I'm curious about anyone's experience with Honda's warranties.

I bought a brand new Rubicon. Had it for less then 2 months, drove it 42 miles. Then the engine died. I returned it to the dealer who torn into it and discovered the piston had shattered and in so doing also destroyed the crankshaft. The dealer agrees there was a major defect in the motor, however they can not proceed until Honda tells them what to do.

I do not want them to rebuild the motor. There is no way I could trust that motor again or believe that every piece of metal was removed. Honda has told them that they have to check and see if new motors are available. I either want a new motor, and I mean BRAND NEW, or I believe they should replace the entire quad with a new one.

 

What you ''want'' and what Honda will do is two differant things...The SECOND your quad is titled,it is concidered a USED vehicle and most dealerships will not give you a new quad or your money back after this.You are simple at the mercy of your manufacture.

I bought a new 03 Rincon in Oct of 2002 and I had some shifting problems[grinding going into gear] with it just a few months later.I had it to 3 differant dealers and they all agreed I had a problem but not ONE of them knew what my problem was.I FINALLY found a dealer that tore the tranny down far enough to find the problem[after the 6 month warrenty]and Honda did NOT want to pay for the tear-down..I told the dealership that I was fully prepared to SUE,,,, that was the end of Honda trying to bull out of what they should have taken care of in the first place.
I dont know that I'll buy Honda again because of this?

Bill

 

Real Sorry to hear about your engine. I do work for a Honda dealer and we have never had a problem with Honda about any warranty work. Alot depends on your Dealer and how he presents it to Honda. Did you get a warranty book with your ATV if not I can send you one . I'm not sure if the books are the same in the US of A as they are here in Canada

John

 

Never seen Honda replace the entire engine with a new one on a quad or a motorcycle, but I have seen them replace the entire quad [or bike] a few times.

Alot of it depends on the service tech that your dealer's service manger is chatting with on the other line. Warranty work is just another part of business. They aren't going to give you a 3G engine just because you request it when it can be repaired for less than 1G. This is the argument that they will use. I have seen a few occasions where the owner has tried to sue over this and it failed each time. The manufacturer isn't required to keep your machine in "new condition" of operation because once it's bought, it is used. I see someone else has also mentioned this. As long as whatever they decide to do fixes the problem, they are not at fault.

Now, as for the quad replacements go that I first mentioned, these were in instances where the same problem arose more than twice with the machine still under it's 6 month standard warranty. After that, don't expect such drastic help with the extended warranty.[if you bought one]

Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.

 

I am satisfied with Hondas customer service (warranty work). The head gasket leaked from day one on my 04 rincon. First the dealer re-torgued the head bolts and it still leaked, than they replaced the head gasket and it still leaked. Now they found a small crack at the top of the cylinder head and they replaced the head, gaskets and rings. I have yet to ride it again to see if it still leaks. I talked to honda customer service several times through out this ordeal and told them I didn't want my rincon in the shop for weeks and they said they would call the dealer. I took it in for the head, gaskets and the rings on a friday morning at 10:00 am and got it back Monday afternoon at 5:00PM. I share your concern about haveing the engine rebuilt but your probably going to have to go that route first before they replace an engine.

 

I had a Rube come unglued at top speed back in 2001. It wrecked the piston, cylinder, head, crank, cases, took a chunk out of the oil pump and banged the hydrotrans pretty good too. In that case, the district service manager pulled some strings and got me an engine ***'y. It wasn't easy though. Unless you can prove that replacing the engine is more economical, your old engine will be fixed. The only other case of complete engine replacement I've been involved with was on an early run Rincon. Lots of funky tran behavior was being reported to Honda. A team of engineers directly out of Japan was dispatched to certain dealers, the one I work at being one of them. They requested an entire engine out of one for shipment back to Japan for dissection. They promptly sent a replacement ***'y. At this point, Honda is under no obligation to do anything but fix your old engine. But there is a push from Honda service to get issues like this resolved promptly. There's really no reason a competent tech can't fix your old engine as good as new.

 

BartlettRacing

What Exactly was the kiling problem going on with yours? Because mine does it kind of often too....I figured it was normal... Anyone else heard of this?

I rather have a rebuild actually. I mean new is great. But a new engine that is rebuilt would be greater. That means on man works on the machine, has pride in it, and will do it right the first time and not depend on a warrantee. It's not rushed through an assembly line. Everything is greased, tightened, torqued, etc.

 

When I bought my Recon back in 2001 it had a oil leak within the first couple days. Consumer Lesson 1: Don't buy too far from home. I bought it about 2.5 hrs away so it was a major pain to get back to be fixed at the dealer. (where I bought it) It turned out someone had stripped the oil drain plug hole. I took it back to the original dealer and they gave me a bunch of manure. They accused me of doing it. After a little pressing (I already contacted Honda) they drilled and retapped the hole. Wrong! I got it home and it was still dripping. I was mad and didn't want to deal with them again. I put a plastic washer on the bolt which held back the oil a little. (This all happened over a few months.) I decided to write Honda a letter about my problem. (my 6 month warranty ran out) Someone from Honda told me to take it back to the dealer. I told them that I wanted to take it to a dealer closer to home. They said ok. (Trying to make this short.) Took it to another dealer and they went to bat for me. Honda replaced that section of the motor out of warranty. Lesson for dealers: I bought my Foreman from the dealer that went to bat for me. Lesson for Honda: I bought another Honda (my Foreman) because they made it right. The other dealer was found to be at fault. They don't know who stripped the drain hole. The Recon might have been a trade from another dealer. Consumer Lesson 2: Don't buy vehicles that have been traded from dealer to dealer. (I didn't know though.) They do know that the first dealer screwed up the hole when it was tapped. The side wall of the hole was also very thin. I'm glad I had a Warrior at the same time as the Recon. I didn't ride the Recon much in the beginning.

The sad thing is that the second dealership was sold shortly after I bought the Foreman. The head garage person (that went to bat for me) no longer works there so I no longer go there. He always told me that Honda was the best with their warranty work. The dealership handled all major brands.

Good luck with your problem. If things aren't going your way then write Honda a nice little letter. They'll get back to you.

 

The issue still is not settled. But we're making headway. Honda says that replacement engines are not available, so they want to rebuild it. My dealer on the other hand says that in their 20+ years of of service they have never seen anything this bad and they have no idea of what could have caused it. They want to put in a new motor and have asked me to give it a couple more days so they can work on the district service rep.

So the best thing going for me is at least the dealer and I are on the same page. I'm sure he will make it right!

I keep everyone updated.