Just got off the phone with Acura (snap ring)

R

ryans

Experienced Member
Joined
23 January 2002
Messages
696
Location
San Ramon, CA
I can say that I'm pretty disgusted with the Service from Corporate Acura. I just wanted to voice my complaint about the Snap ring problem that i've encountered. When I bought the vehicle it has all the service records from West Chester Acura, maintenance records etc. There is nothing in the file that ever explains a snap ring problem. It's been serviced from day 1. This is very detail folder I have of all records ever done to the car.

Well just a month or so after I had the car I noticed that the shifter was popping out of gear. So I faxed Acura with my complaint, VIN # and Transmission Vin #. Of course the guy tells me that my VIN # does not fall into the problem range. I then told him to lookup my Transmission VIN, which is J4A4-1004344.

He was just an ass to deal with, asking me if I'd like Acura to service every NSX that ever had a problem. I told him No, I think that Acura should take care of the 1,000 transmissions they failed to make correctly. I explained that this isn't just some Integra, it's their NSX, their flagship model. The conversation was going no where so I just said good bye.

Well if you guys ever buy a new car from Acura and have a problem with their poor craftsmanship, be prepared to deal with someone with their head up their ass, as Acura could never make anything that has a defect.

Acura Client Services
800-382-2238 Option 3

George
 
It's very dissapointing in how Acura handles this issue. I listened to an owner talk to them just a few weeks ago, and the conversation was similar to what you describe. They made the tranny's wrong, which brings about an issue that can occur at any time. Unfortunately for owners, the issue can occur far down the ownership road. I'm of the opinion that Honda USA should have recalled all cars with transmissions that fall inside the snap ring range. Frankly, I'm suprised that an owner, or a group of owners, have not tried to turn up the heat on Honda for how they handle this.
 
If the guy was nice i'm sure I would have been happy to have just left a complaint. But being rude has pissed me off. I think we should all get together and do something about this problem. I'm sure if we all drove our NSX's in front of HONDA and had a boycott out front with a bunch of big signs and TV and media there...that would get someones attention.
 
I understand your frustration, but I cannot agree with you. I dont see how you can get mad at Acura for not warranting a product when:
1) its almost 14yrs old(stuff is going to break in that timeframe)
2) you are not the original owner(the money they made on the original sale is long gone and it did not come from you)
3) the car has had two model changes and is now discontinued
4) the car is far out of warranty
5) transfering the warranty was not even an option for you
6) You could have checked you tranny # before purchase(as most do when buying the late 91-92 year model cars) and adjusted your buying decision accordingly

The leather wore out on my drivers seat bolster and I feel that it did so prematurely, but I would never expect Acura to cover it or any other maintainence issue on my car. I have heard of them Goodwilling the snap ring trannies, but that has always been on a case by case basis and more probably who you know, than who you call and complain to. Either way, I hope everything works out in your favor. :cool:
 
I feel bad for you, and if my 92 which is in the snap ring range decides to go, I'll be very unhappy, but would not expect Honda to willingly fix it free. Now if there ever is a class action, count me in.....

I had a similar complaint with Honda in 2000 when my 4th evaporator failed--I thought after 4, they should agree they are defective. They said they would not warranty an 8-year old car--the evap was only 2. Since then, the 5th one failed after 4 years....a weakness in my view--although it seems I've had the most failures? At the time of my call to Honda, I felt they did not care, and I was amazed that they would treat an NSX owner the way they did. In retrospect, maybe they had a legitimate argument--the car is old.

Best of luck, and please let us know how it turns out--I may be in your shoes one day.
 
slightly off topic here
I had a issue with my Navigation on my new TL and roadside assistance was completely useless. It happened on a Sunday morning before a out of town trip too. :rolleyes:
Acura Customer Care is lacking.
 
ryans said:
If the guy was nice i'm sure I would have been happy to have just left a complaint. But being rude has pissed me off. I think we should all get together and do something about this problem. I'm sure if we all drove our NSX's in front of HONDA and had a boycott out front with a bunch of big signs and TV and media there...that would get someones attention.
Click to expand...


What are you going to boycott? Are you going to stop buying NSXs? Good luck trying to convince Mr. & Mrs. Smith into not buying a quality built Honda Accord because you cant get a 13 year old transmission fixed for free. You took a shot a lost, quit whinning and get it fixed. If you complain about a thousand dollar fix maybe you should ask Mr & Mrs. Smith to trade you for their Accord.


Armando
 
92NSX said:
slightly off topic here
I had a issue with my Navigation on my new TL and roadside assistance was completely useless. It happened on a Sunday morning before a out of town trip too. :rolleyes:
Acura Customer Care is lacking.
Click to expand...

Customer Care is one place Lexus really kicks Acura's butt...it's not even close.
 
DONYMO said:
Customer Care is one place Lexus really kicks Acura's butt...it's not even close.
Click to expand...

Maybe Lexus would be better on some minor stuffs, but they certainly did not do much for me when my car was stolen from the dealer.

They are all similar. It is all about cost!!
 
Joe Gliksman said:
I feel bad for you, and if my 92 which is in the snap ring range decides to go, I'll be very unhappy, but would not expect Honda to willingly fix it free. Now if there ever is a class action, count me in.....

I had a similar complaint with Honda in 2000 when my 4th evaporator failed--I thought after 4, they should agree they are defective. They said they would not warranty an 8-year old car--the evap was only 2. Since then, the 5th one failed after 4 years....a weakness in my view--although it seems I've had the most failures? At the time of my call to Honda, I felt they did not care, and I was amazed that they would treat an NSX owner the way they did. In retrospect, maybe they had a legitimate argument--the car is old.

Best of luck, and please let us know how it turns out--I may be in your shoes one day.
Click to expand...

I too have seen and heard new evaporator coil fail repeatedly. It's definitely a defect on the coil.

Henry.
 
did you check for the snap ring problem before you bought the car?
 
Well, unfortunately this same topic seems to appear every 6 months or so and I feel sorry for those who are getting the raw deal on this. I said it once, and I'll say it again. Try your very best to get it resolved directly through Honda escalation. But, if this fails you may have to resort to a lawsuit. I simply can't imagine how you could possibly lose. Here's the text of a post I made in Feb, 2004 on this same forum. Best of luck to you..

****Previous Post****

In parallel to everything else, I would recommend that you look into either suing Honda are potentially joining a lawsuit in progress with the hopes of recovering your expenses.

This is not a popular recommendation to many here on the board because they are so infactuated with Honda they can't see beyond their own senses. If this happened to me, I would sue them. There is only one way to lose a lawsuit like this and that is if YOU knew about the snap ring issue before buying your car and chose to buy a car with a potential problem, perhaps instead of a car outside the range. Assuming YOU did not about the issue, rest assured that Honda did. Look at the facts against them:

They became aware of the problem in 1991. (Documented and cannot be contested.) A recall would have hurt Honda's reputation and that of the NSX which was starting to get hammered with tire wear issues. So, instead of a recall Honda chose instead to "Goodwill" the repair and try as hard as possible to hide it from the public eye. Honda arbitrarily decided that after a few years, the Goodwill term was long enough and they stopped it. Terminating the Goodwill period was, in my mind, stupid. This is Honda's main point of vulnerability. So, you can easily PROVE; 1) They new the problem; 2) They new failures *could* be dangerous; 3) They decided to Goodwill the repairs to keep them from the public eye; 4) They arbitrarily decided to stop the Goodwill practice after a certain period. Oh, and you can also prove with a little more efoort that those people who were accustomed to getting screwed by Honda service rates were more likely to get their cases (no pun intended) goodwilled than those individuals who performed maintenance themselves or through a shop of THEIR choosing. Some owners may put 25K miles a year or more on their car while others may put 3K or less. The point is that if you purchase an 1991 NSX today, for example, with 25K, 50K, or perhaps even 80K, you should have every reason to believe that a manufacturing defect that the maker was aware of in 1991 is not going to damage your car - and potentially put you in danger. The hardest part about your case is the mileage of your car but I still believe it is reasonable to expect a manual transmission car to provide 150K - 200K miles of good service (clutch notwithstanding).

I'm not a person with any legal education, etc. so take this input for what it is worth. My car is NOT in snap ring range and I generally think Honda is a good company. However, I think the position they took on this problem since the beginning has been less than honorable.

And before I relinquish this soapbox to the naysayers, let me tell you what Honda should have done. They should, at a minimum, goodwill these transmissions for the LIFE of the vehicle.... because they SHOULD have been replaced in the beginning. Pragmatically, it was hard for Honda to replace all of the POTENTIALLY affected transmissions... since the only presumably knew the range of vulnerability and not the exact transmissions that were faulty. OK, fine, that's THEIR problem. If THEY could have determined precisely the 100, 200, or 500 transmissions that were bad, I would like to think that they would have replaced them all back in 1991/92. However, since they could not, why put the burden (and saftey risk) back to the general public and absolve your responsibility?

Bring on the flames, gents. I can take it.
 
NsXMas said:
What happened? Can you share your story?
Click to expand...

My car with only 10k miles was stolen while it was being serviced. Some punk just walked in over the weekend and drove off the car with the key in it from the service dept.

To make the long story short. The car was recovered, but it was not the same as I took it in. Lexus corp. told me that it is between the dealership and I, and they would not do anything.
 
MiamieNeSeX said:
What are you going to boycott? Are you going to stop buying NSXs? Good luck trying to convince Mr. & Mrs. Smith into not buying a quality built Honda Accord because you cant get a 13 year old transmission fixed for free. You took a shot a lost, quit whinning and get it fixed. If you complain about a thousand dollar fix maybe you should ask Mr & Mrs. Smith to trade you for their Accord.


Armando
Click to expand...

I already have the parts in hand, if I was looking for freebies I would have waited before I bought my new transmission housing. Nothing wrong with voicing your opinion.

I just had to deal with Toyota for my Rav4. 70,000 miles and Check Engine Light Problem. They are willing to fix the problem for free. Toyota customer service seems superior to what I had to deal with today.

For starters the customer service rep failed in many ways.

1st Lost his temper
2nd asked a negative question
3rd raised his voice

I think those 3 things would be key things not to do in giving good customer service.
 
The NSX is over 13 yrs old, to have Acura fix it for free is beyond reasonable expectation. Mechanical stuff wears out, snap ring may be a defect but it failed 13 yrs later, To goodwill when the car is 5 yrs or newer is reasonable. If you bought the car new and have all the maintenance done at the dealership, then you might have a better shot at getting factory assistance. I think many new nsx owners don't realize how old their babies are. :frown:
 
ryans said:
I already have the parts in hand, if I was looking for freebies I would have waited before I bought my new transmission housing. Nothing wrong with voicing your opinion.

I just had to deal with Toyota for my Rav4. 70,000 miles and Check Engine Light Problem. They are willing to fix the problem for free. Toyota customer service seems superior to what I had to deal with today.

For starters the customer service rep failed in many ways.

1st Lost his temper
2nd asked a negative question
3rd raised his voice

I think those 3 things would be key things not to do in giving good customer service.
Click to expand...

I don't agree with any customer service rep treating their customers who ultimately pay their salaries with disrespect, but how can you possibly expect to be compensated? Acura didn't do a recall for this issue because not all tranny's in this range failed, so it was a case by case scenario. However, Acura still did many, many goodwill fixes for this years after the warranty expired and regardless of mileage, but that stopped around 1998-1999. Your car is 14 years old! You have to expect they would have to cut it off sometime especially since it didn't fail until now. Shame on the previous owner for not taking it in to get fixed while it was free. Trust me I understand your pain as I went through almost the exact same thing 3 years ago with no luck.

As far as comparing Toyota's customer service to Acura's, I am betting your Rav4 is not 14 years old. If it was, you would get the same answer Acura gave you.

If anything file a complaint againt the service advisor that treated you unappropriately, but you are wasting your time if you think you are going to win a dime on a tranny that lasted 14 years with no problems.
 
I agree with Kpond. There are many owners out there who don't even know about the snap ring issue, and simply because it's known to us, via Prime, it should not be some kind of crutch for Honda to lean upon. They knew about the issue, yet failed to recall to inspect to see if the fix was needed for a given car. I think they are responsible for pre-failure repairs. Where it gets gray is when an owner knows of the condition, yet chooses not to have the pre-failure correction made, then suffers a failure. If the pre-failure repairs would have been covered, none of this would be an issue. Because they didn't, they know full-well that they are subject to public criticism, and potentially some liability. Don't think for a second that the Honda legal team and finance directors didn't weigh this all out. For a customer service representative to lose his cool because of their policy, well - it's simply unacceptable.
 
jlindy said:
Acura didn't do a recall for this issue because not all tranny's in this range failed, so it was a case by case scenario. Shame on the previous owner for not taking it in to get fixed while it was free.
Click to expand...

Acura could have simply issued a recall on a range of transmission numbers, you don't have to issue a global recall. It's done all the time.

Also I've yet to hear of a case where Acura was willing to replace the case for free until AFTER the snap ring failed. The original owner could not have had it replaced gratis.
 
Joe Gliksman said:
Now if there ever is a class action, count me in.....
Click to expand...

An attempted class action was brought a few years ago which, from memory, was dismissed because the warranty period had expired.

Hey, at least the NSX isn't made by Sony, who is getting a reputation for not honoring even valid warranty claims.
 
robr said:
Acura could have simply issued a recall on a range of transmission numbers, you don't have to issue a global recall. It's done all the time.
Click to expand...

I understand that and never said anythng about a global recall. Since not all the tranny's in the range were failing, they probably felt a recall of any kind was not necessary and that is why they did it on case by case. I disagree with that decision, but 14 years after it was built, I wouldn't expect it to be fixed for free. The goodwill is long over.

I thought I remember Acura fixing some of the snap rings under goodwill that weren't necessarly broken, but could very well be wrong. I remember when I had the problem with my car, the snap ring was broken, but didn't show ANY signs of it being broken. I was wondering how long this could theoretically happen before a piece of the ring broke off, causing a lot more damage. Is it possible for it to be cracked for months before it actually breaks apart?
 

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