Honda Car Forum

I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says
will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just
went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio
stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still
play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features
and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to
control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there.
Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local
radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have
found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature
selection is a bit of a gamble.

I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on
this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known
problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I
called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the
problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes,
they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel
better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started
to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so
sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer
service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even
if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll
cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio
unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and
can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had
a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and
stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a
demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make
this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty.
A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said
they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy
that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has
no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I
could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.

So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite
person took down all of the key information about my problem including
what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on
my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.

I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm
barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known
problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty
period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow
hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car.
But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing
the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they
have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very
reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers
right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and
buyers for many years.

I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.

Mike Bartell
Fairfax, Va.

A $1000???

NO.

I own a company called Sound Solutions in Maryland.
(not the one in VA). We do repairs on OEM radios.

I have not looked at your failure, but a repair through
us should run around $240. We have a truck that services
the Carmax in Dulles (Sterling) if you want us to repair your
existing radio. No need to purchase a new one. I would
require two trips. One to get the model number of your
radio, then a second to exchange it. In between we would
order you an advanced exchange (because of your AC
controls being all in one unit)

Let me know if you need our help.





"Mike" <bartell@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1117562733.944991.224310@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says
> will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just
> went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio
> stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still
> play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features
> and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to
> control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there.
> Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local
> radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have
> found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature
> selection is a bit of a gamble.
>
> I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on
> this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known
> problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I
> called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the
> problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes,
> they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel
> better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
> 39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started
> to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so
> sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer
> service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even
> if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll
> cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio
> unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and
> can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had
> a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and
> stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a
> demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make
> this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty.
> A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said
> they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy
> that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has
> no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I
> could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.
>
> So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite
> person took down all of the key information about my problem including
> what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on
> my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.
>
> I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm
> barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known
> problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty
> period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow
> hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car.
> But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing
> the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they
> have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very
> reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers
> right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and
> buyers for many years.
>
> I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.
>
> Mike Bartell
> Fairfax, Va.
>

On Tue, 31 May 2005 18:51:14 -0400, "Masterson"
<adam@soundsolutionsmd.com> wrote:

>A $1000???
>
> NO.
>
>I own a company called Sound Solutions in Maryland.
>(not the one in VA). We do repairs on OEM radios.
>
>I have not looked at your failure, but a repair through
>us should run around $240. We have a truck that services
>the Carmax in Dulles (Sterling) if you want us to repair your
>existing radio. No need to purchase a new one. I would
>require two trips. One to get the model number of your
>radio, then a second to exchange it. In between we would
>order you an advanced exchange (because of your AC
>controls being all in one unit)
>
>Let me know if you need our help.
>
>

they didn't do a recall because it isn't a safety issue. if you
pull it out and smack it i bet it will come back on. it has to be a
bad solder joint in my opinion. since honda doesn't build stereos
it's up to their vendor.
Chip
>
>
>
>"Mike" <bartell@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1117562733.944991.224310@f14g2000cwb.googleg roups.com...
>>I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says
>> will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just
>> went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio
>> stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still
>> play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features
>> and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to
>> control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there.
>> Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local
>> radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have
>> found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature
>> selection is a bit of a gamble.
>>
>> I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on
>> this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known
>> problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I
>> called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the
>> problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes,
>> they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel
>> better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
>> 39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started
>> to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so
>> sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer
>> service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even
>> if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll
>> cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio
>> unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and
>> can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had
>> a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and
>> stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a
>> demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make
>> this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty.
>> A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said
>> they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy
>> that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has
>> no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I
>> could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.
>>
>> So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite
>> person took down all of the key information about my problem including
>> what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on
>> my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.
>>
>> I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm
>> barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known
>> problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty
>> period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow
>> hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car.
>> But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing
>> the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they
>> have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very
>> reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers
>> right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and
>> buyers for many years.
>>
>> I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.
>>
>> Mike Bartell
>> Fairfax, Va.
>>
>

HAHA......

Chip you make me laugh!

Violence and electronics dont mix. "Slaping" it
is not a good repair. Temporary at best.







> they didn't do a recall because it isn't a safety issue. if you
> pull it out and smack it i bet it will come back on. it has to be a
> bad solder joint in my opinion. since honda doesn't build stereos
> it's up to their vendor.
> Chip

On 31 May 2005 11:05:33 -0700, "Mike" <bartell@gmail.com>
wrote:

>I love my 2003 Accord EX. But I have a problem that the dealer says
>will only cost me about $1000 to fix. Last week my radio display just
>went dark - couldn't see anything - no climate information, time, radio
>stations, etc. Nothing. The unit continued to work OK - I can still
>play the radio and change stations, select differnt climate features
>and temps, but I just can't SEE anything on the screen - have to
>control it from memory. I checked the fuses - nothng doing there.
>Very frustrating. On the positive side, I've discovered some new local
>radio stations by using the SCAN button that I would not normally have
>found since I usually stick to my preset stations....and temperature
>selection is a bit of a gamble.
>
>I did some checking and found that Honda issued a service bulletin on
>this problem right after the 2003 models shipped - it's a known
>problem. But they didn't issue a recall (there's a difference). I
>called the dealer (Fairfax Honda in Fairfax Virginia) and explained the
>problem. I told him about the service bulletin, etc. He said yes,
>they know about theis particular type of problem. I began to feel
>better. But his first question was about the car's mileage - I have
>39,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I then started
>to get that very uneasy feeling in my stomach. The dealer says, so
>sorry, it's out of warranty. I said, but there was a manufaturer
>service bulletin on it and surely Honda will fix a known problem, even
>if I'm a few thousand miles out of warranty. Dealer says, sorry, it'll
>cost about $1000 since the replair involves replacing the entire audio
>unit. But, the good news is that they have several units in stock and
>can do the replacement the same day. Interesting. I guess they've had
>a fair number of these to replace so they're planning ahead and
>stocking new audio units. Dealers don't do this unless they have a
>demand (and Honda has a problem). Too bad Honda didn't choose to make
>this a recall and cover the cost, no matter what point in the warranty.
> A bad design is a bad design and should be covered. The dealer said
>they had no ability to work with me on this, that it was a Honda policy
>that when it's out of warranty, its out of warranty and the dealer has
>no lattitude to work with the customer on a solution. I was told I
>could appeal to Honda if I didn't like the policy.
>
>So I called Honda Customer Service (1-800-999-1009) where a very polite
>person took down all of the key information about my problem including
>what I was told by the dealer. She said that she will "open a case on
>my problem" and one of their examiners will get back to me soon.
>
>I'm very hopeful that Honda will make this right for two reasons - I'm
>barely out of warrantly, but more importantly, it's been a known
>problem since 2003 and should not (IMHO) be limited by the warranty
>period. If I don't get any support from Honda, I'll probably swallow
>hard and pay the price since it's still cheaper than buying a new car.
>But it would probably be my last Honda. I'm counting on Honda doing
>the right thing. Honda makes pretty good vehicles and I think they
>have earned their reputation by not only making affordable and very
>reliable cars year after year, but also by treating their customers
>right with the goal of making them want to remain Honda owners and
>buyers for many years.
>
>I'll do a repost and let you know how it turns out.
>
>Mike Bartell
>Fairfax, Va.
Mike, the exact same thing happened to us 2 weeks ago in our
'03. Our dealer installed a remanufactured (they are an
Alpine product) all we paid for was the install ($89.00).

If you are over the 36,000 3 years, $89.00 was reasonable, if you are
under, they stole $89.00 from you.

For them to only charge labor implies that Honda paid for the radio - if
so why didn't Honda also pay for the labor? If Honda didn't pay for the
radio you have a pretty good dealer.


> Mike, the exact same thing happened to us 2 weeks ago in our
> '03. Our dealer installed a remanufactured (they are an
> Alpine product) all we paid for was the install ($89.00).

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 18:35:29 -0400, Al
<XnospamX@optonline.net> wrote:

>
>If you are over the 36,000 3 years, $89.00 was reasonable, if you are
>under, they stole $89.00 from you.
>
>For them to only charge labor implies that Honda paid for the radio - if
>so why didn't Honda also pay for the labor? If Honda didn't pay for the
>radio you have a pretty good dealer.
>
>
>> Mike, the exact same thing happened to us 2 weeks ago in our
>> '03. Our dealer installed a remanufactured (they are an
>> Alpine product) all we paid for was the install ($89.00).
85k

85,000 miles = Out of Warranty.
$89.00 = Reasonable





>>If you are over the 36,000 3 years, $89.00 was reasonable, if you are
>>under, they stole $89.00 from you.


>>> Mike, the exact same thing happened to us 2 weeks ago in our
>>> '03. Our dealer installed a remanufactured (they are an
>>> Alpine product) all we paid for was the install ($89.00)

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 05:04:09 -0400, "Masterson"
<adam@soundsolutionsmd.com> wrote:

>85,000 miles = Out of Warranty.
>$89.00 = Reasonable
>
>
>
>
>
>>>If you are over the 36,000 3 years, $89.00 was reasonable, if you are
>>>under, they stole $89.00 from you.
>
>
>>>> Mike, the exact same thing happened to us 2 weeks ago in our
>>>> '03. Our dealer installed a remanufactured (they are an
>>>> Alpine product) all we paid for was the install ($89.00)
>
I'd say

>
> they didn't do a recall because it isn't a safety issue. if you
> pull it out and smack it i bet it will come back on. it has to be a
> bad solder joint in my opinion. since honda doesn't build stereos
> it's up to their vendor.
> Chip
>

That line of reasoning makes no sense. Honda is the responsible party
no matter if they build a component in their own factory or buy it from
someone else. The customer did business with Honda. Honda chose which
parts to make and which to buy and chose who to buy them from.

John