Not changing name to Honda TRANSMISSION Co. any time soon

[matteni]

Ala the "snap ring" known manufacturing problems that were not owned up to - check this out...

USA Today ran an expo. on Honda transmissions. Apparently there were so many transmission failures on TL/CL/Prelude/Accord/Odysseys that the NHTA was swamped with calls. Owners have had 2 or 3 replaced and they are backlogged for a long time. Honda kept denying it, making customers pay who where not in warranty, and ticking off customers (check out the TL and Odyssey boards - you wont believe how they are treating people). There was one guy that just had his tranny go out during the test drive! Others are on their 2nd or 3rd transmission in as many years.

From USA Today "The moves came after angry owners swamped online forums and appealed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a safety recall because of a transmission that could slip out of gear, not go into gear, abruptly downshift or refuse to shift."

Below is Honda's response. Unfortunately there have been instances of the transmission locking up. It has not always been as Honda says where people have plenty of time to realize the tranny is failing. There are several reports of catastrophic tranny failure on the boards. Even if it fails and you can pull over, how would you like to be in northern Canada with a van full of kids in the middle of winter?

Also - many people bought extended warrantees FROM HONDA to cover their own problems with these transmissions (giving Honda a huge profit for selling a defective and expensive transmission). Many more paid out of pocket and MAY now get reimbursed. They are still investigating the extent of the problem and if it will cover additional years/cars. At this time my Honda is not part of the extension but I am no less upset for those (like my sister's family) who are. They are saying it was related to a particular supplier. IMO this is a clear safety issue and demands a full recall before people are hurt or killed.

So if I understand this right - if your family is traveling at 70 MPH legally on our highways and the transmission implodes locking the gears and sending your family to a violent and premature death - as long as you are under 100,000 miles they will pay to have what's left of your transmission scraped off the road and replaced under warranty.

That is assuming you didn't re-use a crush washer or use a non Honda recommended windshield washer fluid.

Honda covered it up as long as they could and will not replace a KNOWN safety issue. They had actuaries figure out how many of us could be injured or die, sue, and win and compared that to how much replacements would be. They are signing this deal in blood - IMO.

-----------------
American Honda Extends Warranties on Select

Automatic Transmissions
From Honda Newsroom:
http://www.hondanews.com/

Torrance, CA 09/20/2002 -- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced today it will provide extended warranties on approximately 1.2 million Honda and Acura models equipped with automatic transmissions due to problems that may result in premature wear or failure. The extended warranty will cover affected transmissions for seven years or 100,000 miles.
The standard bumper-to-bumper warranty for Honda vehicles is three years or 36,000 miles, while Acura vehicles are covered for four years or 50,000 miles.

Vehicles covered by the extended warranty include:

2000 - 2001 Honda Accord, Odyssey and Prelude
2000 - 2002 and some 2003 Acura 3.2 TL
2001 - 2002 and some 2003 Acura 3.2 CL
While only two percent of these vehicles have experienced these transmission problems, American Honda will provide extended transmission warranties on all potentially affected vehicles. "Our priorities are making sure our customers are taken care of and reassured they can continue to depend on their Honda or Acura automobile for a long time to come," said Tom Elliott, executive vice president for American Honda.

There is usually plenty of warning to the driver that the transmission is not operating properly, such as slow or erratic shifting, giving them ample time to take the vehicle in for service.

American Honda will notify all owners of eligible vehicles via mail in the coming weeks.

 

[nsxtasy]

It sounds to me like there IS a problem with the transmissions, but Honda is standing behind them and replacing them under warranty. That's been the gist of most of the articles that have appeared in the press, such as this one.

Maybe there are a few folks who have had problems and have posted on the boards, but most such instances are being handled as warranty claims.

Kudos to Honda for extending the warranty.

 

[matteni]

Huh?,

Are you implying that Honda did the right thing by this - on their own?

Actually thanks for the link / Good article - more fuel for my argument that this should not be a TSB (like the snap ring on NSX) or extended warranty (like they are doing on some of the model years) - but a full recall of affected units. The only reason ANYTHING is happening is that people are SCREAMING and turning them into the NHTS. Notice that the same cars shipped to other markets ARE NOT covered at this time.

Basically - like the snap ring this is a calculated and financial decision. Since no one has been hurt and a significant number of these WILL fail after 100,000 miles and the estimated hurt/dead do not justify a recall at this time they are willing to bet that this is the least expensive way out. Who in there right mind would buy a used car affected that has 90,000 miles? A car the size and height of an Odyssey can roll if the driver experiences any of this at highway speeds and does not react correctly. This could cost people their lives - much similar to the Firestone / Ford fiasco.

If you want to believe that Honda is so wonderful for building over a million (it will be millions when the investigation ends) BAD transmissions and is so generous only after tens of thousands of complaints and letters - then fine - I know a few thousand people that will sell you a used TL/CL/Accord/Odyssey/Prelude in a few years.

Here are my favorite quotes from your link:

----------------
His year-old Acura TL Type-S surged forward, hitting close to 80 mph on Boston's Route 3. Then, with no warning, the five-speed automatic transmission slipped from fifth to second, pulling the car up as sharply as if he had slammed on the brakes.

"Fortunately, the people behind me were able to swerve, so there wasn't an accident," the 23-year-old computer engineer recalled. "But it could have been pretty bad."

----------------

Several on an Internet forum for Acura owners have complained of having to replace transmissions several times before getting one that did not self-destruct. Not all own older vehicles either.

Jim Mincy, a Michigan real estate broker, said in an e-mail interview that his 7-month-old 2003 Acura TL Type-S is headed back to the dealer for its second replacement transmission.

-------------------------

Most of those interviewed had no complaints about how Honda and its dealers have treated them. But many echoed Veno, who said his problem transmission will haunt him--and Acura--for a long time.

"I bought this car because of the company's reputation for quality. I was going to buy a Honda product and drive it for 250,000 miles," he said. "But now I can guarantee you that when the warranty is up, the car is gone. And this will probably be in my mind when I go looking for a replacement."

 

[sexytoy]

Honda's been piss poor with correcting this. I have a 2001 SS Prelude and it's had problems already (18000 miles). They tell me everytime I take it in "all honda's do this"

I'm getting rid of it and looking for a NSX right now... but that doesnt help the other people with these cars.

Take the preludes for example: 97-01 are the SAME transmissions. Honda's only extending the warranty on 00-01 models.

I, personally, will never own another automatic transmission that Honda makes.

 

[Tony Montoya]

The NSX automatic is a very good transmission. I beat on it and it never breaks. I change the fluid every 20,000 km.

 

[Joel]

Great. My gf has a 96 Civic. How's that going to affect her?

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by Joel:
Great. My gf has a 96 Civic. How's that going to affect her?

Not at all.