2018 Sport Hatch - The Good, Not So Good (so far)

A few people have installed the 9 inch Android radio and have no issues. The only issue I saw lately is that they may have sent the wrong decoder to someone. I am still waiting on them to ship mine.

I have about 380 miles on my Sport Hatch. I think my one of my biggest annoyances is that my wiper and signal controls do not illuminate when I turn my lights on. I mean I know I got close to the bare bones but it would have been nice.

Thanks for the tips @Landie and @360glitch. I may have already read what you mentioned about the Sport Touring and took that as fact in my case as well. Not sure, I'm trying to consume as much info as possible so that I can get this squared away quickly and move on with my life.
The Phoenix looks great, but...yeah...I dunno..... The downside of the internet age is that there's nowhere to see/touch/test ANYTHING anymore. I have a garage full of worthless crap that I bought based on pictures, reviews, and enthusiastic promises of top-shelf support. Not judging, I hope it works out for those who have one, it's just that my past experiences haven't been all that good with these sorts of things.

On my way to my service appointment. Hopefully I'll get lined up with a tech who knows what's up with this issue and I'll be good to go in a couple hours.

As far as the black plastics go, either have them wrapped with a clear PPF, or vinyl of your choosing. Or don't worry about it and just have them polished when needed to get rid of the scratches.

Update:

Yesterday the service dept. used a Honda-supplied USB diagnostic tool to confirm there are no issues with the port. As I guessed, they confidently stated that there was a problem with the extension cable and/or all 5 of the different flash drives I produced, and/or the corrupt files on them. And of course, my favorite: 'Strange, we've never heard of this before'. Whatever, everything was in order and I got a free car wash by hand. Fingers crossed.

This morning I started the car and was greeted with the USB error message. Great. Went to fill up and couldn't start the car when finished. Dead. No cranking, no clicks, no dash lights, as if there weren't even a battery in the car. The friendly shop mechanic lent me his trusty #10 and I performed the hard reboot, started the car and went straight back to the service dept.

Of course, no evidence of this little episode when I needed it to act up in front of the tech. After an hour of diagnostics, they sent me on my way with everything working properly, although they admitted they did not really take any specific action because they couldn't replicate the problem.

Left the dealer and stopped for a coffee about 2 miles away. No problem starting but wouldn't recognize the drive that remained plugged directly into the port (no extension cable). A quick U-turn and back to the dealer.

After another hour of diagnostics with no errors, I was told that this issue is common and we need to wait for Honda to acknowledge and solution it. I got a blank stare when I reminded him that as recently as 15 hours prior he told me I was the first to mention it. I'm finished dealing with him. Still waiting for Honda to own the known braking issue in my 06 Accord so it's doubtful they'll rush to fix this one.

I'm not at all surprised that nothing has changed but I also recognize the need to document my attempts at getting it fixed through their normal channels before I can make a claim against them if I want it to be taken seriously. And I made it very clear that I won't be doing any more roadside repairs on this car - the next time I get stuck they can send someone out to get me.

To be clear - overall, I'm satisfied that the staff is doing what they can. They are unfortunately at the mercy of Honda, so their options to help are somewhat limited at this time. Not looking forward to dealing with corporate but it already looks like that's how this is going to have to play out.

I'm wondering if the honeymoon is over after 3 weeks and 700 miles.

Stay tuned.

Try another Honda Service center if you can. People have had horror stories about different stores giving much different levels of service or competency in their area.

FunkyD said:

Thanks for the tips @Landie and @360glitch. I may have already read what you mentioned about the Sport Touring and took that as fact in my case as well. Not sure, I'm trying to consume as much info as possible so that I can get this squared away quickly and move on with my life.
The Phoenix looks great, but...yeah...I dunno..... The downside of the internet age is that there's nowhere to see/touch/test ANYTHING anymore. I have a garage full of worthless crap that I bought based on pictures, reviews, and enthusiastic promises of top-shelf support. Not judging, I hope it works out for those who have one, it's just that my past experiences haven't been all that good with these sorts of things.

On my way to my service appointment. Hopefully I'll get lined up with a tech who knows what's up with this issue and I'll be good to go in a couple hours.

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Look up JDM Panda (I believe his username is) on Youtube, hes a member here and he did a few videos on the radio. I followed his install guide. You can see how it performs in the videos.

Update:

After the last service visit the techs suggested that I open a case with Honda as they had no other advice for me, and I did so later that night. For the next few days I had no startup or other significant problems (the USB issue remained) so I put the whole thing out of my mind.

I experienced another 'no start' situation on Weds 12/20, this time a block outside of Times Square in NYC. Parked the car, ran to the corner to buy a hot pretzel and back (approx 5 mins) and the car wouldn't start, absolutely no power. If you've ever experienced TS at Christmas time or had your car towed away in NYC you should understand how much this situation absolutely sucked. I did learn from the last experience and had a #10 with me so I did the reboot in the freezing cold while pleading with the cops to be patient while I tried to fix it. Got it going and got the hell out of NYC as soon as I could but only had one bite of my pretzel. Good times.

The next day it occurred to me that no one from Honda - other than an automated email confirmation w/case number - responded to my inquiry after an entire week. I called and asked for status on my case and was told my case had not yet been assigned but someone would call me. Coincidentally, or not, the dealership called to ask my satisfaction with the service visit. I explained that the problem was not resolved, so...no I'm not really satisfied. She said she'd 'make a note of it'. Fantastic.

Later that day I missed Honda's call, but they left a voice mail stating that if they didn't hear back from me they would call again on 12/27. Not wanting to risk another lost week of progress, I called back and left voice mail with my assigned case manager, and again the following two days. I ended up waiting until the 27th before receiving a call, during which the case manager read a report on everything the service technicians did, and then read to me everything I already included in my initial claim. I agreed that all the information was correct, and was then asked "How can I help you?" I calmly replied that it would be great if someone could explain the next steps toward resolving this, and if someone at Honda at least gave the appearance that they gave a damn about this it would be a bonus. She then tried to read a list of nearby Honda service departments that I could contact for an appointment. This is the level of help that I waited two weeks for. But at least everyone has their notes in order, so there's that.

This morning I visited the dealership to discuss this mess with the general manager. I asked them to put me in another vehicle while they put mine in order, no matter how long it takes. And if they can't fix it, buy it back from me - now. That's the way this will likely wind up anyway, so why prolong the agony for both of us and wind up paying my legal fees on top of it? He agreed to send me off in another vehicle so we'll see how this goes.

I think I'm pretty patient and understanding when it comes to problems occurring; it's the perceived indifference (or perhaps unintelligence) that I'm encountering for which I have little tolerance. I also don't want to bash Honda undeservedly, but the fact of the matter is that much like everything else, they ain't what they used to be. And if you value your time and money as I do, it's in your best interests to choose wisely.

In two days it will be one month since I left my vehicle at the dealership. I received a call 10 days ago, the service tech told me they'd like me to "return the loaner". Oh great, my car is fixed. No, not exactly. They checked grounds, cleaned the battery terminals, reset the ECU. Couldn't replicate the problem. They also mentioned that "when this happens again, you'll have to wait for us to tow it - don't reboot it."

So, they basically told me to expect this to happen again, and scolded me for removing myself and my defective car from an unpleasant situations.

I asked about the USB issue, and was told that I'll have to come back another time for that. I told them to keep the car until they actually fix it - I'm not coming back there again. And I'm not doing any more research or experimentation for them - my responsibilities were completed when I handed them a check for the full purchase price of the vehicle. They can do that on their time, not mine. And since the loaner doesn't act up, I'm keeping it for as long as needed.

I really loved driving this car when it was right, and I'm not completely bent out of shape over the issues. Things happen, I get it. That said, Honda's perceived indifference to the issues and me as a customer is both mind-boggling and infuriating. Even if they fix this mess of a vehicle, I will have a really bad taste in my mouth from the experience. It's too bad, but I'm afraid that the version of Honda we've come to admire is no longer.

Do yourselves a favor and look at a Hyundai Veloster (200 hp available in spring 2018) or perhaps a Mazda 3. I certainly am.

FunkyD said:

In two days it will be one month since I left my vehicle at the dealership. I received a call 10 days ago, the service tech told me they'd like me to "return the loaner". Oh great, my car is fixed. No, not exactly. They checked grounds, cleaned the battery terminals, reset the ECU. Couldn't replicate the problem. They also mentioned that "when this happens again, you'll have to wait for us to tow it - don't reboot it."

So, they basically told me to expect this to happen again, and scolded me for removing myself and my defective car from an unpleasant situations.

I asked about the USB issue, and was told that I'll have to come back another time for that. I told them to keep the car until they actually fix it - I'm not coming back there again. And I'm not doing any more research or experimentation for them - my responsibilities were completed when I handed them a check for the full purchase price of the vehicle. They can do that on their time, not mine. And since the loaner doesn't act up, I'm keeping it for as long as needed.

I really loved driving this car when it was right, and I'm not completely bent out of shape over the issues. Things happen, I get it. That said, Honda's perceived indifference to the issues and me as a customer is both mind-boggling and infuriating. Even if they fix this mess of a vehicle, I will have a really bad taste in my mouth from the experience. It's too bad, but I'm afraid that the version of Honda we've come to admire is no longer.

Do yourselves a favor and look at a Hyundai Veloster (200 hp available in spring 2018) or perhaps a Mazda 3. I certainly am.

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Good on you for holding your ground, but I'd be looking for them to come pick up their loaner... which they're probably withing their rights to do. Stories like yours are exactly why there aren't any Fords in my garage anymore, and there won't be any Nissans as soon as we can dump this Rogue. And the reason for both is shitty/incompetent service and indifference. It's not just Honda.

nuowner said:

Good on you for holding your ground, but I'd be looking for them to come pick up their loaner... which they're probably withing their rights to do. Stories like yours are exactly why there aren't any Fords in my garage anymore, and there won't be any Nissans as soon as we can dump this Rogue. And the reason for both is shitty/incompetent service and indifference. It's not just Honda.

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I suppose they are within their rights, nothing I can do to stop them from towing it out of my driveway at their leisure. Back in the day I hooked cars for a repo service so I know it's not exactly a big deal. But I'll be damned if I'm going to deliver it back to them. And I'm willing to bet that should such an incident occur, a judge/arbitrator/someone with a sense of decency wouldn't be so quick to hold that against me. Perhaps I'm wrong, we'll see.

And sadly, you are correct in that it's not just Honda. We live in a much different world than I remember as a younger adult, no one seems to give a shit about anything that doesn't directly affect them. I suppose I feel the need to share this story because I've relied heavily on the online Civic community in the past when fixing/restoring my cars and many in that circle are loyal fanboys - myself included. I'd hate to see some kid plunk down his/her hard-earned cash for their first dream ride only to feel entirely screwed in the end.

Stay tuned.

Not at all! What I meant to say was that the DX still needs a bit of work and I have to wrench outdoors, there's no way I can complete it until spring. I was looking forward to driving it in the snow, I'm sure it would have been fun. Next year I suppose.

nuowner said:

Good on you for holding your ground, but I'd be looking for them to come pick up their loaner... which they're probably withing their rights to do. Stories like yours are exactly why there aren't any Fords in my garage anymore, and there won't be any Nissans as soon as we can dump this Rogue. And the reason for both is shitty/incompetent service and indifference. It's not just Honda.

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at some point, wont you run out of brands to buy from?

cubsws2016 said:

at some point, wont you run out of brands to buy from?

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I figure if I trade out every three or four years, I'll be dead before I run out.