My first Honda to leave me stranded
05-03-2007 | 06:55 PM
#23
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 19,713
Likes: 234
Sorry, but this makes me laugh. A battery going out in two years is a big issue?
Was it a quality problem? No, not really. Kind of hard to check the battery at the factory and determine that it would fail prematurely. Should the dealership replace it? Definitely.
I just shake my head at the idea that this has somehow broken your faith in Honda. If that's the biggest problem you ever have with a Honda, consider yourself lucky.
As others have mentioned, you're at fault for her being stranded four times, not Honda. You didn't take it to the dealership to have it checked out (that's what a dealership is for, when you have bumper-to-bumper warranty!) in the first place. Chances are, if you'd brought it in up front, they'd have covered it since the vehicle was right there in their shop getting checked/fixed. At worst, they should pro-rate the battery. I believe most Honda batteries are warranted for a minimum of three years for full replacement and the final four years at a pro-rated cost. That's what they told my wife when she brought our eight year old Accord in to get checked out for the same problem.
Was it a quality problem? No, not really. Kind of hard to check the battery at the factory and determine that it would fail prematurely. Should the dealership replace it? Definitely.
I just shake my head at the idea that this has somehow broken your faith in Honda. If that's the biggest problem you ever have with a Honda, consider yourself lucky.
As others have mentioned, you're at fault for her being stranded four times, not Honda. You didn't take it to the dealership to have it checked out (that's what a dealership is for, when you have bumper-to-bumper warranty!) in the first place. Chances are, if you'd brought it in up front, they'd have covered it since the vehicle was right there in their shop getting checked/fixed. At worst, they should pro-rate the battery. I believe most Honda batteries are warranted for a minimum of three years for full replacement and the final four years at a pro-rated cost. That's what they told my wife when she brought our eight year old Accord in to get checked out for the same problem.
05-03-2007 | 07:18 PM
#24
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,135
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I kind of agree with Jonboy on this, but can sympathize at the same itme. In Minnesota, it gets damn cold in the winter, and "I need a jump" was once almost as common as "got a light?" Either batteries have changed or cars have, because it doesn't come up so much lately. One thing that I learned early on was that if you ever have battery problems, replace the battery. If you need a jump once, you will need one again. Even if the problem is the alternator or selenoid, your battery needs to be replaced. It seems that draining completely does nothing good, and failure is just around the corner.
But having grown up in a cold-weather climate where a person might drain their battery just cranking it over a number of times, I benefit from accelerated experience. It's kind of unfair to expect everyone to have learned the same things.
There is an expectation that things "just work." When that expectation is let down, disillusionment is not unexpected. Add to this repeated trips to the shop with another Honda brand, and one has a very reasonable case to argue that Honda is not perfect. The fact that y2ks2k did not act in a manner that someone familiar with such failures woud act is no indictment of the man. How could he be expected to know that repeated failures are virtually guaranteed if failure to start was a new experience?
And of course his distress was amplified by his concern for his family. He perhaps takes responsibility for their safety and convenience, and when a vehicle he considered faultless and reliable has let him down repeatedly, certainly he is entitled to feel some distress, if only because he feels the failure of the Pilot to start reflects badly on his own judgement.
But having grown up in a cold-weather climate where a person might drain their battery just cranking it over a number of times, I benefit from accelerated experience. It's kind of unfair to expect everyone to have learned the same things.
There is an expectation that things "just work." When that expectation is let down, disillusionment is not unexpected. Add to this repeated trips to the shop with another Honda brand, and one has a very reasonable case to argue that Honda is not perfect. The fact that y2ks2k did not act in a manner that someone familiar with such failures woud act is no indictment of the man. How could he be expected to know that repeated failures are virtually guaranteed if failure to start was a new experience?
And of course his distress was amplified by his concern for his family. He perhaps takes responsibility for their safety and convenience, and when a vehicle he considered faultless and reliable has let him down repeatedly, certainly he is entitled to feel some distress, if only because he feels the failure of the Pilot to start reflects badly on his own judgement.
05-03-2007 | 09:05 PM
#25
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,309
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Well, I can see the annoyance at a 2 year old car leaving you stranded out of the blue... but c'mon? 4 times? I've had batteries die on the last two cars I've had multiple times because I was too cheap/lazy to change the battery. I didn't even consider it as being stranded, you can always find someone to jump me. And I certainly wasn't blaming the car the 5th time I needed a jump because past the first it was my fault for not taking care of the problem earlier.
I had a blow out on the freeway last year, I just don't know if I feel comfortable buying another Honda again.
I had a blow out on the freeway last year, I just don't know if I feel comfortable buying another Honda again.
05-04-2007 | 04:42 AM
#27
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
From: CLW
In my experience, when a battery starts to get weak, it takes a little longer to crank the car to get it started. (maybe this could have been fixed before it became a problem)
Also, Honda wouldn't replace your battery under warranty? Subaru and Toyota did for me. I haven't had a battery problem under warranty from Honda as of yet.
I am sorry to hear about it leaving your wife and young child stranded though. Not fun at all.
Also, Honda wouldn't replace your battery under warranty? Subaru and Toyota did for me. I haven't had a battery problem under warranty from Honda as of yet.
I am sorry to hear about it leaving your wife and young child stranded though. Not fun at all.
05-04-2007 | 11:42 AM
#29
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 58,680
Likes: 1
From: West Henrietta UPSTATE NY
Originally Posted by y2ks2k,May 3 2007, 06:07 PM
My Honda Pilot has now left my wife stranded 4 times (over the past 4 months).
The Pilot is 2 years old with about 24000 miles. It ended up being the battery oddly enough because although the symptoms she had made it seem like something different like a starter.
The Pilot is 2 years old with about 24000 miles. It ended up being the battery oddly enough because although the symptoms she had made it seem like something different like a starter.
1st off let me say I just plain love my Titan, but at way less than 1 year old, on a warm sunny day it not only did not have enough power to start, it could not even lower a window, and keep in mind I have the Big Tow Pkg which includes the extra large super heavy duty battery. Long story made short, the battery was defective and had to be replaced. The battery was not made by Nissan and they don't stand behind it just like all other car/truck manufactures don't stand behind the tires that are put onto their cars, that's up to the tire companies that make them. Batteries are pro-rated and I had not used mine much, so I had to lay out a large chunk of change. Yes, it sucksno question about it, but it has nothing to do with Nissan, or Honda in your case.