[JB75]

I know many of you love your Civics but for me the letter writing campaign starts today.

I returned the car to the dealer for the sixth time yesterday and issued them with a number of gripes, most of which had been reported as part of earlier returns. The "good" news is that they are to fit a new fuel cap in response to it still failing to open first time. However, the car will have to go back for a seventh visit as the part wasn't in stock. Apparently water collecting in the doors is now a known issue: the rubber plugs in the doors are upside down. I shudder to think what's going on at Swindon: a spring in my rear suspension was also fitted upside down.

To my annoyance the rattling I still hear from the rear of the car was dismissed, as was the occasional ticking from under the dashboard, as was my complaint that the boot has to be slammed to shut. I am not impressed. While driving home I took the car over some manhole covers and speed humps: it still rattles as though something is loose at the rear. If it's a "characteristic" it's a pretty bad one.

What galls me most is that I'm actually paying for this nonsense. I do wish it was the originally intended Audi A3 sat on my drive right now.

 

[geoff]

in agreement

mines in for a week to try and fix some of the faults
i have sent a letter saying i am not going to accept the reply we can't fix the faults not that we won't
much the same in my book
the only good news is the service manager is running the same model ES as me and he has some of the faults but not all of them

so will update next week

I am getting fed up with the newcomers comments about me moaning so maybe i will be quiet for a while
but maybe not

 

[Brodick]

I am sorry for all your problems guys
but as I have said in previous posts Now is perhaps the time for people with '06 cars to go to their delaers any with any outstanding issues
as the factory now seem to be more on the ball with the '07 cars
(although I have to say I am surprised at dealers trying to fob customers
off - we have had the Same Honda dealer for 6 years and so far we have
had no issues with them!) I am sure this will continue with our new cars
they know they can't fob me off

 

[geoff]

We have

thats the point we have been back and back again and been told awaiting fix from honda

 

[Honcho]

I am getting fed up with the newcomers comments about me moaning so maybe i will be quiet for a while
but maybe not

Geoff, NO ONE on this site has the right to tell you you're moaning.

 

[geoff]

hope not

I hope not I don't want to blacklisted

 

[Topcat]

I am getting fed up with the newcomers comments about me moaning so maybe i will be quiet for a while
but maybe not

I think they are referring to several people Geoff (myself included) you have every right to pass your comments in the forum and I think people looking to purchase the Civic have a right to know that things can go wrong.

I am at the dealers every week on my day off, mainly for the paintwork issue at the moment, today I met the guy who runs the Honda approved bodyshop to discuss the car. It is going in for repair soon £950 worth!! I thought that was quite good though considering it covers 8 panels now

Once the body work is looking good again I will concentrate on the other problems but seeing as Honda UK have now ignored, two emails, 3 phone calls and two recorded delivery letters I wont hold out much hope. But I have to say changing dealers has stopped my frustration which is why I am less stressed about it all. I am getting to know them really well and actually feel like they want to help me.

 

[basegreen]

Call me slightly strange, but many of the cars with a LOT of issues, seem to be the silver ones. Anyone ever figured out if it's a batch issue?

 

[boltonbrowny]

hi jb75, i dont know if this has been posted before and i know it is only one of the problems you have but i had the annoying fault with the boot, on picking my alloy up from honda last week i told one of the sales staff if there was a quick remedy, it took him seconds to put it right and its been perfect since...i think he merely twisted the black bung type stoppers(sorry about the description) on the boot...sorted it.

 

[PhilCarrie]

hi jb75, i dont know if this has been posted before and i know it is only one of the problems you have but i had the annoying fault with the boot, on picking my alloy up from honda last week i told one of the sales staff if there was a quick remedy, it took him seconds to put it right and its been perfect since...i think he merely twisted the black bung type stoppers(sorry about the description) on the boot...sorted it.

that was one of the things my salesman told me when i picked up the car!! happens on the back doors too, takes two secs to sort out!!

 

[Willie]

Call me slightly strange, but many of the cars with a LOT of issues, seem to be the silver ones. Anyone ever figured out if it's a batch issue?

That was the very point I was going to make. I have the same spec car as Topcat ( Alabaster Silver 1.8 SE ) and have had many of the same problems. My car has been back for 10 days in total and I still have a couple of problems outstanding. The dealer has been first class though especially the service manager.

 

[Willie]

That was the very point I was going to make. I have the same spec car as Topcat ( Alabaster Silver 1.8 SE )

just noticed JB75 has same spec !

 

[JB75]

Three is definitely a pattern! I will be putting pen to paper in the next few days, I don't take things lightly when five figure sums are involved.

I could probably put these admittedly minor faults in a better perspective if I was pleased with the customer service of the dealer, but the truth is I am not.

 

[geoff]

same on es

I have an es with a glass roof and have the creaking roof, the dual zone air con is a common problem my service manager has this, the screen rattle lots of owners have and the fuel cap you feel left out if you didn't have it
And so it goes on the robots must have had quite a lot of bad days

 

[bounce75]

JB75 it is not just Honda that have problems, in this months What Car a certain Audi model has 55% of warranty claims. That is awful for what is considered at top marque.

 

[geoff]

all seem to have problems

why do all the cars seem to have problems now
if at the end of the day my honda is fault free i will be happy
lets hope so when i collect it next week

 

[boltonbrowny]

Did you test drive the A3 jb75? one of the lads has one of these as a company car, i found it pretty claustrophobic in the back, but mainly pretty dull, compared to the civic anyway..imo

 

[Topcat]

Call me slightly strange, but many of the cars with a LOT of issues, seem to be the silver ones. Anyone ever figured out if it's a batch issue?

Probably a coincidence - I have a friend with NHB and all the same problems.

 

[JB75]

bounce75: I appreciate that other marques have problems but I can only react to my own experiences, and right now even the dull Megane I considered could be a more popular sight on my driveway.

boltonbrowny: I did visit Audi and I had my heart set on an A3 until I looked around a Civic and weighed up price and spec. Quite typically for me I changed my mind at the last minute and decided I would get more car for my money with the Honda. I must admit that I thought the A3 was a little expensive for the specification. I also recall thinking to myself that you couldn't really go wrong with a Honda: for reasons unclear I was under the impression they were built to the highest conceivable standards and problems were barely heard of.

 

[Brodick]

bounce75: I appreciate that other marques have problems but I can only react to my own experiences, and right now even the dull Megane I considered could be a more popular sight on my driveway.

boltonbrowny: I did visit Audi and I had my heart set on an A3 until I looked around a Civic and weighed up price and spec. Quite typically for me I changed my mind at the last minute and decided I would get more car for my money with the Honda. I must admit that I thought the A3 was a little expensive for the specification. I also recall thinking to myself that you couldn't really go wrong with a Honda: for reasons unclear I was under the impression they were built to the highest conceivable standards and problems were barely heard of.

JB you could buy a megane and have double the number of problems you've had with your Honda ( having said that it's such an old car now
it should be fairly fault free)

(I know this is no comfort to you whatsoever - but I am going to say it anyway)

Honda has obviously had a number of problems with this all new design and with the new electrics built into the car - this many problems and complaints is a new thing for Honda and they have obviously struggled to
keep their standards up - where as manufacturers such as VW, Audi, Volvo, Ford, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen - I could go on have had years of experience. I feel that this has been a blip in Honda's standards and customer service. Things do seem to have improved with the '07 Build cars.

I hope now at this stage (January 2007) that Honda will start to help it's dealers more with the '06 cars that are still having problems and that your car will be fixed