Honda IMA híbrido engine: faults and reliability

• 1.3 i-DSI IMA 110 (LDA-MF5 / LDA2, Civic Hybrid VIII, 2006-2011)

  2006–2011 · 112 hp · LDA-MF5, LDA2

  With caution

  It is the IMA with the most documented history: Fiches-auto records a 2007 Civic IMA with about 150,000 km whose battery failed one month before the 8-year warranty ended, and those built between December 2005 and October 2006 had a campaign for the DC/DC converter. Check the campaign and the condition of the battery before buying.^[1][8][9]

• 1.3 i-VTEC IMA 98 (LDA-MF6 / LDA3, Insight II, 2009-2014)

  2009–2014 · 98 hp · LDA-MF6, LDA3

  Buy

  The British press speaks of an excellent reliability record and of batteries that are holding up well, although it admits that failures on the older cars will be inevitable. The 8-year warranty has now expired on all of them, so it is worth asking for a diagnosis of the hybrid pack.^[2][3]

• 1.3 i-VTEC IMA (LDA-MF6 / LDA3, Jazz Hybrid, 2011-2015)

  2011–2015 · 88 hp · LDA-MF6, LDA3

  Buy

  Fiches-auto gathers 21 owner opinions on the 2011 to 2013 Jazz 1.3 Hybrid, with minor faults (air flow meter, windscreen washer pump, worn brake pads) and only one specific to the system, the high-voltage battery fan at 12 years and about 150,000 km. The page also counts 4 mentions of «battery» without saying which one, and these are isolated testimonies, not statistics. As it shares its system with the Insight II, whose reliability record the British press calls excellent, the verdict is positive, but the hybrid pack should be checked all the same.^[2][10][11]

• 1.5 i-VTEC IMA 123 (LEA1 / LEA-MF6, CR-Z with NiMH battery, 2010-2012)

  2010–2012 · 123 hp · LEA1, LEA-MF6

  With caution

  It carries the original nickel-metal hydride battery, which is more than 14 years old on the oldest cars, and had a software campaign for those built between December 2009 and June 2011 (3,045 cars in the United Kingdom). The British press advises looking for a post-2013 facelift car if the budget allows.^[1][7][12]

• 1.5 i-VTEC IMA 132 (LEA1, CR-Z with lithium-ion battery, 2013-2016)

  2013–2016 · 132 hp · LEA1

  Buy

  The British press describes the lithium-ion battery as longer-lasting and more efficient than the nickel-metal hydride one, although more expensive to replace; in the United Kingdom only 515 of the 4,292 CR-Zs sold had it, so there is little real-world data.^[7][12]

Buy: No known serious faults, or they have already been corrected, in this version. With caution: Worth buying if something specific is verified: history, a replaced part or a completed campaign. Avoid: High risk of a serious fault that is hard to check for or prevent.

1. 1Medium severityFrequency: OccasionalElectronicsHigh-voltage IMA battery degradation and IMA warning light onThe IMA's nickel-metal hydride battery loses capacity over the years and ends up turning on the IMA warning light; the car can keep driving on the petrol engine. The manufacturer's warranty covered the hybrid components for 8 years, a period that has already expired on practically all Insights, Civic Hybrids, Jazz Hybrids and CR-Zs.
2. 2High severityFrequency: RareElectronicsIMA hybrid system DC/DC converter failure with engine stall (Civic Hybrid 2005-2006)On some Civic Hybrids built between December 2005 and October 2006, a damaged diode in the IMA system's DC/DC converter can cause a short circuit, blow a 100 A fuse and stop the engine without warning. Honda corrected it with a recall (583 cars in the United Kingdom).
3. 3Medium severityFrequency: RareElectronicsCR-Z IMA hybrid system software: the car may move when the engine stallsOn CR-Zs built between December 2009 and June 2011, a software fault in the IMA electric motor control unit could make the car move forwards or backwards if the engine stalled. Honda corrected it with a software update, without replacing any parts.

Severity colours: low, medium, high, critical. How we rate them

Manufacturer

Honda Motor Co.

Family

IMA (Integrated Motor Assist)

Fuel

Petrol

Displacement

—

Cylinders

4

Fuel system

Naturally aspirated

Injection

Indirect injection

Timing

Chain

Power

88–132 hp

Peak torque

190 Nm

Production

1999–2016

Makes

Honda

Technical data^{[2][4][5][6][7]}

1. 2006–2011

   1.3 i-DSI IMA 110 (LDA-MF5 / LDA2, Civic Hybrid VIII, 2006-2011)

   Fourth generation of the IMA, with a 15 kW (about 20 hp) electric motor and a 1.3-litre 93 hp (69 kW) petrol engine that together give about 110 hp (82 kW, around 112 PS) and 167 Nm, according to English Wikipedia. It uses a 158.4 V nickel-metal hydride battery and was offered only with a CVT gearbox. In Europe it was a four-door saloon sold only in some countries.^[5][14]

2. 2009–2014

   1.3 i-VTEC IMA 98 (LDA-MF6 / LDA3, Insight II, 2009-2014)

   Second-generation Insight: IMA system with 98 hp in total (73 kW) and 167 Nm, with an electric motor of about 10 kW, a flat 84-module 100.8 V nickel-metal hydride battery under the boot floor and a CVT gearbox as standard. The CVT was revised in the 2011 update. English Wikipedia names this engine LDA-MF3 in the Insight article, but LDA-MF6 / LDA3 in the one on the L engines.^[3][5][13]

3. 2010–2012

   1.5 i-VTEC IMA 123 (LEA1 / LEA-MF6, CR-Z with NiMH battery, 2010-2012)

   2+2 coupé with a 1.5-litre petrol engine (83 kW) plus a 10 kW electric motor; 123 hp combined output according to English Wikipedia (the German one gives 128 PS), with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard and an optional CVT. Its battery is nickel-metal hydride of about 0.6 kWh.^[5][6][17]

4. 2011–2015

   1.3 i-VTEC IMA (LDA-MF6 / LDA3, Jazz Hybrid, 2011-2015)

   Hybrid version of the Jazz II with the same system as the Insight: 1,339 cc petrol engine with 88 hp (65 kW) plus an electric motor of about 10 kW (14 hp), CVT gearbox and a battery pack under the boot floor that reduces load space. The combined output does not appear in the sources consulted.^[5][11][15]

5. 2013–2016

   1.5 i-VTEC IMA 132 (LEA1, CR-Z with lithium-ion battery, 2013-2016)

   The January 2013 facelift replaced the nickel-metal hydride battery with a 144 V, 0.6 kWh lithium-ion one and raised the electric motor from 10 to 15 kW, with 132 hp combined according to English Wikipedia (the German one gives 137 PS). Honda withdrew the CR-Z from Europe around 2014 and stopped building it in 2016.^[6][12][17]