Problems With My Civic And Honda Does Not Care

alankarm@sancha · 12th June 2009, 14:35

Can anyone help me with email adresses or Fax nos. of the top executives of Honda in India or Japan. (Not their 1 to 1 nos.). I would like to write to them to ask for some redressal.

thanks

akhilesh51 · 12th June 2009, 20:48

Ahh! Another honda story. Is it that Honda is becoming more and more callous due to their status or any manufacturer in India just moulds to these unscrupulous activites ???

alankarm@sancha · 13th June 2009, 07:05

Now we come to the best part. Pinkcity Honda is asking me to pay again for the labour, the bolt and the belt, which were broken due to their stupidity in the 1st place because of their use of a spurious / fabricated part. They want me to pay Rs.4,233/- for the belt when the last time I paid Rs.715/-, and that was just about a month ago. Last time they had sent a sealed unit of the belt with the price etc. mentioned, this time they have sent an open (without any packing) piece of the belt. They say that the prices have been revised. Earlier also they had tried to charge me this amount, but I was able to see the sealed packing and had talked to them about reducing their prices. This time to avoid that controversy, they have sent me ann open piece of belt, and are now trying to charhe me Rs.4233 or so (which should be borne by Honda or their dealer in the 1st place).

Anyway, why should I pay for a problem caused by the Honda dealer in the 1st place. They were the ones who used a Spurious / fabricated part without any pressure from me. In fact they had assured me that nothing can go wrong. They used this part assuring me that nothing would go wrong. Even then I had taken the car to their Jaipur workshop 2 days later to get any problems remaining rectified. Even then they had assured me that nothing can go wrong. They were more interested in charging me for the Service etc. than actually trying to rectify a problem. They still did not have a tensioner or bolt in stock with them at that time (after 7 days of my request/ information).

As it is also a well known fact that the earliest batches of the Civic faced this Belt Tensioner issue in large nos. Why is Honda so adamant on not replacing these at their cost on all the cars facing the issue. In other countries this would have led to what is known as a recall. In India, even companies like TATA have done it for their cars and rectified the defects. Infact, on introduction of V2 of Indica, they recalled all the earlier cars and made relevant changes.

BUT HONDA IS HONDA. They own you once they sell a car to you. No redressal for any problem, except their one 2 one calling you every now and then and asking you whether the dealership has got in touch with you. They are an utter piece of garbage.

Really sad state of affairs.

I would advise everyone to give a miss to any Honda product.

wildon · 13th June 2009, 07:23

Sad to hear your sorry. For all the straight H fans out their who were pointing out the Honda Quality- This is the result.

sandeep108 · 13th June 2009, 11:54

Under the extended warranty you do not have to pay for anything. It is only if you have violated its terms (given your car outside, or non-approved accessories, etc.) that they can ask you to pay. And in any case they should not ask you to pay twice. I do believe the repairs are warranted for quite a few weeks. I got everything fixed under my extended warranty.

Honda has a toll free call center number also. Here you go: Honda India Com, Honda India Cars, Honda Cars India I have contacted them with fair results with my former Honda dealer when I called Honda - they do follow up.

Even with the former notorious Honda dealer, for more than 10 years and owning Hondas, I have never faced any major problems with the cars or the service, which is more than my friends can say about Skoda/Fiat/Tata. In fact even recently I had a nasty experience with Maruti where they refused to honour their extended warranty.

alankarm@sancha · 13th June 2009, 18:04

I have tried speaking to the Honda people many times. In fact I have been in touch with Honda one 2 one since friday morning, by phone. maybe 6-7 phones till today. Today finally their North and East Customer Care person (a Mr. Ajay Kumar) has spoken to me. Now they want the car at the dealership at Jaipur again, whenever they are able to send the parts to them.
I have photographs of the sealed belt (with pricing etc.) they had used the last time. Also I have pics of the damaged tensioner they had reused and the old 2nd hand part that they have put in. Also pics of this times broken (spurious/fabricated) socket bolt and the old 2nd hand bolt that they have put in. Whom do I send these to??
Are they justified in calling the car to Jaipur again (a distance of 132 km), when I have already taken it to Jaipur after the 1st problem, just to get the car checked up? Who bears the costs including petrol, driver, wear and tear and downtime? Who is responsible for any mishaps occuring during the journey, to and fro?
Or is this just supposed to be an order from Honda so that we are harassed. Why can't the work, if any, be done at a workshop in Ajmer itself, and the technicians be sent from Jaipur? Will we be allowed to see all that is being done to the car, since no one is allowed inside the workshops at the dealer?

beejay · 13th June 2009, 18:14

Unfortunate,
Mahindra were more effective in resolving my issue, I cant believe i'm saying this, Honda needs to learn from Mahindra.

garvit2002 · 13th June 2009, 19:33

its a definite lemon...i have seen people driving civics in the city(jaipur) but heard none of these incidents ......Honda has a new dealer in jaipur Sunshine honda why dont you try those guys ...they might take you seriously than the guys at pinkcity.

aaggoswami · 13th June 2009, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by alankarm@sancha

1) Also pics of this times broken (spurious/fabricated) socket bolt and the old 2nd hand bolt that they have put in. Whom do I send these to??

2) Are they justified in calling the car to Jaipur again (a distance of 132 km), when I have already taken it to Jaipur after the 1st problem, just to get the car checked up? Who bears the costs including petrol, driver, wear and tear and downtime? Who is responsible for any mishaps occuring during the journey, to and fro?

3) Or is this just supposed to be an order from Honda so that we are harassed. Why can't the work, if any, be done at a workshop in Ajmer itself, and the technicians be sent from Jaipur? Will we be allowed to see all that is being done to the car, since no one is allowed inside the workshops at the dealer?

1) Can you post them here ? This will also help and IMHO, the manufacturers are regular visitors on this website now. May be they will then communicate with you in reasonable terms.

2) Look, no body will ever bear the expenses you have mentioned and no body will take the risk. Ask Honda to give you the document in written where they take responsibility of anything going wrong in the car during the journey. And also pay up for the petrol bills and the loss of time + mental harassment.
Generally, if anyone demands documents in written, people back off. Ask that " Mr.ABCD ", head of some department, to courier these papers and then only you will move towards Jaipur.

3) Exactly, after you put in the point no. 2 of my reply, also put in the point of getting the repairs done at Ajmer. Inform them you have bought the car for using it and not running to different cities for purely avoidable maintenance and/or repairs.
IMHO, fight with Honda for getting the work done at Ajmer. They have to budge after what has happened.

Off late, I have observed that attitude of Honda dealers has changed by much along with A.S & S. going in negative direction.

TRAUMASURG · 13th June 2009, 23:26

It is illegal to place a frabicated parts in a car by the authorised dealer of any car company..It is by default voids warranty...I cannot beleive that a car like honda civic has such a problem,of course a lemon is always there in any product.If this has happened in USA,the dealer is closed I think it is time the politicians in India soon introduce and act upon a legislature which protects the consumer.This is no brainer.there are lots of countries in the world has it.India should act on this for the protection of her citizens.just my 2 cents

Shan2nu · 14th June 2009, 00:21

Using old/used parts is just out of the question. The dealership prob knows its at fault and trying to hide this from the company.

This should be brought to Honda's notice asap.

Shan2nu

alankarm@sancha · 14th June 2009, 10:19

I have attatched photographs for full reference.
The packing of the belt changed earlier (with pricing and details),
The damage caused to the tensioner and water body pulley,
broken spurious/fabricated black socket bolt and the 2nd hand old bolt now supplied and installed,
the broken p/s belt,
the damaged belt tensioner (due to water body pulley) (it was damaged the 1st time itself in May 2009, but was reinstalled by the dealership persons using the fabricated bolt) and the now istalled 2nd hand tensioner, are visible.

alankarm@sancha · 14th June 2009, 10:31

Sir/Ma'am,

As per my talks with your Mr. Ajay Kumar (Head Customer Care for North and East), I would like to inform you that I would like to receive all communication in a written / email format also. He wants my car to be taken to Jaipur (Why?) for further work as and when the parts are received by the dealership. I want this to be a written commitment from all of the concerned persons that my car shall not be detained for any payment issues. all the payment issues must be sorted out by him and communicated to me in writing, by email also, before I take my car to the dealership/workshop at Jaipur. This includes clarification of all the issues raised by me in the earlier communications to you.

It has come to my knowledge that the belt tensioner and bolt issue was a common issue with the earlier batches of Honda Civic in India. If this is the case, I would also request a refund of all the payments made by me till date, against the work done on 14th of May 2009.

I would also like you to replace this Defective Honda Civic car, which has been giving me trouble ever since I purchased it, this can be verified by all my communications to you after purchase and my service records available with you since my 1st service. The issues include the tyre issue, the suspension issues, the wiper issues and now the belt tensioner issue.

These issues have not left me with any confidence in the Honda products or dealerships.

I have been asking you all for communication details to the executives of Honda in India and Japan so that my problems are put up directly by me to them too, but to no avail. I request all the details once again.

I also request you to please forward my communications till date, since the purchase of my car, to your top executives in India and Japan too. I would be obliged if the persons from the parent company Honda Japan can communicate with me directly on this matter.

I am posting the website where some of the photographs of the relevant items/problems can be seen http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1345977

I am really disappointed by the response so far. I would like you to commit in writing that nothing like this is going to happen again in the future, as this is a known issue in Civics in India, and has been hidden from us.

I have been cheated and fraud has been done by company in keeping such things under wrap.

Also by charging me 6 times the printed price of the belt, you have committed another fraud, as I had asked for the detailed spare part pricing at the time of purchasing the car.

Also the damaged tensioner was taken away to Jaipur by your service personnel. I would like it back at the time of changing of the tensioner. Please be informed that this is very important to me.

greenhorn · 14th June 2009, 10:32

looks like harishv and skoda are not alone. The difference will be in how honda handles this.

Trapezio · 14th June 2009, 12:02

Its a myth that 100% cars from the Japs are reliable. Lemons are lesser but not nonexistent. I perfectly understand your worries after spending so much on the Civic.

Hope they resolve your issues. Good Luck. My humble suggestion - Make a lot of sound! That helps.

12th June 2009, 14:35	#16
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	Can anyone help me with email adresses or Fax nos. of the top executives of Honda in India or Japan. (Not their 1 to 1 nos.). I would like to write to them to ask for some redressal. thanks
	() Thanks

12th June 2009, 20:48	#17
akhilesh51 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Jaipur, RAJ Posts: 631 Thanked: 339 Times	Ahh! Another honda story. Is it that Honda is becoming more and more callous due to their status or any manufacturer in India just moulds to these unscrupulous activites ???
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 07:05	#18
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	Now we come to the best part. Pinkcity Honda is asking me to pay again for the labour, the bolt and the belt, which were broken due to their stupidity in the 1st place because of their use of a spurious / fabricated part. They want me to pay Rs.4,233/- for the belt when the last time I paid Rs.715/-, and that was just about a month ago. Last time they had sent a sealed unit of the belt with the price etc. mentioned, this time they have sent an open (without any packing) piece of the belt. They say that the prices have been revised. Earlier also they had tried to charge me this amount, but I was able to see the sealed packing and had talked to them about reducing their prices. This time to avoid that controversy, they have sent me ann open piece of belt, and are now trying to charhe me Rs.4233 or so (which should be borne by Honda or their dealer in the 1st place). Anyway, why should I pay for a problem caused by the Honda dealer in the 1st place. They were the ones who used a Spurious / fabricated part without any pressure from me. In fact they had assured me that nothing can go wrong. They used this part assuring me that nothing would go wrong. Even then I had taken the car to their Jaipur workshop 2 days later to get any problems remaining rectified. Even then they had assured me that nothing can go wrong. They were more interested in charging me for the Service etc. than actually trying to rectify a problem. They still did not have a tensioner or bolt in stock with them at that time (after 7 days of my request/ information). As it is also a well known fact that the earliest batches of the Civic faced this Belt Tensioner issue in large nos. Why is Honda so adamant on not replacing these at their cost on all the cars facing the issue. In other countries this would have led to what is known as a recall. In India, even companies like TATA have done it for their cars and rectified the defects. Infact, on introduction of V2 of Indica, they recalled all the earlier cars and made relevant changes. BUT HONDA IS HONDA. They own you once they sell a car to you. No redressal for any problem, except their one 2 one calling you every now and then and asking you whether the dealership has got in touch with you. They are an utter piece of garbage. Really sad state of affairs. I would advise everyone to give a miss to any Honda product.
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 07:23	#19
wildon BANNED Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,440 Thanked: 1,235 Times View My Garage	Sad to hear your sorry. For all the straight H fans out their who were pointing out the Honda Quality- This is the result.
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 11:54	#20
sandeep108 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,050 Thanked: 302 Times	Under the extended warranty you do not have to pay for anything. It is only if you have violated its terms (given your car outside, or non-approved accessories, etc.) that they can ask you to pay. And in any case they should not ask you to pay twice. I do believe the repairs are warranted for quite a few weeks. I got everything fixed under my extended warranty. Honda has a toll free call center number also. Here you go: Honda India Com, Honda India Cars, Honda Cars India I have contacted them with fair results with my former Honda dealer when I called Honda - they do follow up. Even with the former notorious Honda dealer, for more than 10 years and owning Hondas, I have never faced any major problems with the cars or the service, which is more than my friends can say about Skoda/Fiat/Tata. In fact even recently I had a nasty experience with Maruti where they refused to honour their extended warranty. Last edited by sandeep108 : 13th June 2009 at 11:58.
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 18:04	#21
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	I have tried speaking to the Honda people many times. In fact I have been in touch with Honda one 2 one since friday morning, by phone. maybe 6-7 phones till today. Today finally their North and East Customer Care person (a Mr. Ajay Kumar) has spoken to me. Now they want the car at the dealership at Jaipur again, whenever they are able to send the parts to them. I have photographs of the sealed belt (with pricing etc.) they had used the last time. Also I have pics of the damaged tensioner they had reused and the old 2nd hand part that they have put in. Also pics of this times broken (spurious/fabricated) socket bolt and the old 2nd hand bolt that they have put in. Whom do I send these to?? Are they justified in calling the car to Jaipur again (a distance of 132 km), when I have already taken it to Jaipur after the 1st problem, just to get the car checked up? Who bears the costs including petrol, driver, wear and tear and downtime? Who is responsible for any mishaps occuring during the journey, to and fro? Or is this just supposed to be an order from Honda so that we are harassed. Why can't the work, if any, be done at a workshop in Ajmer itself, and the technicians be sent from Jaipur? Will we be allowed to see all that is being done to the car, since no one is allowed inside the workshops at the dealer?
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 18:14	#22
beejay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: The Nilgiris Posts: 1,963 Thanked: 204 Times View My Garage	Unfortunate, Mahindra were more effective in resolving my issue, I cant believe i'm saying this, Honda needs to learn from Mahindra.
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 19:33	#23
garvit2002 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Jaipur Posts: 241 Thanked: 2 Times	its a definite lemon...i have seen people driving civics in the city(jaipur) but heard none of these incidents ......Honda has a new dealer in jaipur Sunshine honda why dont you try those guys ...they might take you seriously than the guys at pinkcity.
	() Thanks

13th June 2009, 23:26	#25
TRAUMASURG BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: MASSENA, NY. Posts: 87 Thanked: 32 Times View My Garage	It is illegal to place a frabicated parts in a car by the authorised dealer of any car company..It is by default voids warranty...I cannot beleive that a car like honda civic has such a problem,of course a lemon is always there in any product.If this has happened in USA,the dealer is closed I think it is time the politicians in India soon introduce and act upon a legislature which protects the consumer.This is no brainer.there are lots of countries in the world has it.India should act on this for the protection of her citizens.just my 2 cents
	() Thanks

14th June 2009, 00:21	#26
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Using old/used parts is just out of the question. The dealership prob knows its at fault and trying to hide this from the company. This should be brought to Honda's notice asap. Shan2nu
	() Thanks

14th June 2009, 10:19	#27
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	Photographs I have attatched photographs for full reference. The packing of the belt changed earlier (with pricing and details), The damage caused to the tensioner and water body pulley, broken spurious/fabricated black socket bolt and the 2nd hand old bolt now supplied and installed, the broken p/s belt, the damaged belt tensioner (due to water body pulley) (it was damaged the 1st time itself in May 2009, but was reinstalled by the dealership persons using the fabricated bolt) and the now istalled 2nd hand tensioner, are visible. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

14th June 2009, 10:31	#28
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	Another letter to Honda Sir/Ma'am, As per my talks with your Mr. Ajay Kumar (Head Customer Care for North and East), I would like to inform you that I would like to receive all communication in a written / email format also. He wants my car to be taken to Jaipur (Why?) for further work as and when the parts are received by the dealership. I want this to be a written commitment from all of the concerned persons that my car shall not be detained for any payment issues. all the payment issues must be sorted out by him and communicated to me in writing, by email also, before I take my car to the dealership/workshop at Jaipur. This includes clarification of all the issues raised by me in the earlier communications to you. It has come to my knowledge that the belt tensioner and bolt issue was a common issue with the earlier batches of Honda Civic in India. If this is the case, I would also request a refund of all the payments made by me till date, against the work done on 14th of May 2009. I would also like you to replace this Defective Honda Civic car, which has been giving me trouble ever since I purchased it, this can be verified by all my communications to you after purchase and my service records available with you since my 1st service. The issues include the tyre issue, the suspension issues, the wiper issues and now the belt tensioner issue. These issues have not left me with any confidence in the Honda products or dealerships. I have been asking you all for communication details to the executives of Honda in India and Japan so that my problems are put up directly by me to them too, but to no avail. I request all the details once again. I also request you to please forward my communications till date, since the purchase of my car, to your top executives in India and Japan too. I would be obliged if the persons from the parent company Honda Japan can communicate with me directly on this matter. I am posting the website where some of the photographs of the relevant items/problems can be seen http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1345977 I am really disappointed by the response so far. I would like you to commit in writing that nothing like this is going to happen again in the future, as this is a known issue in Civics in India, and has been hidden from us. I have been cheated and fraud has been done by company in keeping such things under wrap. Also by charging me 6 times the printed price of the belt, you have committed another fraud, as I had asked for the detailed spare part pricing at the time of purchasing the car. Also the damaged tensioner was taken away to Jaipur by your service personnel. I would like it back at the time of changing of the tensioner. Please be informed that this is very important to me. Last edited by alankarm@sancha : 14th June 2009 at 10:38.
	() Thanks

14th June 2009, 10:32	#29
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,745 Thanked: 4,401 Times View My Garage	looks like harishv and skoda are not alone. The difference will be in how honda handles this.
	() Thanks

14th June 2009, 12:02	#30
Trapezio BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Kerala Posts: 640 Thanked: 63 Times	Its a myth that 100% cars from the Japs are reliable. Lemons are lesser but not nonexistent. I perfectly understand your worries after spending so much on the Civic. Hope they resolve your issues. Good Luck. My humble suggestion - Make a lot of sound! That helps.
	() Thanks