American Honda Customer Service?
02-24-2004, 12:09 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
American Honda Customer Service?
Long Story Short: Bought a new 04 S2000 on Jan 10th. On Feb 12th the car starting making really bad sounds and I discovered it was leaking tranny fluid under the tranny. Brought to the dealership that night. Car had under 300 miles on it.
The car has been in the dealership ever since, first they replaced the transmission, that made the fluid leak stop but its still making noises (according to them). Now Honda techline (?) had told them to investigate the clutch and they are ordering a new clutch in case that has to be swapped.
Coincidentally I get my new car survey in the mail from American Honda so I call them up and see if they are willing to do anything for me before I shred them in the owner satisfaction survey. I've owned this car for 6 weeks and the last week and a half I've been driving a rental cavalier.
The woman who I spoke was very evasive and basically said she would document my concerns and thats all. After much pressuring on my part she said she would assign it to a case manager who would get back to me in the next few days.
Is this normal treatment by Honda? I thought they were all about customer satisifaction. Clearly this car had some problems right from the factory and I'm none too happy being the owner of a new car that has been worked on so much. I suggested to her that they should offer me a free extended warranty or at least some free scheduled maintenance but she said they don't do that.
Anyway, needed to vent - if anyone has an experience on what I should expect from an AH case manager please let me know...
The car has been in the dealership ever since, first they replaced the transmission, that made the fluid leak stop but its still making noises (according to them). Now Honda techline (?) had told them to investigate the clutch and they are ordering a new clutch in case that has to be swapped.
Coincidentally I get my new car survey in the mail from American Honda so I call them up and see if they are willing to do anything for me before I shred them in the owner satisfaction survey. I've owned this car for 6 weeks and the last week and a half I've been driving a rental cavalier.
The woman who I spoke was very evasive and basically said she would document my concerns and thats all. After much pressuring on my part she said she would assign it to a case manager who would get back to me in the next few days.
Is this normal treatment by Honda? I thought they were all about customer satisifaction. Clearly this car had some problems right from the factory and I'm none too happy being the owner of a new car that has been worked on so much. I suggested to her that they should offer me a free extended warranty or at least some free scheduled maintenance but she said they don't do that.
Anyway, needed to vent - if anyone has an experience on what I should expect from an AH case manager please let me know...
02-24-2004, 12:24 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Denver
Posts: 2,985
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't have any personal experience with this, but I would recommend that you're polite, but firm about getting this resolved to your satisfaction. You shouldn't have problems like this with a brand new car.
You might also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if they can offer any assistance.
Good luck and keep us updated.
You might also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if they can offer any assistance.
Good luck and keep us updated.
02-24-2004, 12:31 PM
#3
That is about average for owner experiences with Honda.
I have even gone to AHM (here in LA) to get a case assigned to my car, and for someone to work with me directly. After I left 3 messages, that person has failed to return my calls.
GO HONDA - YOU ROCK!!!!
I have even gone to AHM (here in LA) to get a case assigned to my car, and for someone to work with me directly. After I left 3 messages, that person has failed to return my calls.
GO HONDA - YOU ROCK!!!!
02-24-2004, 12:35 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by allkingz
I don't have any personal experience with this, but I would recommend that you're polite, but firm about getting this resolved to your satisfaction. You shouldn't have problems like this with a brand new car.
You might also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if they can offer any assistance.
Good luck and keep us updated.
I don't have any personal experience with this, but I would recommend that you're polite, but firm about getting this resolved to your satisfaction. You shouldn't have problems like this with a brand new car.
You might also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if they can offer any assistance.
Good luck and keep us updated.
03-16-2004, 06:21 PM
#5
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just a quick update on my car. It was in the shop 25 days total. They replaced the transmission which fixed the leaking transmission fluid issue but it still was making a bad noise. They disassembled the clutch but did not discover the source of the noise. Then they determined it was coming from the engine itself (crankshaft bearings were binding) and replaced the engine short block. Whew, tough first 300 miles. I got it back last week and it seems fine now.
I tried pricing out the parts listed on the work order, the tranny assembly alone is over $3000 (20011-PCY-A00) and I couldnt find an online price for the short block (10002-PZX-A00) but I'm sure thats not cheap - glad I'm not paying for this repair. One thing I'm worried about is that I know the oil they put in it is just regular oil and doesnt contain any additives that the new engines supposedly get - hope that doesnt screw up my break-in period.
Anyway my AHM rep took some polite nudging but he finally agreed to give me a complementary extended warranty (4/50,000) . So overall I'm satisifed with how everything was handled and have to complement AHM for working with me to reach a compromise that I can live with.
I tried pricing out the parts listed on the work order, the tranny assembly alone is over $3000 (20011-PCY-A00) and I couldnt find an online price for the short block (10002-PZX-A00) but I'm sure thats not cheap - glad I'm not paying for this repair. One thing I'm worried about is that I know the oil they put in it is just regular oil and doesnt contain any additives that the new engines supposedly get - hope that doesnt screw up my break-in period.
Anyway my AHM rep took some polite nudging but he finally agreed to give me a complementary extended warranty (4/50,000) . So overall I'm satisifed with how everything was handled and have to complement AHM for working with me to reach a compromise that I can live with.
