So from previous good experience, I thought buying brand new
"J-cars" would mean that I can enjoy trouble-free service from
my commuters for atleast 4-5 years... i am not at all convinced
that i got wat i paid for. And these cars are not even 10months old.

06 Legacy (built in Indy)- wheel bearing replaced at 7500miles.
Dead spider inside the sealed projector headlight that the dealer
can't get out, and dealer reluctant to replace with a loaner's
headlight. I told them that's a defect ...im not asking for a
brand new headlight, but something equivalent...ITS A BRAND
NEW CAR I BOUGHT for crying out loud! help me out... the
swap takes no more than 30min.. no, they won't do it. :impatient

06 Civic (built in Ohio) - bad front driver side strut 1500miles.
I left the car at the dealer at 8am yesterday... parts had to be ordered
so the car stayed overnight...i was fine. Part comes in at 3pm, the
tech's shift ends at 3:30pm so the SA calls to tell me I have to wait until
Noon tomorrow to pickup. wtf ... i can do a strut swap with
handtools within 30min, I told her (SA). she says it's best to have the
same tech look at the car; they will do it "first thing in the morning"
wtf again, it's a damn strut, anyone can do the swap why
would it take all friggin morning (they open at 7am) to do ONE strut?!
i tell her. she says anyway, it's best to wait because she wants me
"to be happy"... I told her how could I be happy with a
brand new car with less than 1500miles that needs to be worked on
for 2.5 days for one stupid strut?! She said sorry, but she didn't
build the car... (i thought that was kinda cute) and goes on
saying that she wants me to give her a good score on their performance
survey. i could not stop laughing...and realized that i just
ok'ed to pickup my car tomorrow at Noon. give me a break. :impatient

I should've just bought the silver 06 CVT MC that i originally wanted...:impatient

 

You need a Lexus (built in J)

 

Makes the MCS look better and better as a daily commuter! I probably shouldn't say this but my feeling for some time has been that J reliability is over rated. Many of the cars are more of an appliance that cater to a non-enthusiast driver. Most can't compare to the driving feel of a European vehicle. My opinion of course, I'm sure others will vehemently disagree. Sorry to hear of your problems.

 

Welcome to the world of automotive cost cutting and poor quality control

This is affecting nearly everyone in this cut throat industry.

The "J" live off a past reputation for bulletproof reliability, Truth is, everyone sources the parts to build cars from the same A and B suppliers. Manufacturers are under pressure to maintain quality and lower costs. It is a never ending battle, but in the end the product and reputation suffers.

My sister has a very basic '05 Accord sedan VP (2.3L 4 cyl 160HP, 4 speed auto) and that car literally takes a BEATING everyday, yet it has been rock solid in the year since she bought it. All she has done to it is change the oil, rotate the tires and put gas. It is an amazingly solid albeit boring and mundane car. Brought to you by the Honda assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. I think the car is well over 11K miles.

My '05 MCS has not seen the dealer's service bay for anything other than the 10K mile oil service in 15.5K miles and 16 months since I first took delivery. That car is ROCK SOLID, period

My wife's '02 MC CVT with 38K miles ticks like the finest Swiss wrist watch. Hard working daily driver that delivers smooth buttery performance and reliability.


Also remember that your '06 Civic is a FIRST YEAR CAR And you are bound to have issues not matter how you cut it and slice it. You should have gone for the '06 MC CVT instead

I have never owned a Subaru, but in my 12 year stint with Honda and Acura products, I generally find their service depts to be crowded, over worked and arrogant. They think they are doing you a favor by looking at your car, like if it were an act of charity and not a job to be done with professionalism Toyota dealerships are even worse IMHO.

I am personally over "J" cars from a long time ago. These days cars are the luck of the draw. You can either get a good apple or a bad apple, regardless of manufacturer, price range and point of origin.

Best of luck getting your issues resolved.

 

I agree with you. I have had my share of "J" built Hondas and Acuras over a 12 year period. Have never looked back. Hondas are good cars, but I got tired of the same thing car after car.(Boredom is standard equipment) Thank BMW for bringing such a refreshing change with the MINI

 

So, i got a call this morning around 9:30am that my car's ready to pickup.
I headed over to the dealer during lunch and was happily surprised that they
replaced not only the bad strut, but also the passenger side front strut
as well as precaution.

I leave the dealership, drive maybe 50yards and I hear a sharp knocking
noise this time from the passenger side. woohoo~!

So I immediately took it back to the dealership and again took the car
out for a quick test drive with the SA. She heard the noise too. I told
her that the tech who worked on the car noted on the paperwork that
he only did a test drive in their parking lot.

the SA checked with the tech who worked on my car, but
he was busy working on 2 other cars at the moment so couldn't
take a look at mine. They gave me a pos Cobalt for my trip back
to the office as a loaner... wtf.

i was about to really hate Honda's but the Cobalt made me realize
wat an authentic POS is... very clever. i thought.

I think the tech is going to leave at 3:30pm again since it's end of
his shift, won't be able to take a look at my car until tomorrow morning,
then realize parts will need to be ordered again, and my car probably
won't be ready until Friday night. :impatient well, that's the worst case.

 

Times my 2003 Cooper has left me stranded- 0
Time my wife's 2005 Toyota Matrix has left her stranded- 1

 

i should just get some coilovers and mod the shitt out of the car.

who makes the struts for Honda in the US? delphi? monroe? tiki tiki tembo?

 

Got a call late afternoon from my SA that the tech was able to look at
his work and confirm that "everything is tight." their service manager
also took a look and took it out for a test drive.

They now claim the new struts are not what is causing the noise because
everything is tight... hummmm... the old struts were also tight (i checked
it myself along with the endlinks, swaybars, etc.) but it still made some
noise. how can they tell that this time it's not the struts? lol...

They say they want to keep the car over night and check
on it again tomorrow morning. oh well, at least the SA called me to let
me know what they've been up to and to let me know everything was tight.

oh man... :impatient i wish they would've just told me that the tech
forgot his socket on the tower nuts or something... that's what it sounded like.

 

it's been past Noon... and no updates.

 

 

ok, so I call them between my meetings and was told that the struts are
probably okay...but now they think i have a bad motor mount (which i
was going to suggest next). so the parts are now on order, won't come
until tomorrow afternoon. *hopefully* i can get my birthdefect Civic
back tomorrow evening. If not, it won't be until Monday.

i am really starting to feel sorry for the SA. it's true, she didn't build
the car like she said...

my car will be at the shop for the full week.

i talked to my wife about this and asked if she can buy me a new MC
with CVT. she didn't say no, but said to wait a little. hummmmm~?!

 

This sounds like a plan

 

Kenchan,
Hold out for an MCSa ! Good luck on the repairs - it is frustrating having a new car with issues.

 

Ken sounds like you have automotive tourette's syndrome. I wish I could afford all that wheeling and dealing, but for now I'll live vicariously through you. You gonna go for a next-gen G35 coupe or GT-R?

 

sorry to hear the BS you are going through man

 

thanks, berky. been driving around my wife's Legacy this whole week. I
have that pos loaner Cobalt, but it saddens me so i just have it parked
at work.

had to tell our HR not to tow it away.

kenny- im probably going to do the next G35C (trade-in my current G35C)
and then migrate to the MCoupes afterwards when im pretty much done
with the MCS. im in no rush though. both my weekend cars are very
awesome.

hope i get a call from Honda today... honestly, i don't miss the Civic at all.
just tired of dealing with the non-sense.

 

no updates so at 4:30pm, gave them a call. they claim the car is fixed!

They changed 2 struts, one motor mount, and adjusted another part
sitting next to it and the noise is completely gone... they say.
I will pick her up after work and take it out for a test drive. im done
for the week dealing with the Civic. im to a point i don't care
if there's more noise...

the SA did do a good job considering the pos she and her tech had to
deal with.

hope i don't have to go to the dealer again until my oil change.

 

M coupe as Z4M or M6?

I ask because every review I have read said although the Z4M is a bit quicker of the line, there is no comparison to the 987/Caymans as an overall sports car (and the Ring times confirm that)

 

my civic apparently is 'fixed' for now. i took it down the predetermined
'test road' where there's tons of bumps. no noise! i looked at the
paperwork and i must say the dealer did A LOT of checks and rechecks to
isolate the problem during their 2nd attempt. Over 25miles of trial and
error, tech, service manager, and SA all took rides to make sure it would
not come back. Im sure they picked up a burger and did some grocery
shopping while at the test drive.

chows- i was thinking the Z4M coupe. Chicago roads are pretty much
straight. but i'll look into other options too.

im going to my garage now and going to polish up my MCS and wax her.
got tons of Griot's stuff this week. hehe

 

Good to hear your car was finally fixed.

Still a let down to have a car this new go through this many suspension repairs already.

I wonder if Honda is outsourcing its suspension parts from GM lately? Hmmm......

 

thanks C4. im happy to report after driving the car for several weeks that the car is completely fixed.

i always give it a couple of weeks to make sure.

 

spoke too soon. the clunk noise is back over large bumps wata pos.

i think it's the motor mount again. good thing my stereo sounds pretty good...

 

And your Civic has had how many problems?

 

you're right. I should borrow that Cobalt again and remind myself
what a real POS is. thanks for putting me back to reality.
i shouldn't complain.