybrid in march. I bought the 5 speed mostly because I just like driving a mannual and second to get the better gas milage. The only problem was that it arrived from the factory with a undercharged airconditioner. When under charged it just doesn't come on. At first I just got around 44-48 mpg. After learning what works best and paying a little attention I am now averaging over 50 mpg on my last two tanks of gas. This includes about equal highway and city driving. It's really been great when I can't remember when I bought gas last.
I bought my 03 Civic hybrid two years ago while living in North Dakota. It was built in 2002 in Japan with 65% of the parts being US. I have driven 47,000 miles in her with zero problems. I still have the original tires and they are rotated every 10,000 miles.
I moved to Florida 22 months ago. For the last 16,000 miles she averaged 51.8 mpg with the Continues Variable Trany.
If I use the A/C full time the millage would drop. In North Dakota I got 46 mpg as a new vehicle and cooler temps. I carry a lot of maybe I need this stuff in the car and I weighed 300 pounds at purchase. I now weigh 240 but have added more stuff to carry in the car.
On icy roads and in a snow storm in ND, I got blown off the road, I was driving too fast. The car fly's pretty good. I ended up in three feet of snow. The engine was packed with snow. I hitched a ride to town and had a tow truck pull me out. The tow hook on the back frame workes well. I didn't expect her to start-she did-I continued on my way-only 70 bucks lighter.
If she could cook, I would marry her. The technology is so smart, Zelda is a good old girl. Enjoy!
I just bought my 2005 Civic Hybrid about 3 weeks ago and really like it. The fit and finish are excellent. I am averaging 43.9 on my last two tanks of gas. I have about 1000 miles on the car now so I figure this will improve some.
The car rides and drives great. A lot more comfortable than I would have thought. Anybody riding in the back seat, though, will have a problem. It is cramped if the front seats are moved back. It is also very hard. This is not a problem with me as it is rare for anybody but my wife and me to be in the car.
The biggest drawback is the lack of power on take off from a dead stop. 12 seconds to 60 is a long time. You have to remember this if you are pulling out into traffic. Once you get moving, however, the power is ample. Cruising 60-70 on the Interstate is no problem so running around town at 45 is just like a gasoline engine.
The "auto-stop" feature takes some getting used to but becomes seamless after the first day of driving. I believe though that in the July and August heat you are not going to want the AC to shut down and you will turn this off.
A very interesting experience in relearning to drive to get the most out of my 2003 hybrid with auto CVT. We initially got 39 mpg in the first summer. As the car gets more mile, the better the gas mileage. We average 20,000 per year. We are now averaging 45 mpg. We have learned that if you coast up to the stop sign with the break slightly depressed rather than than doing quick stops, you put a lot more energy back in the battery. The trick is to slightly depress the break until the battery is at full charge and glide up to the stop sign.
We just put our second set of tire on the car. Purchased Dunlop SP40 tires from Sams's club. The gas milaeage went down for one tank of gas till the tires break in and went right back to 45 mpg.
We also have experienced the hesatation when first putting the car in gear. Also we have a buz coming from the right air vent on the dash. That's our only negative experiences with this great money saving car.
We purchased our 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid in July 2005. We feel that, for a small vehicle, it has ample room in the front seat. However, we rarely have anyone in the rear seats for an extended amount of time. It is very comfortable riding and hold the road very well through curves in the road. We are receiving 45-48 miles per gallon around to town and on the highway we have been averaging 50-52 MPG. The way we feel good mileage is acquired is by driving like you've bought a hybrid, not a sportscar or SUV. That is the whole point to buying this type of vehicle. We usually drive at or slightly below the speed limit. We thoroughly enjoy our car.
My 2004 Civic is getting 35 Miles per Gallon.
For the first 13 months I always got 45-50 miles per Gallon.
I am a little bitter, Due to the fact that the regular Civic get 35 mpg.
I am taking it in to have it looked at by a dealer...But if they say nothing is wrong...I will be very upset.
And YES I am driving it the right way.
I own a UK 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. New in September 2004 I have now completed 7500 miles in 11 months ave MPG has been 48.1 It gets used for four - six trips a day each less than 1 mile and long trips one a week on a long trip it will do 64mpg no problem my best trip to date was 10 miles ave 85mpg.
This car is quiet, smooth and looks quite good but will it is not very thrilling to drive unless I could get 85mpg all the time. But I will buy the next model when it comes out.
Thanks, Rob.
I'm very unhappy with gas mileage also I average about 36 miles per gallon. The dealership will not do anything and I have now found a slew of negative information about the Hybrid cars in general. Try typing in Google Honda Civic Hybrid complaints on gas mileage. The dealership I went to said as long as the engine light is not on they can do nothing. They were very insulting suggesting that I drive better, slower and use no air. I drive like a grandmaw and rarely go over the speed limit, only if I need to get out of someones way. I'm putting a bumper sticker on my car that says "Ask me about the CRAPPY gas mileage"
I have put 6,000 miles on my 2005 Civic Hybrid since I purchased it in April 2005 and have yet to get more than 39mpg on either the highway or city. I am even getting a lot of tanks that are 34-35mpg. We have called the dealer and they are no help. They have referred us to Honda Corporate, but I doubt we will get anywhere with this either.
The gas milege is great but in the Houston summers when I am sitting in traffic the car's A/C stops when the electricity comes on. It gets horribly hot.
I bought my Civic Hybrid, new, with a five-speed manual transmission in February, 2004 for a daily round trip commute of about 150 miles. I had 57,000 miles on it on August 4, 2005, when a lady ran a red light and hit me amidships doing about forty miles per hour. Both side airbags deployed and they kept me from being badly injured. For the first 12,000 miles, I averaged over 56 miles per gallon. I let the instrument panel teach me how to drive the car, considering it a game. Since then, my average mileage has dropped to 49.5, because I quit driving as frugally as I did at first. The best miles per hour/economy compromises appear to be 39, 49, and 59 miles per hour (That's how I drove it for the first three months.). I use the cruise control if I'm only going two blocks because it is more fuel efficient than I am (That is a significant factor in my mileage.). I love the mileage and have had no mechanical or quality control difficulties with the car. It probably saved my life as well. They say they can fix it. If not, I'll buy another. Also, I'm about to trade my wife's Camry for an Accord Hybrid.
For the Entire Summer, My 2004 Hybrid Civic...has gotten around 40 miles per gallon. I suppose it is due to the A/C being utilized most of the time. Either way, I am NOT getting the Miles per Gallon stated on the Sticker when I purchased the car. If I wanted to sell my car today...I would not be able to sell it saying, "You will get an extra FIVE miles per gallon over the REGULAR civic." NO ONE WOULD THINK THAT IS A GOOD IDEA!!! I bought it thinking I would easily get 45-51 miles per gallon. I guess HONDA gets to sell it under false promises...but those of us who own one...can only sell ours under the TRUE milage. Is that FAIR? I really feel like a sucker. And there is no form of recourse.
Was this really what its come down to?
Purchased my 05 Honda Civic Hybrid in April 05. Drive 150 mile commute and average 49-51 mpg. The driving is 95% highway with a lot of stop and go traffic. The auto stop feature is excellent. There was one trip I took which involved high elevations and very steep grades. The car was somewhat underpowered for the grades, but did a good job and did average 54.2 mpg. The best the car has ever done. If a person practices green driving, the mpg will show the difference. As a certified mechanic, the overall quality and performance of this car is good. The only problem that I've had with this car, people don't pay attenetion to the road and I've been rearended twice in two months. The design of the car helped with lessening the amount of damage. I would highly recommend this car and would definitely purchase another. Honda has discontinued the manual transmission for 06, which is very disappointing. Manual trannys, get better mpg, so why did they quit manufacturing them ? It seems to me, more peaople commute on highways versus city driving. Doesn't make sense. One big question. Why is our goverment considering taxing owners of Hybrids ? Because the Hybrids don't use enough fuel. What is it with our goverment officials. Isn't the purpose of the Hybrid to conserve fossil fuels.
Having driven Toyota Camry's for eons, I've begun to shrink in size and income and needed a smaller, newer, used, and more efficient car. Checked out several locally. Decided on the Civic Hybrid, which I bought from a totally ethical Ft. Myers, FL firm listed on e bay. Total satisfaction with the contact, communication, cost, transaction from beginning to end. Love the car, drove it back to Missouri and got terrific mileage, total comfort and look forward to years of use. I may be getting older but I'm alert, aware of the dysfunctional driving community on the highways and streets around me and use intelligent driving habits. That nasty situation has nothing to do with the quality and performance of the car.... lot to do with the lack of quality and performance of adjacent drivers on the public roads. How I drive this wonderful car has done nothing to slow my movement in tense traffic or on interstate highways. A total winner in my view and I'm the one who got the prize. I encourage many others who are maturing to check them out. So many have asked if I have to plug in the car to attend to the electric feature. NO... please do all you can to correct that misconception. Smooth, elegant and enjoyable ride with the bonus of being economical and very attractive.
Forgot to put the year on my recent comments regarding my 2005 Civic Hybrid. Had less than 10,000 miles when I bought it used. I drive 7,500 miles a year. No complaints, nothing but satisfaction with the dealer and the deal.
I purchased my 2003 Civic Hybrid with manual transmission in June, 2002 (Sales began in March, 2002) and have been entirely satisfied with the car. It was the first hybrid built on a "standard" car platform, and the first, in my opinion that worked as a primary family car.
It now has 88,000 miles on it, and still operates as well as when new. No major repair or quality issues in nearly five years. Although the batteries appear to have weakened slightly, they are still at 90% or better of original capacity. Gas mileage has been over 40mpg overall, with about 45mpg highway and 38mpg city. If highway speeds are kept under 70mph, mileage is closer to 50mpg.
This has been a great car. I plan to keep driving it for at least a couple more years.
We bought a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid new. For the last two years for no reason at all the battery dies. We carry jumper cables now. Now for the past week everyday I have to charge my car battery to use it. There is no warning signs, nothing left on, just dead. We are in the process of getting it towed to a dealer. Of course nobody else has this problem (at least this is what Honda says) and the only way they can diagnose it is if we bring it in dead. We won't purchase another one.
Debbie's remarks from June 2007: My 2003 Civic Hybrid's battery (I'm talking the regular old-fashioned car battery that is used to start the ignition, not the "electric" battery) died a couple of times - it wouldn't do ANYTHING. The second time, I took it to the dealer and they immediately replaced my battery with a bigger battery at no charge. It was still under warranty at the time. They said that Honda had determined that the batteries that they put in the Civics were too small to keep charged - it needed a bigger battery and they knew it. It has never happened again since they replaced the battery with a bigger one - check again with your dealer. I think some people think there is only the large electric battery behind the back seat that is supposed to be VERY expensive to replace (although I don't know of anyone who has had to replace theirs) but they aren't aware that there is a traditional battery in the front of the car just like a regular old-fashioned car that runs the electrical system of the Civic hybrid. Without that working, it is DEAD!! Don't give up!!!!!
