Break Line Failure due to rust with no warning . 96 Accord, 140,000 miles, no rust on undercarriage, good condition

• Failure location = Under car where fuel/break lines are mounted to car undercarriage mid way between front and rear wheels, driver side.

• Visual inspection - Lines looked like new thru plastic fuel/break line cover openings

• Where Fuel and Break Line Clamps contact break/fuel lines, rust was excessive and caused break line failure (external rust).

• cannot see without removing fuel/break line cover and connected break/fuel line clip

• Fuel line also rusted, failure not far off

Honda is aware of this problem. brake fluid leaks from underneath modulator, and service bulletin recommends tightening fittings after coating them with brake assembly fluid. Because of time considerations, no Honda dealer wants to fix this, just replace the whole unit at a cost of $1500-$1600. This is not a \"wear\" item! it is a defective / improperly assembled part, and Honda knows it, hence the service bulletin. When i contacted our regional warranty rep., he said that the service bulletin provides a solution for dealers, but that they are not bound by it. Bottom line... why spend 1/2 hr. fixing something for $100 when you can gouge the customer by replacing it for 10 times that? Honda issued a service bulletin: #96-050