KellyCrash wrote:
> I admittedly know next to nothing about cars. Honda emails me I need
> the 45K service. I made an appointment & took it into my local Honda
> dealer for the service. When I made the appointment I said, "My check
> engine light is on also. Can you check that?" Yes, not a problem.
>
> When I came in on the day of my appointment I said again that I need
> the 45K service & my check engine light is on. I asked if it was on
> because it needed this service. The tech. said no. She said it
> usually comes on because of a problem with the emissions system.
>
> An hour goes by & the tech. comes to me in the waiting area and says
> that the Check Engine light is on because the engine is misfiring. She
> said that they needed to flush the pistons? Perhaps I didn't hear her
> correctly, but I swear that is what I heard her say. She says it will
> be about $100. OH & they reccomend that I have the power steering
> fluid replaced. Perhaps because of my ignorance I am remembering what
> she said incorrectly. One thing that I clearly remember was that there
> were two extra services they were performing and that each service was
> about $100 & that one of those services was supposed to take care of
> the engine misfire problem. Great. $500+ on my car. Just what I was
> looking forward to. We just spent $500 for a brake job that I'm almost
> positive could have been avoided. That's a vent for another thread.
>
> So I have spent $1000 on this hunk of junk this summer while still
> making monthly payments. I understand Hondas are great cars and
> whatnot, but you can't prove it to me right now. It might drive nicely
> and be a nice car, but I've never spent this much money on a car while
> still making payments.
>
> Anyway, the VERY next day I start the car up. My 2nd trip of the day &
> the Check Engine light is on again!!! Talk about pissed off!! I am
> livid. I called the dealership and the person is at lunch that I need
> to talk to. I leave a message. The person calls me back about an hour
> later & I didn't hear the phone ring. 45 mins after that I call back
> and make an appointment to bring my car in the next day.
>
> So I bring it in for service and the people are telling me that the
> service that was performed would most likely not take care of a engine
> misfire problem, but that it might. What the **** is that all about?
> My receipt says, "Air Intake Service (Throttle Plate) BG2902 BG2902 Air
> Intake Service (Throttle Plate) BG2902 57 CPK 1 2902 Plenum Service
> Kit Total price for this is $99.86. They said that the check engine
> light could be on for any number of reasons and that a misfire code
> could be any different number of things, but that service would most
> likely not take care of it. WTF???
>
> I'm so pissed. I have just moved from MA to NC. I purchased my car in
> MA and the dealership I have dealt with up there has always been very
> nice & pleasant and knowledgable. I am so mad that I was told the
> service that was performed would take care of my problem & it didn't.
> To go back there and for them to tell me that service most likely would
> not fix the problem is infuriating. I want to know why the hell the
> service was done & charged to me if it wasn't going to take care of the
> problem.
>
> So after an hour at the dealership today they said they need more time
> to run further tests to figure out what's wrong.
>
> I asked if they had a shuttle car that could take us home. NO. I
> asked if they had a loaner car I could take. No again.
>
> Oh I'm so pissed off. We took my car home and got my husband's car &
> returned to the dealership to drop my car back off.
>
> I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm dealing with incompetents and
> getting ****ed in the process.
>
> Is this normal? Is my frustration and feelings uncalled for?
>
> Thanks for reading. I would appreciate any input you might have.
>
ok, you are getting hosed, but getting pissed won't work as a remedy
strategy. call honda usa's national customer service line, and calmly
explain the problems. write them out before hand if it'll help you be
able to do it more effectively.

here's the deal on the car:

1. the check engine light will give a code the dealer can read off the
engine computer. that should give them an exact diagnostic on the
problem. they should tell you the code - it'll be something like
"p0145". look that up in the odbcII code list on tegger.com to see what
it means.

2. a "flush" service is likely injector cleaner. you can do that
yourself for $5 or less.

3. $500 for a brake job at only 45k miles is a little steep. it's
technically possible it needed the service, but statistically unlikely.
discuss that with honda usa's customer service rep. have your
invoices handy.

4. there is no power steering fluid service interval specified by honda
- it's usually good for the life of the car. don't buy that one.

5. the plenum service is throttle body cleaner. again, it's possible at
your mileage, but unlikely. you could do that yourself, depending on
how handy you are.

6. your car is almost certainly still under warranty!!!

bottom line, call honda and calmly explain what happened, why you think
it unreasonable, and /ask/ what can be done about it. honey works much
better than vinegar. if you do this right, honda will call the dealer
for you and tell them to sort you out. again, honey works better than
vinegar. don't call when you're angry!!!

good luck. get back to us with any questions. and once you've sorted
this out, find yourself a different dealer or a good independent
mechanic to deal with this stuff from now on. your wallet is ultimately
your best weapon.