Update: The lawyers for the plaintiffs are expected to receive $2.95 million. nytimes.com This is why I truly didn't like this lawsuit.
There is no justice in gross profit from damages. That is $3 million that could go into R & D or anything that might be of value to the general population this supposedly damaged.
I'm even more glad now that I didn't "cash in" for driving a Civic Hybrid.
Update: Reader comments that problem is real for her
I received an HCH Class Action Settlement for my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (True vs. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ) last night.
Fortunately for Honda, the settlement includes rebates for new vehicles. I get $100 cash back and a video to train me how to best use my gas and brake pedal.
The lawsuit revolves around EPA mileage estimates for Honda's hybrids and the lower than expected mileage figures some people got from their Honda hybrids.
I suggest Honda use a disclaimer sticker.
Failure to use common sense may result in lower than expected mileage figures.
Smashing the gas pedal (combining the use of electric and electric motors without the use of cylinder deactivation) and smashing the brake (not using regenerative braking) will result in lower than expected economy.
Accessories, like air-conditioning, use energy. When you shut them off you use less energy.
Very cold days and very warm days take more energy to keep you comfortable and move your vehicle.
Some days I can get over 50 mpg and some days it may be as low as 40 mpg.
All vehicle manufactures use EPA standards for fuel economy. It is the competitive benchmark for selling a car in the United States. It makes no more sense for Honda to post figures lower than the EPA testing procedure than it would be for Toyota.
Honda can keep my $100 and put it towards research and development. I am happy that there was a car on the market in 2005 (or 1999 with the Insight) with the potential of 50 mpg.
Perhaps it would be more beneficial to force the mindless, lawsuit money train toward adopting a universal standard that more accurately reflects the cost of driving. This would actually help all consumers.
It will be interesting to watch what happens when vehicles with an even greater variability of mileage like the Chevy Volt (230 mpg) or a totally electric car like the Nissan LEAF come on the scene with the same aging EPA standard.
I received the same notice and had the same thought: this is crazy. My mileage experience varies from 55 mpg on the highway (not running air, etc) to 36 in the city (running stuff). I'd like the city mileage to be better. Actually I can make it better by minding how I drive and choosing routes that are advantageous. I plan to ignore this class action suit rather than opting out or taking any money.
I actually get poor mileage and do not drive like a maniac.
In my previous vehicle, a 97 Acura CL, I routinely got 4-5 mpg better than the EPA estimates (before they changed the methodology to more accurately reflect real life driving).
The Civic I have just won't perform.
However, I'm planning to opt out because I believe that the basis of the suit is incorrect. It not bad advertising, but a defective product.
For the first year I averaged over 40 mpg, ~48 mpg on highway trips. Again, I drive normally; I'm not a hypermiler.
Then, suddenly, my mileage dropped about 15%. My driving didn't change. The battery seemingly wouldn't hold a charge, often leaving me struggling to merge into traffic.
And I've seen many others who've experienced the same sudden drop in mileage. This is real.
My problem with the suit is that it doesn't address that and really, it doesn't come near compensation for the problems I've had. Had I gotten a regular ICE Civic, I could get the same mileage I get now, paying less for the vehicle, and have a bigger trunk with access from the inside.
And Honda will not address my issues. Just because codes don't come up, doesn't mean there's not a problem And remember, Honda sets the sensitivity on their sensors so they get to decide when it's a problem, not the consumer. Well that's ridiculous. I drive the car and I know it's not working properly.
My hope is that a better lawsuit comes along, one that addresses the defective nature of the HCH.
In the meantime, I'm working to get this investigated by the BBB and looking for others to share their experiences. Maybe with numbers, we can get Honda to address the real problem.
Yesterday, I was getting 60 mpg on a 20 mile run that is mostly 45-50 mph, limited stop and go with little braking. I was heading into the wind, but behind a big truck most of the way.
I have a 5 year old Civic Hybrid manual transmission with 90,000 miles on the clock. The only thing I have done to it was a free firmware upgrade about 30,000
If the batteries are in a drawn down state for whatever reason, the mileage will be much lower because then the engine is charging the batteries
If would be interesting for me to take a car like yours and see if i get the same results.
I have two problems with this lawsuit. First, I agree with Stevie in that the lawsuit does not address the real problem. Like Stevie, I started out getting decent mileage (about 46 mpg) however I have only gotten 50+ mpg twice. I drive conservatively. I look ahead and time the lights so that I don't have to stop by letting off the gas and coasting trying to get to the light after it turns green and swithcing lanes so that I don't have to slow down more waiting on cars that have stopped to get up to speed. When I accelerate, I try to keep the rpm's below 2000. I drive more by the mpg indicator than I do by the speedometer, trying to stay as close to 50 mpg as possible. On the highway, I will let my speed drop in an effort to keep the mpg indicator at 50 or more. Unless it is xtremely hot or cold I leave the heater and ac off and windows up. Right now I stuggle to average 42-43 mpg. I complained to two different dealerships. They both made excuses but not solutions or valid reasons. Unfornunately, I did not do so in writing.
The second problem I have with the lawsuit is that the penalty is to award Honda with more sales. In order to benefit from the settlement, one must sell or trade their car and buy another car from the defendent. I am not finacially positioned to sell my car which I would probably take a loss on and buy another car from a company that aledgely missled me.
A more appropiate settlement would be to take the average gas price and pay the difference between the actual gas mileage and the misled milage to each owner base on the number of the miles the owner has driven.
I think I was offered $100 instead of the new car deal.
My experience is with a manual transmission. Was your's with the CVT?
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