I love mine als. I had an '04HCH and now an "06 HCH and never a problem with either. Does the lemon law have some kind of mention of not just # of repairs but amount of time in the shop? I thought I had seen that somewhere.

Good luck.

 

Well, if they won't give you a replacement car, since you fear that the car in general is just a lemon, ask if they can give you free of charge a 7 year 100K warranty or something like that from Honda. This way you can rest easier knowing that your car is protected for a time after even the manufacture warranty.

CK

 

Honda corporate is being very firm in being distant, unhelpful, and unwilling to work with me. Customer service giving me rote answers that sound like they're taken from a customer service seminar broshure. Being given the run-around and red tape. Very unsatisfied customer right now in prime Honda demographic. If this isn't resolved in a satisfactory way soon, I'm going to have to share my discontent about Honda whenever I get the opportunity. It's really frustrating being talked to on the phone like you're a 10 year old and being called "baby" by service people.

 

Amanda,

I apologize since I haven't read the entire thread so this advice may be either a) inappropriate to your situation b) something you've already tried c) something you don't have the ability to try -but--- I would absolutely find another Honda dealership to deal with. My first experience with my Ford Escape Hybrid was at a particular dealership in town, and based on that experience (sexist, condescending and wholly untrustworthy), I now drive across town 25-30 minutes to get my Ford Escape Hybrid serviced. I should note my service was not specifically hybrid-related, but the resulting treatment and poor service was such that I will never, ever, go back to that particular dealership.

I, too, took my concerns up the chain to HQ (Ford, obviously, in my case) to note my displeasure/frustration/concern, and it didn't really go anywhere either. Vehicle manufacturers, for the most part, are only concerned when issues raised relate to vehicle manufacturing; dealerships are their own individual entities, for good or ill.

A new dealership could perhaps handle this situation in an entirely different light.

I apologize for the situation you find yourself in, but even though I'm not a Honda owner I felt my own experience with a different vehicle manufacturer might provide some insight/moral support.

 

have they installed the new battery pack you mentioned in your first post? you can't jump from 1 to 10 right off the bat. you have to go thru the process. once you reach that magical 3 unsuccessful repair attempts, or whatever it is, the lemon law kicks in. its a process. its a pita, but asking them to give you a new car without going thru the usual protocol is unreasonable.

 

In my opinion, being sold a defective vehicle is unreasonable and does not fall under proper protocol.

 

Well. If you took a loan out from a commerical bank, and the bank holds the title, then maybe the VP of the bank calling the dealership might do the trick. A strange way to do it, but it might help.

 

Amanda,
While everyone here can understand and sympathize your frustration, I'm not sure you're going to be satisfied even with a brand new car. At this point, it seems to me that you've convinced yourself nothing can ever make this car right, and in the back of your mind, you'll always be asking yourself "When's this one going to break?" We've told you straight up that others have had problems similar to yours, what went wrong, how it was resolved, and that once the service guys were given an *HONEST* chance to make things right, they did. I'm sure you're familiar with the notion of catching more bees with honey than vinegar. You go into your dealership with guns blazing like this, and they'll have no incentive to make you happy because nothing they do will ever be good enough. Besides, what's to say the new one won't also have a battery cell go bad two days after you drive it off the lot like this one appears to have?

Shannon made a good point about changing dealerships. If this one's giving you nothing but trouble, make it clear to them that they aren't the only game in town. Matt also brings an important reminder: There is a process that must be followed before a durable good can be declared a lemon. Painful as it may be, you *must* go through this. Finally, if you have one handy, a male counterpart of some sort can also magically move things along. Yes, it's sad, but most guys who turns wrenches will respond more positively to another guy than to a girl, whether they consciously do it or not. One who carries a title of some sort (Lawyer and Officer in particular) can really get their butts moving.

Finally, I agree with you. Something about this car *is* defective. But until the problem is tracked down, there's not a whole lot you can do. I'd also suggest pulling out two booklets you should have gotten with the purchase of your car: The "Consumer Information" and "Warranties" booklets. There's some very helpful tips on what to do if you feel you aren't being treated well by the dealer or Honda regional.

 

I hear what you're saying. Neither being honey (at first) nor being vinegar (when honey didn't work) were effective. Maybe just being a girl won't work. I paid cash for the car so bank people won't work. We'll see if lawyer male family members work. At this point am most interested in seeing how Honda treats its customers to see if I want to continue to work with them in the future. Obviously overall the Civic is a well-rated solid car and this is an unfortunate situation. I probably will be paranoid about whatever car I drive for a while -- human nature or at least mine. In any case, how does Honda handle its customers who come into bad luck? And are Hybrid owners expected to suck it up and deal with a lot more repair hastles than regular gas car owners? If that goes with the territory, then yes, having a reliable relationship with a solid, trustworthy dealership is key. And to think I wanted to go into transportation design and work in that industry a few years ago. yikes...

 

I feel your pain. My HCH II has been great with no problems, but my wife's Ridgeline left her stranded 4 times in 5 days from what ended up being a defective battery (obviously not a hybrid). One of those one-in-how many thousand chances of getting one. Unfortunately, these things happen. The only thing is be sure you have some kind of roadside assistance through a warranty, insurance, etc. b/c Honda offers none witht heir standard 3/36 warranty.