Bought a 2000 Insight that is barely still in battery warranty. How do I test it?

[Ben2.0]

Hi,

I bought a 2000 Insight the other day and have been reading here trying to understand what I bought...

I found some papers in the car that say it was delivered in November of 2000, and it has 145k miles. The 12-volt battery was dead and I checked for codes after replacing that - none present. The IMA battery was supposedly replaced about 5 years ago, but I don't have any paperwork to prove it. I would like to make sure the IMA battery is in good condition before letting the warranty slip away. Any idea how I can do that?

While driving it home through the mountains the battery drained to nothing, then slowly came back. It seems to perform well for short distances, but not longer hills. I'm not sure how much to expect. We were headed out of Phoenix to Payson for those familiar with the area.

Also, I would like to know if the BCM has already been replaced. How can I tell?

Thanks for the help.

[RobertSmalls]

If you have mountains available to you, testing the battery's usable capacity is easy. Drive gently until your battery is fully charged, then ascend a mountain in a high gear using plenty of assist. You should get a minute or two out of it. You may find that once your SoC gauge gets below a certain point, say 10 bars out of 20, it then jumps right down to 3 bars or lower. If that's the case, its capacity is diminished. If you get a recal at 14 bars, I think that's around the threshold below which you get a Check Engine Light such that Honda will buy you a new battery.

If that doesn't happen by the time the warranty expires, why not just buy yourself a new battery on the spot? You'll enjoy the extra capacity, especially given your terrain.

An alternative to buying a battery in some cases is a grid charger/balancer.

[Varak]

Call or stop by a Honda dealer and give them the VIN number and they should be able to tell you what warranty repairs were done on the car.

If you know where the car was serviced, you can probably get detailed repair records as well.

When I bought mine, it had been dealer serviced for its entire lifetime and the dealer gave me a printout of all the work that had been done on it.

[Ben2.0]

The "jumping down" behavior happened once on the way home. IIRC, I had taken it down to about 1/3-charge then it jumped to nothing.

I have read on this forum about recalibrating the pack. I had not done that since the dead 12v-battery. Presumably this indicator is only valid after doing a proper recal?

[uhtrinity]

Originally Posted by Ben2.0

The "jumping down" behavior happened once on the way home. IIRC, I had taken it down to about 1/3-charge then it jumped to nothing.

I have read on this forum about recalibrating the pack. I had not done that since the dead 12v-battery. Presumably this indicator is only valid after doing a proper recal?

That is a negative recal. It is either a sign of reduced capacity or an imbalanced pack. The easiest way to counter that is to build and use a trickle grid charger and / or have someone balance the pack for you. I am of the opinion that a grid charger will rebalance the pack over time or at least mask the imbalance so it is no longer an issue.

As far as battery replacement, the only way to get that is a P1449 or P1447 code of death within the warranty period. Recals do not necessarily mean you have a bad battery.

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

Originally Posted by Ben2.0

The "jumping down" behavior happened once on the way home. IIRC, I had taken it down to about 1/3-charge then it jumped to nothing.

I have read on this forum about recalibrating the pack. I had not done that since the dead 12v-battery. Presumably this indicator is only valid after doing a proper recal?

That "jumping down" was a recal. A recal is not an indication of a bad battery. Many recals are an indication. You don't need to recalibrate anything because it just did it.

If it dies after the warranty is up, call me instead of Honda.

[Ben2.0]

If it dies after the warranty is up, call me instead of Honda.

What is your suggestion in regards to updating the BCM in that case? Is it a necessary or advisable step? Thanks.

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

Originally Posted by Ben2.0

What is your suggestion in regards to updating the BCM in that case? Is it a necessary or advisable step? Thanks.

That's up to you.

Necessary? No.

Will increase the battery life - maybe. How much - 6 months?

Will reduce fuel economy - probably.