My Touring Is Dead (literally) - Possible Lemon?

Molatte

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Hello.

Please read the entire thing

For those of you that have been around in forums since late '16 or so, you might have recalled where I made a thread about the battery issues I've had with my touring. For those of you that do not know, around 2 months into owning the car, I've had two consecutive problems that originally was presented as:

- Failure to start up
- Battery Issues

The first time this happened, I immediately called Roadside assistance to have them jumpstart the car and I would then go to my dealer to have it checked out. During their first check, they found that the "battery" was a bad one and they went ahead and replaced it (under warranty). The reason I put a quotation around battery was I feel they didn't dig deep enough and just went ahead and concluded it was the battery.

After the replacement, the car was normal... for about 2 days when it out of the blue, you guessed it, died again. I called roadside assistance once again and to my surprise its the same tech. He pointed out that the cable connecting to the battery might be a little loose, which I noted.

Then I went ahead and put the car into service at the dealer. The service advisor who took care of me at the time did not believe the problems I described and he tried to brush it off. But as soon as he tried to turn on the car to note the mileage and everything, the car did not start. So fast forward two hours, he noted the car had a low crank level (or whatever you call it I forgot) but it was still under 'useable' condition so he went ahead and changed the battery once more. I also noted how the cable might be a little loose and he went ahead and tighten it.

At this point, the problem disappeared until last Saturday June 24, 2017.

Many of you have recalled where I made this thread on my experiences on the 15k oil change. One of the experiences I suffered here was the CVT being very jerky.

I'll like to go ahead and point this out that its not the CVT but merely the power from the battery is lacking and that caused the CVT to jerk around; as in downshift and upshift in the most random occasions. Another symptom that I suffered was head unit being mysteriously strange; strange as in it would switch screens without me touching it.

Prior to parking the car at the dealer and it conveniently dying, I had the battery checked at Firestone on June 25, 2017; a Sunday which is why I went there. They claimed the battery was fine (this is consistent with the service report I had on the 15k mile oil change) and did not know why it died but hesitant to act because they were worried my warranty would be voided. So they jumpstarted it and the power was enough for me to drive to the dealer. On my way there I could feel the CVT very jerky and the power supply felt cut off at times. Just before the last light on my way to the dealer, the head unit would create a nonstop beeping sound (like you would when you touch the screen)

I talked to the Sales Director of the dealer, whom my family has a very close relationship with and we've had countless business with him in the number of years (10+ cars) about a possible lemon law replacement. He said ONLY if the problem could be duplicated (which at this point the car was already dead). So I dropped the car off so they can inspect it tomorrow morning.

My question to you is; would you classify this as a lemon-qualified case? I've shared my stories with my co-workers at work and customers and all of them would demand a new replacement if they were in my shoes.

What would you do or think about this situation? Also note, this issue happens randomly so safety is definitely a risk because had this happen on a highway I would be crushed.

PS: out of the 10 months of owning this car, I've had about 8 visits to the dealer, 2 of which was about this same issue and the rest of other issues. This would mark the third occurrence with this problem.





Input and feedback please!
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slowride

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Thank you for the link - I'll definitely go into it. Tomorrow morning I'm going to head to the dealer and tell them of my intentions.
It also doesn't hurt for them to print out and give you the entire work history of the car for your records. That way you both know where you are starting from.
 

vikz99

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This maybe a weird question... but..

Are you using a USB flash drive that is always plugged in the port? if you do, how old is the USB flash drive?
 


E39_EmFive

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I've had that beeping issue with my HU before, it was remedied by turning down the touch sensitivity.
 

Canndo

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Phantom codes and error. Car was rush out to fast, it was to beat other car company's. Who ever invented car stuff should half to live with it for a year to make dam sure it works first. I too have had screen switching, flashing. beeeeeeeeeeeee ing. The screen is not Honda but a third party, and makes it updates. My fix was replace screen and pig tail. Others VSA and so on with other parts. All of the sensing run with the braking. I replaced all sensor around all four wheel 280.00 . I have 16 video . Can't seem to upload here. Well Car and Driver has some also when testing the car. Car won't start , a page of code also. Go to there web site and read about how and what the Dealership did. As of 6-21-2017 I got a update for USB, so I can use one now. Is still MICROSOFT#$%^&. Good luck . It is a good car.
 

hunter44102

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I bought my Touring Nov 2015 and haven't had any issues other than the surge issue which dealer updated. Plan on keeping it for a long time
 
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Molatte

Molatte

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This maybe a weird question... but..

Are you using a USB flash drive that is always plugged in the port? if you do, how old is the USB flash drive?
Yes I use a USB flash drive for music source that I always keep plugged in. The USB drive is new as I bought it last December 2016. I don't see how that can even remotely affect the battery.

I've had that beeping issue with my HU before, it was remedied by turning down the touch sensitivity.
The touch sensitivity setting has always been the same since the day I bought the car. In addition to that, nothing was touch the screen when it randomly flared up tons of beeps as shown in the video I provided.

I bought my Touring Nov 2015 and haven't had any issues other than the surge issue which dealer updated. Plan on keeping it for a long time
Lucky you and I pray you never have this problem!

---------

This morning I came to the dealer to see the updates they have about my Touring and to tell them that I'd be pursuing lemon law. To my surprise, they have told me that they fixed it by (again) changing the batteries. The test came that the battery failed, causing the problems that I had. Obviously since the car is up and running I can't pursue lemon law anymore and I'll have to see if the problem pops up in the future. But I hope not...as much as I want to get this car replaced, it wouldn't feel the same.

I'll keep you guys updated if anything pops up.
 

latole

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How many batteries now ? 3 ?

IMO it is a short circuit in electronics / wiring wich destroy the batteries. Car is not fixed :banghead:

The worst thing it could happened ; a fire in the car . Don't live any precious thing in car and don't park in your garage.

Where is the post here about a fire in the dash ?
 


hunter44102

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If you want, I can measure the current draw (at the battery) with my touring turned off with a clamp on meter. It would be interesting to see if you have a higher draw with the car turned off.

Its possible then that you can go to each fuse and check current draw and find the culprit. you could then tell the dealer which equipment may have a short.

Let me know if you have access to a DC clamp on meter. There are ones around 60 dollars on ebay. One is the ELIKE 328D or one on Amazon: Klein tools CL800

you don't actually need a clamp on meter but it saves you from having to disconnect the battery. You will still need probes to do the fuses
 

latole

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Clamp meter need a minimum current draw to have a reading. The car may draw too low current to have a reading ?
 
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StarCreator

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It's completely outrageous that the dealer thinks nothing of swapping out the battery and calling it good to go. What you've written suggests, at the least, that there's a short somewhere in your car's electrical system causing battery drain.
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