Maintenance costs and reliability

[NbyNW]

Yearly oil change today. $344.93. Battery checked out good. Set for another year.

And a big milestone - passed 10,000 miles driving to the dealer. A number that would horrify some other exotic brand owners.

It’s a rock solid exotic.

 

[SCS2k]

My 2017 with 11k miles on it is now at the dealer for the 3rd time for the same problem and it has now been there for nearly 3 wks. Starting about 6 mos. after I purchased it with 760 miles on it, I would randomly get "brake system failure", 'hill start assist problem", "all wheel drive system problem" "brake hold system problem" lights on the dashboard. It would go into "limp home" mode but would still drive. Stop the car, turn it off for 15-45minutes and it would be fine. Dealer can't figure out what it is and is waiting for Acura to send an engineer to evaluate the car because they don't know what else to do. Very disappointing from both a quality and customer service standpoint. I am scared to death to see what happens when the warranty runs out. I will like simply get rid of it while the prices are high. Hold the cash until the market corrects and pick up a GTR or Porsche. I expected better from this car and from Acura/Honda.

 

[DocL]

My 2017 with 11k miles on it is now at the dealer for the 3rd time for the same problem and it has now been there for nearly 3 wks. Starting about 6 mos. after I purchased it with 760 miles on it, I would randomly get "brake system failure", 'hill start assist problem", "all wheel drive system problem" "brake hold system problem" lights on the dashboard. It would go into "limp home" mode but would still drive. Stop the car, turn it off for 15-45minutes and it would be fine. Dealer can't figure out what it is and is waiting for Acura to send an engineer to evaluate the car because they don't know what else to do. Very disappointing from both a quality and customer service standpoint. I am scared to death to see what happens when the warranty runs out. I will like simply get rid of it while the prices are high. Hold the cash until the market corrects and pick up a GTR or Porsche. I expected better from this car and from Acura/Honda.

I had the same issues with my 2017 Lemon. Have they changed the battery? Good luck.

 

[SCS2k]

They are supposedly changing the battery now.

 

[Bricks and Bio]

Did they change the 12V battery prior to this?

The car will definitely through codes if the 12V battery voltage is low.

I had one issue when the car was getting toward 4 years old, once the 12V batter was changed, all has been fine.

 

[drmanny3]

My 2017 with 11k miles on it is now at the dealer for the 3rd time for the same problem and it has now been there for nearly 3 wks. Starting about 6 mos. after I purchased it with 760 miles on it, I would randomly get "brake system failure", 'hill start assist problem", "all wheel drive system problem" "brake hold system problem" lights on the dashboard. It would go into "limp home" mode but would still drive. Stop the car, turn it off for 15-45minutes and it would be fine. Dealer can't figure out what it is and is waiting for Acura to send an engineer to evaluate the car because they don't know what else to do. Very disappointing from both a quality and customer service standpoint. I am scared to death to see what happens when the warranty runs out. I will like simply get rid of it while the prices are high. Hold the cash until the market corrects and pick up a GTR or Porsche. I expected better from this car and from Acura/Honda.

Cars can be complex to analyze and sometimes don't always play by the rules. This is a limited production car (total world wide production ~2400 across all years) so it is not surprising that Techs don't know it all. Perhaps you can find a car that doesn't give you pause.

The battery if not on a tender can drop below a certain voltage and the dash will light up with all sorts of error codes. If when you bring the car in and the battery is charged back up and holds the charge then it is not replaced. I had this experience with a Dealer in my neighborhood. As noted the batteries last approximately 4 years. So my question to you is did the Dealership ever tell you or write up the first time you brought the car in? What about the second time you brought the car in? And of course now on the third time have they not mentioned anything as to what their conclusions were? I have a hard time believing that nothing was done during those visits.

Life is too short to be with something that does not make you happy. Sell the car now as it will return a decent price and find something you feel will be better both as to the ownership and Dealership experience. Porsche delivers excellent customer service at very reasonable prices. Go for it!

 

[Stkpikr]

My 2017 with 11k miles on it is now at the dealer for the 3rd time for the same problem and it has now been there for nearly 3 wks. Starting about 6 mos. after I purchased it with 760 miles on it, I would randomly get "brake system failure", 'hill start assist problem", "all wheel drive system problem" "brake hold system problem" lights on the dashboard. It would go into "limp home" mode but would still drive. Stop the car, turn it off for 15-45minutes and it would be fine. Dealer can't figure out what it is and is waiting for Acura to send an engineer to evaluate the car because they don't know what else to do. Very disappointing from both a quality and customer service standpoint. I am scared to death to see what happens when the warranty runs out. I will like simply get rid of it while the prices are high. Hold the cash until the market corrects and pick up a GTR or Porsche. I expected better from this car and from Acura/Honda.

Really surprised that your dealer had not changed your battery right off the bat. This forum has had many examples of a weak battery throwing all sorts of codes. For some reason the 12v battery in the NC1 doesn't last what would be considered a normal lifespan. When I was searching for my 2018 I always checked Carfax and noted many batteries replaced even a year or 2. My NCI's battery had already been changed out after 2 years. In the 8 months I have owner her, have not had any problems. It must be frustrating to have the car out of your hands for so long. If a new battery does correct your problem, give her one more chance. Other than batteries, I think the car is rock solid.

 

[Gattiman]

My 2017 with 11k miles on it is now at the dealer for the 3rd time for the same problem and it has now been there for nearly 3 wks. Starting about 6 mos. after I purchased it with 760 miles on it, I would randomly get "brake system failure", 'hill start assist problem", "all wheel drive system problem" "brake hold system problem" lights on the dashboard. It would go into "limp home" mode but would still drive. Stop the car, turn it off for 15-45minutes and it would be fine. Dealer can't figure out what it is and is waiting for Acura to send an engineer to evaluate the car because they don't know what else to do. Very disappointing from both a quality and customer service standpoint. I am scared to death to see what happens when the warranty runs out. I will like simply get rid of it while the prices are high. Hold the cash until the market corrects and pick up a GTR or Porsche. I expected better from this car and from Acura/Honda.

Buying a 4 year old car with 700 miles imho is worse than buying one with 50k miles. Cars aren’t designed to sit for 4+ years at a time without being driven. Hard to blame Acura for your issues in this instance.

 

[SCS2k]

Cars can be complex to analyze and sometimes don't always play by the rules. This is a limited production car (total world wide production ~2400 across all years) so it is not surprising that Techs don't know it all. Perhaps you can find a car that doesn't give you pause.

The battery if not on a tender can drop below a certain voltage and the dash will light up with all sorts of error codes. If when you bring the car in and the battery is charged back up and holds the charge then it is not replaced. I had this experience with a Dealer in my neighborhood. As noted the batteries last approximately 4 years. So my question to you is did the Dealership ever tell you or write up the first time you brought the car in? What about the second time you brought the car in? And of course now on the third time have they not mentioned anything as to what their conclusions were? I have a hard time believing that nothing was done during those visits.

Life is too short to be with something that does not make you happy. Sell the car now as it will return a decent price and find something you feel will be better both as to the ownership and Dealership experience. Porsche delivers excellent customer service at very reasonable prices. Go for it!

The first visit I had thought it was due to an incorrect tire size. No investigation was done at that time. Battery was tested and I was told it was fine. The second time, I had purchased my own OBD2 reader and the only code that came up was P011 if I recall correctly indicating something to do with cam timing on bank one. With each time the lights have come on, this is the only code that has come up and it comes up every time. That sensor was replaced with the 2nd visit but did not correct the issue. They have since checked the connector and talked with Acura tech support but other than change the battery with the third visit, nothing else has been done and no cause has been found. Once I have the car back and since prices are good to sell for now, I will consider selling it and getting something I can rely on. This is my 3rd NSX, I had expected better.

 

[SCS2k]

Buying a 4 year old car with 700 miles imho is worse than buying one with 50k miles. Cars aren’t designed to sit for 4+ years at a time without being driven. Hard to blame Acura for your issues in this instance.

I bought the car in October 2019 with 760 miles on it. No where did it say that it sat 4+ years and was not driven. How many miles are needed for me to be allowed to be concerned about this? I don't think it is unreasonable to expect it to work properly if not, then the manufacturer should be able to fix it.

 

[Gattiman]

I bought the car in October 2019 with 760 miles on it. No where did it say that it sat 4+ years and was not driven. How many miles are needed for me to be allowed to be concerned about this? I don't think it is unreasonable to expect it to work properly if not, then the manufacturer should be able to fix it.

So it’s sat for 2+ years without being driven. Still pretty bad. And a dealer not being able to fix it isn’t Acura it’s a dealer. If you haven’t replaced the battery and all the fluids when you got it that’s on you and you’re likely seeing the result. You can always take it somewhere else and get another set of eyes on it.

 

[SCS2k]

I just found the picture I took of the code reader. Exact code each time has been P0011. " A camshaft position timing over-advanced or system performance bank 1"

 

[NbyNW]

They are supposedly changing the battery now.

Update with a new battery?
If still selling someone is getting a great car with a new battery and probably no codes for 2-3 years.

 

[SCS2k]

Update with a new battery?
If still selling someone is getting a great car with a new battery and probably no codes for 2-3 years.

I haven't picked up the car yet.

 

[SCS2k]

Update with a new battery?
If still selling someone is getting a great car with a new battery and probably no codes for 2-3 years.

they did an oil change and replaced the battery. Four days later the warning lights have returned. Still waiting to hear back from the dealer and Acura/Honda what they plan to do next.

 

[NbyNW]

they did an oil change and replaced the battery. Four days later the warning lights have returned. Still waiting to hear back from the dealer and Acura/Honda what they plan to do next.

Sorry to hear. Hope they have a solution.

 

[JRE]

Every Fcar owner I know is concerned with mileage. To the point that the cars are hardly driven.

I chatted with a guy in a F12 at the gas station recently. He asked me how many miles I've put on my NSX. When I told him I've put over 9k miles on it, he about fell over. "Wish I could put that many miles on my car", he said. I answered with, "It's a Honda."

Brilliant answer

 

[DocL]

they did an oil change and replaced the battery. Four days later the warning lights have returned. Still waiting to hear back from the dealer and Acura/Honda what they plan to do next.

Any update on the cause of the problem?

 

[drmanny3]

I can remember the old days where you could read a schematic and isolate the culprit as most circuits were discrete. Now to reduce the wire runs multiple circuits run on the same wire and the signals are digital packets that the ECU interprets. Saw this in Aerospace industry decades earlier. So I can imagine when a sensor throws a signal it becomes a project figuring out the why and especially for the fix. While it is a real inconvenience, as long as the Dealership and Acura work to solve it what more can you ask?

I had a 2014 Toyota Rav4EV compliance vehicle that threw a SOS airbag fault code. Toyota built the car and Tesla provided the electric motor and all the software. It was an absolute shitshow trying to fiber out which sensor, which airbag was throwing a code. At the time I did not know whether the airbags would work in the event of an accident. It took 6 separate visits to finally fix the issue. They had to remove a seat and replace the airbag in the seat side. This meant unseeing removal, replacement, waiting and finally resetting the seat. So I do understand the frustration.

 

[SCS2k]

Any update on the cause of the problem?

I have been working with Acura/Honda to find a solution and meanwhile the problem has occurred two more times. They are flying a technician/engineer out this month and I will be dropping the car off at a different dealer this time and hopefully it will be fixed.

 

[DocL]

I have been working with Acura/Honda to find a solution and meanwhile the problem has occurred two more times. They are flying a technician/engineer out this month and I will be dropping the car off at a different dealer this time and hopefully it will be fixed.

All I can offer, and I'm sure you are already doing it, is for you to keep calling and pushing for an immediate resolution. The technician/engineer that came to see my car was very nice and sympathetic the issues I was having, although they could not figure out the problem.

Sorry to hear you are struggling with this issue.

 

[R13]

All I can offer, and I'm sure you are already doing it, is for you to keep calling and pushing for an immediate resolution. The technician/engineer that came to see my car was very nice and sympathetic the issues I was having, although they could not figure out the problem.

Sorry to hear you are struggling with this issue.

Understanding your "experience" around your car was at some point irrecoverable, did you ever get any closure on the technical issues? I don't think I've heard many real horror stories outside of yours (hoping SCS2k's goes smoother) where an NC1 has just up and fucked off without much explanation. Are there more in the secret squirrel group, or are you guys really unfortunate outliers?

(mainly posting to subscribe to the thread, but I am curious)

 

[drmanny3]

From what I have read those issues are really outliners rather than the norm. This car is pretty solid and reliable. When a car is new things, can happen where even a properly performed FMEA (failure mode effects analysis) suggests what can go wrong and the probability associated with that outcome, as well as the impact of that failure. This analysis is only as good as the expertise of the engineers who perform it. So shit can happen.

 

[Bram]

You are so right..."shit can happen".....however, when you have to pay monies from your pocket, its a different story.

Bram

 

[DocL]

From what I have read those issues are really outliners rather than the norm. This car is pretty solid and reliable. When a car is new things, can happen where even a properly performed FMEA (failure mode effects analysis) suggests what can go wrong and the probability associated with that outcome, as well as the impact of that failure. This analysis is only as good as the expertise of the engineers who perform it. So shit can happen.

Understanding your "experience" around your car was at some point irrecoverable, did you ever get any closure on the technical issues? I don't think I've heard many real horror stories outside of yours (hoping SCS2k's goes smoother) where an NC1 has just up and fucked off without much explanation. Are there more in the secret squirrel group, or are you guys really unfortunate outliers?

(mainly posting to subscribe to the thread, but I am curious)

When I was going through my Lemon Law process there were four other people at the same time going though the process. We all communicated with each other, and all of us ended up with Acura taking the car back. We no longer stay in contact. Furthermore, there was another doctor in my same town whose car was also bought back. Add to that that an owner of a dealership where I live whose engine needed to be replaced.

The other people weren't registered here, and they weren't as vocal as me. And it became very obvious that anyone taking sh!t about the car was exiled from the group. I really don't care anymore about the NC1. But seeing how Acura is handling the Type-S sales, well that says more than I can say. Acura doesn't really care about the end user. I'm glad to be rid of my NC1, and I'm quite happy with my decision.