My dealer did warranty replacement on our '06. Just printed a copy of the TSB and pointed out it covered our '06.

The noise actually comes from irregular wear on the tires. If you were to put on new tires with the bad arms they'd be quiet for a while until they started to wear again.

 

Yeah so far we're hoping that the new upper control arms are creating the correct geometry for these new tires. Time will tell.

 

No love here.

My 2006 Civic Hybrid has 30,777 miles on it. This week I brought it to Continental Honda in Countryside, IL for my routine oil change and B1 service. I have been noticing vibration and road noise from the rear of the vehicle and asked them to check into it.

Service adviser Brian Donlan took my vehicle. I received a call two hours later that the oil change and other routine had been done. He also informed me that I needed new rear control arms and new rear tires. He never mentioned TSB 008-001. He said they didn't have the parts in stock, so they could not do the work. He said since I was out of warranty, the cost would be on me. The cost of the repairs would be $378 for new rear tires and alignment and $340 for the rear control arms, for a total of $718. The oil change and B1 service came to $165.88.

My vehicle is out of its 3 year warranty by about two months.

I googled and found this thread, and others like it. I called Honda America to see if they would offer to help defray any of the cost. They told me that since the car was out of warranty, they would not help at all. That was pretty much the end of it. They said that since this was not a recall or safety issue, they were under no obligation to help.

Now I'll be buying my control arms elsewhere and having them installed by a local mechanic. I'll probably buy new tires from Costco. And I won't be having my car serviced by Honda again unless it's an issue with the hybrid system or drive train, I think.

I suppose in a down economy, we can expect considerably less "good will" from the companies we do business with.

 

I've had one dealing with Honda Canada. It was in regards to omission of some of the underbody shields on certain Canadian HCHII (ours included), in the hopes that I could get compensated if I purchased the missing panels. They shot me down on that.

What came across was a very adversarial attitude. I was a little taken aback by how far they have strayed from "the customer is always right". I can appreciate they don't want to be "taken", but they seem to have lost sight of just who it is that keeps them in business.

Talking with one lady with HC on the underbody shield subject, I mentioned that I'd seen some info on a particular page in the Service Manual, and her immediate response was: "How did you get a Service Manual?". My issue was now secondary: she seemed very upset/concerned about this, as if the SM was some secret document.

For me this came to sum up their attitude. I would think if this is the prevalent mind-set at Honda, and it does appear to be the norm, auto industry wide, they need to shake their heads and try to remember just who keeps their bottom line in the black.

 

Honda has destroyed my faith in the company. I purchased this 2006 civic with all intentions of putting 300,000 miles on it as I have quite a daily commute. Same story--by the time the first TSB came out I was already out of warranty. I was notified in July of 2008 during a 60k service of the recommendation for "new style" control arms. When I was in for a 30000 in 2007 nothing was mentioned. I have called Honda America and they have told me to pound salt. I called Hagerstown Honda dealership and they blew me off. The things is, warranty or not, this is not a wear and tear item. This is a piece of inappropriately engineered metal. I could have 5 or 500000 miles on it and it won't change. I will take my service needs to Winchester VA now because evidently the vehicles I have purchased at Hagerstown and the maintenance there means nothing to them. I even told them I would pay for my next set of tires and alignment--all I wanted was the control arms. NOTHING! They are going to lose thousands in maintenance and future sales over a couple hundred dollars. No more Honda and no more Hagerstown maintenance or sales!

 

Honda has destroyed my faith in the company. I purchased this 2006 civic with all intentions of putting 300,000 miles on it as I have quite a daily commute. [snip]

Sorry to hear about the problem. Once out of warranty every effort should be made to get the most cost effective service done on your honda as possible. And that may be achived by NOT taking it to the dealer for any work. I don't know what they did in the past but more and more frequently I've heard your story told by many people. Past service work or customer loyalty does not mean anything anymore. Don't expect extras or discounts when out of warranty. I think this is caused by the economic conditions we find ourselves in right now due to low auto sales.

 

The replacement parts are about $150 a side. You might just want to replace them yourself, and then go get a 4 wheel alignment. If you do the work yourself, the whole job will probably set you $450.

 

Hagerstown Honda made it right. Got a call today with a compromise on the situation which amounted to me paying a fraction of the cost of replacing the control arms. I must be fair as well--"thank you" to the Hagerstown Honda dealership.
I still don't know what to think about Honda itself though.

 

I just had my '06 HCH in for 100 thousand mile service. They said my tires were slightly cupped, and that my rear Upper Control Arms needed replaced. I had been noticing a "howling noise" coming from the rear of car at highway speeds. My original Dunlap tires lasted 80 thousand miles. I have my car dealer serviced with tire rotations and this was the first that they mentioned a problem. I dont think that my car was out by a whole lot since my original tires help up. They replaced the upper control arms, front "service bolts", and gave it a new alignment. This part of the service was $450. Now, I'm wondering if my Fuel Max tires will stop howling, or if they are ruined. I guess that I shouldn't complain since this is the first repair that my car has needed besides routine service.

 

I cupped my Dunlaps and was hoping the noise would wear away but it never did. I finally had to replace the tires.H