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Honda Accord Quality Control Issues
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Comments
My feeling is Honda doesn't want you to upgrade their vehicles and only want you to buy factory parts. Ironically, an entire factory OEM catback exhaust costs just as much as a stainless steel exhaust from DC Sports. (That's where I get my nickname from by the way). If anyone is interested, here is their website:
http://www.dcsports.com
The problem with Mugen is their parts are so expensive. A Mugen muffler can run you around $800.00 alone!
The way I drive, I'd expect about another 25K miles out of them. But, hey, my son turned 16 last Feb. and got his license. I'm sure he "babies" the CRV just like dear old dad...LOL
I drive in LA on several times a year and I can understand how regular rush hour commuters could be happy getting 25K on a set of pads.
Still am amazed to see so many people driving down the road with their brake lights on-their mechanics love them.
riswami: isellhondas means well but is what I would term as a Honda "MARK".
rbruehl: Sorry about your transmission but I do remember that isellhondas apologized to you sometime ago. I guess he realized that V-6 transmissions do fail no matter how many times you back up an Accord in a dealer's lot.
Sure isellhondas is bias; he sells Hondas for a living so you have to expect those kinds of answers from him.
these do, however have a VERY high failure rate. Ask any transmission shop.
And...sorry, but early Taurus and Sables break front engine mounts like mad when equipped with the 3.8 engines.
I know you don't believe me but ANY mechanic or shop will fill you in on the motor mount problem.
Nasty suckers to replace too!
Of note in the article, the Accord transmission (automatic) was not as smooth shifting as the others in its class. Cabin noise was also more pronounced than the others being tested. The Accord reliability was outstanding according to the article though.
Honda shifts rather abruptly due to the design-Honda and a few other manufacturer's auto design is similiar to a stick shift which supposedly increases reliability but exhibits a bit of a jerk when shifting. I will take reliability any day. To keep Honda auto trannies happy, I would suggest changing ATF every 35K (using Honda ATF), not 90K as suggested in the manual. Got a tranny CEL code at 70K-changed the ATF and no problems for the next 54K.
The only thing I like that VW has is a 12 year rust through warranty. Still cannot understand why Honda only has a 3 year 36K power train warranty compared to its competition.
I have seen Passat's and they look nice but I question the VW reliability. It seems like once a VW hits the 80K mark, it is one repair after another.
Of course, the longer the warranty the greater the expense to the company. People who buy Korean cars are actually paying for the costs of these longer warranties in the price of the cars!
I do know, however, that the length of a warranty can be the main reason for buying a particular car. Sometimes, I wish Honda would go to maybe a
5/60 warranty and just raise the price of the cars a few hundred dollars or whatever to fund this.
But...I'm sure their marketing people are smarter than me.
It was like pulling teeth for Honda to do anything regarding my V-6 transmission replacement outside of a lawsuit. That would have been the next step. Honda finally gave in and replaced my transmission. Probably had more to do with me purchasing Hondas at the same dealership over the past 15 years.
Still, I would be happy to see prices go up a bit for a longer warranty to please folks like yourself.
And, I'm sure I've had people buy A Hyundai or a Kia strictly based on the warranty.
Not a wise move in my opinion but everyone has different "hot buttons".
Toyota Camry-5 year/60,000 miles
Nissan Altima-5 year/60,000 miles
Honda Accord--3year/36,000 miles
Honda's competition provides the warranty coverage on the power train which everyone expects. Honda's 3 year package is nothing more than Honda saving itself repair costs. This is why all Honda dealership push the Honda Care package which gives you peace of mind.
Honda needs to adjust its power train warranty accordingly. As far as Hyundai and Kia's warranties, you are comparing apples to oranges isellhondas! Hyundais and Kias are not as reliable as Hondas, Toyotas or Nissans and this is how they stay in the ball park sales wise. If you have an unreliable car, you want a good warranty and both Hyundai and Kia offer these to its customers.
It is, simply a marketing decision.
As a shareholder I'm sure you would want a good return on your investment as well?
And, again, this isn't something I hear a great deal about from my customers. It comes up rarely.
Lengthing the warranty at a modest increase in price wouldn't bother me at all.
All cars washes in the Northeastern USA use recycled water. Minerals are not eliminated in the recycling process. Halite known as rock salt is not removed in the recycling process.
Turns out the car needs a new transmission - after 5 straight Hondas, we were quite surprised and VERY disappointed
We even more surprised when the Honda mechanic quietly mentioned to my father "this has happened to a few others too"
I'm glad I've got the 5 speed and not the auto in mine!
You are absolutely right, take the car to the dealer to have the transmission replaced and don't let them give you the round around. They are well aware of the problem at Honda.
Honda utilizes the 3yr/36K powertrain warranty to its advantage. Of course the consumer wants a 5 year 60K power train warranty or better.
Figures do not lie!
Lugwrench you seem very quick to constantly point out that the Accord transmission is "problematic and well documented". So what are you referring to? The transmission on the V6 or the I4? and more importantly, since you drive a Toyota why do you care?????????
Honda had huge sales increases in November without zero financing or any other real gimmicks. So tell me lugwrench how do those figures "lie"??? And the close to 400K sales each of Civics AND Accords each year? Do those figures "lie" too???? It doesn't seem like the Honda warranty is scaring anybody away (or maybe they would sell 500K each with a longer warranty!!). Warranty may be important to some but a well engineered and built vehicle is more important to me (and many others) than a longer warranty.
You are right, "figures don't lie" and Honda sales figures speak volumes.
It is well documented that their are transmission problems in the 6th Generation Accords. If you would spend more time reading some of the posts here at Edmunds and at the NHSTA you would notice the trend. Especially problematic are the 6th generation V-6 transmission. Talk to any transmission specialist and they will also inform you of this trend.
If you would spend more time reading comments than attacking posts, you might be enlightened regarding this issue. By the way, figures don't lie and consumers are educated to the fact that a power train warranty is important. You just answered your own rhetorical question--yes Honda might sell 500K cars per year instead of 400K.
mine is a 2001EX 4 cyl 5sp....
are we happy now?
And in regards to warranties I'll say it 'till the cows come home, I'll take a Honda with NO warranty over a Hyundai with 10 years. In my book quality sells, if someone makes the warranty their deciding factor I hope they enjoy their vehicle and the service department.
He especially enjoys bringing up the long solved V-6 transmission issues for the benefit of people new to these forums.
But...will an ocassional transmission fail...in ANY make or model? Of course! It's a rare thing that CAN happen.
And, I have NEVER heard of a 4 cylinder late model Honda with a transmission problem until just now.
gaspee, sorry, but your (or any) five speed can have a glitch too. Stuff happens!
I hardly think this is the case. Around here anyway they are seldom even seen and are almost impossible to sell as used cars.
I own a Honda Accord and for the most part I am very happy with it. As a consumer, I would love to have a 5 year 60K power train warranty from Honda and anyone that wouldn't, I would have to question their sanity.
Honda owners have a tendency of "denial" when anything is mentioned to the contrary regarding Hondas. Instead of doing their own research, they usually are the first to criticize. Most love to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that problems do not happen on Hondas.
It is about time that people be realistic in their postings. This is the real world and things happen even to Hondas!
In conclusion carguy62, a little compassion on your part would be welcome in addition to some facts regarding your posts. I see to much "hip shooting" on your part.
Compared to most other cars though I think it can be honestly stated that these problems are pretty minimal.
I think carguy is simply fed up with lugwrench constantly jumping from forum to forum pouncing on anything anti-Honda ad nauseum...
I couldn't believe my eyes for a moment!
I have no reason to come up with numbers relating to good or bad transmissions. I'm not the one constantly shouting about it. If someone constantly says it is "well documented" why don't they show us all????
Perhaps some Honda loyalists go around with blinders but I am realistic enough to know that any piece of machinery can have a problem.
I termed him a Honda "Mark" but I love your term of "resident gadfly" better. At least this forum discusses Honda Quality Issues and doesn't get to personal. (cough, cough).
I noticed that objectivity isn't a strong point of isellhondas. Some of his replies have merit but most are and I will quote Lugwrench are "Sounds like the Honda PR machine". MikeGold_1966's term "gadfly" is a perfect definition of isellhondas.
Don't get me wrong, everyone has a right to express their own opinions but there are a few here that seem to stir up trouble. (isellhondas and carguy62 come to mind). It is fine being negative but don't be negative and attack others.
Case in point is isellhondas saying that Lugwrench posts on other boards in a negative fashion.
Let's discuss issues here ladies and gentlemen. Honda does have its share of problems like other manufacturers but there has been a trend that Hondas have become more problematic lately.
Will have to say one thing though, isellhondas is a little to zealous. He accused Lugwrench of rubbing his hands with glee when a defective transmission is mentioned. I fail to see his reasoning and his negative comments. isellhondas has offered little regarding Honda Accord Quality Control Issues. Instead, he sounds like a broken record when something isn't to his liking. His so-called knowledge seems little and his aggressive comments are alarming.
If a car has a transmission problem, so be it but don't accuse others of being joyful. Maturity has a place in this discussion and I see very little from isellhondas.
This board is titled "Accord Quality Control Issues". There is no board like that on any of the Honda Owner's clubs, not the Civic, CRV, or Odyssey. So it would seem to me that there is perception among more than just a few people that quality has been slipping over the years with Accords. Let's keep the discussion to that.
A poster said the following "Honda's transmissions since 1998 have been problematic and well documented. Everyone knows of the problems with the exception of isellhondas for reasons quite apparent."
I will ask again. Show me the evidence, numbers, percentages, etc. to back up this statement. While many reading this forum may be aware of some problems with the V6 transmission, the above stament is more general and misleading and makes a very big error in assuming "everyone" knows. At the very least that statement is an exaggeration, and quite possibly an out and out lie. A person who makes that kind of blanket statement is stirring up trouble.
.
So I will patiently wait for the data to back up that statement.
Just how widespread are these V-6 tranny problems, and how do they compare with industry averages?
Please note that I am not calling anyone a liar regarding their own experience. I am questioning how realistic it is to project one's own problem onto all cars.
I just get weary of seeing problems blown up out of proportion. If this makes me a bad guy, immature, or a "gadfly" than so be it.
And lugwrench I may have confused your postings with those of the other honda detractor who seems to have disappeared. Sorry if this is the case.
I started this topic basically due to the high amount of transmission problems regarding the Accord V-6. In addition, I wanted to cover other Honda quality control issues that have appeared over the past 5 years.
There have been numerous posts regarding transmission problems. Some of you believe there are problems and others don't! Most of the others that don't stem around isellhondas. He sells Hondas for a living and he will defend Accords and other Honda vehicles at all costs. There isn't much introspective knowledge on his part that doesn't defend Honda.
Honda does not share its failure rates of any one item with any service reporting agencies as some other car manufacturers do. Simply put, you have to go to the NHSTA or forums such as this nature.
Every time someone posts about a transmission failure, 95% of this board takes the information as a quality assurance issue. The other 5% debates the issues demanding facts and basically are in a state of denial.
As far as personal attacks, most have revolved around one poster, isellhondas. He did apologize to Lugwrench since he accused him stirring up trouble on other boards that just wasn't the case.
So let's all start at the beginning and keep this forum civil and informative! Everyone now has a fresh start so let's start helping each other instead of causing problems.
It wouldn't surprise in the least regarding Honda Accord transmissions. It seems from various posts and other forums, the V-6 as well as the I-4 have transmission irregularities in the 6th generation model. It was interesting that someone posted here that Honda was looking to hire an engineer for their transmission plant/supplier.
The 95% factor is a little low, I would save 97% of the posters take a positive approach to the information supplied on this topic. Sorry, isellhondas, but you have been the perpetrator on many of the issues that evolve into a slugfest. As a salesman, I can see your point but you need to take a realistic approach.
Didn't Rodney King say "Why can't we just all get along"? Good advice that needs to be taken to heart.