Hey all,

Before you read this story and decide to spam me keep in mind that I keep my tire pressure optimal, I don't drive like an idiot, I get ALL necessary maintenance done when needed, etc.

I have a 2006 HCH. The car is a joke and so is Honda corporate. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT PURCHASING ONE BECAUSE THE ADDED COST OF THE CAR WILL DEFINITELY NOT PAY YOU BACK IN GAS MILEAGE OVER A 5YEAR TIME PERIOD OR OVER A LIFETIME FOR THAT MATTER.

Thought I would post on here a quick synopsis of my Honda story. For the first 50,000 miles my car got roughly 42-45mpg on average. Then over a 2-3 week time period it drastically decreased and is only getting 32-34mpg on average.

1. I took my car to local dealership and told there was not a problem. I thought to myself ok it's not too bad yet I will just keep an eye on it. Of course it got worse, so...

2. Take my car back to dealership. They tell me they duplicated my issue. Called Honda tech line who told them they were working on a car with almost the same issue. Tech line told them they replaced the battery and loaded new software into the car but neither one fixed the problem. The dealership's resolution was to WAIT for a fix? Hmmm.

3. Called Honda corporate. Was told to get a "second opinion" so I took my car to the only other dealership in Tucson, AZ (Dobbs Honda) who told me they also duplicated my problem, called Honda tech line, Tech line faxed them a Questionnaire surrounding my problem that I needed to fill out so they could fax back to them and then I needed to wait.

4. Called Honda corporate back, was assigned a case manager who I spoke with about my IMA issues and he said he would talk to the dealerships and tech line then get back to me within 1 week. He called me back and told me my car was "operating within normal circumstances" and that there was nothing wrong with it. Heat can cause it to start its safety feature which automatically turns itself off so it doesn't get damaged, etc. He also told me to read page 76 (I think that's the page) of my manual.

5. I stayed in contact with him (Morris is his name, my case manager) over several months, continued calling and expressing my dissatisfaction. Finally today he called me back again and I had a rather lengthy discussion with him. Told him I wanted either my car replaced or a $4000 credit applied to the remainder of my loan because if I wanted Civic EX gas mileage then I would have purchased a Civic EX for $4000 less than a Hybrid. He basically told me to screw myself, wouldn't give me his supervisor's name and extension, etc, etc, etc. He and Honda corporate are a joke.

I told him I was going to no longer purchase Honda products, no longer refer people to Honda, no longer get my 2 Honda's serviced at Honda dealerships, file a NHTSA safety complaint, file a BBB complaint because I was blatantly lied to regarding Honda tech line's MYTH car that EVERYONE is told they have worked on, consistently send letters to corporate, my local dealership, and finally contact KGUN 9 News on your side here in Tucson, AZ to try and get my story aired.

Thanks for listening to my story,

Sean Tucson, AZ

P.S. - This is a shortened version of my story; if you would like more information you can email me at seangerner@yahoo.com, but if there are others out there who have a defective IMA motor/battery and have gotten similar treatment from Honda corporate and local dealerships I would highly suggest doing some of your own research. There are plenty of consumers out there being given the runaround from Honda just like I have. Multiple people have posted safety complaints with NHTSA. You can go to the website www.safercar.gov and check for yourself.

Here are a couple of complaint id #'s: 10241683 and 10254417