I've got a 2007 Accord Hybrid with 198,000 miles and still going strong. I have taken very good care of this car, but unfortunately, batteries don't care about that. I had the car serviced 5 months ago because the check light would not go off. I took it to the Honda dealer, and he said the IMA batteries were still at 40%, so he didn't understand why the check light would not go off. He said to give it a few days. Well, we did, and it never went off. I never took it back to the dealer, because if that's the reason the check light is on, well, what can be done except to have those batteries replaced? I was quoted a price of $4400. I took it back to the dealer today, and he confirmed that that is the reason the check light is still on.

The problem is that I need to have the car smogged this year. I don't see why it wouldn't pass, as the IMA batteries have nothing to do with emissions. Can it be smogged with the check light on? Will a smog certification place even do it? What really gets me about this situation, is that I can't afford to replace those batteries, let alone buy a new car. Plus, any used car I might buy that costs less than what those batteries cost would not be reliable or road worthy enough for me. Anyway, where could you get a decent used car for under $5k? I searched the DMV website, and there is no exemption that I could get for this car. I'm wondering why those batteries cannot simply be disconnected and the car used as a regular Honda V-6 sedan.

I can't even sell this car the way it is now. So what I'm faced with is to find a way to pay that money for new batteries, or don't smog my car, and don't get the registration sticker. Put a car cover on it, and let it sit and deteriorate until I decide to sell it for scrap.

There's got to be another way. Any ideas for this conundrum would be appreciated.

 

There are places that sell "reman" batteries for these. They are still "pricey" but might be less than what you are being quoted.

 

I watched a you tube video of a guy in California that replaced just the bad battery cells in his Prius battery pack. I don't know if Honda has a similar set up with the batteries or not though. It might be worth looking into. I think he mentioned paying something like 250 for the batteries he replaced.