I just dropped the car off and the warranty procedure calls for burnishing first and if that fails(which 90% of the time it does) then replacement....Im thinking now I should have just driven the car....its my understanding that if it comes to replacing warranty will cover it if your time is not up, my hope is that by working on the car and it fails I get more warranty time ....more later....

 

Like most of you with this problem Ive done extensive reading and Ive not found one instance where either the burnishing or replacement lasted, on the replacement Honda still uses the same defective parts, best I could find was 10k before replacement gave out..even tho this car was a freebie I have no intention of throwing money at it...I have a F150 and 2 Motorcycles....I really wanted to drive this car for at least a couple of years....when I get it back knowing what I know now takes all the enjoyment out of it..Knowing that the shudder will return , I will drive till it quits ....

 

I think Honda would charge $4,000 and most of that is in labor, the part is only cost couple of hundred bucks. Good luck. Keep us updated.

the cost is about 1,000 not 4,000. i saw the bill that the dealership charged back to honda corp when they replaced the starter clutch on mine. They even gave me a free loaner.

 

How did you get them to do the replacement, the service guy I talked to said they have to do the burnishing....wouldnt even talk about replacement..thanks

 

You are you correct. I typo that.

 

[I]How did you get them to do the replacement, the service guy I talked to said they hate to do the burnishing....wouldnt even talk about replacement..thanks[/I

they never burnished mine.
remind them that it isn't costing the dealer anything......
you're creating work for the mechanics, keeps them happy.
the dealership charges honda corporation for all the costs.

 

Just got back with the car, and they did the clutch kit replacement, little car passed multipoint with flying colors.....only thing I paid for was a coolant flush , had it done since it was already there (I could have done it) I dont know if its this car or its the fact that for years I was always in trucks (still have one) but I really like driving having this car...I hope I can get many miles out of it...many thanks for all the replies....have a good one..

 

Well... what do you know. Been bothered with the exact same problem for a while now and decided to look into it and found all these threads online.

03 with 74K miles and the unmistakably starter clutch problem. Took it to the dealership and they quoted me $1280. The guy actually said 'I kinda almost hesitate to recommend you to fix it now, since you can probably drive it for a while yet..'

Question is has anyone here who experienced the same problem just keep driving the car without fixing it? Will it affect other parts of the transmission if left undealt with? Don't really feel like dropping that much money on what I'd consider somewhat minor annoyance.

Thanks for the insights!

 

Do a google on burnishing seems to get more hits and you will see many chose to just drive it.....I will tell you this, had it not been free I would have just drove mine...from reading and it maybe a urban myth but they changed the formula for the fluid and its suppose to cure the shudder for some...but my thinking is , would it work if the car had been driven with the shudder for awhile....good luck

 

Actually, to my surprise, when they presented me the quote I asked them if they would recommend burnishing at all and he said, "we already did it for you just now. It didn't work and we've never really had much success with it in the past."

So it looks like they actually put in new fluid and did the burnishing process without me asking. I think I'll just drive it for now!