My brand new Honda Accord 2010 V6 has smoked every time it’s started from the time I bought it. I took it Back at 12 weeks to have it repaired. Honda Service gave me a letter saying that this is a “known issue” with no known repair at this time. Furthermore, they won’t even work on fixing it until Honda technical contacts them with a fix. It’s been two years and I’m still waiting. We went through mediation so I could give the car back under the lemon law. The mediator ruled that I had proven there is a defect that is covered however, in Maryland you ALSO have to prove that the defect impacts the value of the car and I did not present any evidence of this (I thought it was obvious! Who wants to buy a car that smokes when you start it?). We have a pre-trial settlement hearing at the end of March. How do I prove that IF I were to sell my car the value would be impacted? Thanks in advance! Also, if anyone has any insight reading this “known issue” I would be grateful.
Try getting a trade-in value from another dealer . . . see if the value is diminished due to the smoking issue. Two or three actual trade-in prices showing a lesser value than YOUR dealer suggests that the car is worth might be a good way to approach it. I would choose a Honda dealer, a Toyota dealer, and a Chevy dealer . . . and ask them what you would get on a trade-in. Let them see the smoke and play dumb when it happens. . . . or maybe say “It;s always smoked when I start it”. Rocketman
If oil consumption is within “normal” values, what’s the problem? Especially if Honda admits it’s a known quirk with this model…If the smoke bothers you, switch to synthetic oil and see if that helps…
I know that if I’m buying a car and it smokes upon startup the asking price just took a dip or I’m walking away. The dip could be moderate in size if the smoke is black and large if the smoke is white or blue.
Agreed, get some opinions from other dealers about trade-in value or an outright purchase.
Many years ago 60 Minutes did a story on the early era of problematic GM diesels. The show took 2 identical, very low miles Buick Rivieras (same color and all) around to various dealers to get an outright purchase price.
One of those Rivieras was a gasoline engine model and they were offered a very high retail price on it.
The other Riviera was a diesel engine version (also only a year or so old) and the top price they were offered for it was 1500 dollars.
That can illustrate the value difference in a problem car.
If I see a vehicle smoke the value drops before the first word is spoken. I think that is a normal reaction of any buyer and even more so with a dealer. If not then the buyer should not be buying a vehicle.
Take it to CarMax near Laurel and see what they offer. See if you can get an itemized list of what is wrong. If the smoking shows up, ask them what the effect on value is.
The moral to this story is never let the buyer see it smoke…
I work at a Honda dealership and have never heard of this, we have had at least 50 v6 accords in the time i have worked there and i have never seen one smoke on start up. have you tried a different dealership?? Have you personally called honda to complain?? The 6 cyl is a very expensive motor so you want it fixed while in warranty.
Truth is on a trade in it will not effect value as the dealership will not see it as the car will be warm when you go to trade it. It will make it harder for them to sell it, but that may give them a reason to fix it.
UPDATE- spoke with my service dept today about this issue, and they do know about the problem (nice of them to tell sales). .In any event at first Honda thought it was valve seals, but that was not fixing the issue. They just released a new software update for the Cylinder deactivation/vtec (this update is about 1.5-2 months old) they are being told this should fix the issue . Not sure when you were at the dealer last but it may be worth a try to see if they can do the update.
Sounds like this question may be moot since it seems to be acknowledged in some circles, but what kind of smoke is coming from this Honda? Black? Blue? White? It’s also worth asking, and this is not to question the OP’s knowledge or statement, but is there any chance that this is steam from condensation instead of smoke?