Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to warn you about my S2000 experience. This past weekend, I purchased a brand new 2007 S2000 from a Honda dealership in Loma Linda, CA. They offered a terrific price, so I bought the car. I took a night delivery, so I couldn't fully inspect the vehicle, particularly the interior.

Over the next two days as I spent more time in the car, I noticed "bumps" on the dashboard. Think swells, each the size of the top of a pencil eraser. Some were larger, totaling about 10 of them. I lightly pressed on these bumps & found voids underneath (as opposed to the usual firm sponge).

I took it in to the local Honda dealership (Thousand Oaks, CA), & they said I'd have to yank out the entire dashboard & have it replaced. This is a massive job, & even dealers are reluctant to do it, in fear of subsequent rattles & follow-on issues (particularly electrical issues). Mind you, my car currently has less than 300 miles on it. Thus, the Honda in Thousand Oaks advise that I attempt to swap cars with the dealer from which I bought it, since this is what the Thousand Oaks guys would normally do (god bless them). Of course, the Loma Linda guys would not budge, & suggested that I have the dashboard yanked out for repairs. I was told it will be a week's worth of repair.

Goes to show: buyer beware. Who has ever heard of dashboard bumps/blisters nowadays on cars? As for me, this is a huge lesson learned. Even Honda's can have defects you'd last expect, & I assumed everything would be fine. Worse, some dealership will not work with you on this.

I have been dreaming about the S2000 for 8 years. Needless to say, I am quite disappointed, not so much by the car but much more by how this particular dealership treats their customers. They may "fix" it today, but I typically keep my car for 7 or 8 years, & with such a major repair I simply expect problems to follow down the road after the warranty is up.

Essentially, I just paid $33k for a brand new S2000 to have the interior yanked out & put back together again. Please beware & attentive of your purchases, even on simple things such as a dashboard!

Spread the word. Thank you for reading.

-Duke
ddanont@msn.com

 

Welcome to the site and sorry to hear that. There shouldnt be any problems with removing the dash and putting a new one in. A dealership wont take the car back for a little problem like that. Sounds like the other dealership was pulling the typical oh well we could have done better then that. I used to sell sadly enough chevys but I used to love calling a customer back that just wasted 3 hours or more of my time only to have them say ya I found a better deal at so and so they beat you by 250 dollars and me going oh sorry I was just calling to let you know we discounted it 200 more and a new rebate came out with an extra 500 off. Well anyway sorry I didnt call sooner but good luck with your car. Muuuhaha

 

Thank you for the word of encouragement about having the dashboard replaced. I was told it will be a major repair, & this is why I am having nightmares about it. It is ridiculous, definitely a pain in my side. What has your experience been with a dash replacement?

I didn't quite follow what you were trying to say about your sales experience. Are you saying I should've bought from my local dealer? I would've done so had they had the color & accessories combination I was seeking! Many put spoilers & what not on it, while I was seeking a basic one!

 

My experience with dash replacement on the s2000 is 0. On other cars its not that that big of a deal. I meen it can be a long process but nothing that will take anything away from the car you know? My buddy has a 03 cobra and he just had his dash taken out because of a rattle the dash was never out before that so it can happen to any car I dont think youll need to worry though.

Basically all i meant is 99% of dealerships will not take a car back for something like that. The dealership was just trying to make the other dealership look bad and make their dealership look good. We used to do that all the time. My one manager had it down he would talk down on other dealerships without making it sound like he was good stuff.

 

Welcome to the site and sorry to hear about the problems. That isn't like Honda to have a defect like that. Hope everything gets fixed quickly and without any more problems.

 

Hi, thank you for all of your welcomes. I would've never expected Honda to have an issue such as this either, & it is the last thing I expected. But I hear this is comparable to a liver transplant, where you can definitely put a new one in but it'll never quite work right as a "natural" one.

What I am more interested in now is whether the transplant could actually be successfully done, so the car could have a long, happy, complication free life. Any one with some experience on this type of operation?

In retrospect, I think you're absolutely right, s2000isu. There was nothing in it for my local dealer, so they would just throw any suggestions out there to have the car replaced. However, I am 100% certain that this defect existed prior to delivery of the vehicle to me, & the problem was known by the dealership. Something like this would've clearly been caught during pre-delivery inspection. There are legal boundaries that were crossed.

 

Sounds like something you should take up with the manager, and if their not willing to do the work to fix it, then you should be given some sort of compensation, such as free oil change, something, hell, my GFs had something wrong with it (Honda Civic, brand new) and she got a spoiler out of it. Now she didnt need, or really know what a spoiler was, but she got it.

 

Hi!

Thank you for your words of encouragement on the S2000 defect. I just wanted to follow-up on my story about my 2007 S2000 defect. Perhaps you have some advice or good attorney relations.

I did contact the general managers, service advisors, customer relations, etc. And I recently sent letters to American Honda, President of Honda NA, & President of Honda in Japan. Today, I just got a terrible phone call from Customer Relations.

The call was from Honda Customer Relations "Regional Case Manager", who sounded more like an operator than an actual manager. She said Honda will honor the dashboard defect repair under warranty, but they will not take further actions. I was starting to give up & feeling fine with that, but explained to her my rationale for the complaint, & why I should be given a new vehicle or at least extended warranty. Unfortunately, she was quite argumentative as to what I was trying to convey, let alone knew anything about cars.

She also mentioned that she spoke to the Honda service manager to whom I initially made the complaint, who said they noticed the dashboard was shiny when I brought in the car for the complaint. I said I cleansed my dashboard once with Armor All. She said this "chemical probably caused these voids in the dashboard". I was in disbelief. I felt like I was talking to a robot, whose only interest was to say anything possible to minimize liability & whose bonus relied on number of cases they could close, rather than acknowledge the complaint. So I went into attorney mode & wrote down all her info.

She called back 10 minutes later, stating that given Armor All was applied, it brings in the question the actual cause of this defect. Thus, after discussing with her supervisor, he advised that the repair not be covered under warranty. But in her good heart, she told the supervisor that she already authorized the warranty, so I may still proceed. She added that if I continued to push the case, the repair may not be covered at all.

Can you believe it? I actually felt fine & was ready for this repair, until she started saying it was probably the Armor All that did it & ended it with a threat. This is awful! I gave up my 7 year old BMW M3, which doesn't exactly have the best reliability reputation, yet I never had a single complaint with it. Ironically, this Honda is giving me so much grief. And their Customer Relations is the most disappointing aspect about this company.

Do you or any one else have an advice on how I should proceed?

 

'Best I can come up with is to go with your gut dd. Face it, you're the one gonna suffer any consequences. You should be makin' the call.
Listen to what's offered up n' weigh it all. Then you make your decision on how to proceed.
Yeah. Not alodda help, but, like I said: 'best I can come up with.
Be well n' good luck.
Java

 

I hate to sound rude since all your posts have been very pleasant so I will try my best. It is hard to know the entire situation and the tones being used and what exactly you and honda said. From what I gather From the way I read it I honestly hated customers like you and you wouldnt get a thing from me. I am a little bitter from working in sales and deaing with customers. Mainly a vette customer of mine. Now that I dont have to deal with him and his problems that were all my fault I hope the day after his warranty ends his gas pedal gets wedged down by the floormat and he is forced to jump a curb cracking all 4 rims tearing up his trans then having the engine rev till it blows. By the way he was an extremely obnoxious cheap nasty sneaky guy and I doubt you are like that at all that was just an example of why I am bitter. I know you worry that the dash may squeak but its not as big of a deal as you seem to think. A dash is def not a reason to get a new car. Heck a blown motor doesnt really warrant getting a new car. It sounds like you made a big stink about the dash calling pretty much everyone you could think and you got under their skin. I agree with you on the dealership shouldnt have tried to place blame on a product specifically made for cleaning dashes ha however id be willing to bet they did it because youve been all over the place complaing. Honda stands behind their product yet they all keep telling you you dont need a new car. Maybe theres a reason. The other dealership did a number on you by straight up lying trying to make their dealership sound good. I challenge someone to find a dealership that will exchange a car for a small defect like that.

 

sorry to hear about your s2k, honda cars are nice but damn i sure do hate dem dealerships

 

'Godda go with Tien on this one. I have the ill fortune to live within earshot of a Honda dealership n' if I told you jus' what I've witnessed customer's cars bein' subjected to by "road testin'" mechanics you'd probably think that I hadda be B.S.n' you.
And yes, I've wrenched for money (mechanical prostitute?) n' I'm aware that certain maladies have to be road tested hard to make sure that the problem is corrected. But the abuse that I've witnessed (and many times complained about to the dealership administration) goes way beyond that and the attitudes of the morons behind the wheel only further assures me that this particular vehicle is bein' abused solely for the entertainment of the driver.
So "damn, I sure do hate dem dealerships" fits me pretty accurately too.
If possible you take your car to a specific mechanic. Up close n' personal lets you assess who you're handin' your keys over to.
The dealerships insulate the car owners from the mechanics workin' on their cars with a layer of "work salesmen" n' a counter that most of the time prevents the owner from even seein' his car in a bay. In most cases it jus' gets driven through a door not to be seen again until (hopefully) fixed.
And to make this even longer: I brought work with me n' waited in my car (this was not a Honda dealership) for my car to be serviced. About 4 hours later when I walked in the service area to find out when it might be worked on I was handed a bill for $164.95 and told that the car had been done for a couple of hours. First I made sure that they had the right name n' vehicle n' then I blistered the paint off anything within 50 yards with some military-inspired language.
Be well n' know the guy you're handin' your keys over to.
Java

 

I think it depends on the dealership you go to. I worked across the street from the local honda dealership and never saw them abuse a vehicle besides their own when its time to leave. I know the dealership I worked for the techs didnt beat on the cars us salespeople beat on cars but not the techs. Also our owner owns A ford, dodge, subaru, suzuki, cadillac, saab, chevy, gmc, pontiac, hyundai, nissan, saturn, vw, isuzu, and obviously mercury lincoln and all that with ford anyways all his dealerships are setup so if you want to you can watch your car being worked on through a window.

 

Well, we're obviously not talkin' 'bout the same dealership.
They're like anythin' else though: if the head ain't screwed on tight enough, the newer, more inexperienced mechs will take uncalled for n' inappropriate liberties (read: abusive) with customer's vehicles.
With good leadership, those same mechs know that that kind'a activity is gonna possibly cost 'em their jobs n' it jus' won't be tolerated.
Unfortunately, good leadership requires givin' a @&#^, involvement, n' an attitude that doesn't jus' consider bein' present, physically, as grounds for earnin' a paycheck. All in short order in too many larger businesses.
Be well.
Java

 

Dealerships are the worst:
here are some of my experiences, and some that i have heard about.

Acura- Installed spoiler BACKWARDS

Honda- Screwed up upholstry in new car, yours and my GF's
Lost bolts for wheeles, and used bolts from other car. we now have bolts from 3 cars on her wheels.

Mitsubishi- bought alarm with new car, Few weeks down the road, i turn the alarm off to clean the car really well, and when i turn it back on my dash rear right tail light, and right headlight are all out. Take it back to the dealership, which says it was my "Aftermarket" alarm, which they had no record of installing themselves, turns out they jobed it out to a local sterio shop, where the guy who "Sold" it to the Mitsu Sales rep (Who was fired for misconduct before i had even brought the car in) was fired for stealing parts. The owner actually tried to tell me to give the alarm back!
i had to pay $120 dollars to get it fixed by the dealership and have the warrenty extended to the alarm.

 

First everyone is entitled to their opinion on this. Here is mine. No car is perfect some alot better then others. A dealership should be required to fix problems. They should not be expected to do the unreasonable. I feel replacing a car for a defective dash is unreasonable. And I might add if you push that hard with anyone over anything they will push back in defense. Be reasonable. If they replace the dash and you have a rattle then address that. Consider the dealers position if they did deals like that they would be out of business in six months. The armour all I agree was not the problem but because you were being unreasonable they decided to be the same. Get it fixed, get over it and enjoy the car. John H

 

I think some of you are missing the point. The OP was naturally frustrated with having a dash defect on his brand new car. But like a rational and sensible person, he did weigh his options and gave an opportunity for the Honda to remedy the situation. As the OP mentioned, he let the situation subside by allowing Honda to fix the defect rather than push for a trade. BUT he was more frustrated with the position that Honda took in terms of its customer relations. This is the big issue!

If I were the purchaser of a new car (any new car), I would have blown a fuse! What Honda basically did was threaten to void his warranty IF the OP decided to pursue his rights any further as a consumer. Maybe I have a biased point of view since I work in the legal field, but I would have demanded that the "customer rep" put what was said over the phone in writing or have permission to have the conversation recorded. What was said by the "customer rep" was uncalled for and truly unprofessional.

 

Nope not missing any points. Ya be frustrated, that I can understand but tear the dealership a new one and harass them when they offer to replace the dash is asking for trouble. They just made excuses when he started complaining to everyone. You may have blown a fuse but at that point the dealership woulda said oh we are sorry and been polite then walked into the office and laughed at you. All in all I hope his dash is done now and he has no more issues

 

Dude i'm with you all the way ddanont. You paid 33 grand for a brand new S2k."new" not a new S2K with bumps on the dash. I think they should have swapped it out.But really you got to go with the easy fix and maybe have problems later that bother you"which i dont think you should even have to consider it."Or the hard one fight it and get a the new car swapped out.I may end up costing you more that way to prove the point.Me i would just because i cant stand someone being treated like that and to prove a point to that dealer.Its not honda Inc. it starts and ends at that dealer.
I carried my car in for a oil change because i was running late for a trip, i ended up getting scratches on my fender about 2 inches long because some guy was to lazy to put the mats on them before leaning over my motor.Like i'm sure alot of us know any nick on our car,I discovered them 2 days later returned to the dealer, long story short i got the run around.Went to my local Jag office because im military got a laywer there to give them a call and gave them 2 choises 1 fix them 2 get put on a restricted list so no soldiers would ever buy from them."I got them fix 3 days later."

 

Swapping out a car because of a cosmetic defect in a dash board? You guys are serious? What is this world coming to?

Bubblerboy64 is spot-on in his remarks.

 

Thank you bjurasz. I can only imagine the conversations that went on at that dealership afterwards. Its funny people get all nuts when they buy the best of a brand. 34k on a s2000 and they think theyre owed something. Corvette people were the worst. Meanwhile at the mercedes dealership theyre dropping 130+ now theres a group that almost has the right to demand such things ha.

 

Okay sorry to resurrect such a useless old thread, but I too have had 4 little "dents" in my dashboard since day one. Honestly, it's never bothered me THAT much, but I do notice it every time I drive the car, and every passenger next to me notices it too. It looks exactly like 3 fingers & a thumbprint, centered right in the middle of the dashboard, where the Nav system would be on a Japanese car. Like the OP, I knew the only thing Honda could do about it was to replace the dash...and I was afraid that might lead to a lifetime of rattles & electrical gremlins. Totally not worth it to me, and I certainly wasn't going to raise a big fuss about it.

So, can anyone think of a possible solution to fix this? I was thinking of maybe getting a syringe and filling the indentations with a liquid of some sort. Or maybe a suction cup if I can get it to work. We'll see...I'll post pics sometime this week.

 

Dealerships take in used cars that sometimes require plastic trim on the dash fixed or dressed up. Usually a mobile service comes in and fixes those little blemishes. I don't know the process or what is used to fix it, but they may be able to fix the problem with your dash. Talk to a dealership that has a used car inventory, they may be able to give you their persons contact info or google search using some key words. We have such a person on call, but we're in N. Calif. Good luck!

 

how the hell does that happen? The cars probably brand new.?

 

By your reply, it is clear why we hate dealerships...know it all... full of worthless, self-serving opinions...distain for the customer (after the sale)...it takes a special form of humanity...without it being said, it is obvious you worked at a dealership!

 

Most likely long term exposure to extreme heat. Keep in mind this is a convertible and the roof is cloth.

Retvet, while it's true some salespeople don't care about the customer and are just out to make a quick buck, there are a lot of us who do care about the service we provide. While it takes one salesperson to sour the opinion on all of us, every day we have to deal with customers who share your sentiments. Every industry has those who work hard and those who don't. Dealerships aren't any different.

 

Well said...I have worked in dealerships for the last 7y and have always tried to treat customers the way I would want to be treated if I was buying/servicing my vehicle. I have seen a lot of scum and a lot of great people but you usually only hear the bad experiences unfortunetly.

 

Umm no, the top is vinyl.

 

Umm yes,

An electrically powered vinyl top with internal cloth lining was standard.

-compliments of Wikipedia.

 

Hmm, I didn't see the part about the internal cloth lining in your post, guess I overlooked it...(have to love Wikipedia, it tells you all those things you didn't know (and more) . Some of my best friends are used-car salesmen, they absolutely love Wikipedia)

 

i work at a toyota dealership in australia and if a car was brought in with dash blistering or damage like that and the customer stupidly mentions they use armor all we would not accept their warranty claim because as far as were concerned armor all is the worst thing in the world if its not cleaned off completely and the car is left in the sun it can easily blister and damage dashes ect.

 

Been trying to tell people that for years. Also, never put it on the tires!

 

+1 or anything in the engine compartment.