I Finally Got My 10th Gen Back After Almost 6 Weeks at the Local Honda Dealership: It's No Shocker that I Already Had to Correct the Dealer's Work

In a recent DriveAccord.net forum, a Honda owner shares his dismay at how badly car repairs can go with a bad mechanic while fixing one problem only to create potential future problems.

The Honda Owners' Story

In the DriveAccord forum discussion titled "Quality of Work Completed by Honda Dealerships," the OP identified as Hudouc, begins with what happened initially and how things progressed from bad to worse.

"I finally got my 10th gen back after almost 6 weeks at the local Honda dealership. My local groundhog damaged my engine compartment harness, engine harness, and transmission harness. It wasn't a nibble, there was whole sections of harnesses missing. It was almost $7000 after everything, went through insurance since we have a $250 comprehensive deductible."

"I had the car towed to the Honda dealer where I purchased the car after it was assured that the harnesses would be replaced and not patched, which was the case."

"Why did it take 6 weeks when the insurance adjuster came by and approved the entire repair within 24 hours of the car being dropped off?"

The OP found out that his repair was delayed because the repair had not been properly planned out to ensure the transmission harness would be available when the time came for its installation. As a result, this misstep added an extra week with shipping and installation of the needed transmission harness.

The delay was impeded not only by failure to schedule parts replacement, but the fact that the OP had to refuse the repairs until after the third pickup attempt due to discovering multiple repair failures by the Service Department mechanic:

First Pickup Attempt―a quick once over by the owner revealed:

1. Most of the plastic trim in the engine bay was not secured properly. Most trims only had one clip holding it, with one trim piece held by a single broken clip.
2. Three loose bolts were left behind in the cup holder, one of which was identified as likely belonging to the airbag system.
3. Other loose bolts of unknown origin were found.

Second Pickup Attempt―returning two days later with a friend, more problems were found together.

With this inspection, we discovered many more things wrong with the car."

1. The bumper and fenders were reattached with only clips and none of the screws it originally possessed.
2. The VSA module (an important component of the electronic stability control system) was secured with the wrong bolt.
3. Some vacuum lines were not clipped in, and the AC lines also were not clipped in.
4. Firewall grommets were improperly installed.
5. Many clips were either broken or missing from the interior and engine bay.
6. Bumper not secured properly under the headlights.
7. The cabin air filter door was left unclipped.

Third Pickup Attempt―a week later, when the last of the parts arrived, the owner inspected his car for any additional problems and to ensure the earlier noted problems were resolved. He found two more wiring harness clips installed incorrectly, but all else appeared to be okay. After his friend arrived and confirmed with him that the car was good to go, the OP accepted the repairs and took possession of his car.

Related article: Most Important Question to Ask Your Mechanic Before Agreeing to a Repair

"From the grapevine, I heard that it was a Master tech who worked on the car originally. This overall experience was just ridiculous. The service manager was very accommodating. Yes, it was very tough luck on the dealership to have run into a customer like me who is very familiar with Hondas, who does more than enough DIY work to know what things should look like. BUT, this never should've happened in the first place," states the OP, reflecting on his experience with the Honda Service Department.

This was a customer paid job, there should've been no rush to get things done properly. This is what I get for going to a dealership."

What to Make of This Story

One of the pitfalls of working on any car is that automotive plastic parts, such as clips and screws, often brittle and break during disassembly. A thoughtful mechanic would replace such broken parts rather than just hoping a clip or two would be sufficient and that the owner would not notice.

However, leaving "extra" screws, bolts, and nuts behind is a sign of laziness and a lack of caring about the repair and the customer.

To the service manager's credit, he did make it right and allowed the OP to inspect his car on their lift. However, almost all garages will not allow their customers this courtesy due to obvious safety and legal concerns.

This dealership chain is quite lenient on their shop rules. I was able to use the lift at their Chevy dealer to do my own PPI. To be fair, I think the manager realized that there's no way to BS their way out of the situation. We pointed out too many things that a normal customer would never notice. The best way was to let me see everything for myself and be as transparent as possible. He was right. Letting me do the inspection was in fact the best course of action."

The takeaway message is that it is a good idea to always take at least a few photos of the engine bay before work is done by a garage for your own protection in case something like this happens to you. Much of the time, missing pieces and improperly connected components happen and can indicate where to look for a problem if your car runs poorly after the repair.

Now It's Your Turn: Tell us about your experience with Honda Service: Have you had work done and later regretted it, or have you had good experiences? Do you think that the OP made the best of a bad repair situation? Let us know about it in the comments section below.

For additional articles focused on repair fails, here are two titled "I Think My Mechanic Destroyed My Car –Ford Owner Catches a Bad Fix on Video" and "Second Opinion Reveals One Bad Repair and Two Toyota Dealer Scams."

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Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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