Honda main dealership UK.

My sisters owns a 1997 1600 se auto Civic with ESP, ABS, aircon, leather trim, etc etc.. It's a lovely car in excellant condition.. Mileage is 67K with two owners from new. and a full service history.. My sis bought it about 6 weeks ago.. (on my recomendation) :paranoid:

About 2 weeks after she bought it, when going up a big hill en route to visit a friend who lives about 20 miles away, she noticed it was slowing down and lacking power. There are no big hills where she lives, so she was unable to repeat the test for me. All was well for about another week, then she said the car was losing power more and more often.. Ok. So at that point I told her to get the car taken to her nearest main Honda dept for a diagnosis and estimate for repair.. :) (that was last wednesday 23rd April)

She was told by the dealer, that the cam belt had slipped a notch or two, and the bill would be approx £450 (£ = 2$) .. hmm... Now that's an odd amount, either it should have been about £150 ish just to replace the belt or, if the valve gear had been damaged, about £800 + dependant on the extent of the damage caused.. :paranoid:

So my bro rang them on Monday.. He was told that the car ran fine when they connected some sort of machine to it, that feeds in petrol plus injector cleaner, but as soon as it is fed by her cars fuel line it wont run properly.. They said they were going to consult with their "diagnosis engineers" and would ring back.. (No mention of a cam belt this time)..

When he rang again today, he told my Bro that they needed some sort of fuel pressure tester, and couldn't find it, so they had ordered a new one for tomorrow, and he will ring again after the test is completed, at this point they suspect the fuel pump is not delivering fuel at the right pressure.. :dunno:

When asked-reminded about the cam belt, he said it was loose, and that they had replaced it.. But it had proved not to have been the cause of the problem.. ??? (will my sis get a bill for that? if so, why?)

Sooo we await tomorrows phone call, and I will add whatever happens to this post.. Up to now, I am deff NOT impressed with her Honda dealership!!
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A belt slip will NOT induce that symptom and then have the symptom disappear. I am not to impressed with your dealership either. My guess would be fuel starvation also, at least a pressure test would be a good LOW COST place to start. It could be as simple as a clogged fuel line or bad filter... even bad gas will do it if it has enough water/moister in the line(or sugar is someone does not like you).

One other quick thing they can check is the ignitor/rotor brush/cap contacts for wear, that will cause bad performance and misfire.

FYI, that car will run to 175,000-200,000 miles easy if taken care of properly

Hi Schu, and thank you for your comments. With which I agree 100%. :)

As a matter of interest, my sister lives in central London, about a mile from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, so we are NOT talking about some tiny hick dealership way out in the sticks here, they are a main Honda dealership in the UK's capital city!!

Personaly I think they thought they were dealing with an elderly lady living on her own, and decided to talk rhubarb and overcharge her.. But maybe I am just being cynical huh.. :naughty:

Be interesting to see what the next phone call brings.. heh heh.. :) But even if they do ring again tomorrow as promised, they have already had the car in their workshop for a week!!
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WOW... a week, that is not acceptable.

TODAYS UPDATE --

The Honda dealer rang my bro today.. He tells me the test thingy has arrived, but-- It wont fit the Civic, so they have had to order an adaptor for it?? That wont be available till tomorrow morning!! dohhh.. :dunno:

Asked about the estimated bill up to now, he (Honda dealer) said they had NOT replaced the cam belt. but had fitted a new tensioner.. They have also fitted new spark plugs, and -- He said they had removed the exhaust system because they thought the problem may have been due to back pressure caused by a possible blocked pipe, that had proved not to be the case, as the pipe was clear. .?? .. :dunno:

When asked what the ECU readout was, he said there were no fault codes recorded.. :dunno:

My bro then asked when my sister was going to get her car back? The reply was "Hopefully we will have it ready on Friday"... ?? :dunno:

At that point, not wishing to start a major dispute whilst they were still holding the car, my bro dropped that line of enquiry, and asked them to ring him tomorrow after they had done the test..

We await tomorrows call with interest. :paranoid:
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WOW... talk about wandering around in the dark without a clue. time for a new dealer. I say a day in the backyard with some guinness and I could have had her up and running again, terrible mate.

Good on you for keeping your cool while they tear up your sis's car.

You know us Yanks... 15 minutes over due and we're on the phone to our lawyer(s)

Hi Schu.

LOL @ lawyer bit :biggrin: but -- Untill the car has been repaired, and I have had chance to look at their detailed repair bill, I am not really in a strong enough position to make any decisions regarding possible legal action.. :dunno:

But -- Once my sis has her car back, then I will be sending a formal complaint to (A) Honda uk.. And (B) to the RAC recovery company who took her car to that particular dealership in the first place.. :naughty:

Having read their report on repairs carried out, and formed an opinion as to how relavant that work was to the actual problem.. I may at that point decide to take legal action against them.. I hope it doesn't come to that though.. :dunno:

Us brits do the same as you Yanks, but we do it in a more calculated, and less emotional manner.. In other words, we are sneakier than you! lol "softly softly catchee monkey".. :lmao: :yes:
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LOL... Nice!:thmsup:

UPDATE Well the adaptor arrived too late (the dealer claims) for them to have tried it yesterday... Grrrr...

I have spoken to my bro who is dealing with this at the moment, sugesting he now contacts the RAC and demands they either get some sort of action from the garage "they" chose to take the car too, or.. Move the car to a more capable dealership post haste!!!

I await the outcome of that phone call... But NOT with any hope!! And as and from today, I do intend to persue this matter personaly, once the car is safely out of the present Honda dealerships hands...

This weekend is a bank hol here, so the garage will be closed for 3 days.. At that point they will have had my sisters car for 13 days! and as far as I can tell, they are no nearer to repairing it, than they were 13 days ago!!!
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UPDATE.

Having finally got the car tested on their fuel pressure test machine. They now claim the cars fuel pressure is unreliable.. Sooo They are going to fit some sort of in-line valve on the fuel line at a cost of £95 (£1 = 2$).. If... that fails to work, (and I'm failry confident that the valve wont make any difference) they will fit a new fuel pump at a further cost of £350 (700$) bring the final estimated bill to around £1,100 .. (2,200$).. ish..

So.. My plan remains unchanged, I will wait untill the car is back with my sister, then I intend to examine their bill very closely, and in all probability, this matter will end up in the law Courts.. :(

In my opinion, fixing a car with a faulty fuel pump should NOT have cost that sort of money!! :paranoid:
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UPDATE..

As I predicted, the new in line valve did not solve the problem. They are now awaiting delivery of new fuel pump.. :dunno:

I have informed the garage that my sister starts a 2 week holiday on Tues 13th of May, so if the cars not ready by then, they will have to house it for two more weeks, and be charged for an auto hire car during her holiday period. . :dunno:

Its now Monday, I phoned to check on progress, but there is none, they are still waiting for the fuel pump from the main Honda depot - store??

My sister has delayed her hol for 24hrs in the hope the car will be ready by Wednesday morning.. I seriously doubt it will though.. :( if it's not ready, my bro will pick her up and take her to where we are all meeting, and I will loan her my Honda.. I can use my ZX.. :)
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UPDATE

Honda fitted a new fuel pump to the Civic.. But that did not cure the fault! They are now awaiting the arrival of a "new relay electical assembly" whatever that may be.. :dunno:

When I phoned today, I was told that the Managing Director was now involved, and that they could not discuss the matter with anyone but the vehicle owner? This was in spite of my sister asking my bro and myself to sort the car issues out on her behalf., and giving the garage our phone numbers as to whom to contact.?

The dealership has now had the car in their workshop for over a month! And to date the car is still not been repaired! Legal action is now pretty well a certainty.... :dunno:

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Wow, those guys are pretty incompetent! It's unbelievable! :thumbsdow

what the :thumbsdow...i hate stealerships

James I've never heard anything quite like that........involving a Honda anyway. Genuinely sorry to hear of it.

Conclusion.

Well my sister went to collect her car Yesterday.. And was told that -- the problem was the valve timing!

When the car was taken in for repair, my Bro asked them to change the cam belt whilst they were sorting the other problem out, as we did not know if that had ever been done.. Sooo

When they took the covers off the cam belt housing, they claimed that the belt was loose and had skipped a tooth or 2.. They then fitted a new belt and a new tensioner.. But.. It seems they put the new belt back in the old belts original position!!! I.E. a tooth or two out!!! :banana: :paranoid: :thumbsdow

The rest of the story you already know.. dohhhh..... :thumbsdow

The only good news is -- They dropped their bill for £1.200 to £350 as that is the charge for all work pertaining to the actual fault the car had originally....

Apparently their hourly rate is £90 per hour for labour!! Yikes!! My sis will NOT be dealing with them again, And has reported them to Honda UK and the RAC.. :paranoid:

PS. My sis phoned today to say the car has a loud rattle coming from the back somewhere --- But she is going away for a few days so it will have to wait till she gets back before she can take the car back. --- uh ohhhh.. :paranoid:..

PSS. The honda bloke collected my sisters car.. On returning it he told her that quickfit had made a mess of fitting her exhaust!!! lol.. Needless to say she told hime THEY had removed-replaced the exhaust system themselves.. He then handed her a receipt for £40 ($80) saying he had filled her car up for her.. She thanked him, informed him that she had no intention of paying for any fuel, and closed the door!! lmho... :banana: :thmsup:

Hopefully that's the end of this unhappy saga.. :dunno:
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