NHTSA Complaint #10692199 — 2012 HONDA CIVIC

ON THE FIRST OCCASION, UPON TURNING THE KEY TO START THE ENGINE THERE WAS NO IGNITION. I TURNED THE KEY OFF AND TRIED IT AGAIN AND THE ENGINE STARTED SO I THOUGHT IT JUST MY IMAGINATION PLAYING TRICKS ON ME. ABOUT SIX MONTHS LATER, THIS OCCURRED AGAIN AND IT TOOK NUMEROUS TURNS OF THE KEY TO START THE CAR. HONDA INSPECTED THE CAR AND REPORTED NOTHING WRONG. ON THE NEXT OCCASION, I LEFT THE CAR WITH HONDA FOR A WEEK. THE RELATIVELY NEW LOANER CAR (HONDA CROSSTOUR) GAVE ME THE SAME PROBLEM ONE DAY WHILE MY CAR WAS BEING INSPECTED. I PRESENTED VIDEO TO THE SERVICE MANAGER WHEN I PICKED MY CAR UP AND RECEIVED THE SAME DUMBFOUNDED LOOK I HAD BEEN GETTING ALL ALONG FROM THE SERVICE REPS AT CARY, NC AUTOPARK HONDA. UPON PICKING MY CAR UP, I WAS TOLD THEY HAD FOUND A TECHLINE REFERENCE CONCERNING OCCASIONAL STARTER ISSUES WITH SOME OF THE NEWER HONDAS. THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE A COPY UPON MY REQUEST, BUT THEY DID CHANGE OUT THE STARTER. WHEN I CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA, MY REQUEST TO GET THIS CHANGE OF STARTER AND THE ISSUE IN WRITING FOR POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE, THE REQUEST WAS DENIED AND I WAS TOLD ALL MY FILES ARE SAVED BY HONDA AND THAT IF ANY NEEDS WERE TO ARISE IN THE FUTURE, THEY WOULD EVALUATE COVERAGE FOR THE REPAIR. ON A SEPARATE OCCASION (BATTERY WOULDN'T CHARGE PROPERLY), I WAS TOLD (AFTER THE UPDATE) THAT THE CHARGING FREQUENCY SOFTWARE HAD TO BE UPDATED AND THAT IT WOULD ONLY COST ME $60. I WAS QUITE IRRITATED WITH HONDA TRYING TO MAKE ME PAY FOR THE SUB-PAR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AT THE MANUFACTURING LEVEL AND REFUSED TO PAY A DIME. IT IS A SHAME HONDA SEEMS TO BE CONTENT WITH SINKING TO THE DEPTHS OF OTHER CAR MANUFACTURERS, AND I WILL BE LOOKING AT OTHER MAKES NEXT TIME AS HONDA IS NO LONGER THE COMPANY I HAD BELIEVED IT WAS. IT IS A REAL SHAME WHEN LOYAL CUSTOMERS ARE TREATED LIKE THEY ARE NOT NEEDED FOR THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF HONDA. OH WELL! *TR