Honda worked with me on a remanufactured battery. $500

aaron5627 · 11-01-2012, 04:45 PM

Hey all, about a month ago my IMA light and check engine light came on simultaneously. I was nervous because I have a 2006 Insight and know that my battery was not covered for warranty repair/replacement if it was bad. I called Honda and told them that my IMA light came on and that I was pretty sure the battery was toast. I told them that I was aware of the 2000-2004 class action lawsuit and that I knew that Honda recalled all the batteries for those cars. I asked them that, even though my car was a 2006 and had 142,XXX miles on it, could they work with me and review my situation. They apologized for the trouble I was having and that they would open a case file and work with me if I took it to a dealer to get inspected. So I took it to a dealer the next day; sure enough the error code that came up was deteriorating module code, the battery needed to be replaced. After the service writer handed me the invoice I immediately called Honda of North America and read them the invoice (the service manager happened to be the one that helped me, so that eliminated a conversation). Kai (case manager) asked to speak to the parts department to get some info. After about 5 min. the parts guy gave me back my cell phone and Kai told me he would bring this to his boss and have an answer back by the next day or so. The day after next, Kai called me and told me that Honda would replace the battery for $500 instead of the retail $3000 and change. I took the car to the dealer last night and they just called me about 30 min ago and told me my car was ready.

Anyways, I don't know if I got really lucky, or if me being honest and level headed with Honda made this happen. None the less. I am happy. Free would of been better, but I cannot complain.

Lesson learned, use the grid charger from now on!!! In fact, I will probably put one together this weekend... If i get my house chores done. Happy wife = Happy life.

Just wanted to share my experience on the board, I apologize moderators if I posed in the wrong area. Anyone and every one please feel free to comment with your experience with replacing your battery with honda. Also, feel free to ask me questions.

Thanks,
Aaron

**Eli** · 11-01-2012, 05:08 PM

It's certainly not unheard of, though you're probably one of the furthest past warranty I've seen. Usually they only consider this if you're within a few thousand miles of the warranty.

gilbertguy · 11-01-2012, 06:09 PM

Hey Aaron,

Congrats, I think all the planets must have been aligned for you and I hope you bought a lottery ticket on your way home! Please post your location in your signiture block and let everyone know the dealer that you worked with so others in your area can go there for help in the future.

Willie Williford · 11-01-2012, 07:13 PM

aaron;
Plese post your location in the details of your profile.

Willie

**Rush** · 11-01-2012, 11:28 PM

Great story. Sounds like the Dealer has made up for all the bad stories we've heard...

Keep us posted on the condition of your replacement.

kaypee171 · 11-02-2012, 06:36 AM

Good to hear the success story. I wonder where Honda is getting battery sticks nowadays. The bright side is that if he had to pay for a pack from Honda itself, even a reduced amount, that may mean he has a new warranty. It depends on how the hybrid warranty laws and the contract are worded, though. I will second the grid charger statement. I plan on purchasing one of Mike's grid chargers, but until then I have a ~300mA dumb charger that I will use about once a week to balance the battery, plus I can DRIVE the car. I was driving my I1 like there was an egg between my foot and the throttle because it is so miserable to drive if you get to a forced charge. Now I just go.

aaron5627 · 11-02-2012, 02:45 PM

The dealership was Duval Honda. The service writer I normally work with is Tom Martin, great guy. However this time around, I happened to have the service manager take care of me; Tom works the late shift. The service manager's first name is Chris. I cannot recall his last name. The invoice stated the repair was a "Goodwill" warranty repair. All items were notated as warranty repairs. I was worried that it was going to be $500 plus tax, but it was $500 even. Anyways, I have had good experiences with the dealer. I have seen some negative reviews for it... but all places should have negative reviews. I also told them that I write reviews often and regularly give advice to people on how to and where to go to get their car fixed. I probably sounded more like a douche when I said that... but I can't help to wonder if it effects how they treat me. Just sayin'

**Rush** · 11-03-2012, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaypee171

Good to hear the success story. I wonder where Honda is getting battery sticks nowadays. The bright side is that if he had to pay for a pack from Honda itself, even a reduced amount, that may mean he has a new warranty. It depends on how the hybrid warranty laws and the contract are worded, though. I will second the grid charger statement. I plan on purchasing one of Mike's grid chargers, but until then I have a ~300mA dumb charger that I will use about once a week to balance the battery, plus I can DRIVE the car. I was driving my I1 like there was an egg between my foot and the throttle because it is so miserable to drive if you get to a forced charge. Now I just go.

I doubt very seriously that the replacement pack is made up of *new* sticks. Numerous people who have gotten their pack replaced by Honda report that 6 months/a year later the pack fails. So Honda is obviously just taking the best *old* sticks and makes a battery pack out of them. And the replacement pack fails fairly soon.

aaron5627 · 11-03-2012, 02:35 PM

Well, even if the pack does fail in a year, a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty comes with the battery. I asked if the warranty was transferable and they said the warranty stays with the battery/car. So, MAYBE i'll get a new pack every year for life! How cool would that be?! I bet they would offer me a deal on a new insight before that happened though. Anywho, I drove out to Orlando today and managed 55MPG @ 80mph with the A/C on... so I am happy. I can finally go over bridges without a recal!!! I have yet to pull the SOC below the half-way point. However, lean-burn does not kickin as soon as it used to. Maybe some of the controllers were reset and have to relearn my driving style? Or maybe it is the cooler weather? I also cleaned my K&N air filter the other day... maybe I used to much oil and a sensor isn't reading properly? Other peoples thought are welcome. Anywho, I am happy. Hope everyone has a good day.

**Rush** · 11-03-2012, 02:50 PM

I'm not sure that is the way it works... others with more knowledge will chime in, I'm sure.

But as I understand it, even though they have given you a 3 year warranty, the original warranty overrides the replacement warranty. So if today, you get an IMA fault, and go back to the dealer, they can say 'I'm sorry your original warranty is out of date', and if you say, 'but you gave me a new warranty', they will say, 'read the fine print, the original warranty superceeds the one we just gave you.'

Otherwise, Honda would be replacing replaced battery packs all the time...