Honda dealer botched recall work

[mclasser]

During an alignment job the other day, the SA told me there was open recall on my Accord from back in 2005 on the ignition interlock switch. It's funny because I've been to the dealer many times since then and this is the first time anyone told me about it. The switch can supposedly go bad and allow the key to be removed from the ignition when the car is not in park. After they "fixed" it, the key is now intermittently getting stuck in the ignition and won't come out even when the car is in park.

Went back to the dealer today and they were basically useless. According to the SA, in 1 out of 100 cases the new interlock switch may bring out problems with old, worn tumblers in the vehicle's existing ignition. If the old tumblers are worn out as he says, wouldn't this problem have manifested itself before anyway? I've NEVER had an issue taking the key out before. He said I should try putting graphite powder on the keys to lubricate the internals of the key slot or try using my 2nd, less-used key. I tried both to no avail. He said if these don't work, the only solution is paying $500 for a new ignition. I'm pretty upset right now needless to say .

I did some of my own troubleshooting today and noticed that most of the time the key gets stuck, I am still able to press the shift knob and move the shifter out of park without my foot being on the brake pedal. I think due to the shifter still being movable, the car knows it is fully not in park yet and keeps me from pulling the key out. I still think there is something wrong with the new part they put in and will demand they re-check their work/put in a new part tomorrow.

 

[GSCJR]

According to your troubleshooting, an adjustment of the shifter cable should remedy your problem. HTH

 

[antiqueshell]

I will tell you from being in the business and as a customer for decades now. If the recall is a relatively MINOR one such as yours, AND THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY...NEVER let the $ealer do these on your vehicle.

Why? Because it is likely that they knew darn well that after they did that "service" you would be handing them MORE money to fix another problem they created.

This is VERY common practice.

But it could be applied to other durable goods as well.

 

[cchase]

There was a post about this a while back.

I remember some on here were quite offended when I said that we had not had the recall done, since we weren't having the issue and like to avoid dealer visits.

 

[The motor guy]

I'd say if your car has made it this far without a problem then don't worry about it. The manufacturer is on the hook for recalls for 10 years if I remember right. I would take it back and have them fix it. Also if it aint broke, don't fix it! It takes time to fix things right and dealers don't generally do things right the first time.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: mclasser

Went back to the dealer today and they were basically useless. According to the SA, in 1 out of 100 cases the new interlock switch may bring out problems with old, worn tumblers in the vehicle's existing ignition.


He's blinding you with science. They did botch it and they do need to fix it.

 

[KB2008X]

You can bet your bottom dollar that the dealer has had those switches on the shelf for far longer than they ever wanted. How can they convert them back into money ? Honda won't take them back and there aren't enough Accords of that vintage on the road with a bad switch to get rid of them, honestly.

So, the on-staff marketing genius suggests that they use their computer to flag every car that comes in for service that uses that switch. You come along for an alignment, the alarm bells go off and the SA suggests a long dormant recall repair that they can bill Honda for. A "repair" that solves their problem and if all goes well makes them look like the friendly, customer service oriented import dealer that they want you to think they are. lol

They created a problem where one didn't exist and did so for their benefit not yours. They need to fix that problem on their dime, not yours. I'd make a lot of noise in that dealership's service department, the dealership manager and the dealership owner. If needed, go to the regional Honda office and air your grievance there, this "repair" may even have originated at that level. Post the name of the dealer and their phone number here in this thread so we all know who to blame for this. Print out this thread and share it with the people that you talk to at the dealership, so they understand you have means and the will to tell the truth about them.

Good luck, and stop blindly trusting your car dealer.

 

[mclasser]

After waiting for 4 hours and getting the run around from various SA's and the service manager, the dealership finally agreed to look into the issue. They did the recall repair again and said everything was fine now since the tech turned the car on/off several times without the key jamming up. When I got into the car to leave, lo-and-behold the key jammed up again right in front of the service manager. They took the car to the back again and after some "adjustments" from the senior tech, everything is working again for the time being.

I now totally agree with the advice given by some above that if their is a minor recall on a 10+ yr old car, it isn't worth having the stealership put their hands on your vehicle.

 

[SatinSilver]

I had that repair done on my 99 years ago. Of course this is one of the few dealers I actually like. No issues. Did you get the airbag recall done yet? Maybe go to a different dealer on that one. Since the airbags could pop while driving down the road.