You've had 20 years of trouble-free driving with Honda? If so, it wouldn't make sense to say after 20 years without a problem you finally have one and decide to jump ship. However, if your overall experience has been bad, then yeah, I'd say it's about time to move on. But, there's no guarantee that you'll get a problem free car from ANY manufacturer. From what I remember, the big three of reliability are Honda, Nissan, and Toyota. They all produce great cars. They also produce lemons every now and then. So, good luck on your next purchase! And stick aound if you buy another hybrid.

 

Statistically, Honda has one of the more reliable vehicle brands. However, the responsiveness of Honda service to customers may not be similarly reliable. Having customer service which states that its normal to have clunking and clicking in a car with 8k miles doesn't help build a sense of reliability in the Honda brand.

 

I agree. It's important to have good customer service in order for a company to stay on top. And there's nothing wrong with changing brands.

To kinda change topics: I've been a technician. I do kinda understand when another technician says he can't troubleshoot a problem that can't be regularly/reliably reproduced. On one hand, the technician may not be able to find the root cause of your problem until it happens more frequently. And on the other hand, maybe the technician is just too lazy to try to troubleshoot an intermittent problem? It's hard to tell. However, I hope you keep pursuing this problem and do find a resolution. Keep us posted!

And to change topics again within the same post: I had a similar experience with the dealer with my Odyssey. When I ran over bumps, the rear end of the van felt like it was swaying left and right. I brought it to the dealer, but they said they couldn't find the problem. I was disappointed, but took my vehicle home. After another month, I took it back again to report the problem still existed. I took the tech with me (one with a higher skill level rating) on a ride and was only slightly able to reproduce the rear end drifting. But, he did acknowledge it that one time it happened. I left my car there with him. Within the next two days, he found my problem to be a worn out passenger rear shock. Shock replaced under warranty and swaying gone. Sometimes a problem is hard to diagnose. Sometimes it takes multiple trips to the dealer. Sometimes it takes a technician with a higher skill level.

 

It has been a while since I've chimed in on this thread, but I am still having misfiring in my 07 HAH and in relation to previous posts about Honda's customer service skills, I must agree they are non-existent. A rundown...

1) First repair - dealer duplicated it, compared it to another HAH on the lot and said that both cars did it so it must be "normal." Honda tech line agreed.

2) Second repair - Dealer said could not duplicate. Only drove vehicle a total of 8 miles however from drop off to pickup. Not a very earnest attempt.

3) Third repair - Dealer rode with me, heard the pop, said they had no idea what it was. Could not find a problem - no codes. Returned the vehicle to me with no action.

4) Issued final repair attempt request under Georgia lemon law. Honda responded that no repair attempt had been made (they classified my service records as visits, but not repairs). Honda denied repair request.

5) Retained attorney. Attorney sends a demand letter either to honor the final repair request or provide information on how the backfire / misfire is normal operation. Honda once again denied repair request. They did not even acknowledge his request to validate the "normal operation" claim with any information.

Where I am now...attorney has asked me to validate the issue with a third party subject matter expert, which I am now in the process of doing. Under Georgia law, if it is validated that a repair should have been done and wasn't, lemon law is retroactive to first service visit (whether repairs were made or not).

Really all I wanted is for Honda to fix my car, but at this point, they've adamantly demonstrated that they are not interested in fixing it, so I am steamrolling on the legal path until the end. I honestly believe they are brushing something under the rug with this misfire / backfire noise. The internet contains quite a few references to owners with this problem - all of which seem to be getting the runaround from Honda.

 

Good luck on your quest! Hopefully, you're not suiting the dealer, but rather American Honda? Keep us posted on your progress! Maybe you'll be the cause of another class action like the odometer one.

 

I hope I don't have to sue anybody, but it will be American Honda if and when that happens.

 

Um... has anyone here not experienced this problem?

 

I haven't.

 

Nor me. Mine is just fine so far and I hope it continues to stay like it is. I really like this car and the way it delivers the POWER when called upon.

 

I haven't either, but I'm only 250 miles in (had to fill the gas tank today, though). Not terribly impressive 20-point-something MPG so far. I'll look it up tomorrow and put it into the database. Hopefully, it's just first tank blues. Plus, my father (who hasn't really driven in years and probably didn't look at the Econ light much) did most of the driving with that first tank while my wife and I were travelling.