I scheduled my passenger airbag inflator to be replaced on November 5th, but brought my car for an oil change this morning. The service advisor (commission based employee), after offering a number of upsells to the oil change service, looked into open recalls on the car. I told him I had an appointment for next week for the airbag, and he said they could perform the airbag service today, while I waited.
I turned over the keys, signed the work order, and headed off to the lounge to drink coffee beverages and get a little work done while the car was being worked on. A little over 2 hours later, I got a note that the work was complete.
The car was washed and vacuumed, and the only indication that the passenger airbag inflator had been replaced was that the items in my upper glove compartment had been rearranged. Interestingly, the dust from my spouses feet was still present on the passenger side of the dashboard, so if the Honda technicians had to take the dash apart and put it back together, they didn't wipe off the dusty footprints. At first I thought the service had not been done because of this, but the items in the upper glove box told a different story. Ultimately I have a receipt saying "Installed new inflator unit into customers airbag with new locking nuts torqued to 3.9 Nm. Installed new inflator wiring harness and verified connector is secure with gauge tool. Reinstalled airbag assembly with new lock nuts torqued to 9.8 Nm. Recorded serial number on repair order and returned inflator to parts department for return to Honda. Started vehicle and verified SRS light comes on for 6 seconds, then goes off."
So finally, after 610 days since the SECOND recall, and 976 days since signing in for service for the FIRST recall, both airbag inflators have been replaced. I haven't heard anything negative about the side or side curtain airbags--hopefully those won't decide to start killing people starting this macabre circus all over again. Just say no to clowns.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Day 598: It's My Turn
I'm not exactly sure when the Passenger side airbag recall hit my VIN specifically, but when I scheduled an oil change today, the super helpful Honda website said I had an outstanding recall to address. No. Really? That can't be right--I was told by chatbot, and actual operator that my car wasn't part of the recall. I even documented the interactions of me sounding like a crazed internet lunatic trying to get service for a recall that didn't exist above (or below, depending on how you set up your blog viewing).
Bottom line, my number is up, as expected, and the service has been scheduled for November 5th, while I wait for the car in the super comfy Lynnwood Honda waiting area for the repair to be completed. It could be a couple hours said the helpful scheduler. Sounds like a nice opportunity to walk around the neighborhood and sample Korean fried chicken.
All of this makes me wonder about the side and side curtain airbags, and whether they too will try to kill me some day. The car has been otherwise very reliable, and its lifetime 33 MPG average is reasonable. Driving on the highway is still a generally unpleasant experience with the super buzzy high revving motor and tissue thin sound insulation.
New-to-me cars being considered these days are the Chevy Bolt, used Lexus CT200h, Mazda 3, Kia Kona electric or its Hyundai counterpart. I'm still wishing and hoping for a small hatchback Honda electric vehicle, but Honda hasn't gotten the message, alas.
Finally, shame on you, Honda, for an airbag that could have killed my front seat passenger at any time. I know, you didn't make the airbag. I know, my airbag wasn't ripe yet for killing people. But given the inevitable trajectory of this recall, you, HONDA, could have generated a fair bit of goodwill and publicity by preemptively replacing these murderous devices. You've lost some favor in my eyes, which will be looking elsewhere for my next car.
Bottom line, my number is up, as expected, and the service has been scheduled for November 5th, while I wait for the car in the super comfy Lynnwood Honda waiting area for the repair to be completed. It could be a couple hours said the helpful scheduler. Sounds like a nice opportunity to walk around the neighborhood and sample Korean fried chicken.
All of this makes me wonder about the side and side curtain airbags, and whether they too will try to kill me some day. The car has been otherwise very reliable, and its lifetime 33 MPG average is reasonable. Driving on the highway is still a generally unpleasant experience with the super buzzy high revving motor and tissue thin sound insulation.
New-to-me cars being considered these days are the Chevy Bolt, used Lexus CT200h, Mazda 3, Kia Kona electric or its Hyundai counterpart. I'm still wishing and hoping for a small hatchback Honda electric vehicle, but Honda hasn't gotten the message, alas.
Finally, shame on you, Honda, for an airbag that could have killed my front seat passenger at any time. I know, you didn't make the airbag. I know, my airbag wasn't ripe yet for killing people. But given the inevitable trajectory of this recall, you, HONDA, could have generated a fair bit of goodwill and publicity by preemptively replacing these murderous devices. You've lost some favor in my eyes, which will be looking elsewhere for my next car.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Day 6 and 7: Have you driven a Ford lately?
Ford has been making the very attractive and more and more reliable focus and Fiesta models for some time now. While the focus Lacks a manual transmission for 2017, the used Market seems to have a lot of the five-door hatchbacks and both the focus and Fiesta in manual transmissions. That's good because the Dual clutch transmission automatics are a nightmare of imprecise shifting and weird acceleration. The space utilization in the focus is not the best, it is comfortable and quiet. I haven't driven the fiesta yet but it's compact size definitely leads me to believe it will be a fine handling car with a reasonable amount of interior volume for its size. Fords resale values seem to be holding pretty well except for the electric Focus, but I wasn't planning on buying an electric Focus anyway. One other slight possibility is the Ford C-Max Hybrid. It's just the tall Focus but with the Hybrid drivetrain. Unfortunately it also has a CVT transmission and that can't be gotten around. The C-Max can be had for relatively small amount of money, and it's fuel economy is excellent. As long as you don't get the energi model the interior volume is also pretty good.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Day 5: Nissan Leaf, used and cheap
The next car up for consideration is a used 2014 Nissan Leaf. 2014's have a chance of still being under the 36K bumper to bumper warranty, have low miles, and can be found under $8K with the quick charge package. The things I give up are the massive cargo space, and space in my garage. Also I'd have to rent a car for long trips. On the other hand, not having to go to a gas station any more is pretty alluring, as well as the more chill repair schedule. Another downer is the potential battery replacement down the road. So, does a modern car with low miles, that can easily travel 60-90 miles a day work as a Fit replacement? For it probably would. I rarely travel more than 90 miles a day--usually only on my trips from Seattle to Oakland, and again, that's what a rent a car is for. We generally drive our car 3 or 4 times a week, about 125 miles at most. For this, even a Leaf with a marginal battery would be fine.
Another big minus to the Leaf is the looks. They are not attractive. On the plus side, there are so many of them around, that they don't stick out quite a badly as they used to. I do feel bad for the people who paid full retail for these things back in the day. Even my friends who got favorable lease deals ultimately overpaid for them by putting down $$$ to fall into that low low monthly payment. The good news there is that when the lease was up, Nissan had to take back the car or eat a large piece of the residual value to encourage sales. Something clearly they're not good at as there are so dang many low $ low mile Leafs available.
Bottom line--the Leaf seems like a fancy electrified previous generation Versa to me, but they've held up a lot better than those old Versa. I'll add it to the spreadsheet.
Another big minus to the Leaf is the looks. They are not attractive. On the plus side, there are so many of them around, that they don't stick out quite a badly as they used to. I do feel bad for the people who paid full retail for these things back in the day. Even my friends who got favorable lease deals ultimately overpaid for them by putting down $$$ to fall into that low low monthly payment. The good news there is that when the lease was up, Nissan had to take back the car or eat a large piece of the residual value to encourage sales. Something clearly they're not good at as there are so dang many low $ low mile Leafs available.
Bottom line--the Leaf seems like a fancy electrified previous generation Versa to me, but they've held up a lot better than those old Versa. I'll add it to the spreadsheet.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Day 4: Nissan Versa Note
Last year when my driver side airbag got replaced, I got entirely too familiar with an Enterprise rental Nissan Versa Note. This car has the unfortunate CVT, as probably 99% of the Versa Notes came from the factory. Unfortunate also because for 2017, the CVT is the only transmission. To that end, I'm very interested in driving a Versa Note with the manual transmission. That means I'm in the used car market. Getting the manual while solving the tranny woes, would introduce some unintended side issues. I'd be buying a used car. An advantage pricewise, but who know if it was taken care of. There is a 2014 with same number of miles as my car near me. The dealer is asking $9900 for it, which is pretty high, but hey, it's a retail used car dealer, what do you expect. Also the manual comes with another interesting feature, manual roll down windows. It's got A/C, but no cruise control. If I thought my Fit was a penalty box on long trips, the Versa may be worse. Quieter, but no cruise, oy. A 2014 is showing on Fuelly.com with 24K miles tracked at 31.6 MPG. My Fuelly numbers are 32.5 MPG combined. It would be higher except I drive a majority of time in city.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Day 3: More of the Same, This Time by Phone
Not that I expected any different answer, but just for giggles I called American Honda's customer service line to see if I could get clarification on the issue of my passenger side airbag not being included in the current recall campaign.
The customer service reps are VERY deferential, while also sticking quite annoyingly on message. This means there are lots of Pleases and Thank yous and I appreciate your concerns, and much time devoted to dotting i's and crossing t's--process and documentation are everything here. That said, when asked directly why my car is not included in a recall that seems to span the model year, the rep repeated, in slightly different ways no fewer than 5 times, that my car is not currently subject to any open recalls. He did conjecture that perhaps it was due to the factory, but I may be reading too much into his response.
Bottom line, he said, over and over, that airbag inflators are tracked meticulously and mine was not among the recall candidates.
Do I trust him/American Honda customer service? Not for a second. I'm tempted to remove the front passenger seat to ensure that nobody can sit in it until my car ultimately is recalled, because I am fairly certain it will--it's just a matter of time.
On the list of life annoyances, this is pretty low. But like all annoyances, I know it's there and if I actively start banning passengers from the front seat, it will ultimately turn from annoyance to inconvenience to intolerable situation.
Coming up: thinking about the next car and what the candidates will be. And silly me thought that the 2012 Fit would be my last ICE (internal combustion engine) car.
The customer service reps are VERY deferential, while also sticking quite annoyingly on message. This means there are lots of Pleases and Thank yous and I appreciate your concerns, and much time devoted to dotting i's and crossing t's--process and documentation are everything here. That said, when asked directly why my car is not included in a recall that seems to span the model year, the rep repeated, in slightly different ways no fewer than 5 times, that my car is not currently subject to any open recalls. He did conjecture that perhaps it was due to the factory, but I may be reading too much into his response.
Bottom line, he said, over and over, that airbag inflators are tracked meticulously and mine was not among the recall candidates.
Do I trust him/American Honda customer service? Not for a second. I'm tempted to remove the front passenger seat to ensure that nobody can sit in it until my car ultimately is recalled, because I am fairly certain it will--it's just a matter of time.
On the list of life annoyances, this is pretty low. But like all annoyances, I know it's there and if I actively start banning passengers from the front seat, it will ultimately turn from annoyance to inconvenience to intolerable situation.
Coming up: thinking about the next car and what the candidates will be. And silly me thought that the 2012 Fit would be my last ICE (internal combustion engine) car.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Day 2: Tweet Tweet
I contacted Honda Customer Service via twitter this morning @HondaCustSvc and had the following conversation (VIN is redacted):
I'm sure the lawyers have some formula for this, and maybe they're just trying to not get their dealer's service centers overwhelmed like what happened last year, but to pass it off as "your car isn't listed so don't worry about it" is just plain wrong. I get it, the chances are infinitesimal that my passenger airbag is going to blow unexpectedly, but there is a chance, and being put in this limbo is not inspiring my confidence in the Honda brand or its management.
@HondaCustSvc JHMGE8 36,800 miles. Airbag site sez no recalls, but generic 2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall.
2h
2 hours ago
Sent
Hello and thank you for reaching out to us. Can you please provide the VIN so that we may verify any recalls associated with your vehicle? Thank you. ^RB
2h
2 hours ago
We apologize for the previous message. After review, we have found that the VIN provided (JHMGE8) does not have safety recalls at this time. Feel free to check your recalls at any time by visiting http://recalls.owners.honda.com/service-mainte …. We hope this helps. ^RB
2h
2 hours ago
2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall. Are you saying my car will NOT be recalled for this issue?
45m
44 minutes ago
Sent
2012 FIT recalls: Passenger Airbag Inflator
Takata Driver Airbag Inflator
VSA NON-COMPLIANCE UPDATE
40m
39 minutes ago
Sent
We have confirmed that your passenger airbag has not been affected by the Takata Airbag recall. You may visit the previous link provided to confirm this information. ^RR
38m
37 minutes ago
Again, your previous link sez Passenger Airbag Inflator for 2012 FIT. I have a 2012 Fit.
35m
34 minutes ago
Sent
31m
30 minutes ago
Sent
Recalls are VIN specific and do not apply to every vehicle within that year and model. The link we provided you will show if your specific vehicle has been affected. ^RR
25m
24 minutes ago
until mine shows up on the list cuz every car of the model year eventually does. In the meantime, you're saying if I have a passenger and the airbag unexpectedly deploys, oops, our bad. Sorry. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
8m
7 minutes ago
Sent
Please contact our Recalls Department at 1-800-999-1009 option #4 if you have any other questions. ^RR
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm sure the lawyers have some formula for this, and maybe they're just trying to not get their dealer's service centers overwhelmed like what happened last year, but to pass it off as "your car isn't listed so don't worry about it" is just plain wrong. I get it, the chances are infinitesimal that my passenger airbag is going to blow unexpectedly, but there is a chance, and being put in this limbo is not inspiring my confidence in the Honda brand or its management.
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