[drkunaldas]

hi everybody,
i want your help fast. I have a HONDA CITY SMT 2009 (July 2009) run ~60K. i live in NOIDA and work in delhi and noida. I brought my car from ACE honda, Noida and usually service it in Pearl Honda (Sector 63, Noida) mostly and sometimes from Ace Honda. the car was working well till yesterday, when the Steering lock jammed, and i could not start the Car. the key was going in but i can not move / rotate the key to start the car. Luckily i was in office, so i called Honda Road side assistance, and they duly came in an hrs time and towed the car to the nearest dealer which was Prime Honda, patparganj. they refused to change steering lock under warranty, so i took my car to Ace Honda, from where i have purchased my car. I have been doing service of the car at regular intervals since the last 3 yrs.
i have done services at 1K(Ace Honda), 5K(1/11/2009, Ace Honda), 10K (Ace Honda), 15K(8/7/2010, Pearl Honda), 29K (23/1/2011, pearl Honda), 34K (16/4/2011, Ace Honda), 47K (13/11/2011, pearl Honda), 56K(24/3/2012, Pearl Honda), 60K(20/6/12, Ace Honda).
the issue is that according to ace honda, HONDA SIEL is refusing to change the part under warranty as i have 2-3 services mainly 40K. so what do i do, and what are my options. the said part is SET KEY CYLINDER (COST INCL VAT - Rs 7652 + LABOUR Rs 1500/-) (PARTS NO. 06350-TM2-T41WT).

MY QUERIES
1. is steering lock jam a common issue?
2. can honda refuse to honour warranty just because 1-2 services have been missed? what of the 9-10 services done at authorised service centers. do they have no meaning?
3. what can be done to make honda honour its warranty and relacement under the same.

comments are welcome and thanks in advance.
kunal

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by drkunaldas

.
MY QUERIES
1. is steering lock jam a common issue?
2. can honda refuse to honour warranty just because 1-2 services have been missed? what of the 9-10 services done at authorised service centers. do they have no meaning?
3. what can be done to make honda honour its warranty and relacement under the l

Sorry to say but Honda can and has every right not to honour the warranty as you missed a few scheduled services. If you had been late by a few days, would have been fine but altogether missing them was a bad idea.

You need to get each and every service done till the time warranty is valid. Usually companies arent so finicky about it as the part costs under 10k, so why dont you try and send a strong worded mail to Honda india explaining your situation, might just work, Fiat changed a part in my car even though mine was out of warranty period under goodwill. Give a try.

Steering lock jam isnt a common issue, i havent seen any on the forum so far so its just one off case.

[ghpk]

Most car manufacturers specify "warranty void" If a scheduled/suggested service is missed, so if you missed any one, you have least chances for a claim.

your post shows car was serviced yesterday too, so I might even suspect the service guy might have wrongly handled the car yesterday, a forceful retries with wrong key is the first thing I can recall of for similar issue.

Talk to the workshop manager and ask him to investigate how key problem started just after the service, if it was suspected failure, the job card should have a mention for the same.

[abbey4u]

Agree with coolboy, its a rare issue and i don't think it has anything to do with service. does any service schedule talks about checkup of steering system?

[esteem_lover]

I cannot understand how a steering lock jam can be attributed to lack of regular service. There are no checks on key jams in any service intervals. This is a manufacturing deficiency and Honda has to replace your lock set without any fuss since your car is still under the warranty period. I suggest you have a strong word with ACE Honda about this and request them to replace under warranty.

[drkunaldas]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I cannot understand how a steering lock jam can be attributed to lack of regular service. There are no checks on key jams in any service intervals. This is a manufacturing deficiency and Honda has to replace your lock set without any fuss since your car is still under the warranty period. I suggest you have a strong word with ACE Honda about this and request them to replace under warranty.

Exactly. my point. this is manufacturing deficiency and what has it do to with regular service intervals. it is not an engine part. My car's Horn was also replaced under warranty in the last service (55K). they now say that horn is a small price item hence it is replaced. but my question is not about the priciness of an item. if something as like horn is replaced under warranty (upon seeing my service history, why not now replace the steering lock.

i have complained to Honda customer care (phone) and also emailed them thru service feedback form on their website. also i have written on their facebook. what can i do more?

[HKap]

have you tried calling or writing to Honda One2One? I had some issues with my city when it was brand new. the dealer was acting tough (Solitaire Honda) so I had no option bu to reach out to Honda and it worked.

Most of the Honda dealers assume that you will not escalate it to Honda. Having said that, Honda must have serious penalties for erring dealers since Solitaire Honda's behavior made a complete U turn once they got to know about the escalation.

Try it!!

Honda Car India : Contact Us

[Got BHP?]

I have had such experience in the past with Hyundai A.S.S not approving warranty under the pretext the manufacuter won't approve it. Leave the car with the dealership. Ask them to file a claim with pictures and part number, have a copy of the same for your records. Wait and see what the manufacturer has to say. The easiest way to contact the manufacturer is through their A.S.S. Ford refused replacement of my 2010 Ikon steering rack. I left the car with Chennai Ford for couple of days. Ford India guys came running and fixed. Normally high volume dealers don't prefer customer cars in their workshop occupying precious space. Try that.
All the besst .

[S@ndy]

You are suffering from the same situation from which I suffered some years back. My Honda City, model 2008, also had it's steering wheel jammed and even I had missed 2 services. I tried to convince them and presented every poosible point in front of me. I was not ready to pay for such thing under warranty period and that too for a steering wheel jam which is a rare occurence! I purchased my car from Prestige Honda and after contacting Honda Siel company, spent a lot of time explaining them my issue to which they refused at first but then, they agreed and called Prestige Honda and my work was done under warranty period without any charges!

So, I advice you to contact Honda HeadQuarters and inform them about your situation. This is a case which should be covered under warranty period and there is no use of consideration of the number of times service you have done. Please open their website and there would be a tab informing Contact Us! You should ring them once!

I hope this helps a bit!

S@ndy

[rajeev k]

One question which I feel has some relevance though it may sound funny to some. Did you try with the duplicate key? It happens sometimes if the one which is usually used get distorted at the notches.
Meanwhile, as Sandy said get in touch with Honda directly to get warranty cover. BtB how much did the car clock?

[drkunaldas]

Originally Posted by S@ndy

So, I advice you to contact Honda HeadQuarters and inform them about your situation. This is a case which should be covered under warranty period and there is no use of consideration of the number of times service you have done. Please open their website and there would be a tab informing Contact Us! You should ring them once!

I hope this helps a bit!

S@ndy

i have informed honda HQ's thru their website.

i want to know what is a better strategy?
1. pay them the amount --> take car delivery --> negiotiate with them latter if they do not process the claim, or if they accept the claim, take chq for the amount.
2. Wait for the company to respond and keep the car in the dealership premises till the claim is accepted / rejected.
3. can i ask for a written submission of the claim (by the dealer - Ace Honda)and rejection of claim (by HONDA SIEL). will the dealer / manufacturer be willing / made to will to share this information to the customer. has dealer any grounds to refuse?
kunal

[blackfire_9]

Really sorry to hear that you are having to face this issue.

However, as most people have listed on this thread already, this is not a common problem & definitely not something that can be attributed to a missed service check-up. So, it's good that you have already written to their HQs.

From my POV, you should never pay a single dime to the dealer in such scenarios because frankly, the money that's gone is really difficult to get back. Secondly, why do you have to even leave the car at the dealer premises. Get it towed back to your premises, pay for the towing charges & keep it at your house instead of letting it rot at the dealer. I personally have heard real horror stories about how cars are "cared" for at a dealership & that's why the advice.

It doesn't matter if the car is at the dealer or at your place as long as you are taking the matter up with Honda directly. The dealership is only there to do its job & that it would do based on whatever Honda says. So, get Honda to agree to replace your car's part under warranty & then take the car down to the dealership.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by drkunaldas

i have informed honda HQ's thru their website.

i want to know what is a better strategy?
1. pay them the amount --> take car delivery --> negiotiate with them latter if they do not process the claim, or if they accept the claim, take chq for the amount.
2. Wait for the company to respond and keep the car in the dealership premises till the claim is accepted / rejected.
3. can i ask for a written submission of the claim (by the dealer - Ace Honda)and rejection of claim (by HONDA SIEL). will the dealer / manufacturer be willing / made to will to share this information to the customer. has dealer any grounds to refuse?
kunal

[revintup]

Option 2 is the only viable option.

Option 1. If you pay out of your wallet now, forget any chance of refund. Remember you are to blame for missing on services.

Option 3. Rejection of claim is as per their written policy regarding missed services. DOnt think you will benefit from getting a written explanation.

I think the best thing would be to try and get it changed as a goodwill gesture. Honda is good at this and remind them subtly that it will largely influence your future purchases/opinions and recommendations.

[libranof1987]

Okay, let's rule out some things first :

1) Is the spare key working?
2) If the spare key is not working either, could something be wrong with the immobilizer rather than the keys? (Is the Immobilizer icon flashing?)

If the above is ruled out, then it comes to changing the Key set.

Given that your car is under warranty, Honda is obliged to change it FOC. A few missed service schedules, although not advisable, has nothing to do with this.

Take it up strongly with Honda Customer Care.

I would suggest that you don't get it changed yet (and hope for reimbursement); rather, discuss with Honda first and then proceed.

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by drkunaldas

i have informed honda HQ's thru their website.

You do have comprehensive insurance on your car, don't you?

Keys and locks are covered under insurance if it is an absolute necessity to change them(i.e. if you lose one of the keys, all locks replacement would be covered under insurance). So, if the steering lock set is replaced, I'm assuming the door lock & trunk locks also will be. Get the estimate in the A.S.C's letterhead and have a chat with your insurance chap. I'm sure the Insurance will support you. As mentioned earlier, don't loosen your purse strings just yet.