2003 Accord Radio Display Problem

I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says
will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just
went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio
stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still
play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features
and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to
control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there.
Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local
radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have
found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature
selection is a bit of a gamble.

I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on
this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known
problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I
called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the
problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes,
they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel
better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started
to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so
sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer
service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even
if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll
cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio
unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and
can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had
a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and
stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a
demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make
this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty.
A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said
they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy
that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has
no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I
could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.

So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite
person took down all of the key information about my problem including
what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on
my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.

I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm
barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known
problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty
period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow
hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car.
But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing
the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they
have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very
reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers
right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and
buyers for many years.

I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.

Mike Bartell
Fairfax, Va.

 

sounds like its your dealer that didnt want to go to bat for you. is
fairfax where you bought the car? if honda is able to resolve the issue,
id recommend not going back to fairfax, sounds like they truly dont give
a shit.

 

Mike said

I posted this same problem a few days ago. I have an 2003 EX V-6 and
my display just went dark as well. I also have 39000 miles.

You probably have the number but the Honda Service Bulletin is 04-027
(thanks to Al for replying to my post with that info).

I called my dealer and they kind of waffled around about whether they
would replace it for free or not. They will not order another radio
until I come in and they read the 4 digit code from the front. I gave
the digits over the phone, but they insist that I still have to come by
before they will order the radio - it's a 50 mile round trip at best.

I think I'll call Honda Customer Service as well. This is a common
problem.


Casey

 

Casey said

I just got off the phone with a very unhelpful Customer Service rep.
After 30 minutes of discussion and being asked to hold, her suggestion
was that I take to a dealer for a diagnosis and the dealer would then
tell me how much it would cost. She told me I would have to pay since
it was out of warranty. All I could think to say was she had not done
one thing for me and was just trying to get me off the phone.

I refused to hang up until she agreed to escalate my request in some
way. Now I magically have a case worker who is supposed to call back
within 48 hours. I now have a reference number as well.

This will be darned upsetting if I have to pay $1000 so I can see the
display again. Funny how Mike's went out at around 39,000 as well
(mine was at about 39,600 when it happened).


Casey

 

I lucked out, my wife came in a few months ago and said the radio light
was out. I knew exactly what the problem was from other posts to this
newsgroup, so I went and checked the odometer - 35,961. Went to the
dealer next day and got the failure acknowledged with 35,985 miles.

This radio failure is so common that there is no excuse for them not
extending the warranty on that component. I asked if the repaired unit
included upgraded components - they couldn't answer the question. I
asked if the repaired unit had a new 36,000 mile warranty - answer no,
only covered until the car has 36,000 or three years. In 1980 Honda
replaced the headgasket on my 1976 Civic with 87,000 miles because they
were having many failures. This is obviously not the same Honda company.

 

Al said

That was close!

So far that's three that failed in the 35,000 - 40,000 mile range.

If they don't cover this, I have purchased my last Honda ... and this
is my eighth. It's not like this cost a $100 or so to fix.

Maybe they don't really care. My experience on the phone today was
disappointing to say the least. The person I talked was on the fence
between incompetent and completely untrained. Every question I asked
resulted in being on hold for 5 minutes - and her informed advice was
to take it to the dealer and pay to have it fixed.

And this post is coming from a guy who is (was?) a very loyal Honda
customer.


Casey

 

What a crappy problem. I haven't been in them enough to know but is the
actual character display out or just prohibitively dark to read? If the
latter I would keep it ghetto and have a decent LED flashlight real close
until I worked out a new radio.

 

nope, its not. obviously, they cant appease everyone over every problem,
but this is so common and so expensive that they realy should, and they
should stick it to their supplier! wonder who makes it...

wouldnt that be funny if the radios were made by delco/GM as part of
their lil parts swapping deal? eg: saturn vue using the honda V6.

 

If this proves anything it is that they should keep the radio and the
climate controls as separate units (The part appears to cost about
$650 from Man Honda). I'm not sure how the radio sounds on the newer
Accords but they weren't all that great in the older (99 and below)
models. I'm assuming from the posts in here that the rate of failure
is possibly going to be higher than the tranny recall from the V6's.
Back when the V6 tranny recall was going on, I remember someone
posting that Honda will do a recall if the defect rate is over 15-20%;
I wonder if it will be the case this time around. Anyone who is
getting this replaced keep your receipts in case a recall does occur
so you can get your money back.

Nick

 

I just spoke to a co-worker who told me that he just had his go at 25k
so it was covered under warranty. He also told me that his friend's
went in his 03, and that was still under warranty. I'm thinking that a
recall is going to happen on this in the near future.

Nick

 

Don't hold your breath, Honda service bulletin 04-027 is dated July 9,
2004 and supersedes one dated June 15, 2004. The subject is:
"Audio-HVAC Display Module is Dim or Dark". The problem was at least
significant enough a year ago for them to take notice and publish a
bulletin.

 

I just had mine go out at 65000, I have a 2003, I haven't called yet
but I will do that today.

Has anyone had this issue covered by Honda yet?

 

Two days since I opened up a "case" with Honda and no Honda caseworker
has called me yet. I was told to expect 24-48 hours for a call-back.
They must be busy handling all of the display problems being reported!

I'd like to know if anyone has had Honda cover this type of problem as
well, particularly if they were out of warranty.

Mike

 

Mike said

Same here. I called on Tuesday and I haven't gotten my call from a
case worker either. I was told they would call within 48 hours.

I've been searching forums and so far I haven't found anyone who was
out of warranty but able to get Honda to pay.



Casey

 

And so we wait.....

Wonder if there's any way to find out roughly what the fail rate is on
this (e.g. % of cars withe the problem that have been reported)

 

Well, after two days (I was told I would get a call back from Honda
Customer Support in 24-48 hours), I called back to find out the status
of my "case". I was told to expect a call later that day and she
apologized for the delay. That was fine. But no call came. So,
today, on the fourth day, I called to find out what was up with my
case. The receptionist/dispatcher was polite and checked on my case
number and said it had been assignd and she would try and connect me
wiht the case manager. A few minutes later she came back on said that
I will get a call on Monday - a week after the case was opened. I was
told the further delay was due to the Monday holiday.

So, we wait some more. My radio display is still dark. Not getting a
call back in a reasoanble amount of time doens't make me feel very
optimistic - you know, "never give out bad news on a Friday" type of
thing.... Maybe I need to think about getting an iPOD....

Mike

 

Mike said

I still haven't received my call - it's now overdue by at least a day.

At the moment, I'm really pessimistic about Honda covering this. Up
until now, I've been one of Honda's biggest cheerleaders. I've owned
Honda's since 1978. Being faced with paying $700-900 so I can see my
radio display really irks me - especially since it burned out in two
years.

My display is still dark too. I tried a flashlight but it doesn't
really work all that well, especially while driving. I have gotten
better at controlling the A/C well enough to keep from roasting (I'm in
Florida).




Casey

 

Could comeone post the text of this HSB, please? Not available thru
Alldata anymore.

 

Update: I got a call from Honda's case worker late afternoon on Fri.
She told me to take it into the dealer for an official assessment of
the problem - I told her the display was dark....but the dealer needs
to tell her that. So, on Monday I take it to the dealer (who said it
would take only a few minutes to check out), and the dealer will call
Honda back and let them know...that the display is dark. Hopefully
I'll know more on Monday.

 

Mike said

My original call ended when the customer service rep told me to take it
to the dealer so they could tell me how much I would have to pay to
have it fixed.

I'm very curious to know what you find out on Monday!



Casey