Update, whats new and why I will never own another Honda

First and foremost, sorry I have not been on the forums. As some of you are aware, I recently went through a divorce, of which this past week it was finalized. In the process of all of this, I have been moving and basically starting a new chapter in my life. The divorce was my decision, so no need for sorrow, it was the right choice based on the circumstances. It was a 15 year long relationship (6 of them married) so even though she thinks this was just a walk in the park to go through, that was not really the case. Even with it being my idea and what I wanted.

With all of this, being online and doing things with the forums has been the furthest thing from my priorities. I literally had to start from scratch as I barely took anything from the separation. This includes buying all new furniture, housewares, etc. It has been a fun and stressful time all together. Hence why I have not really posted or been around. Thank you to those who did send a text message or PM to check in and sorry if I did not get back to you.

As for the newest drama, I was supposed to be at work this morning and instead I have been battling with Honda all day. Essentially, if you Google search Honda Accord and seat belt or SRS or Airbag light, etc, you will find a crap load of articles that talk about the shitty design that Honda has developed for our seat belts, that over time they can short out or this thin piece of metal wears out which causing an airbag light to come on the dash. Nevertheless, both of my sensors are throwing codes which I learned today at the dealership (where I just left). In addition to this code, they claim (although still unproven to my standards) that their was also a trouble code for the OPDS unit, which after speaking with Skippy today, does control the SRS system. The problem is that they will not address the seat belt issues until I pay for a repair on the OPDS unit first. Well here is where we get into the sticking point.

They claim that the issue that I am having with the fault codes on the seat belt are being caused by the OPDS unit being bad, so they will not honor their lifetime warranty on the seatbelt repair first as they claim the seat belt codes are caused by the OPDS issue. The whole chicken or the egg situation. I asked for a good faith repair and was declined, was on the phone with Honda of America and was basically told my business as a customer does not matter, because I do not trade in my cars frequently enough and that there is no good faith for customers who keep their cars as long as I do. He also went on to back up the dealership in their assessment. Don't get me started on the whole, isn't that the point of buying a reliable car is that they last a long time conversation, that will just get me even more upset.

So I leave the dealership, codes in had, part numbers that need to be replaced in hand (BTW, I can get the part for 30% of what they want to charge me for it) and I call up Skippy who is doing a little research for me...BECAUSE.... when I get home, there is a TSB for this EXACT trouble code that my car is throwing! You have got to be kidding me. I just left a message for the service advisor to ask him WTF basically. This should be covered under that TSB if and only if the service manager approves a good faith replacement. Round and round we go.

I work for a company that if you have an issue and we have it documented, we take care of it. Period. That should be how it works and it does not seem like Honda cares at all about customer satisfaction. The worst part is you are basically screwed, because to take them to small claims court would mean finding other people that had the same issue that did have it replaced for free given the similar details of the situation. This is not the first time I have had to deal with Honda like this and it certainly will be the last Honda I ever own.