In the last week or two, my car would not turn over on the first or sometimes second attempts. I'd get dash lights, headlights, radio, etc. but the starter would never get the message. Then on a second or third attempt it would magically come to life and start immediately. Tuesday night it almost stranded us as it refused to kick in after about eight attempts but it finally did and we were able to get it home.
This is apparently a known issue in Honda circles even with low-mileage starters (mine only has 40k on it) that fail for no apparent reason. The parts store rebuilds are expensive and are supposedly garbage anyway. I was going to buy a new OEM one from an online Honda parts house ($400) and replace it myself until I went through my paperwork and remembered I bought the HondaCare extended warranty. A trip to the dealer (a nice, big, new, modern place) netted me a new starter installed for a $100 deductible and I didn't even have to get my hands dirty. I usually rather do my own repairs and replacing a starter is well within what I can do, but I'm not complaining considering the time and money saved. I think I could get used it it.
This is apparently a known issue in Honda circles even with low-mileage starters (mine only has 40k on it) that fail for no apparent reason. The parts store rebuilds are expensive and are supposedly garbage anyway. I was going to buy a new OEM one from an online Honda parts house ($400) and replace it myself until I went through my paperwork and remembered I bought the HondaCare extended warranty. A trip to the dealer (a nice, big, new, modern place) netted me a new starter installed for a $100 deductible and I didn't even have to get my hands dirty. I usually rather do my own repairs and replacing a starter is well within what I can do, but I'm not complaining considering the time and money saved. I think I could get used it it.
