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Afternoon all, just joined the forum- sorry this isn't a more joyful introduction but I need some input and advice.

I purchased this, my first Honda this in Feb '12 a little 1.4 Civic inspire '03. Low miles, FHSH, from a main Honda dealership.It's been a great runner but more recently my wife needed her car looking at and I followed, the garage she uses is a family friend and very reputable, wilst he was admiring my choice of vehicle he commented on there being a transmission whine at idle and reverse gear engagement was very, very harsh..I followed his advice and gave the Honda dealership a call, reiterating the comments made and received this email:

The problems you have with the noise, is probably bearings inside the gearbox.

These bearings are a wear and tear item and are NOT covered under warranty.

The second issue you have with reverse gear is again a wear and tear issue, NOT covered.

We have been in discussions with Honda today but there is nothing they can do as they are wear and tear items; not covered by the warranty.

The cost of sorting both issues including labour, parts etc is £971.29

Interesting, that

So in six months I have significantly put 'wear and tear' on a nine year old car?

I had a look through my warranty and manual gearbox is covered- gears, bearings etc., but wear and tear isn't..

Anyone had similar problems?

Considering I've only had it six months I feel it was their responsibility to check for wear and tear not sell me something that six months down the line requires a nip under £1000 of work.

I have 14 days to contest and I will, but just wanted to see what feedback I can glean, thanks.

 
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unfortunately, pretty much any item on the car can be claimed to break from wear and tear, even just having the car sit and age. thats why ive never been a fan of warranty.all they cover are broken seatbelts which is a lifetime safety related part they must replace (or get sued if they decline).

 
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This all sounds like BS! And if the bearing (s) are noisy/defective then please fight it.

But, to be sure, let's follow the proper procedure. It sounds like the "dealer" diagnostic (or lack of that) was a comment made over the phone? e-MAIL? This dealership made a major faux-pas! How can they possible "diagnose" and furthermore even estimate a repair without even having seen the car??? I would be willing to bet that they never called their regional claims dept but rather "built up a story". Was your Honda one of their "approved used vehicles"? Don't they have a "happiness program" in Europe? Did it not come with a base 12month warranty? They may have a toll free number for complaints which may help.

But without a proper diagnostic....don't know what they may be able to do.

The procedure for a warranty claim is :

Bring vehicle to dealership. Fill out work-order with details of complaint (in your case: noise from gearbox (tranx) at idle and harsh reverse engagement)

Technician responsability: roadtest or verify complaint is justified (noise or symptoms of complaint exist) and are not "normal noise". Simply put: there is an actual defective part/problem. Document and estimate.

Note: It does not matter if your uncle Bob (or other garage) said there was a problem/defect. He may or not be aware of all the "quirks" or normal noises specific to that model. The dealership will compare your vehicles noise with an equivalent used vehicle (if needed) to judge if this is "normal wear noise".

If the one bearing is found to be noisy; hence defective then the Warranty will apply! Bearings in the tranx should be covered under powertrain warranties. As well as any gaskets/oils/cleaners/parts needed to perform it's replacement.

So yes! contest it if the dealer actually wrote down that a tranx bearing is noisy and should be replaced!

Noticed that I used the singular (bearing) and not bearings..... because warranty covers a "defective" part. weather the dealership is given authority to replace all bearings (also the known good) is not within your control or theirs...only Honda Warranty admin.

Hope it works out for you. It is in their best interest to keep their customers happy.

 
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Hello Muncher and thanks for your input chaps.Yes, I am definitely going to contest this, I thought the diagnostics (via email) and it all being a closed case as it were came a bit too quickly, I bought it from a main Honda dealership 6 months ago and it has warranty but from what I can see it doesn't cover wear and tear which they were keen to quote, its a grey area as their email reads (not sure why he saw fit to print NOT in upper case? :

The problems you have with the noise, is probably bearings inside the gearbox.

These bearings are a wear and tear item and are NOT covered under warranty.

The second issue you have with reverse gear is again a wear and tear issue, NOT covered.

We have been in discussions with Honda today but there is nothing they can do as they are wear and tear items; not covered by the warranty.

The cost of sorting both issues including labour, parts etc is £971.29 - the gearbox has to be removed and stripped down which is a days work.

As a gesture of goodwill we can discount the price to £702.49 and will collect the car from you at no extra cost and leave you a courtesy car to use for a few days.

It pretty much sounds like they are saying tough, sold as seen. I would have thought that if someone sells a vehicle with a gearbox on the way out and it starts playing up within six months its more their responsibility as the seller, I don't know, it just feels a little harsh to me as I bought it in good faith.

 
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I am suprised that the manual states that bearings in the gearbox is covered.

Generally speaking wear items are not covered.

(Clutch, bearings, belts, brakes etc)

But if it SPECIFICALLY states the bearings are covered you should bring that to their attention and fight to have it done.

 
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Or "internally lubricated parts", that's the wording on ours. All bearings are internally lubricated.

Also, it is the BUYERS responsibility to have a prepurchase inspection done by a trusted mechanic of their choice, prior to actually making the purchase.
When a used car inspection is done at most dealers, it is done so the sales department knows ahead of time what a potential buyer could possibly find wrong to bargain with.

Most people don't get rid of a perfectly good car for no reason. One goal of (my) used car inspection is to figure out the real reason someone got rid of it, if it was something wrong with the car itself. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes not.

If the buyer didn't catch it before buying it, they now own the car and all the problems that came with it.

OP bought a car that is almost 10 years old. That wouldn't even be on our front lot, that would be out back in the secondary line.




You probably wouldn't believe some of the stuff I have seen bought and sold over the last 3 decades in this business.

 
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he capitalized NOT because he is a douche

 
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Im starting to wonder though, this warranty is from the dealer?

Honda allows you to buy a 10 year old car with a warranty that still covers bearings and such?
This seems really odd, OR the warranty must cost ALOT of money.

I dont know what warranty Honda offers on used cars as I never purchased through a Honda dealer.

 
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It just seemed a bit odd, like a kind of memo you'd make for your kids:

do NOT leave fridge door open, do NOT annoy neighbours..I don't know, probably being picky about netiquette

So it looks like I'm paddling up poo creek basically, again

 
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Hi Honda '04 yes its the Honda approved 'Hapiness' guarantee, it states the claim limit is £1000. Just to recap its been FHSH throughout its life and seemed in VGC.

- it says covered components Manual gearbox: appendix 6.1.2

gears,synchromesh hubs,bearings,bushes,transfer gears

and 6.1.5 failure of mechanical parts..But from how I am reading this its only if there is a failure, so wear and tear no but if it packs up then it sounds like I am covered, I have Honda Roadside assistance too.

 
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here in the states many dealers have certified used cars that have been inspected and many DO come with warranty even tho they are 5+ yrs old.

 
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Just a few updates c/o the Honest John forum http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/po...97529#m1063976 Hmmm...

 
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I seem to be one of the few guys around that are completely amazed by the sheer number of car owners that are pissed because their 10 year old 100k+ mile cars aren't covered by warranty. I know I spent alot of years behind the same counter they are in front of, but WOW. Now if it was even remotely close to the warranty terms, absolutely there is cause for concern, but not twice as long or more...

Sorry, not trying to be jerkish and offend anyone, just stating what should be obvious

OP, "wear and tear" is items that wear out. IE no maker would warranty a worn out clutch or worn out tires for instance. Defect, yes. Not "wear". It is language to C.Y.A. if you know what that acronym stands for...

 
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You ain't the only one.


*This post has been edited to remove the long rant about precious snowflakes with entitlement issues.

 
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Are you under the mileage/year that the warranty covers?

Or are you trying to do this under good will?

 
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I degress,did say one of though.

RFLOL! Sarcastic I know, but that's hilarious.

 
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The filter kicked on before I hit the submit button this time.


I swear to God, that effin button needs to be a moving target.

 
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Thats not sarcasm..hes telling the truth lol..