I recently bought a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. I absolutely love it, but one thing I can’t get used to is the back and forth jerking that sometimes occurs at very low speeds. I usually notice it if I’m going over a series of speedbumps. I slow down to a very slow pace to go over the speedbump, and then when I accelerate on the other side of the speedbump, the car jerks back and forth as if there is a transmission problem. I wonder if it has to do with switching from purely electric at the very low speed to electric/gas when I accelerate.
Any insight would be much appreciated!
what does the dealer say? there are not too many mechanics around familiar with this car.
If you accelerate from low speed NOT at a speed bump does it still happen (get the bumps out of the equation if you can)?
It does happen when the speedbumps are out of the equation. It’s just that the speedbump example is the most consistent - it happens between each speedbump. Other times it happens intermittently is always accelerating from a stop or very low speed - like pulling out from my condo complex onto a residental street. I’m usually going fairly slowly on the residental street, so the jerking sometimes happens. If I accelerate harder, it stops. And I think that if I take my foot off the accelerator, it also stops.
I didn’t buy the car from a dealer, so I haven’t checked anything with them yet. I can just call up any old Honda dealer and ask for input over the phone?
Thanks much for your reply!
Do you actually know that the gasoline engine turns on? If it doesn’t, then, it’s a problem with the control of the electric motor. Warranty applies.
“I didn’t buy the car from a dealer”
This is a 2008 car, and you did not buy it from a dealer?
If a private seller was dumping a car that fast, I would be very concerned about the reason for someone getting rid of a car after just a few months. Did you have it checked out by a Honda dealer prior to purchase? For instance, any mechanical damage to the car that resulted from an accident would not be covered under warranty. If you did not have this vehicle checked for accident damage and overall pristine condition prior to purchase, then…never mind–I won’t say what I am thinking.
I should clarify: I didn’t interact directly with the dealer. I used AAA’s car buying service. So it did come brand new from a dealer (like 4 miles on it when I got it), not a private seller, I just never worked directly with the dealer.
so you have the same warranty as you would have had if you had purchased it from a dealer? In that case, take it to a dealer.
But try to find a set of conditions (not at speed bumps) that are reproducable and cause the problem to manifest before you do. In other words, you want to be able to reproduce the problem for the dealer.
I am wondering if there is a software update for this problem. It sure sounds like control system is getting into an oscillation. I am sure that Honda will be the only source of the patch as the software is propriatary and not available to mechanics or general public.
Good luck on this.