I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there. Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature selection is a bit of a gamble.
I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes, they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty. A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite person took down all of the key information about my problem including what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.
I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car. But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and buyers for many years.
I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.
Mike Bartell Fairfax, Va.