NHTSA Complaint #10268219 — 2001 HONDA CIVIC

I OWN A 2001 HONDA CIVIC LX SEDAN. THE CAR HAS ABOUT 81000 MILES ON IT. ON MAY 2ND 2009, THE CAR JUST STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOWED IT TO THE NEAREST AUTO SHOP. THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST REVEALED THE CODES TO BE P0740 AND P0730, WHICH I AM TOLD, INDICATE A BROKEN TORQUE CONVERTER AND A FAULTY TRANSMISSION. I THEN TOOK THE CAR TO HONDA IN MISSION VALLEY, SAN DIEGO. THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION UNIT. WHEN I ENQUIRED THE REASONS FOR THIS, THE TECHNICIAN'S ONLY RESPONSE WAS BADLUCK'. HE QUOTED THE PRICE FOR THE REPLACEMENT AS $2600. ON MAY 4TH, I OPENED A CASE WITH AMERICAN HONDA, MAINLY BECAUSE THE CAR HAS ONLY 81K MILES ON IT, IS NOT VERY OLD AND I HAVE RECORDS FOR ALL THE RECOMMENDED SERVICES FOR THE CAR. ABOVE ALL, A CAR JUST STOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT ANY SORT OF WARNING IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD. GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, I AM GRATEFUL THAT NO ONE WAS INJURED DUE TO THE MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. THE NEXT DAY, A CASE MANAGER FROM HONDA, MR. SERGIO SUAREZ, CONTACTED ME. WE SPOKE FOR CLOSE TO AN HOUR, WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO REACH ANY MUTUALLY FAVORABLE RESOLUTION. WHILE I APPRECIATE MR. SUAREZ'S POLITE DEMEANOR, HE WAS ULTIMATELY INDIFFERENT ABOUT ANALYZING MY CASE. MR. SUAREZ DID NOT EVEN REQUEST TO SEE THE SERVICE RECORDS FOR THE VEHICLE. IT SEEMED TO ME LIKE HE HAD ALREADY MADE HIS CONCLUSIONS BEFORE TALKING TO ME AND NEVER INTENDED TO ADDRESS MY CONCERNS. MR. SUAREZ, IN FACT, AT THE END OF THE CALL NOTIFIED ME THAT I AM NOT A CUSTOMER OF HONDA AND THAT HONDA HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS MY VEHICLE OR ME. *TR