1997 Honda Civic

(1) NORMAL DRIVING OF MY 1997 HONDA CIVIC 4 DOOR DX (2) THE SRS LIGHT IS NOW ILLUMINATED AND HAS STAYED ILLUMINATED FOR THE LAST YEAR - THIS MEANS MY AIRBAGS DON'T WORK. - DEALER CHECKED IT OUT ($90 CHARGE) AND SAID THAT MY SRS UNIT IS COMPLETELY DEAD AND CAN'T TELL ME WHY - CAR HAS NEVER BEEN WRECKED - NO PROBLEMS WITH IT OTHER THAN THIS DEFECT (PRETTY HUGE DEFECT). (3) I'VE LODGED A COUPLE OF COMPLAINTS AND NEVER HEARD ANYTHING BACK ON THEM. SEVERAL PEOPLE POST TO MESSAGE BOARDS WITH SAME PROBLEM - THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED - I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A NEW CAR AND AM CURRENTLY RIDING IN A DANGEROUS ONE BECAUSE OF DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT. COST TO FIX THIS IS > $1000... PLEASE HELP. *NM

I PURCHASED AN AUTOMATIC 1997 HONDA CIVIC EX FROM COSTA MESA HONDA IN COSTA MESA, CA ON MARCH 11, 2000. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE WITH 27,000 MILES ON IT. TODAY (2/6/03) THE CAR HAS A TOTAL OF 50,734 MILES ON IT. I HAVE PERSONALLY ONLY DRIVEN 24,000 MILES IN A TOTAL OF 3 YEARS. THE TRANSMISSION IS TOAST AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THERE HAVE BEEN TRANSMISSION RECALLS/ WARRANTY EXTENSIONS ON OTHER HONDA MAKES AND MODELS. THE '97 CIVIC UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO A MECHANIC NOT AFFILIATED WITH HONDA FOR A "SECOND" OPINION AND THE MECHANIC HAS STATED THAT THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING TO SUCH A "YOUNG" CAR WITH ONLY 50,000 MILES. HE SAID THAT MOST VEHICLES DON'T EXPERIENCE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS UNTIL THEY HAVE REACHED AN EXCESS OF 90- 100,000 MILES. BASED ON THE INFORMATION HE HAS GATHERED FROM MY SERVICE RECORDS AS WELL AS THE INFORMATION PROVIDED FROM OTHER SOURCES, HE BELIEVES THAT THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM WHICH I HAVE CAUSED. I FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD REPLACE/FIX THE TRANSMISSION FREE OF CHARGE OR FOR MINIMAL COST TO ME. THEY ARE STATING THAT BECAUSE I DID NOT PURCHASE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY (WHEN I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE IT STILL HAD THE NORMAL FACTORY 3 YEAR... 36,000 MILE WARRANTY IN PLACE). I FEEL THAT HONDA IS RIPPING ME OFF BY NOT WORKING WITH ME ON THIS ISSUE. PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER HONDA AND I WILL BE SURE THAT NO ONE IN MY FAMILY OR ANY OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS EVER PURCHASE A HONDA. I WOULD HATE FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH THE SAME THING I AM.

AFTER HIGHWAY DRIVING 2.5 HOURS, SMOKE APPEARED FROM UNDER HOOD AND CAR MISFIRED REPEATEDLY. AIR CONDITIONER SYSTEM NON-FUNCTIONAL; HALL HONDA ATTRIBUTES TO COOLING FAN FAILURE BUT IS RELUCTANT TO REPAIR UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY CLAIMING PROBLEM IS RELATED TO PREVIOUS ACCIDENT DAMAGE THREE YEARS AGO ALTHOUGH ANOTHER MANAGER FROM SAME DEALERSHIP DISAGREES. *AK

THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE HAD NOTICED THAT THE OUTPUT OF THE AIR CONDITIONER HAD BEEN DIMINISHING OVER SEVERAL WEEKS. THEN ONE DAY, A LOUD AND RATTLING SOUND CAME FROM UNDER THE HOOD WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS ON. SEVERAL PEOPLE LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD BRIEFLY FOR THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE WITH NO SUCCESS. LATER IN THE DAY THE OWNER OF THE CAR PARKED IT IN HIS GARAGE AND BEGIN TO INVERSTIGATE THE PROBLEM. WITH THE MOTOR ON AND THE HOOD UP, THE OWNER COULD SEE NO CLEAR SOURCE OF THE NOISE. HE RETURNED TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT AT WHICH TIME A LOUD EXPLOSION OCCURED ACCOMPANIED BY A CLOUD OF REFRIGERANT. A LATER INVESTIGATION REVEALED A LARGE OPENING IN THE FORWARD FACE OF THE AIR COMPRESSOR THAT HAD BEEN THE RESULT OF AN EXPLOSION. ONE LARGE PIECE REMAINED IN THE CAVITY WHILE SEVERAL OTHER PIECES WERE STREWN ON THE FLOOR. THE CAR WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER WHO OBTAINED PERMISSION TO REPLACE THE A/C SYSTEM UNDER WARRANTY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SERIOUS INJURY TO ANYONE PEERING UNDER THE HOOD AT THE TIME OF THIS EXPLOSION IS OBVIOUS. THE DEALER WAS QUICK TO HAVE THE SYSTEM REPLACED WITH NO DELAYS. *AK