Question on software updates and warranty coverage....

timcole421

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Hey guys...I am currently at 35k miles and have some questions since my warranty is 99 percent expired at this point....

I have an EX-T and have had several of the common audio issues. I have had to stop on the side of the road to disconnect the battery several times while driving....since I travel for work and have no idea where I am without the infotainment. I am beyond pissed, a year and no updates to correct this shit system. I AM confident they will eventually come out with updates....but will they be covered past the 36k mile new car warranty?

I have made zero complaints to my dealer about this for one simple reason - I can read. I read the forums enough to know that there is no fix or update at this time and taking the car to the dealer to complain about it is a waste of time. Plus sparing myself whatever bullshit the dealer wants to give me blaming me or my phone for the tons of issues that occur whether the phone is connected or not.

So my question is.....will the dealer be charging me for fixing this pile of shit once a software/firmware update is available?
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inv4zn

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Could you elaborate?

What issues were you having with the audio that you had to pull over and reset the battery? The soft reset of holding down the Power button wasn't working?

If it's severe enough that you had to pull over and reset the battery repeatedly then I'm astounded you didn't take it to the dealer. Regardless of whether or not they give you a hard time, every visit is documented - when they refuse to fix it 5 times, you call Honda corporate, explain to them, and they'll check dealer records. Without any records now it sounds like you're just lying.

Secondly, I assume you are using AA/AC since you said you rely on infotainment to know where you are - you can just as easily use your phone to know where you are.

If you're having Android Auto/Apple Carplay issues, that's on Google/Apple - and not so much on Honda. Honda provides you a compatible display, but none of the processing is done onboard - it's all done by your phone.

If your infotainment system as a whole is acting up (ie. freezing, not turning on, etc.) then you absolutely should have taken it to the dealer whenever it happened.

As far as updates out of warranty, if it's a safety recall they'll do it no matter what. If it's a TSB then they may do it for you out of goodwill, or charge you $/hr if Honda does not approve the warranty claim.

Also, you drove 36K miles in a year?? Holy shit! Really should have gotten the extended warranty! I think you're still eligible to upgrade your factory warranty as long as you're within the 3year/36K limit, so look into that as well. Online dealers will give you a much better price.
 
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timcole421

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Touch screen stopped working once, no response from a cold reboot attempt since the touch function was disabled. Another time everything went black, including the buttons. Other random mishappenings which are only resolved with battery disconnection.....bluetooth dropping out for no reason while in the middle of a call, etc etc etc. I know there is no fix, I just don't want to sit at the dealership for an hour to be told there is no fix or listen to some bullshit the service guy makes up.

yes, I am using AA and I can unhook the phone and drive with my phone in front of my face to "resolve" the urgency. Something I am not comfortable doing nor should I have to. I still carry my garmin with me, if I need to I can dig it out, wait for it to take enough charge to boot then wait for it to acquire satellites. By then I could have unhooked the battery.

Sometimes I am on a 300-500 mile trip for work and screwing up my daily schedule to get to a dealer isn't a possibility.

They released a buggy, piece of shit system and need to offer the correct updates regardless of warranty status. This system is nowhere near ready for production.

Yes....I will be 40-45k by the end of the year. I started driving the car pretty much the first of Feb other than small trips. I did get an extended warranty to 120k miles, but it is an aftermarket warranty I have little faith in. I forget who it is even through. I bought a $1000-$2000 warranty on my last honda.....drove it 300k without any major repairs, so I pretty much decided to roll the dice this time.
 

inv4zn

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Had you documented the entire system failure (you know, a video with your phone or something) - and shown the dealer they would not have told you to pound sand.

If it's clearly defective, they would have replaced the screen for you. You're right that there's seemingly no fix, but they would have replaced it for you.

I fully understand where you're coming from and why you did what you did with your schedule and all, but I suggest you call the dealer, tell them what's going on, and book an appointment when it's convenient to you. Bring videos and other things to back up your claim of complete failure, and any reasonable dealer would at least entertain you.

Not all dealers are assholes, as portrayed by the many disgruntled people on this forum - some are actually quite set out to make sure their customers are happy. As is Honda corporate.
 

andre12dbsi

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I would tend to agree that you should have had the issues documented. They may be more willing to help you when you're out of warranty if the issue has been recurring and you told the dealer about it. Good luck either way.
 


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I got to agree with the other posters. By not going to the dealers and getting the issue documented, you might have shot yourself in the foot. Had you complained while you still have the warranty, you establish a paper trail showing that it is still a warranty issue even if it has expired by the time they get a fix. However, depending on a number of factors, chances are that any software fix should be applied free of charge.
 
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timcole421

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Spoke to my friend/neighbor/salesman who asked me to bring it in when I can. He said they had dealt with the issues in the past and suggested replacing the unit. However, just as I suspected this will be a ton of time and pain in the ass which will not resolve a hardware/firmware issue to which a solution does not exist.
 

inv4zn

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Spoke to my friend/neighbor/salesman who asked me to bring it in when I can. He said they had dealt with the issues in the past and suggested replacing the unit. However, just as I suspected this will be a ton of time and pain in the ass which will not resolve a hardware/firmware issue to which a solution does not exist.
Well if you've never taken the car in then you likely missed out on an available update.

And if it's a hardware problem specific to your original unit, then yes, it will fix it.

I don't understand why you have so little faith/desire to fix something that's apparently very broken.
 
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timcole421

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Because I read these forums, see that these issues are common (I have checked for fixes on these forums frequently) and that there is no update. It's not every day, it is infrequent that I have these issues....but the volume of miles I put on the car alone makes it more frequent than most as I've already done 3 years worth of driving the car for most people.
 

inv4zn

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Because I read these forums, see that these issues are common (I have checked for fixes on these forums frequently) and that there is no update. It's not every day, it is infrequent that I have these issues....but the volume of miles I put on the car alone makes it more frequent than most as I've already done 3 years worth of driving the car for most people.
My friend, that's like deciding everyone in the world is an alcoholic because you based your decision from the AA meetings you've come across.

The most vocal ones here are the ones that can't/didn't get their fixed...there are tons of other owners who are either not experiencing any issues (therefore proving your issue is an outlier, and indeed covered by warranty), or who had experienced and got them fixed under warranty (and therefore you should get yours fixed also.)

Let's say Honda sold 50,000 civics. 500 owners are on civicx.com. 400 owners don't post about any issues, for reasons above. 100 owners post all their horrible experiences. You read the complaints of 100 people out of 50,000, and then automatically decide that 100% of all Civic owners who have infotainment problems are not getting theirs fixed?? wtf??

I say this without judgment to you but you have brought a lot of unpleasant driving upon yourself, because you only looked at a biased sample that is in no way representative of real life, and then based your actions off of that.

The cup can also be half full man.
 


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timcole421

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I think one of us is misunderstanding each other. Not just reading complaints, but in the TSB/Recall forums, etc....there is no update to be had on my current VIN number. Others do have fixes, mine is not one of them (different batches had other issues). There is none for mine, yet. I was hoping there would be by now. Regardless, I will try to get it in this week before I trip the magical number that no longer makes poor software their problem.
 

inv4zn

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I don't think there's any misunderstanding.

You were experiencing issues with your infotainment, but rather than doing the sensible thing and getting it looked at by the guys who sold you the car (at your convenience) for possible solutions, you've decided that there was absolutely nothing to be done based on random strangers on the internet and proceeded to drive what I can only assume is an unpleasant 35,000 miles.

I donno if this is more smh or more bravo.
 
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timcole421

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Right. Because I should have carried a compass with me and drove it home screwed up so the dealer could see it screwed up. Or, I could take it in when it is not currently displaying any problems at all and just trust they will take my word for it. I sit in the fucking place for an hour waiting on oil changes.....so yeah I should have brought the car in when it wasn't acting up so I could sit there more to be told "could not repeat the issue" countless times. Or if I were REALLY lucky, I could happen to be having a meltdown on it and get it in at the the dealer at the same time. Then what would they do? Unhook the battery and tell me "all fixed"! Or, I could unhook it myself and be done with it in five minutes and avoid the headache knowing that eventually there will be an update. Problem is, a fucking year later and there is still no update. And now I am almost out of warranty. The question was simple - whether they would cover future software updates after the 36k warranty. I didn't ask if others thought I was a dumbass for not setting up a campsite at the dealer 200 times knowing damn well nothing can or would be done.
 

inv4zn

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Each and every thing you said was an assumption! You assumed, and therefore declared, that all of those things would have certainly occured, because that's what the forums said! And there hence lies my disbelief at, your own words, dumbassery.
You couldn't take a video of your shit not working? You couldn't have called your salesguy/dealer when it first happened and let them know? Allll these things you could have done, but didn't because the internet told you so.

My VIN range didn't fall in the Canadian version of the headunit update. You know what the dealer did when I mentioned it during an oil change? They applied it anyway!
Holy shit, can you believe that? Asking the entity most directly responsible for your satisfaction for a possible solution, actually did something!

And your simple question was answered, by multiple people. It was with your other shortcomings that I am taken aback by.
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