Tom
honda.co.jp
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First question, when you first asked or rather noticed this effecting your vehicle were you under the warranty, and did you bring it up to the dealer, such as them notating it on a repair order, if so then it's documented at that point, which means warranty should cover it, even if you were to drive 1-5k miles afterwards, the thing is that if it's on your last repair order in that area they are screwed.I do have the 60K power train warranty, but mine is at 65K. HOWEVER, the last time I was at the dealeship, it WAS under 60K. Maybe it might not sound so good, but believe me, if suing the dealer for not noting the problem will get me a free service, I will do it. I just don't have four grand lying around to pay for this. And why should I? This is a design flaw. By the way, the mechanics at the dealers do suck sometimes. Some months ago I took my car for an oil change and later when I was trying to change my brakes I noticed a thick layer of oil in the right wheel. Basically I had a punctured boot. The dealer did not even notify me! I took my car to a dealer to fix it, they refused because I had "attempted" to change my brakes. Then I drove my car to the same dealer that had changed my oil and blamed them problem on them and their negligence. They just shut up and changed the boot. Is this the sort of honesty that a DEALER should engage in? These guys are schmucks and should be treated as such when they treat the customer like s**t.
But in the end you are right. It is best to stay calm. And I have. Yesterday I took the car in and the guy was understanding. He has been trying to get me a free service. Someone from Honda was sent in to evaluate. My car has now been in the lot for two days. Today I got a call from the guy telling me that he is doing his best, but so far Honda is resisting coverage. I have had an accident and told him that it was not a front collision. He seems to think that it is not the accident, but the mileage that makes it tough to cover. He showed me a price tag of $3750 (at least for a BRAND NEW engine) if Honda does not cover all or part of it. So I don't know. Tomorrow I might find out. I have printed that service bulletin, but I haven't showed it to him yet. I will do it tomorrow. I also found out that it would help to show them past receipts from Honda services, so I am taking those there too. No one has worked on my car except Honda, even for the accident. However, I used to change my oil myself and still change all the filters and brakes. I also have proof that I use synthetic oil and better filter than Honda OEM....
Since you work at the dealer, I would appreciate if you could give me some advice as to how to approach this. I am right now on a break from school and if I don't resolve this soon and be able to concentrate on working before school starts, I am going to be royally screwed.
And here is another problem: trading in is not really going to work. Besides the issues brought up before, I just discovered that the only car totally immune to cracking is SI because the engine is built in Japan. I guess I could somehow shed those extra $$$ to get an Si, but damn it, it has a terrible MPG, in fact, 10MPG less than EX/LX. Add to that premium fuel and ultra expensive 17" tires and we have a huge waste of money at our hand. Not to mention that I can't share the car since no one I know can drive a stick...
I don't know, but I don't like where this is going. I wish those people who contacted their attorneys general could come back and give us an update as to what happened. If Honda doesn't cover my car, I will have to take them to small claims. Even if they tell me to pay only around $990, like many posters here, I will first pay to get my car fixed and then sue them for that amount, my car depreciation, and my wasted time. It is so outrageous that a f***kin Japanese company is coming here, selling their damn cars, and screwing the consumer without the smallest retribution. I guess we are all idiots and sheep. America is really going down. I don't know what we're good at anymore.
Few things about the Si, Gas milage is actually great, most owners average about 30-35 mpg, so it's not as exact as honda or the EPA claims, premium fuels does suck to have to buy once a week, unless you convert to E85 at about half the price premium it can be worth it, conversion kit cost roughly about 400.00, down side is that you'd have to change the fuel filter more often. Tires well yeah the OE tire is way to so damn expensive at about $220.00 per tire, but why buy the michelin junk's when it's time to renew tire, mine lasted me 31k mile's, which isn't bad, but they are actually the worst tire made for this car, best tire i have seen reviewed and researched is the Sumitomo HTR+, i bought a set of 4 at 80.00 each, plus mounting and balance of course, but they are a million times better then michelin's could hope to be, they are a UHPAS tire, which is perfect for year round driving, And don't worry about sharing the car, once you drive it you won't want to share it, but drive it yourself all the time.