An update (you'll love this)...

Dropped my HCH II at a local dealer today to have the engine block coolant drain plug removed and the block heater element put in for the quoted price of $56. Then I went to work.

About an hour later I get a call from the service writer who tells me they can't get the drain plug out either *unless* they remove the right-side axle shaft so they could get a clean shot at it with a breaker bar... and that would cost me an additional $149! Ouch! I thought about it for a moment, and decided I really want a block heater, so I gave them approval to go ahead.

Later in the afternoon I send an email to the service writer to see how the job went, and he calls me back. He starts stuttering a bit and tells me they were successful at getting the drain plug out, but in the process the damaged the right-front wheel ABS wire harness, but they of course would pay for that. Only problem is they don't have a replacement wiring harness in stock, so in the mean time the ABS will not function and the "ABS" and "BRAKE SYSTEM" warning lights will stay lit on the instrument panel. No big deal I thought... I've lived without ABS for more years than I've actually had it, and I can ignore the warning lights for a few days. So I made a new appointment for Tuesday of next week to get the new ABS wire harness replaced after it arrives.

It's kind of funny though... this is the first time I've taken a vehicle I own to an outside machanic in probably 15+ years, because they always seem to screw-up two items for every one they fix, and this little episode seems to reinforce this!

Later I picked up the car and drove my 43 mile commute home. Now I'm a bit pissed about the way the car is acting and I **** sure hope that little wiring harness will fix everything...

First off, the Auto-Stop doesn't work at all. According to the Honda shop manual, this is probably understandable, as Auto-Stop is disabled when a fault is detected in any related system. Next, regenerative braking only works under very limited conditions... maybe half as much as it did before. Ditto for IMA battery charging from deceleration. As a result, the IMA battery won't fully charge and I'm also not getting full assist from the IMA.

The Auto-Stop not working I can understand, but the regenerative braking and deceleration has me concerned.

Lastly, I get home, pop the hood, find coolant spilled all over the engine compartment (presumably from when they refilled the radiator), and I find the CVT fluid and coolant levels are low. I peek under the car and found the machanic put the wrong bolts in the wrong locations to hold the undershield on. Makes me wonder what else he did wrong where I can't easily see it.

What fun!

I'll post another update next week once the ABS wire harness is replaced.

Drive safe,

John L.