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Honda customer service


Bowf

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Reminder : when I had my rear hub sprocket carrier thing cleaned up, this potentially serious manufacturing flaw was revealed. (A previous owner had hidden it with a thick layer of paint)

 

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I bought a replacement as some of you suggested, and contacted Honda UK for an explanation. I sent them photos and said they could have larger ones if they wanted.

 

Five weeks went by, and guess what? Nothing. Not a bloody word.

 

So I sent a polite reminder, and was told:

 

We have passed the information and photos you’ve sent us to the Head Office. At this point they are conducting an investigation.

This might take a long time to be completed.

When Head Office get back to us we will let you know.

 

Better not hold my breath then, as a further five weeks of silence have since gone by. Are they really investigating? Because they've not asked me for any details like frame number, larger photos or to see the item itself.

 

They still keep churning out the wanky adverts on radio and TV though ...

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, Bowf said:

By whom?


The company who do any vapour blasting I want will dye and UV check parts after they’ve been treated for a nominal price 

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No, I didn't know that, and they never mentioned anything like that.

However I'm just going to keep hold of the item. If Honda ignore the problem maybe it would make an interesting story for one of the motorcycle magazines.

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As you’re having a lot of stuff vapour blasted you might be interested in having a home test kit, this is a pretty good article 

 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/testing-cracks-home-diy-dye-penetrants/

 

For £12.15 delivered https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302312973984?hash=item466341e6a0:g:hY4AAOSwmxVdlzbl

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On 9/12/2021 at 9:14 PM, squirrelman said:

Honda may have bought that part from an outside supplier, just like they do with wheels.

That makes sense, Squirrelman. How did this part end up on a new bike being sold in a showroom though?!

I suppose I started this post out of anger with Honda, and hoping someone from Honda maybe reads this.

 

On 9/17/2021 at 6:27 PM, Thumbs said:

As you’re having a lot of stuff vapour blasted you might be interested in having a home test kit, this is a pretty good article 

 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/testing-cracks-home-diy-dye-penetrants/

 

For £12.15 delivered https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302312973984?hash=item466341e6a0:g:hY4AAOSwmxVdlzbl

Interesting, Thumbs, thank you, but I'm not quite following this. Do you think vapour blasting could have caused the flaw?

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59 minutes ago, Bowf said:

 

Interesting, Thumbs, thank you, but I'm not quite following this. Do you think vapour blasting could have caused the flaw?


No, that’s a casting defect

 

As you’re getting quite a few items vapour blasted, it’s a timely matter to check for any cracks, should you choose to do so

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  • 5 months later...

For what it's worth, an update on this thread.

 

When six months passed without a word from Honda, I wrote

 

If Head Office were really looking into this they would have been in touch by now to ask, for example, for the bike's serial number or to see the actual faulty part. Instead, it seems the problem is just being completely ignored.

 

They replied (my formatting)

 

Please rest assured that our internal teams are looking into this. However, we cannot include clients in these processes. The information and photos that you have provided us are under investigation, as well as the tools. equipment and materials used to manufacture them.

Please accept our apologies if you feel left out from this process.

 

to which I said

 

You will understand that I need to see evidence of the investigation. It's not good enough for Honda to say they are looking in to a problem and not feed back to the person who showed them it.

I had to go to a bike breaker for a replacement part but, as I have said before, I am not seeking any compensation. I'm only interested in the safety of motorcyclists and just want an explanation how this part ended up on a bike sold in a Honda showroom.

 

The customer service chap said

 

I will pass your request up the line once again.

 

and I think that's the last I will hear from them.

 

Make of it what you will. I was going to make an angry YouTube video but I really can't be bothered. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat. My last thought is maybe I could send the part to a motorcycle magazine and see if they are interested in it?

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This sounds like a simple culture difference combined with big company mentality. No one "jumps" anymore. Deep breaths. 

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5 hours ago, bmart said:

This sounds like a simple culture difference combined with big company mentality. No one "jumps" anymore. Deep breaths. 

 

Sounds like Toyota with the new '22 Tundra V-6.  Many trucks are apparently  throwing check engine lights for a turbo wastage problem at just a few hundred miles.  Parts for repair back ordered and repair seems to involve engine or cab removal and weeks if not months on the dealer back lot.  The owners who are stuck with a two week old $60,000 brick are getting stonewalled by Toyota, zilch in the way of communication.  Lots of owners with high blood pressure.  My guess is that corp lawyers counsel management to clam up and admit nothing for fear of litigation, damage or loss of use claims.  Seems common protocol these days.  Most end users just want to know they'll be taken care of,  but unfortunately that seems to be one more thing the legal profession has denied us all. 

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It’s a shame Honda is unwilling to help you with answers but not a surprise.       I purchased a 2011 Honda NT700VA brand new in 2018.   The bike was in perfect condition, no scratches, the inside of the tank was perfect, no signs of 7 years sitting on a showroom floor.    The selling price was half of the retail price so I jumped on it as I’ve always wanted one.      No problems with the bike but I was curious to see what other leftovers might be hiding in a warehouse.    I asked the salesman but he didn’t know where the bike came from, no one at the dealer knew and didn’t bother to find out for me which was strange as I paid cash for my NT.     The sales staff also had no idea of any of the features on the NT.    
 

The bike looks like it had been recently uncrated and it still had a lot of preservative underneath the engine, lower fairing and wheels.     I called Honda headquarters in Torrance which is located a few miles from my home and they were absolutely useless.   They explained to me “Honda doesn’t sell motorcycles to the public in crates and we don’t keep track of inventory of our dealers. You will have to call every Individual dealer to find a  non current Honda motorcycle”.      
 

I wasn’t asking to buy a crated bike, just a listing of non current models like my 2011 NT but apparently they don’t keep track of what’s sitting in dealers stock.     You would think Honda would be happy to move NOS quickly but apparently not.  In any case I’m happy with the bike and the deal I got on it, shame Honda is not willing to be a little more open about things.   
 

 

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