I will never buy another Honda. Not only is the 2004 HCH not ready for prime time but the dealerships pretend that nothing is wrong with the car until you show them the service bulletins. Then they try to wiggle through every loophole they can to get your money.

I have a 2005 Prius and it is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the Civic.

 

Majordude, I can certainly empathize with your frustrations. At the same time, most of what you mentioning in that post are problems with your dealer, not the product itself. Things like this are anecdotal by nature, but I have a neighbor who has had nothing but bad experiences at her local Toyota dealership. Now she swears she will never buy another Toyota, when what she should commit to is not going to that particular dealer.

My 2004 HCH has been a good car, even with this experience of the catalytic converter problems. When I step back and look at this in the big picture, I paid just over $20K for a car that has had a lifetime MPG of 44.2 while covering 116,000 miles. I have had exactly ONE out of pocket expense other than normal maintenance. And that ONE expense (the cat replacement) I may be getting refunded. Car is still on it's original brakes, only it's second set of tires. I do my own oil changes and CVT fluid changes. It's probably time for new struts, but any car with 116K is probabaly past due for struts.

My point is this: would we have liked Honda to recognize the oxygen sensor/catalytic converter problem earlier, before many of us paid out of our pocket? Sure. But overall, I have been very pleased with our little blue HCH.

It's not like the Prius has exactly been problem free either.

 

Richfield/Bloomington Honda in Minnesota........

Yea, they told me back in January 2011 that the P2000 error code was a defective lower Cat Converter; so I paid $700 to have them replace it. Now I get a notice in the mail from Honda saying it refered to the ECM and/or Secondary and Thrid O2 sensors??????

What the heck. I think someone owes me about $700.

if you can't trust a Honda dealership who can you trust????

Whizzzzzed in Minnesota.

 

If you paid for a cat replacement, and you didn't receive the forms in the mail for reimbursement, do what Karrina said she did (see her post on the previous page), and get the forms you need to get your money back.

 

Thanks for the reply.

As I understand the the Honda Recall is only for the ECM and 2nd/3rd O2 sensors. The dealer that I dealt with said the P2000 error code was for a defective lower Cat Converter. Richfield/Bloomington Honda is going to be getting a call from me asking for clarification.

I wouldn't think that a major dealership in Minnesota would what to be tagged with disseptive practices.

Anyone else out there told to replace their Lower Cat Converter when hit with the P2000 error code?

 

You got the form regarding reimbursement that came with the ECM update?
Give it another read.
I'd definitely fill out the paperwork and send it in. Or call the number that Karrina did, and see if you can get clarification from Honda. The reimbursement doesn't come from the dealership, but from American Honda, so they're the one that you should be dealing with.

 

I got four separate notices in the package I received:

1) Product Update: ECM Update to Improve DTC P1420 and P2000 Detection Threshold

I had this done yesterday when I brought the car in for an oil change. I did have the P1420 set but it always took a while to come back after resetting the ECM (as compared to the P0420 which usually comes back within 10 miles or so after reset). I will check this again with my code reader in a couple days to see if the P1420 has returned.

2) Warranty Extension: Secondary and Third Oxygen Sensors.

Warranty extended to 8 years or 80,000 miles. Pretty much a joke as I suspect 90% of 2003-2005 HCH's are already over 80,000 miles.

3) Possible Reimbursement Eligibility: Previous Secondary and/or Third Oxygen Sensor Replacement.

I never had these replaced.

4) Possible Reimbursement Eligibility: Previous Catalytic Converter Replacement.

I had this done twice, first time under warranty and the second cost me about $1100. I have already sent the paperwork in and I'm hoping they send me a check. Fingers crossed...

 

I had the 11-043 software installed at the end of Sept and now I have the malfunction light on constantly -- owner's manual indicates that light comes on for emissions control faults. So I have an appointment with the dealer for diagnostics -- was told that there would be no charge if the diagnostics show that the current problem is related to the software upgrade, otherwise will need to spend $$ for the fix.

 

Has anyone had their case ruled on yet? I sent my paperwork in around September 21, so I called Honda today. They were able to provide me a case number, and verified that they have received my paperwork and repair documentation, but the case was still "pending review" supposedly because of the overwhelming amount of claims that they have received. I was told 6-8 weeks for processing was their expectation, so that means I have another 4 weeks or so before they will rule on mine.

 

I received my reimbursement check on 10/29. For some reason it was about $5.00 less than I expected, $1137.61 vs the $1142.90 I submitted, but there was no explanation of benefits, only the check. I don't care, I am just happy Honda reimbursed me.

I sent the paperwork in probably the first week of September, the check was dated 10/21 and I received it in the mail on 10/29.

I wasn't happy to replace the catalytic converter for the second time at 179,000 miles, but I also didn't think it was that unusual, that really is fairly high mileage after all, but I do believe I deserved to be reimbursed since the "fix" lasted less than 25,000 miles if I recall correctly. As it is the CEL is always on and I still have to jump through hoops to pass the NYS inspection. So thank you Honda America for coming through!

Sweet. It's nice when things go your way.