2003 Accord EX Radio problem

The back lighting on my radio/CD player went dark. I suppose it must be a bad connection internal to the radio?

Reply to
Wayne L
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Or something that has been posted and discussed here. Check the archives on your news server or

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A number of people have had success getting Honda to cover the repair.

Reply to
Seth

There's a bulletin on this; do a search on the various honda newsgroups, and you'll find plenty of discussion on it.

Make the dealer replace the radio. If you're out of warranty, you *may* have to pay the labor, but no matter what Honda will replace the radio.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

that's not true! I've done several out of warranty that honda would not pay for at all. A bulletin does not mean they will fix it free forever, or even eat part of it. Chip

Reply to
chip

But if a customer doesn't ask, then he'll NEVER get it repaired under warranty, will he?

You forget about the goodwill warranty. You forget about the customer's relationship with the dealership service department.

Any service manager can authorize the warranty replacement of something like a radio all on his own, without contacting the zone rep first. It all comes down to, does he want to?

For a solid customer, a smart manager has no problem doing this. But he can't do it if he's never asked to do it.

ALWAYS ask on EVERY repair that seems like it shouldn't have been required. Sometimes the answer is "no". That's perfectly OK. But you'll never know if you don't ask.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

I agree with Elmo but would add that after asking - argue and after that contact Honda regional or national customer service. If the answer is still no - and we are talking about the radio illumination problem - save your receipts because this problem is so widespread that Honda will eventually extend the warranty and reimburse you.

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

Reply to
Al

Update

Great news Boris. Your persistance paid off!! If you remember, mine was still in warranty, barely (35,100 miles, bought it

5 Oct 2002). I sent the dealer an email 1 Oct 05 telling them about the radio problem, included my VIN number and referenced service bulletin 04-027, where it says "If the customer calls ahead to schedule an appointment, and the vehicle is in the affected VIN range (mine is...all 2003 GX L4) order the remanufactured audio unit right away so it is available when the customer comes in." I was alos goin gto take care of a year old minor recall notice I got for 3 other things, which I was going to ignore forever if that's all they were going to do, because I hate going to car dealers or mechanics and wasting a half day or more of vacation time at work. Any way, despite the service bulletin directive, they absolutely refused to order the radio first and insisted that I would have to come in so they could see it with their own eyes. So I got an appointment and went there on 3 Oct 05 and they did the recall fix in about an hour or so and said that they would order the radio and call me when it arrived. So here it is 2 weeks later and I'm still waiting for their phone call.

And get this........the service invoice they gave me when they were finished (no cost to me) listed the "radio unit" 39175-SDA-A11RM TUNER ASSY. RMD as having a list price of $976.71............for a used, remanufactured radio, with what amounts to either an 8 week or at most a 1 year warrenty. And I thought Bose had the most overpriced radios in the world!

Then to put salt in the wound..........as I was checking out, the guy behind the counter doing my paperwork told me that my front brakes were down to about 1 millimeter left. That night after work I got a flashlight and looked as best I could at the front brake pads. They sure looked like they had a lot more than a millimeter left. Now, on a lot of cars the inside pads wear faster than the outside pads because the two halfs of the calipers don't slide very easily because of accumulated dirt and grime, which makes the inner pads put more pressure on the disk than the outer pads. So the next Saturday after I went ot and bought new pads all around, I pulled off both front calipers and one rear caliper.

The new front pads had 10.5 mm of brake material on them, minus the 2 mm on the inside pads where the little sheet metal "squeeler" extends up to make noise rubbing on the rotor to let you know you are down to a couple of mm left and ought to put new pads on. On the front dirver side there was 7 mm of pad material left on the inside and 6.5 mm on the outside. On the front passenger side both inside and outside had 6.0 mm left.

So, using the thinner passenger side of 6.0 mm, minus the 2 mm squeeler, minus say 1 mm more so I don't have to listen to the squeeler until the next weekend when I can chage the front pads........that leaves 3 mm to go, which is conservatively 300% more than Mr. Bad Wrench the car expert behind the service counter told me!

Since at the time I measured the pads, the car had 35,100 on it, and had used up 4.5 mm of the available 7.5 mm (or 60%), the whole 7.5mm will be worn down when the car hits 58,500 miles, and still have 0.5 to 1.0 mm left before the squeelers stars rubbing. I should have cut off the squeelers. Then I could take it down to 1 mm left at 81,900 miles. Obviusly, these figures are different for each car, depending on your driving conditions and habits.

BTW, the new rear pads were 8.0 mm thick. The thinnest rear pad on the car was 4 mm thick with a 1.6 mm squeeler, leaving say 2 mm to go, which should be at about 52,650 miles.

Also BTW, I pushed the calipers in about a millimeter to make them easier to put back on and got no symptoms of piston sticking and overheating which is a good sign that the piston boots are keeping the dirt out. The calipers slid very easily too, which tells me that boots on the side pins were keeping the dirt out too. Some cars have exposed side pins and they get cruddy and cause the very uneven wear and result in the inner pads wearing out much quicker than the outer pads.

So, my new friend "Mr. one millimeter left" again reinforces my decades old habit of staying as far away as possible from car dealerships and the people who work in those places.

This is my first trip to the dealer since I bought the car and because they refused to honor the instructions on their own service bulletin I have to go back again. I expect to keep this Honda (my 3rd, 2nd new one) until about

2008. I bought it because my last one was about the most reliable car I ever owned. That 1987 Accord never had a recall. If I have to go back there again after the radio gets replaced, my next car will be a Toyota. I heard they are pretty reliable too.

I also got an email from Honda with a questionaire about how great there service was or wasn't. I'm waiting to get my free used radio installed before I give them my opinion about my two missed work half days that should have been just one, and about the brake job they tried to sell me that I didn't need. Reminds me of the $800+ brake job my poor sister got at the dealer on her 99 Grand Prix about a year ago. Wonder what they get of a rebuilt tranny.....$10 grand?

Wayne

Reply to
Wayne L

dude, call the national customer service number and explain. remain calm & rational. they will take care od the dealer and take care of you. you will get your car fixed. then never return to that dealer again.

Reply to
jim beam

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