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Honda Civic Woes

S

SickBeast

Lifer
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
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*update* January 30, 2009

Well, the dealer today told me they will refund me $170; so effectively I paid $120 for the part, so whatever, I can live with that (and I will buy another Honda someday in all likelihood).

I found out a friend of mine knows the service manager at a local dealership. It sounds like he can get me a good deal on service.

I'm going to look into this AutoZone place that you guys have mentionned, along with the device to read the computer diagnostics for the car.

My main problem is that my wife will not let me fix the car myself. Apparently her dad has blown up a couple of their family cars so she has not had positive experience with do-it-yourself. 🙁

Thanks for all the positive replies to this thread. To everyone that said I was whining: it was worth it and it saved me $170. I'm thankful I ignored you.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
Click to expand...

Yes, let's cry because one thing went wrong. Anything can happen to any car at any time...except turning into a living organism.

My suggestion? Honda. So you had bad luck. Are you looking for worse luck elsewhere? I'm not trying to be an ass, but you're not going to get a whole lot better when it comes to reliability.
 
Originally posted by: hans030390
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
Click to expand...

Yes, let's cry because one thing went wrong. Anything can happen to any car at any time...except turning into a living organism.

My suggestion? Honda. So you had bad luck. Are you looking for worse luck elsewhere? I'm not trying to be an ass, but you're not going to get a whole lot better when it comes to reliability.
Click to expand...

Change Donda into a Domestic car maker and people will say, I told you so.
 
Originally posted by: hans030390
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
Click to expand...

Yes, let's cry because one thing went wrong. Anything can happen to any car at any time...except turning into a living organism.

My suggestion? Honda. So you had bad luck. Are you looking for worse luck elsewhere? I'm not trying to be an ass, but you're not going to get a whole lot better when it comes to reliability.
Click to expand...

The car was also recalled twice. Once was for the power steering, the other was something to do with the engine (some sort of bolts).

How do Nissan and Toyota compare to Honda?

I just haven't had a good overall experience with Honda at this point. They did not deliver the car as promised, and are now shafting me on the warranty. I would have no issue if it were something like the clutch or the muffler.
 
Honda is a very reliable car and I would love to own another but my volvo is my baby. I would suggest learning a little about cars and replacing the sensor on your own its not hard at all.
 
He's compaining about the dealership experience
Move up to the next class
Lexus, Acura Infinity Caddy and so on , they'll treat you better or longer warranties through GM, Mitsubishi, or Hyundai
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
Click to expand...



You have got to be kidding ...

I assume that you put 50K miles on a car in three years. Then, at 50K miles you have a small problem like this and complain about it? Typical warranties (even on Hondas) last only until 36K miles while some warrant their drivetrains until 100K miles. Assuming the OEM warranty on the engine lasted until 36K miles then yes, you are out of warranty.

If you want to continue to complain then get out of the lease and go lease a Kia. You are going to be extremely challenged to find a more reliable car in that price range.
 
call honda of america, see what they can do for you.

If you have good service record at the dealership, they might take care of it for you.

Honda is not necessary more reliable than other brands. Do your reading at some Civic forums, see if this is a prevalent problem among the car owners. The chance is that others have experienced the same problem before you.

Good luck.
 
Lexus just had a massive recall. Every manufacturer has had recalls. So after 50,000 miles, you are complaining that you have to pay $290? Are you kidding me?
 
Originally posted by: IHAVEAQUESTION
call honda of america, see what they can do for you.

If you have good service record at the dealership, they might take care of it for you.

Honda is not necessary more reliable than other brands. Do your reading at some Civic forums, see if this is a prevalent problem among the car owners. The chance is that others have experienced the same problem before you.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm in Canada and I will be contacting Honda Canada.

If enough people are having this problem then the part should have been recalled.

To me, this sensor is pretty much a part of the engine. I certainly don't think a sensor should wear out in 3 years.

I do have a good service record at the dealership.

I hear what many of you are saying in that Hondas tend to be reliable, but I will not be going with them again. I will not go with Kia or Hyundai. I consider Toyota, Nissan, maybe Mazda, and perhaps Ford to be other options. I'm leaning toward Nissan for my next car as I have had good experience with them at the dealership level here.
 
Originally posted by: punjabiplaya
Lexus just had a massive recall. Every manufacturer has had recalls. So after 50,000 miles, you are complaining that you have to pay $290? Are you kidding me?
Click to expand...

It should be under warranty. If I wanted to pay for car repairs, I would have gone with something used. I went with a lease to avoid this stuff.

Next time I will make sure that I have a 100% bumper-to-bumper warranty for the term of the lease. Forget this "major components" crap.
 
Originally posted by: dud
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I have an '06 Civic with 80,000kms on it (say 50,000 miles).

I was driving on the highway last night and the "check engine" light came on.

I took it to Honda and they want me to pay $120 for diagnostics, plus $170 for the part. It's some sort of engine temperature sensor. They say it's not covered under the warranty. IMO it should be covered and I'm seriously pissed.

I leased a Honda because I didn't want to have to deal with this crap.

Do you guys have any suggestions in terms of a better brand? My lease is up in 2 years.
Click to expand...



You have got to be kidding ...

I assume that you put 50K miles on a car in three years. Then, at 50K miles you have a small problem like this and complain about it? Typical warranties (even on Hondas) last only until 36K miles while some warrant their drivetrains until 100K miles. Assuming the OEM warranty on the engine lasted until 36K miles then yes, you are out of warranty.

If you want to continue to complain then get out of the lease and go lease a Kia. You are going to be extremely challenged to find a more reliable car in that price range.
Click to expand...

The warranty on the engine goes until 100,000kms (65K miles?), so it is still under warranty. Why this sensor is not covered baffles me. They're just being cheap.
 
Nissan and Mazda are no better than GM Ford or Hyundai
The top two are Honda and Toyota
There is no such thing as forever warranties or cars that never break down
 
Originally posted by: desy
Nissan and Mazda are no better than GM Ford or Hyundai
The top two are Honda and Toyota
There is no such thing as forever warranties or cars that never break down
Click to expand...

What about those insane 10 year warranties from Mitsubishi? Maybe that would be good for someone like me.
 
Originally posted by: yelo333
You could also try a different dealer if you are sure it should be covered.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm pretty sure that Honda Canada determines what should be covered and what should not.

I will definately contact them to confirm it. If they say it's not covered (which it probably isn't; I don't see why the dealership would lie), then I will complain; there's not much else I can do. Like I said, I won't buy another Honda. My overall experience with the dealerships here in Toronto has been awful.
 
Seriously dude, $290 in repair costs for 50,000 miles of driving? You have a problem with that? That's the same as the cost for the intermediate scheduled service inspection. Not a big deal at all.

No one likes it when they need to repair something on their car, but all cars have little things go wrong from time to time. You can keep your panties all bunched up and buy a Nissan next time around, but you're just going to get them bunched up again. Cars are complex machines subjected to horrific stresses every day.

Read some long-term tests from Car and Driver. They are usually thrilled to spend less than $1000 on repairs on their cars over the 40,000 mile tests.
 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: yelo333
You could also try a different dealer if you are sure it should be covered.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm pretty sure that Honda Canada determines what should be covered and what should not.

I will definately contact them to confirm it. If they say it's not covered (which it probably isn't; I don't see why the dealership would lie), then I will complain; there's not much else I can do. Like I said, I won't buy another Honda. My overall experience with the dealerships here in Toronto has been awful.
Click to expand...

Of course they have reason to lie. They want your money.

Definitely check with other dealers, you might get different response.

Korean cars and Mitshubishi both have 10 years warranty on drivetrain (don't quote me on this), if you don't care much for resale value or the badge, they are great choice to consider.

 
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: desy
Nissan and Mazda are no better than GM Ford or Hyundai
The top two are Honda and Toyota
There is no such thing as forever warranties or cars that never break down
Click to expand...

What about those insane 10 year warranties from Mitsubishi? Maybe that would be good for someone like me.
Click to expand...

Cars with insanely long warranties only have those warranties because the manufacturer knows that they can't get anyone into the dealerships otherwise. Mitsus are pretty much unanimously considered to be the least reliable Japanese brand, somewhere in the neighborhood of Chrysler in terms of overall experience. If you're looking for a reliable car, you're out of your mind to be looking at a Mitsubishi.

ZV
 
Originally posted by: IHAVEAQUESTION
Originally posted by: SickBeast
Originally posted by: yelo333
You could also try a different dealer if you are sure it should be covered.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm pretty sure that Honda Canada determines what should be covered and what should not.

I will definately contact them to confirm it. If they say it's not covered (which it probably isn't; I don't see why the dealership would lie), then I will complain; there's not much else I can do. Like I said, I won't buy another Honda. My overall experience with the dealerships here in Toronto has been awful.
Click to expand...

Of course they have reason to lie. They want your money.
Click to expand...

Misconception. The dealership gets the money either way. On a warranty repair, the dealership gets paid full price for the repairs because they bill the manufacturer. In fact, dealerships often prefer to do warranty work because they know for sure that they will get paid on time by the manufacturer for the repairs.

ZV
 
do you want reliable or do you want a warranty? hondas have bulletproof engines (especially the 4s) and have a normal amount of the minor failures that you describe. they will keep you on the road as long as any other car for the price. the way i see it, a car that has a 10 year warranty is either using it trick you into thinking theyre reliable or the company is not expecting to be around in 10 years.

after pleading with her not to, a former coworker of mine purchased a kia minivan due to the warranty... she had it in the shop 5 times in the first 2 months. they were SUPER nice though :roll:
 
dont think you should be crying about something like this. you live and you learn. if you hate bringing it to the dealer, and your car is out of warranty. bring it to another shop and find out what is wrong with it.

FYI. i never bring my car into the dealer. only brought it in once for a radio replacement or fix under warranty. i do all my maintenance with my friendly mechanic or on my own.
 
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