NHTSA Complaint #11182010 — 2008 HONDA CIVIC

MY USED 2008 HONDA CIVIC WAS OVERHEATING AND I DROPPED IT OFF AT MY GARAGE FOR EVALUATION. ON 2/14/2019, MY MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT MY ENGINE BLOCK WAS CRACKED AND WAS UNDER WARRANTY. I CONTACTED NORTH AMERICAN HONDA, INC. AND REQUESTED THEY REPLACE THE ENGINE UNDER WARRANTY. THEY REFUSED AS THE CAR WAS TOTALED AND SALVAGED. I HAD NEVER BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH 2006-2009 CIVIC ENGINES AND THE WARRANTY. HAD I BEEN NOTIFIED BY HONDA, WHEN MY CAR WAS TOTALED IN 2014 BECAUSE OF A SEVERE HAIL STORM, I WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED THE $10,000 FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND BOUGHT A REPLACEMENT CAR. SINCE MY CAR IN 2014 WAS SIX YEARS OLD, I THOUGHT THAT ALL WARRANTIES HAD EXPIRED LONG AGO AND SALVAGING THE CAR APPEARED TO BE A GOOD DEAL. I GOT $10K AND HAD A MECHANICALLY AND OPERATIONALLY SOUND VEHICLE WITH LOW MILEAGE. RESEARCH HAS SINCE SHOWN THAT HUNDREDS OF CIVIC OWNERS WERE NOT NOTIFIED AND HONDA ROUTINELY STRICTLY ENFORCES THE WARRANTY. FOR FOUR YEARS HONDA WAS SELLING A DEFECTIVE CAR AND DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO HIDE FROM THE PUBLIC. MANY OWNERS RECOUNTED THE CAR JUST SHUTTING DOWN ON THEM. I OFTEN DROVE IN 70MPH SPEED LIMIT ZONES ON THE PA TURNPIKE IN HEAVY COMMUTER TRAFFIC. HAD MY ENGINE SHUT DOWN SUDDENLY THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT POSSIBILITY THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED IN THE SUBSEQUENT ACCIDENT. THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY NHTSA DID NOT FORCE HONDA TO ISSUE A PROVISIONAL RECALL. ALSO, HONDA SHOULD HAVE ISSUED AN UNLIMITED WARRANTY INSTEAD OF RESTRICTING THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS FROM DATE OF PURCHASE. IT APPEARS TO BE A CASE OF UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICE AT BEST AND OUTRIGHT FRAUD AT THE WORST.