For newer cars, 1998-2004, what repairs have your cars required?

[Robin]

Also, have your dealers been responsive and fixed problems quickly? Have
the dealers charged you to diagnose the problem? If under warranty, did
it go smoothly?
Thx

 

[Ron]

Well, i only bought the car last month and i already have a major problem
with it. It is a 2004 honda civic lx automatic transmission. When i
accellerate from a full stop, the car accellerates for a second, then loses
all power and hesitates for about a second, then resumes normal pick up.
Honda has not taken me serious at all, infact the top mechanic (foreman) at
Alberta Honda, in edmonton, alberta, told me that i should just wait another
1000km and see if the problem works itself out. he felt that the car may
still be breaking in seeing as it only has 554Km on it. Well, i thought
that was bull shit, and tonight the car almost killed me, i was making a
left hand turn and my car lost all power in the middle of the intersection
and i litterly sat there for what felt like a lifetime before my car decided
to move... by which point the light had changed and cars were beeping at me.
My advise.... DO NOT EVER by a honda product... They sell juunk and obvoisly
they have no intention of honoring their warranties. If you want an import
stick with toyota!!!

 

[Keith J]

I have a '99 Accord V6. As you may know, Honda had recall work on the
'00-'02 V6 transmissions. Well, mine was WAY out of warranty and had the
same issues as the recalled vehicles. After not too much trouble at all,
Honda (Tallahassee, FL, USA) agreed to replace my transmission and my only
expense was the labor (~$650). I think I got off cheap as Honda could have
just as easily told me that it would cost $3500.

Other than that, just the normal maintenance.

Keith
'99 V6 EX-L 84k miles

 

[Caroline]

Ron,

Have you called Honda Canada Customer Service? This is the manufacturer's number
for Canadians, to be used after trying to work out a problem with the dealer:
(888) 946-6329, from
http://www.hondacars.com/info/customer_relations.asp?bhcp=1&BrowserDetected=True

Frame this as the safety issue it is (per your description below). If they don't
get all over the dealer and give you satisfaction, I would be surprised.

Either way, I'd be curious about their response. Good luck.

C
1991 Honda Civic LX, 150k miles

 

[BigJ]

Have an 01 Accord EXV6 and all works great. Yes there is the potential
transmission issue but that is not a recall (at least not in Canada).
They just extended the warantee for it.

Everythiing else runs like a bloody charm and I WOULD recommend them
to any looking for an import.

Cheers

 

[Robin]

Well, i only bought the car last month and i already have a major problem
with it. It is a 2004 honda civic lx automatic transmission. When i
accellerate from a full stop, the car accellerates for a second, then loses
all power and hesitates for about a second, then resumes normal pick up.
Honda has not taken me serious at all, infact the top mechanic (foreman) at
Alberta Honda, in edmonton, alberta, told me that i should just wait another
1000km and see if the problem works itself out. he felt that the car may
still be breaking in seeing as it only has 554Km on it. Well, i thought
that was bull shit, and tonight the car almost killed me, i was making a
left hand turn and my car lost all power in the middle of the intersection
and i litterly sat there for what felt like a lifetime before my car decided
to move... by which point the light had changed and cars were beeping at me.
My advise.... DO NOT EVER by a honda product... They sell juunk and obvoisly
they have no intention of honoring their warranties. If you want an import
stick with toyota!!!

Ron,
My heart goes out to you. I owned a 1998 Accord EXL V6,and three years
later, got another one just like it. I've never had any problems and
assumed all Honda owners were enjoying the same experience. My lease is
up in a few months so considering what to do. I wanted to save some
money this year, so have been considering the (ok, here come the hisses
and boo's) a Hyundai Sonata LX, which is about $6000 less, which means
easier to buy, rather than lease (Yes, I know, it has no resale value).
So, I've been looking for feedback on Hyundai. On the consumer sites,
most people say stay away from it. On the Hyundai newsgroup, most
people are happy, some have 2-3 within the immediate family (spanning
over several years, not just new cars now) and have no regrets, many,
but not all,have had to get mostly minor warranty repairs, such as a
dome light or other minor electrical problem. Short battery life seems
to be a common problem there. There have been a few who said they
wouldn't do it again, just like you said you wouldn't buy Honda again.
Probably the sagest advice came from someone who said with every
manufacturer, you win some, you lose some. I have to consider that I
would minimize the chances of getting a problem car by going Honda
again. It looks like on this one, you lost. I do hope you can get this
resolved quickly and easily, and find you come to enjoy your car from
this point forward.
Robin

 

[Keith J]

I watched a Car & Driver show recently and they were talking to the Hyundai
management. They are (or already have) opening a plant someplace in Alabama
or Mississippi that will be almost completely automated. They have a goal
to be the #1 import car manufacturer (Honda/Toyota/Nissan/etc.) by 2020.
Their claim for the much higher warranty is that there car is made better
and can last without costing the company on warranty work. It was
interesting as they definitely have a plan.

Two years ago, I helped a girlfriend while she was looking for a new car.
She wanted to look at the Hyundai Elantra 5-speed. I said to myself...
piece of crap deathtrap! But I was pleasantly surprised with the standard
list that was optional on the Honda/Toyota (sunroof/etc.). Even the door
closed without the hollow sound. But as we can all say, yeah they give you
more stuff but it's still just crap. Well, no. It drove very smoothly and
seemed to be put together fairly well. After the test drive I got out and
had to step back and look at it again... yes with a slight smile.

Keith
'99 Accord V6