Honda quality sorely lacking

Dougyfd

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Have to say that Honda quality is not what it use to be. I was thinking of buying my 2016 Civic ex l when the lease ends in April , but highly doubtful now. Driving from NY to Florida last month the AC was blowing warm air. I bring it to Honda of St Augustine . They find it's low on freon but cannot find any leak. They evacuate & recharge it and add a dye to it. They also did the oil dilution update (I didn't ask them to) Changing the ac control unit is part of that campaign. I notice the next day that my dual climate control is not working. On my second trip back to the dealership they realize that it's the wrong ac controller. Of course they have to order the part. On my third trip they install the correct one. All is good until a few days later when the AC is blowing warm again. On my 4th trip back they replace the condenser. ( I told them that it is a common part failure , but of course they never believe you.) It seems all service writers are trained to never admit that they have ever seen any particular issue. When the service manager tells me it is a bad condenser, I responded that they just happen to have that & the compressor in stock. ( Even though they claim they've never seen any fail) It's shameful that a common part like a condenser & compressor that normally give you many years of service are failing in large numbers in 16 civics. Now my Civic is at a dealership in Daytona Beach & I have a loaner car. The latest problem is that every conceivable malfunction light in the dashboard is lit up. It took them almost two hours to tell me that the vehicle speed sensor is bad. ( I think it may be the vehicle stability assist module) There are numerous complaints online about these malfunction lights coming on for no reason. Of course they have to overnight the part, that's why I took the loaner. In 3 months the warranty ends ,& I'd be stuck paying these parts changers to repair this vehicle. Pretty sure I'm done with Honda. If I wanted a relationship with the service manager I'd buy a Ford , Chrysler or Chevy.
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REBELXSi

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Pretty sure I'm done with Honda. If I wanted a relationship with the service manager I'd buy a Ford , Chrysler or Chevy.
Guess you're buying a Toyota then? Definitely don't want a Nissan or any American or German cars lol
 

zrwizard

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Hmmm been driving and with a Honda in my garage for over 30 years , own 3 right now, never had to bring it to the dealer once for warranty! last Honda over 230,000 miles. Love them and never had to have the dealer work on them, ever!
 
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Dougyfd

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Hmmm been driving and with a Honda in my garage for over 30 years , own 3 right now, never had to bring it to the dealer once for warranty! last Honda over 230,000 miles. Love them and never had to have the dealer work on them, ever!
I had an 04 Accord Ex v6 with 6 speed for 12 years that I never had to bring in, also a 98 ex v6 that went back once for a fuel gauge sensor replacement as per recall so I agree they WERE great, but not now.
 


zrwizard

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I had an 04 Accord Ex v6 with 6 speed for 12 years that I never had to bring in, also a 98 ex v6 that went back once for a fuel gauge sensor replacement as per recall so I agree they WERE great, but not now.
You did hear I own 3 newer ones right now? No issues , no dealers! 2018 accord, 2017 hatch, 2016 crv.
 

REBELXSi

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I had an 04 Accord Ex v6 with 6 speed for 12 years that I never had to bring in, also a 98 ex v6 that went back once for a fuel gauge sensor replacement as per recall so I agree they WERE great, but not now.
My last car was an '07 Fit and it went nearly 200k without so much as a clutch replacement before being totalled. Interestingly enough my car before that was an '06 Civic which was kind of a lemon and I only kept it for a year. Lets see what this Civic has for me.
 
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Dougyfd

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Hmmm been driving and with a Honda in my garage for over 30 years , own 3 right now, never had to bring it to the dealer once for warranty! last Honda over 230,000 miles. Love them and never had to have the dealer work on them, ever![/QUOTE.
 

PhilF

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Disclaimer: My experience MAY not be typical!
I have been driving Hondas since the early 80's, Civics, Accords & Preludes. Only semi-serious failure I've experienced was a steering rack on an 89 Prelude at 85k. I've been with the same dealer throughout, since the 90's have followed a 5k service interval using synthetic oil. Followed or exceeded Honda's service intervals.
I just traded a 2016 EX-L Coupe with 38k on a new 19 Touring Coupe. My experience with the 06, considering it was a 1st year model, was, I think pretty good. Never used oil, consistently averaged 37-40 mpg in mixed driving, always (in reasonable weather) would do mid 40's to low 50's straight highway. Only real warranty issue was the Infotainment system, the XM radio started doing strange things at about 32k, the dealership replaced the entire system, including the display. Again, considering it was a 1st year car, I was pleased with it's reliability. My new Touring, has, at least in it's now, 2400 miles, been completely without issues, it's been interesting learning the idiosyncrasies of the sensing, which the 06 didn't have, and it's a much quieter car. All this being a given, Honda makes lemons just like all the other manufacturers (Chrysler/Fiat probably makes more than the average) You apparently got one, but before you abandon Honda, look at the overall history of the brand, it's pretty positive. My dealer experience may be atypical, hopefully not, but they've always been able to make things work for me and my overall satisfaction with them and Honda is very good. Not saying you won't be happier with Toyota, Mazda or wherever you decide to go, just consider the bigger picture, you got one with troubles, not all of them do, and just because a dealer had some very common parts in stock, doesn't necessarily indicate a high failure rate. The electronic complexity of the newer cars is the primary reason I purchased Hondacare, the complexity is now a given as well as the possibility of problems, that's why I want extended warranty coverage. Not willing to gamble, if I bought a Toyota, I'd get extended coverage as well, because, no matter how good something is designed or built, shit happens!
Sorry you are having problems, hopefully things will get resolved for you.
 
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skshrews

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"... common part like a condenser & compressor that normally give you many years of service are failing in large numbers in 16 civics"
And that's based on "x"-many complaints on online forums for a car that sell in the hundreds of thousands?

Must be true
 


Green82

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Have to say that Honda quality is not what it use to be. I was thinking of buying my 2016 Civic ex l when the lease ends in April , but highly doubtful now. Driving from NY to Florida last month the AC was blowing warm air. I bring it to Honda of St Augustine . They find it's low on freon but cannot find any leak. They evacuate & recharge it and add a dye to it. They also did the oil dilution update (I didn't ask them to) Changing the ac control unit is part of that campaign. I notice the next day that my dual climate control is not working. On my second trip back to the dealership they realize that it's the wrong ac controller. Of course they have to order the part. On my third trip they install the correct one. All is good until a few days later when the AC is blowing warm again. On my 4th trip back they replace the condenser. ( I told them that it is a common part failure , but of course they never believe you.) It seems all service writers are trained to never admit that they have ever seen any particular issue. When the service manager tells me it is a bad condenser, I responded that they just happen to have that & the compressor in stock. ( Even though they claim they've never seen any fail) It's shameful that a common part like a condenser & compressor that normally give you many years of service are failing in large numbers in 16 civics. Now my Civic is at a dealership in Daytona Beach & I have a loaner car. The latest problem is that every conceivable malfunction light in the dashboard is lit up. It took them almost two hours to tell me that the vehicle speed sensor is bad. ( I think it may be the vehicle stability assist module) There are numerous complaints online about these malfunction lights coming on for no reason. Of course they have to overnight the part, that's why I took the loaner. In 3 months the warranty ends ,& I'd be stuck paying these parts changers to repair this vehicle. Pretty sure I'm done with Honda. If I wanted a relationship with the service manager I'd buy a Ford , Chrysler or Chevy.
I have never had any problems out of my 17 hatchback which is the 1st honda I ever owned. All my other vehicles have all been chevys and never had problems with heck my 01 suburban had over 260k miles on it and still going strong
 

flashcash

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One of my two Toyotas blew a head gasket (the other is problem-free) and why I wound up purchasing the 2019 Civic. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Toyota's quality is sorely lacking based on my bad experience. That said, it has to suck with all that you've had to go through. Makes me cringe just reading about it.
 

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Only warranty issue with my 2018 Si has been a curled roof moulding and missing bolts on loose forward undertray. Both needed new replacement. Everything else A OK
 

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Every car is a gamble as it is ultimately different hands on many of the cars made. Different shifts and whatnot. Furthermore, there is also typically 2 suppliers for many of the non-Honda made parts.

On the averages, you are FAR better to go with Honda or Toyota. The numbers just prove that. Is it going to suck if you have a bad experience? For sure! No one should ever try to diminish that. What IS assured is that your risk level WILL go up with anything less than Honda or Toyota.

The only thing I would put extra into the purchase calculation is if you know the dealership where you are is terrible for real and there are no alternatives for that brand. At that point, you may want to go with the next best brand.

I have only ever owned Hondas. I have only ever had but a few issues and mostly after 100k to 200k+ of KMs. A wheel bearing once. A condenser in my 2001 Civic LX at around 100k KMs. The transmission in my 89 Accord at about 225k KMs. The transmission in my 2001 Civic at 250k KMs. The rear dif in my 2000 CRV was noisy (Bad?) after about 100k KMs. But yet, here I am with a 2010 CRV LX and a 2017 Civic EX sedan in the garage and every intention to drive them till they die and replace them with more Hondas.

You do what you have to do for you but just remember that the math says that on the long run, you are better to stay put.
 

SCOPESYS

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The latest problem is that every conceivable malfunction light in the dashboard is lit up. It took them almost two hours to tell me that the vehicle speed sensor is bad.
Interesting.. seen others report all Instrument panel lights come on and stay on.

So one Possible cause is a bad "Vehicle Speed sensor" .. - must get detected as "Bad" even when vehicle is parked (Speed = 0)

Thanks for the info ...
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