While driving acts like it will stall and it is jerky

Tiny
HGWK
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 HONDA CRZ HYBRID
  • 1.5L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 51,000 MILES
This first started in ECO and Sports mode but only while the hybrid battery indicator goes down to one or two bars. It ran fine in normal mode for about a week and now it's slowly showing the same symptoms in Normal mode? Is this the problem with the hybrid battery pack? And why would it be more evident in the other two modes? Also if it is the battery pack shouldn't the gas engine kick in and compensate or stay on the gas engine mode if there is a fault with the hybrid battery system? Thank you!
Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 AT 2:21 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Just to be clear, the shifting is fine in any mode when the hybrid battery is fully charge? It only start happening when the battery is drained?

If this is the case then we would have to assume it related to the battery being drained.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/hybrid-transmission

Clearly this is not common but as for the engine kicking in, that is simply a range extending device. It is not meant to recharge the battery just slow down how quickly it drains.

Are you able to recharge the battery to full capacity?

The only difference when shifting between these different modes is it is changing shift patterns and fuel strategy. So if this issue happens in these modes and starting to happen in normal mode then it is unlikely that this would be related to these modes but more related to the battery issue.

We can assume the transmission itself is okay if it shifts normally when the battery is charged so again it comes back to getting more info about the battery.

Let's start with this info and go from there. Thanks
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Wednesday, July 7th, 2021 AT 4:37 PM
Tiny
HGWK
  • MEMBER
  • 51 POSTS
Okay, so it only starts to act like it's going to stall and jerks when the battery level drops down quickly to one or two bars which in eco or sports mode happens within 5 minutes of driving and in normal modes in 10 to 15 minutes but not every time it's driven! It also never show full charge 8-bars it goes 5-6 bars max. I'm pretty sure that it's the hybrid battery that's the culprit my question is, shouldn't the gasoline motor stay on running constantly if there is issue with the hybrid system? Also is there a way to disable the hybrid system so it only runs on the gasoline engine? Thank you
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Thursday, July 8th, 2021 AT 7:28 PM
Tiny
HGWK
  • MEMBER
  • 51 POSTS
P.S.

Also forgot to add that the A/C won't work in eco or sports mode the A/C compressor won't kick on!
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Friday, July 9th, 2021 AT 2:09 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
This does sound like load shedding which is what happens when the battery gets weak. Due to it being a hybrid the engine that kicks on is not meant to charge the battery but only keep it from depleting to the point it is not drivable. However, when the battery has a compromised cell in it, the engine will not be able to do much.

Unfortunately this is not a gas engine with a battery to help improve the range. It is the other way around. This is an electric car that has a gas engine to help prolong the range and life of the battery.

So the engine should kick on when the charging it low but it is not like you can remove the battery or let it completely drain and then just have a regular gas engine. They go work together and if the battery is compromised then all sorts of different issues will start to occur.
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Friday, July 9th, 2021 AT 5:31 PM

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