[smrutisourav]

Hi BHPians,

I’m sharing my ongoing experience with an extended warranty claim for my Honda CBR650R 2022, hoping to hear from others who may have faced similar issues — particularly with Honda BigWing and premium bikes.

Situation:

• My bike has been regularly serviced, without any missed service, only at Honda BigWing Topline, Bengaluru.
• I raised a warranty claim for a key set issue at the same service center in April 2025.
• The dealership verbally rejected the claim in May, stating that in one of the past services, the engine oil used was not purchased from them.
• In reality, the engine oil for that service was Motul and was purchased directly from the same service center — not from outside — but this was not recorded in the service history.
• I asked for a written explanation or supporting documentation, but so far none has been provided.
• I also reviewed the extended warranty document, and I could not find any clause that requires the oil to be purchased only from the service center to keep unrelated components like the key set under warranty.

Frustrating part:

• I wrote to Honda 2Wheelers India customer care in June, hoping for an independent review or at least a written explanation.
• However, the issue was routed back to the same dealership, which again contacted me with the same verbal explanation.
• Despite multiple follow-ups, I have not received any written denial or policy document justifying the rejection.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation with BigWing or Honda regarding warranty rejections?
2. Does Honda explicitly mention anywhere in writing that using externally procured or non-Honda-branded engine oil voids warranty for unrelated components?
3. Any suggestions on how best to escalate this constructively — any channels or approaches that have worked for fellow riders?

I'm trying to stay reasonable here. The bike has always been maintained on schedule, using the recommended specs, and through the same service center. I just want clarity on whether this type of warranty rejection is valid, and how to address it the right way.

Appreciate any advice or shared experiences. Thank you.

EDIT
For context, I purchased the bike as a used unit in October 2024. Before finalizing the purchase, I confirmed with the same service center that the extended warranty was valid and active. The issue in question was linked to a service that occurred prior to my purchase.

[navpreet318]

Tell them that Key set is a Non-servicable item. It doesn't fall under the purview of regular maintenance service. So irrespective of service history it has to be given under warranty.

Same goes for items like Fuel Pumps, Speedometer, and other such items which are not serviced in any regular maintenance service. Tell them this rejection will not hold any validity in the court.

Moreover the dealership has no say in approving or rejecting warranty. Tell them to put you through to the Honda ASM. He approves or rejects warranty claims. Talk to him. Warranty is a company clause. Not a dealership clause.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by smrutisourav

In reality, the engine oil for that service was Motul and was purchased directly from the same service center — not from outside — but this was not recorded in the service history.

I would say - don't waste your time trying to argue the nitty-gritty of the warranty terms.

Instead prove to them that the oil was in fact purchased from them.

Even if the oil purchase wasn't noted in the service history, it would definitely be present on some BILL -- since they didn't give it to you for free.

Do you have a credit card / UPI payment receipt for the oil? Or ideally a bill for the same. That should be enough to prove it.

If it's a lump-sum payment, the difference between the bill amount and the paid amount should equal the cost of the oil.

Stick to your guns on this and speak to a familiar service advisor if you have one.

[ads295]

Going by anecdotal evidences on this forum, this could stretch for very long if you continue to engage with the lower level employees.
Escalate, escalate, escalate.
I would suggest that you first and foremost send them a strongly worded legal notice to get them to pay attention while simultaneously looking for higher ups in Honda who would be keen to attend to you outside of their own interests.

[IshaanIan]

Just talk to them in person. Find the works manager or some head of service and reason with them. No need to point out anything about routine servicing and all because it is completely unrelated to that. I experienced something similar when trying to get some child part of the steering rack on my friend’s gen3 Swift, replaced. They initially said some service was done late at around 20k kms blah blah blah, and I simply laughed at the guy and asked him being in this line of work, how he thinks and engine oil change or air filter change is related to the steering rack. He agreed and a day later the car was handled under warranty.

The trick is to not get worried. This is a very common practice in India and most folks who dont know or care about their vehicle, fall for it although I am not sure why (does company tend to try rejecting such claims or does dealership get the part and sell it pocketing the proceeds?). Don’t let them think that you are taking them seriously because they (company or dealer not sure) are just trying to see if they can get away with this excuse. Calmly speak to whoever is in charge and politely ask how any of what they are claiming, is related to your warranty claim. They will fold. Don’t bring up your service history or ask for any written explanations and all because the second you do, they start thinking that their excuse might just work as you seem to be taking them very seriously.

[smrutisourav]

Thank you all for the valuable inputs. I’ve been following the suggestions and wanted to provide a quick update.

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Tell them that Key set is a Non-servicable item... Tell them this rejection will not hold any validity in the court.

That’s a very useful point — I’ll make sure to mention this when speaking to the ASM or any official contact from Honda going forward.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Even if the oil purchase wasn't noted in the service history, it would definitely be present on some BILL...

Yes, I’ve reached out to the previous owner to check if he still has the bill for that service or the oil purchase. The service history clearly mentions that an oil change was done during that visit, but there’s no separate mention of oil being procured. When I checked with them recently, they denied having sold the oil, possibly because they aren’t billing it officially. Either way, this lack of transparency is now being used against the warranty claim.

Originally Posted by ads295

Escalate, escalate, escalate. I would suggest that you first and foremost send them a strongly worded legal notice...

Understood — I’ve already sent a follow-up email to Honda customer care and included a link to this Team-BHP post. I’m still hoping this can be resolved amicably, but if I don’t receive a formal response soon, I’ll explore other avenues to escalate the matter further.

Thanks again to everyone who’s taken the time to respond — your inputs are helping me plan my next steps constructively. I’ll continue to share updates here as the situation progresses.

[Torq-D]

As mentioned in previous posts, your best bet is the bill which was provided after said service. If bill is not available then ask dealership to provide you history of your bike to which dealership cannot say no. They should have all details of consumables used and final cost.

Once you have service history and there are no such remarks that engine oil was not Honda approved, you can easily prove them wrong. I have experienced with Ford that they always mention in service report every time i carry my engine oil.
If still dealership don’t agree then just send service history to customer care with cc to said dealership.
I have experienced with BMW motorrad and Kawasaki regarding warranty claims. One thing is for sure, all will take really really long to approve your claim provided there is some technically sound person sitting in office. In my case, I will give 10/10 to Kawasaki technical department except 7-8 months taken by them.

[smrutisourav]

Thanks a lot @IshaanIan and @Torq-D — really appreciate your insights. Here's a quick update on what I tried next.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Just talk to them in person... Don’t bring up your service history or ask for any written explanations and all because the second you do, they start thinking that their excuse might just work as you seem to be taking them very seriously.

I actually did try talking to the service advisor directly and calmly — tried focusing only on the part being unrelated to oil usage, as you suggested. Unfortunately, they stuck to the same explanation: that the engine oil was not “purchased from them,” so they can't process the warranty. They didn’t seem interested in connecting me to anyone senior either.

Originally Posted by Torq-D

If bill is not available then ask dealership to provide you history of your bike... If still dealership don’t agree then just send service history to customer care with cc to said dealership.

Exactly this — I managed to get the official service history. It clearly mentions that an “Engine Oil Change” was done during the September 2024 service, but the oil isn’t itemized in the parts section. I've attached a screenshot of that entry. This seems more like an internal documentation/billing miss from their side, and it’s now being used as a reason to reject a key set warranty, which feels unfair.

I’ve now followed up again with Honda customer care and asked them to escalate this. Still waiting on a formal reply.

Thanks again for the continued help — every bit of it is helping me approach this more confidently. Will keep this thread posted with any progress.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by smrutisourav

I actually did try talking to the service advisor directly and calmly

Service advisors in such setups will come and go every 6 months you will have a new team of service advisors. That is what happens when labor is not valued and the job pays so little. There is no pride, no loyalty, no excellence. The guy was probably just regurgitating what he was informed to tell you by someone else. Just ignore the service advisor and ask to meet the workshop manager or someone running the show. If the service advisor cannot point you out to them, make a fuss and get your point across to whoever is in charge at that particular workshop. Mostly you will find someone who has worked there for atleast 5 years, with more knowledge and compassion when it comes to works managers. Then you will have a much easier time getting your point across and understood by them.

[smrutisourav]

Quick update: I received a call today from the service center — they informed me that Honda has approved the extended warranty claim for the key set. The advisor mentioned it was approved because the key set is a non-maintenance item. He also sent a confirmation message over WhatsApp and asked if he could close the ticket, which I agreed to.

I was also informed that the part will take up to 20 days to arrive, after which they’ll contact me for the replacement.

So the issue is now moving forward — but it took several follow-ups, community advice, and pressure to get here.

That said, I still haven’t received any written response to my email escalations from Honda customer care, which I find disappointing. The entire process felt unnecessarily opaque. For context, back in 2012, I had a Bajaj Pulsar NS200 under warranty — and any escalated issue used to be handled by the zonal service manager directly. The response from Bajaj was much quicker and better structured.

This post from @navpreet318 turned out to be spot on:

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Tell them that Key set is a Non-servicable item. It doesn't fall under the purview of regular maintenance service. So irrespective of service history it has to be given under warranty.

Same goes for items like Fuel Pumps, Speedometer, and other such items which are not serviced in any regular maintenance service. Tell them this rejection will not hold any validity in the court.

Moreover the dealership has no say in approving or rejecting warranty. Tell them to put you through to the Honda ASM. He approves or rejects warranty claims. Talk to him. Warranty is a company clause. Not a dealership clause.

Thanks again to everyone who shared advice and support — it truly helped me stay focused and not back down unnecessarily. I’ll share another update once the part arrives and is replaced.

[navpreet318]

Happy to help my own community. Being in this trade gives access to insights which are not known easily.
Do keep us posted and keep a constant follow up for the part.

Tell them to order the part via VOR. That should get the part to the workshop within a week.