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Where can I find TSBs (Service Bulletins) for HCH? And BEWARE!

Created August 26, 2009, at 3:18 am by misterlar

HUGE disappointment in Honda Corporate over the last few days... almost enough to make me never buy a Honda car again. I'll explain in a minute, but first, most important, can someone please tell me:

WHERE CAN I FIND A LIST OF TSB (Technical Service Bulletins) that affect (or "might affect") my car? I noticed in searching old (1-2 years old) posts here that there was mention of a TSB that just caused me a lot of headache and $$ over the last few days, but I hadn't heard anything about it until it was too late. MSantos was the person who wrote the original post, detailing the TSB, that I just saw tonight. But my quetsion is: Where can I find out about new TSBs as they are released, or is there a database or list somewhere that I can reference in the future to see if there's a TSB about a problem I might have in the future? I have a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. Please help if you can.

Now onto the story. Well, as some of you might know, there was a TSB issued for a major design flaw in the 2006-2008 HCHs concerning the real control arm that causes the tires to wear unevenly. Well, when I took my car into my private mechanic (whom we've gone to for years) he noticed the tread wear was "cupped" or "scalloped" he called it... unevenly worn (almost totally gone in some parts of the tire, perfectly fine in others). I'm getting the "humming/singing" noise while driving because of the tire problem, and rattles galore because of the rough ride. Looking at the car, and not knowing about the TSB (because he's not a Honda dealer) he naturally assumed the problem was with the struts, because not knowing about a faulty-designed rear control arm, that's what one I guess naturally assumes. I heard this news and absolutely couldn't believe it. Like a lot of people here, I drive the car VERY carefully (never over the speed limit, rolling to stops, never weaving and such... to get the most MPG) and that kind of "granny" driving shouldn't cause 4 struts to wear out. But there it was... 4 tires completely wearing unevenly for all to see. I almost spend $700-$800 for 4 replacement struts but thank GOODNESS I called my Honda dealer to complain. My car is 5 months out of warranty with 42k. At first, the dealer wanted $58 simply to "look the car over" to see what might be wrong. No way was I going to pay for something I thought was inexcusable (what I thought were all 4 struts going out at only 42k miles with the slow, careful way I drive). I talked to the service manager, and he agreed to look at the car for no cost, telling me "wow, yeah, usually we don't see stuff like that until after 100,000) -- and me showing him my 57MPG rating on the odometer was further proof that I'm not some weaving maniac on the road. So they took a look at it. Their response? Well, the struts aren't leaking, but "the rear control arm isn't up to Honda's specs"... and even though the car is a little out of warranty, out of the goodness of their hearts, they'll do it for free. At first I think "Ok, thank goodness." But then I get home, did a google search, and found that this is a huge, widespread problem that Honda and everyone knows about. But it's not an official "recall" -- it's just a "service bulletin", so no one was told except Honda dealers. Meanwhile, everyone driving is trashing their tires. So all 4 of my tires were trashed. I called Honda (Corporate) customer service and was told that not only are they aware of this problem, but that lots of people across the board have had it, and it's so well-known, there's a repair kit sent to the dealers to fix it. I asked "won't just putting in another real control arm cause the same problem in time again?" and the rep out and said no, they had to re-design it, it was a flaw in the design.

Of course now I find myself having to get 4 tires -- and since the uneven wear on the tires is completey Honda's fault, I asked if they have a system where they can give some compensation (I'm not being greedy and asking for them to pay for a brand new set of tires, but at least something, like 20% or something like this). No go. Not Honda's policy. So now I'm going to be out $500+ for tires that I'm having to buy at least a year earlier than I'd have to.

The worst thing is, in talking to this rep about "Service Bulletins" -- is how secret Honda keeps them, when they're KNOWN PROBLEMS that potentially affect a great many users. I asked him "Ok, well for the future, can you email me a list of the service bulletins for my 2006 HCH, or tell me where they're listed?" He said no, they're not allowed to give them out except to the dealers -- that they're propriatary information. Only official recalls can be easily found out by consumers. Service bulletins -- no matter HOW IMPORTANT or HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY AFFECT, are kept secret except for the Honda dealers. Which means anyone going to a non-Honda dealer (any other mechanic they trust) is screwed. Not only that, but dealers may not even notice, or ignore them. Then, just as an example, the rep started reading one example. He said "I'm not allowed to tell you what they are, but here, for instance, I'll read you one..." and read me one other service bulletin for my car that basically said something like "if the check engine/service needed light comes on and you hook it up and get code # XXX (I forget what it is now), then it could be a part that might be faulty, or something wrong with this specific part they've been having problems with." So he read me one more as an example. But *I* have no way of knowing this. If my service needed light comes on and I go to my trusty mechanic I've gone to for years, usually I'm not about to start checking google (nor would I even know the error codes myself to check) so even if it's another of their faulty parts, I'm screwed by having to pay out of my own pocket.

This actually happened a few years back to me as well, in the 1990s. I had a 1996 normal Civic, and 4-5 years after getting the car (out of warranty) there was an O2 sensor in the fuel injection (I believe that's what it was) that went bad, causing the check engine light to go on. I had my trusty mechanic do the work, but the part was EXPENSIVE, and it was EXPENSIVE to fix. Later I found out that there was no "recall" but a "service bulletin" about that exact very part being defective on my car, and in an agreement with the state of california, Honda decided to extend the warranty JUST ON THAT PART (or the system it was part of) for something like 8 years, meaning I would've been covered had I or my mechanic known about it. But because it's not a recall they don't publicize it (I always do check on a regular basis ususally twice a year to see if there are any open recalls on any car I have).

Not only does this mean you get screwed if you don't go to a Honda dealer for service, but I've heard the dealers themselves often overlook or don't notice the TSBs, and charge for the work anyway. Since it's not an official "recall", even if a settlement is made with the state or it affects thousands and Honda has a ready-made redesigned fix for it, they keep it quiet.

WHAT I'VE FOUND OUT OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS HAS REALLY PUT ME OFF ON BUYING A HONDA AGAIN. I'm going to have to seriously think about whether to buy a Honda in the future. I've had Toyotas all my life with just the last two cars (a Civic and an HCH) being a Honda. I may go back to Toyota next time if this is the way Honda treats their customers.

Sorry for the long post.
So two points:
(1) Can someone PLEASE tell me where they find these TSBs? Again, a very helpful user (MSantos) had posted about them in old posts from a few years back (that I didn't see until it was too late), but HE obviously found them somewhere. (MSantos if you're reading this, could you reply here please? Your posts have been very helpful!) I've tried to call and just see what "Service bulletins" are out for my car, and they won't give out that info even with the VIN #.

(2) For those of you (like myself) that haven't been aware of the TSBs (which are different than official recalls), be aware of it. Next time your car has a problem, try to do a google search to see if your problem is model-wide and there's a TSB for it... otherwise you could be spending money when you don't have to.

(3) Finally, just wondering.. the local Honda dealer "got the OK" to "do me a favor" and said they'd install the Honda repair kit for the defective, flawed designed rear control arm even though my car is now officially out of warranty. Just wondering... is it Honda's policy NOT to fix this (or other important design flaws) if the car is out of warranty, and then they "might" make an exception, or would Honda generally fix it even if it's out of warranty, if it's not a "recall" but just a "TSB", but is something as important as this?

Thanks for reading. Hopefully someone can help steer me and others to a resource where we can find out about TSBs are they're issued (or a database for ones already issued).

VERY disappointed in Honda.

PS: absolutely CANNOT afford Michelin or the new Yokohama LRR tires. So am deciding to try the new Goodyear LRR tires (actually tested by Goodyear on a Civic). The Fuel Max. They're a lot less than the Michelins, have good numbers (good tread life, speed/temp, etc) and will post about how they are here after a few months of usage. I'm still out $440 out the door for the set of 4 (and most places were asking $5XX for the set)...