I bought a new 2010 Civic in July. Everything was fine until after about six weeks it started honking for no apparent reason. This seemed to always happen in the afternoon when I was leaving work and only when I make turns at low speeds. My theory is that the problem was being caused by the heat of the sun during the day, because it NEVER has this problem when I pull out of my garage.

I took it to the dealership and had to leave it with them all day. They said it needed a new cable reel, which they had to order. So I brought it back and left it with them again for a whole day (the reasoning for leaving it the whole day is they needed to have technicians there and the technicians only work 9-5 weekdays).

They say the problem is fixed, but 2 weeks later it's honking again. Today I left it with the dealership (again) and they've ordered a cable reel (again) that will be installed once it arrives. In the meantime my horn is disabled for the sake of my sanity and not catching an asswhupping for honking behind someone as I pull into a gas station. This time when the new part arrives they want to keep it a few days and give me a loaner vehicle so they can test it and make sure it's working.

My question is: If they can't fix it this time, should I start pushing for a replacement? It's a huge pain in the ass to leave my car at the dealership, as I have to either bum a ride from a friend or use their shuttle to get me to and from work. I mentioned this to one of the service people and he says he's only seen it happen twice in 15 years and it still cost the person money. Anyone have experience with this?

tl;dr version:
1. Bought a new car 3 months ago.
2. Has bizarre problem with honking (Still under warranty of course).
3. Fix involves leaving car at dealership for whole day on weekdays.
4. Dealership's initial fix only worked temporarily.
5. Dealership attempting same fix again.
6. Want to hear others' experiences with getting replacement from dealerships.

11/10/2010 6:43:46 PM

Wtf dude, it's still under warranty and it's just the horn, they'll get it fixed. I would have DEMANDED a loaner waiting for me when I brought it in the second time and any time after that.

11/10/2010 6:48:28 PM

^^I had a brand new toyota truck returned after I had a series of wonky issues like you are describing. The difference was that it was like 6-7 completely different things going wrong within the first six months. It technically fell under the lemon law, but they wanted to avoid that for obvious reasons so they made me a great deal on a trade for a corolla

^pretty much what he said in your case.

[Edited on November 10, 2010 at 7:13 PM. Reason : d]

11/10/2010 7:12:28 PM

Look up lemon law for NC.

11/10/2010 7:25:16 PM

I have nothing to add, other than saying thanks for the hilarious mental image.

Just randomly driving along and HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK. That would be SOOO obnoxious.

11/10/2010 7:54:05 PM

There is no technical service bulletin for this problem, according to Alldata at least.

11/10/2010 8:49:24 PM

Next time you have to take the car back call them and make sure they have a loaner car available. The loaner fleet isn't unlimited.

I had to deal with some warranty issues at Cary Autopark Honda and I was not pleased with their service. But you get what you pay for. You want great service buy a luxury car I guess

11/10/2010 11:16:13 PM

I test-drove my boss's scooter a couple years ago and it would just honk whenever the hell it wanted to, and often. nothing like being 6'3", 240, and praying a 50cc scoot down lake wheeler while I w-wee weeeeeeeeeep we-w-w-weeeeep wupweep wpwpweeeeeeeeeeeep weep at all the angry drivers trying to pass me

i seriously thought i was gonna get shot

11/11/2010 1:18:06 AM

Quote :

"In the meantime my horn is disabled for the sake of my sanity and not catching an asswhupping for honking behind someone as I pull into a gas station."

technically your vehicle can no longer legally be driven in the state of north carolina

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_20/GS_20-125.html

Quote :

"§ 20-125. Horns and warning devices. (a) Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet, and it shall be unlawful, except as otherwise provided in this section, for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use upon a vehicle any siren, compression or spark plug whistle or for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or to make any unnecessary or unreasonable loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device. All such horns and warning devices shall be maintained in good working order and shall conform to regulation not inconsistent with this section to be promulgated by the Commissioner."

11/11/2010 4:30:29 AM

+1
Instead of disabling the horn complain to the manager and get a loaner until they are 100% sure its fixed.

11/11/2010 9:05:01 AM

Seriously...get a loaner, and don't take no for an answer. Evan's right...the car's not legal to drive, and in some instances (in the eyes of all you horn-honking motherfuckers; I never use mine) could be a hazard.

And now...SERIOUSLY? Push for a fucking replacement for something as paltry as the motherfucking HORN? I mean DAMN.

11/11/2010 9:20:02 AM

What dealership are you dealing with?

11/11/2010 9:29:39 AM

As others have stated, you are being too nice. If you are going to be going in for your 3rd time for the same problem, you need to demand a loaner.

11/11/2010 9:36:22 AM

11/11/2010 9:37:09 AM

^ those people are worthless. But who knows, you might get lucky and they respond to your email.

11/11/2010 9:41:39 AM

I had a friend who bought a brand new Nissan earlier this year. She was driving around the NEXT DAY and the car just shut off. She took it back the next day and demanded to return it. She got to return the car, get her money back, and went and bought the same car from a different dealership.

I thought it was super strange that they'd actually let her return it, but I would've done the same thing.

11/11/2010 9:43:13 AM

that's because nissan makes some fucking junk

but whatever

also, you can take a new car back within the first 3 days or something like that..

but with this civic issue, you need to be in their face or go over their head to get what you want

don't be nice

11/11/2010 9:46:09 AM

Honda probably also has a US Customer Relations center like BMW. I purchased my BMW 3 years used as a certified vehicle (still had factory waranty on it). About 6 months after the purchase, the clear coat started seperating from the car paint. Apparently, BMW was the first to switch to water based paint, and hadnt quite figured it out. The dealership didnt want to touch it. I had to get BMW America involved, and they ended up repainting the entire car, and giving me a loaner for the 3 weeks that it took (had a new 330 during that time).

Granted, this is about a Honda, but they have a good reputation, and corporate will probably help you out.

11/11/2010 9:54:40 AM

haha I had a car that did this. Bitch would start doing it whenever I was on the highway or driving near Cameron Village Turned out the wires were short circuiting because the previous owner had installed a new horn using bandaids as electrical tape. We had to install a horn with an external button to make it work properly.

Hopefully your dealership is not using bandaids as electrical tape.

11/11/2010 9:59:38 AM

^^When I had my major issue I contacted American Honda's customer relations. And they were worthless.

11/11/2010 12:47:56 PM

Honda wont help out. worst dealerships EVER.

11/11/2010 3:10:02 PM

That sucks

11/11/2010 3:19:23 PM

Quote :

"I had a friend who bought a brand new Nissan earlier this year. She was driving around the NEXT DAY and the car just shut off. She took it back the next day and demanded to return it. She got to return the car, get her money back, and went and bought the same car from a different dealership. I thought it was super strange that they'd actually let her return it, but I would've done the same thing."

this is hilarious to me. so she returned her car and just bought the same car from a different dealer? whats the difference?! i would have bought the replacement from the original dealer because they're already trying to make good on the deal

seems illogical to buy the same car from another dealer unless her dealership experience was awful

11/11/2010 5:11:11 PM

Honda's Corporate Support is WORTHLESS.

Their first question if you report something is:

How much have you spent at the that dealership?

Then they decide to help you, even if it's a warranty issue.

11/11/2010 8:51:44 PM

Not that it would be difficult to do given their current crop of boring (and oddly styled) vehicles, but I will never buy another Honda.

[Edited on November 12, 2010 at 9:35 AM. Reason : of]

11/12/2010 9:34:37 AM

^ This. I hate to admit it, but I love the BMW and want to keep it forever. Even if it means people will think I am one of "those" people.

11/12/2010 10:46:20 AM

Quote :

"I have nothing to add, other than saying thanks for the hilarious mental image. "

11/12/2010 10:50:26 AM

my parents have had multiple issues mostly like this with all their new cars. Warranty fixes it all. But they always get a loaner too for what it takes to get, and I remember on a few issues, they came and picked the car up from where we lived, and dropped it off when they were done with it.

11/12/2010 5:22:05 PM

I got a new F150 earlier this year and had the rear main seal leaking after about 400 miles. Dropped it off on a Wed night and they said they would look at it on Thursday. Thursday they identified the problem and said it would be ready Friday. Friday turned into Monday and Monday turned into a month because there was a problem with the design of the part. After they told me a month, I spent a while trying to figure out what I needed for the Lemon Law and to return the car but it seemed like that was going to be pretty difficult. My wife knew someone from work that returned a vehicle to the same dealer with the Lemon Law and it took almost 6 months of fighting with them to get it all worked out.

After about 2 weeks they were able to get the part and everything has been good since. We made sure to push for a loaner from the beginning. They didn't have any available, so they paid for a rental from Enterprise.

11/12/2010 10:46:13 PM

Dropped the car off earlier today to have the new part installed. Even though they disabled the horn, it started honking again on the way there

11/19/2010 11:25:22 PM

Quote :

"Next time you have to take the car back call them and make sure they have a loaner car available. The loaner fleet isn't unlimited. I had to deal with some warranty issues at Cary Autopark Honda and I was not pleased with their service. But you get what you pay for. You want great service buy a luxury car I guess"

I wouldn't go back to Autopark for anything except warranty work. When my S2000 had low compression on one cylinder I took it to them for diagnosis. Their lead tech (as described by the service manager), "Paul", apparently can't tell the difference between bent valves or broken rings when doing a leakdown test. If the money is coming out of my pocket I'll go somewhere competent.

The only reason I'm bitching is that I could have pulled the head and taken it to a machine shop myself. I did not want to get involved with pulling the engine and swapping rings if the damage was that severe though (you cannot get to the connecting rod bolts on this car without removing the engine due to the bracing on the undercarriage). I thought I was doing the right thing and helping myself out by paying them to diagnose the problem, but in the end I wish I had just bought a leakdown test kit and done the work myself.

11/20/2010 12:08:03 AM

Quote :

"I test-drove my boss's scooter a couple years ago and it would just honk whenever the hell it wanted to, and often. nothing like being 6'3", 240, and praying a 50cc scoot down lake wheeler while I w-wee weeeeeeeeeep we-w-w-weeeeep wupweep wpwpweeeeeeeeeeeep weep at all the angry drivers trying to pass me i seriously thought i was gonna get shot "

Hilarious!

^^Sounds like these people don't know what they are doing.

11/20/2010 9:05:54 PM

I will hotwire a Pepboys horn button on your dash for $25.

11/20/2010 10:00:40 PM