Wanted all the nay sayers to know, the HONDA people have decided to replace a BRAKE MODULATOR as well as the MASTER CYLINDER on my '07 Element after many hours of research have proven to them that there is a SECRET Failed Part notice on the Modulator…SUCCESS!!! FP#57110SCVA72. Good Luck to any and all with Element, Prelude, Oddessy, etc. MUSHY BRAKES problems.
Glad to hear your car problem is resolved but you should forget this grassy knoll “SECRET” conspiracy theory. A service bulletin issuance that you’re not aware of is not an indication for one minute that Honda is trying to cover things up.
TSB’s are issued for every car that has ever been built and will continue to be issued for cars that are only a gleam in an engineer’s eye.
No car owner is ever sent a TSB notice no matter the make.
My understanding is the soft pedal problem is not a safety factor at all; it’s more a matter of customer perception of pedal feel.
You state the rear caliper slide was dry, yada, yada. You also state you bought the car used recently if I remember correctly. Who’s to say that car wasn’t sitting underwater somewhere; as in Hurricane Katrina or local flooding. The end result is the same.
You can certainly file a lawsuit as you have mentioned and it doesn’t even have to be a class action suit. Go to the yellow pages and do a search under A for Ambulance Chasers.
Needless to say, I think you’re unfairly bashing Honda on this one.
Well, thanks for your candid reply. Here’s mine. By the way, I realize this forum is not meant for allowing arguements between “members”, so just let me explain, and it’s done.
I know the First owner personally. I know the car, and where it’s been for 30 months. I know HONDA Customer Service now, head to head, in Torrance CA. I know for a fact that the Torrance C/S crew never looked at the case carefully, a file sent TWICE (Once lost) of approximately 15 pages and photos. If they had, they would have voluntered more information and skipped the company line about Honda Loyalty they shoveled at me.
The real fact is that I told HONDA’s Service people about this defect - they didn’t have a clue, dispite the fact that it’s not new. They had to do a search, which the Asst. Service Manager told me he had NEVER had to do on an ELEMENT, or Prelude (Included) or Oddessy(Included. Doubtful. 1000’s of them have been fixed. The work being done is now includes a MASTER CYLINDER*, AND the MODULATOR, *a device that was once inspected at a HONDA DEALERSHIP and I was told was “O.K.” Deception on the first inspection? I suspect so. Thank you for your interest. No suit is planned. Negotiations continue. I’m not a basher; I’m a Detroiter, who’s tired of the imports not playing by the same rules applied to the domestics. Good Day.
Items of safety have to be addressed by the car maker. If the safety concern is great enough, in the car maker’s eyes, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency, the affected vehicles are repaired (usually free of charge on safety items). A “mushy brake” (a subjective thing) doesn’t seem like a safety concern. One person’s “mushy” is another person’s “not so much”.
Car makers keep track of failed parts. The more failed parts there are, the more money they lose. I don’t agree with there being a cover-up, especially, with safety related parts (which “mushy brakes” ISN’T).
Actually, Honda and the dealer probably figured to placate YOU, and change parts which can cause “mushy brakes”. There are other causes of mushy brakes. Yep. Sure are.
“I’m a Detroiter, who’s tired of the imports not playing by the same rules applied to the domestics”
Well, then you have obviously not heard about GM’s intake manifold problems, or their Dexcool-related problems, or Chrysler’s minivan transmission problems, or a myriad of other problems with “domestic” vehicles. All of the car makers, be they foreign or domestic, are playing by the same rules. And all of the car makers–both foreign and domestic–periodically issue TSBs that the general public is not aware of, and even many service departments may not be aware of.
The OP is entitled to feel enmity toward Honda, but he should realize that the probability of having a problem of equal importance with a “domestic” car is at least as high–if not higher–than it is with a “foreign” manufacturer. He should also realize that there is no conspiracy at work here.
The perfect, trouble-free car has yet to be invented. And, just because someone is displeased with a situation, it does not mean that a conspiracy was the source of the problem.