Complaint Review: White Plains Honda - White Plains New York

On or about April 4, 2007 I signed a contract with White Plains Honda to purchase a Honda Odyssey EXL with navigation and entertainment for delivery on Saturday, April 7, 2007. After getting a bank check, arranging for the insurance, and clearing out my trade-in, I received a phone call from the salesman on the morning of delivery advising me that my car was not there (even though they had provided my insurance broker with the vehicle ID number for the car that I was supposed to receive). Since I made clear to the salesman that I had wanted the car for a trip the following week, I asked him what they did have available. They sold me the more expensive Touring Edition, which already had 125 miles on it at the time of delivery. As I will explain below, this vehicle had material mechanical problems that I discovered shortly after purchase.

When I took delivery, I noticed that the glovebox was empty, and I inquired as to where the Owners manual, warranties and other pertinent information were located. The salesman assured me that they were locked in the dealership office at the moment and that I could have them on Monday. I did not receive a complete package of the same until roughly one month later, and only after numerous unreturned phone calls to the dealer and many complaints to consumer protection organizations as well as American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Shortly after taking delivery of the car, I noticed two material defects. The first such defect was that the interior lights did not light when the doors were opened, regardless of the position that the light switch was in. This defect was remedied by the service department, which replaced a plug. The second problem is more serious in nature and has led my wife (who is the daily driver of the vehicle) to believe that the vehicle is defective and unsafe. The steering wheel intermittently makes a grinding noise when being turned. I brought the car to the service department for repair of this defect on May 8, but they were unable to fix it. I brought it again the morning of May 14 for a second try and when I picked it up, I noticed that it was still making the noise. I brought it back for a third try the afternoon, May 14, and although (for the time being) the noise was abated, the steering wheel was perceptibly crooked, and had to be held turned to the left in order to steer the car straight.

On the evening of May 14, at my personal breaking point, I engaged in a heated discussion with the manager of the dealership, asking him to either repurchase the defective vehicle, or substitute a new vehicle in trade for the same. He refused to agree to either of these alternatives.

On May 15 the dealership re-mounted the steering wheel to straighten it. But now the grinding noise is coming back intermittently.

Moreover, this evening I have discovered two more electrical problems with this car. The car is supposed to have a feature that automatically turns on the headlights when set to auto when it is dark outside. In pitch black darkness tonight, I noticed that it only turns on the yellow hazard lights, and not the headlights. (Since my wife and children drive around in this car, I am glad that I noticed this before they had an accident). Additionally, the fog lights do not light at all. This is supposed to be Hondas flagship car, and it is nothing but problems.

Thomas

White Plains, New York

U.S.A.