Gatsbee13

Just wanted to get some advice here about some service I got from my local honda dealership. I went in to get my driver-side seatbelt replaced under the warranty and instead of removing all the proper pieces, they just snapped open the roll bar cover to replace the seatbelt. After getting the car back, I noticed that the cover was split. They told me they would have to order a new part. Long story short, I had to return to them a few times as the replacement part they received, according to them, had a split cover.. So they had to return it and get another one..

Well I bring my car there for the 3rd or 4th time this month for that service and I thought everything would be fine.. They had my car the whole day and I got it back a little after closing. I didn't totally inspect the cover when I got the car back because I was in a rush but noticed this later on.. The cover looks like it might of been glued back together.. It's not a tight seal liked passenger side.. If they tried to repair it, they did a terrible job because its easily noticeable. But they were supposed to replace the part.

How should I approach them about this? Their probably going to deny or make up some
BS about the issue. I'm kind of angry because I've had to go back there 3 or 4 times now and looks like ill have to at least 1 more time as the service guy told me some clips behind the seat within the whole roll bar setup were old and broke when they were installing so they have to order those again..

This is probably one of the few times I've gone to a Honda dealership for service.. I know this is not a typical replacement but man did these guys screw up..

Pix arent that good, but the split is more apparent in person..

Driver cover


Passenger cover


Driver


Passenger

FurY

Honestly I'm not surprised at all if they tried to glue it shut. I don't know if I just had similarly bad luck or what... but I was helping my friend work on his S2K and we needed to remove the roll bar cover. When we attempted to put it all back together, we could not for the life of us get the roll bar cover to completely seal up closed as it was stock. We got it very close, but there was still a slight separation between the two parts where they come together. We took it off and retried several times, no matter what we did it just would not go back to the way it was. Not sure if others have had this issue but I guarantee the guys at Honda ran into the same thing and could only think of using glue and clamping it together to get it looking stock again. Just my guess

Reckon

All you can do is go back and explain the situation. Demand, nicely of course, to speak to the manager if needed. You can always get Honda corporate involved and open a case. Hopefully the service department at the dealership will continue to work to make the repairs up to your standards.

s2000maniac

Those are one piece NOT two. The guys at the dealer broke that piece into two pieces.
The rollbar cover is sealed around the roll bar hoops. The cover can split into two pieces, but they won't go back together without crazy glue or polystyrene cement. It's a $310 at Dealership Honda Parts prices. The removal of these pieces isn't that difficult, but it is time consuming. You'll need to remove the tray under the convertable top, the panels behind the seats, and the center mount glove box. Its a real drag and it will likely take an hour or two to remove the parts the first time.

El Borracho Chino

I've read horror stories about gluing these back together. So I didn't have very high hopes when I glued mine together. But after I did it, it turned out perfect.

Steps I took:
- Lightly scuff the surfaces that will be glued. This means that inside crevice.
- Clean the surfaces the best you can with alcohol or something.
- Use thin C/A glue or thin Super Glue.
- Tape the sides together the best you can. There shouldn't be any give when you squeeze them together.
- Let it marinade.

My cover was broken pretty even, so if you pried them apart and bent them, I think they might not fit back together that awesome.

But if the dealer did it, then hold them to uphold their work.

Kieran650@msn.com

Given their repeated failure to remedy this issue I would open a complaint with Honda Corporate Customer Service. Honda Corporate is all about customer satisfaction and once you explain the situation to them they will open up a case and that should get the dealer managers attention. If you decide to directly work with the dealer again I would insist on only dealing with the store General Manager or the Service Manager. Honda Customer Care: 1-800-999-1009

Bugsy

It's tough to bond to PP (polypropylene). Honda doesn't glue the parts together, they use a wire embedded in the groove of the joint, and apply electricity to heat the wire and "weld" the halves together.
There is no way to replicate this at the dealer.

It can be done with some exotic adhesives, some with more success than others. I would be surprised if it lasts a long time. If you accept this repair, I would not lean on it ever. It does look like they did as good a job as possible.

What would piss me off is they said they replaced it with a new part, and it appears they didn't.

Whoever worked on the car the first time didn't know how to take the interior out.

cosmomiller

I use super glue alot in model airplane stuff. Most R/C hobby stores have a good supply of thin, medium, and thick. There is also an accelerant as well as debonder in case you glue yourself together. If you go that route, I would recommend the pieces are together and clamped before you add the thin. It can harden pretty quickly. Much faster than you can assemble something that size. Fresh thin will flow well into cracks and crevices. Can even fill glass crack to some extent.
I would be hesitant to use it anyway as it can become brittle over time especially exposed to UV.

I would do the "scuff" part but use an adhesive called E6000. Great, great stuff. Should give you enough time to assemble. Better hobby stores carry it. <$10

As far as the hot wire Honda used, if you can find the the ends of the wires you can duplicate it. Get a 25volt, 2amp transformer at Radio Shack or eBay and go for it. Read up on "hot wiring" on Google. Commonly used in the model hobbies for cutting foam.