A vehicle with 30,000 miles needed to have the brake pads replaced. The dealer blamed it on the driver of the vehicle. Allegedly there was some warranty work done on the brakes and I still ended up with an expensive repair, I am not happy with my Honda and the service I have been provided. Especially the service provider I really feel like I have been cheated.
I have had several small problems with our Honda Odyssey. They tell us each time that it is either a maintenance item or wear and tear we caused. Their Bumper to Bumper 36000 warranty is not what they state and they will do everything to refuse coverage. Anyway, my steering vibrates and they tell me this is due to the rotors warping at 16K miles. They call the rotors a maintenance item and refuse to fix it. They will turn them down at a cost to me (the dealer I bought the Car from).
They blame it on our driving habits??? In a minvan??? It seems to be poor engineering/parts quality. This is a new van and I want new rotors. The main Honda Rep was rude and refused to replace the rotors like most things that are wrong with the van. I travelled to another state 9 hours away and the car vibrated worse. I took the van to another dealer (that I didn't buy the car from) and they turned the rotors at NO charge. They did agree that turning them would make them thinner and that it would most likely happen again.
There are several other problems now and I don't even have a dealer close by that I can trust like the one in NC that helped me. I thought Honda stood for Quality and Customer Service. Boy was I wrong - they stand for neither one. Glad this happened before we went and purchased a Pilot like we were contemplating. I don't like to complain but this Van has been a headache.
One more thing - Honda likes to write off problems as operating within spec, same as compared to other vehicles, customer caused, etc... This way they don't show up as real flaws in documentation. Long story...
I have a bad vibration in the steering wheel of my 08 odyssey. I brought to the dealer and they tried to charge a $60 service fee to check out the problem. I explained it is under warranty and after some discussion it was waived. They told ne it was warped rotors and it was not covered under warranty because the rotor is considered a wear item. I asked the dealer if the brakes or rotors need to be replaced and they said no. The brakes were within acceptable wear limits as well as the rotors. They wanted to resurface the rotors for $370. I informed the dealer it was a steering wheel vibrating while braking and since the rotors and brakes are within limits, it was a defective rotor and the resurface should be covered under warranty. They (Dealer) disagreed along with Honda America customer service. They (Dealer) released the vehicle and said it was safe to drive. I talked to Honda America (CA) and I said I would replace wore items under the agreement but these items were not found worn but just the rotors are wraped. I also informed Honda America (CA) I am not trying to get coverd on new rotors and if the work is accomplished I would be leaving the dealer with the same parts that I showed up with.
With the new investigation that the NHTSA is doing on the brakes and with the lack of warranty support and customer support that Honda is providing, I would suggest not buying a Honda Odyssey or any Honda. This is the second Honda Odyssey that I have owned and I am tired of dealing with theives. Now I get to drive a quality (not) Honda that shakes your front teeth out when you apply the brakes. Hows that for Honda Engineering.....maybe history is repeating itself......... Remember the Honda junk in the 1970s? How difficult would it have been to resurface a few rotors. Napa charges $30 if I do the work myself.
This was the first of the multiple problems with this new 2008 Honda Odyssey that we faced. The problem occurred even though we had less than a few hundred miles on the van. We had contacted the dealer/service dept and were told to wait till the 1000miles courtesy check for this.
We contacted Honda customer service, but the response was very poor at the best. They tried to tell me this is sometimes normal, then they gave a case # and said someone would contact me in 2 days. But never did I get a follow-up call from Honda customer service.
To make it worse, they don't have a Email customer service contact, probably don't want these complaints to be documented, rather have it on the phone and let it slide by.
I would never buy another Honda again, the vehicles might be good in general... but what good is it if you cannot get decent customer service. Reminds me of many companies in our country that have gone under ...not because of their product, but because of their abysmal customer service.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Severe vibration - I barely even use the brakes. My mother is a pretty tame driver too.
- W C., Lake Havasu City, AZ, US