Will Honda Stand By the Quality of Their Cars?
August 29, 2008
Our Honda CRV had the compressor rod in the air conditioner shatter two days ago. We took it into the dealer and apparently it’s a frequent problem with 2003 and 2004 CRV’s and will cost around $2100 to fix.
Paying for Quality
The reason we spend more to buy Honda’s is because they’re known for their quality and durability. Having an issue such as this isn’t something we expect from a Honda and is the reason we’ve only owned Honda vehicles to this point.
Asking Honda to Stand By Quality
I phoned American Honda about the issue and they let me know I had to take it up with the car dealer first. We took the CRV into the dealer and they filed for “Honda Goodwill” on our behalf. Honda offered to pay for the parts and although this was about 60% of the total cost, I was still hesitant to go forward.
Known Quality Problem
After talking with the Honda mechanics and researching online I discovered failure of the compressor on Honda CRV’s for 2003 and 2004 CRV’s is a frequent problem. One reason the repair bill is so high is that the rod shattered and the metal shards destroyed many other parts of the cooling system.
I just had our 60,000 mile service done on the car and there was no mention of the potential issue. Had I known about the problem we could have considered getting the part replaced and avoided a lot of the damage. For example, we knew the timing belt on our older Accord should be replaced at a certain mileage to avoid having it break and cause damage to the car. We had it replaced even sooner than the recommended mileage, just to be sure we wouldn’t encounter the issue.
Escalating the Issue
Since this is a known issue that Honda didn’t make me aware of, in addition to the fact it’s not an issue I expect out of a vehicle known for quality, I opened a case with American Honda to ask for assistance with the repair cost in addition to the cost of parts.
I should be contacted by a case worker today to follow up on my ticket so I’ll let you know how it turns out. We’ve been really pleased with our Honda vehicles and Honda service to date so I’m hoping Honda will be willing to give further assistance on this matter.
The reason we spend more to buy Honda’s is because they’re known for their quality and durability.
I think there’s something to be found hidden in this statement. You pay more for Hondas because they’re known for quality and durability, but this doesn’t mean that they are actually any more durable or reliable. It’s the perception that costs you money. Honda has been resting on its laurels for some time, and that legendary reputation for unsurpassed quality doesn’t necessarily still hold true. While Honda still makes a well made vehicle they are not without problems, despite what that near-mythic reputation may say.
Good luck dealing with the case worker- hopefully he can do something for you.
Thanks for letting us know that this Goodwill case application is even possible.
Who’da thought!
Great to know!
I definitely want to hear the outcome! We just bought an Odyssey and I’d love to hear how stand up Honda is. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
[…] “Hey man, just put it on your credit card…” That’s the best answer the Honda service manager could give me as I attempted to negotiate with him to cover the repair costs for the air conditioner compressor failure on our Honda CRV. […]