Can cost incurred due to faulty repair be reimbursed?
 

I have a 2012 Honda Odyssey LX. In April this year, the yellow engine light on the dash went off. I took the van to my local Honda dealer, where I have regularly gotten the van serviced since I bought it. Though the van had completed 5 years and was outside warranty, they fixed the engine free of any charges. I was told that Honda had discovered a problem in the engine of that model, and had itself extended the warranty.

On the July 4th long weekend (about 2 months after the repairs), I along with my family of 6 (including 2 grandparents and 2 kids) went on a road trip. 300 miles away from our home, the engine stalled in the middle of the highway. The tow truck took 3 hours to arrive. All Honda dealerships/service centers in the nearest town were closed owing to the long weekend. We were towed to a Ford service center which was open. They figured that the timing belt had broken and also mentioned that a screw was found in the engine. This screw had come off and was probably not tightened well enough to stay in place when the engine was last worked upon. As the Ford dealer did not have expertise on Honda, they offered to get it towed for free to their affiliated Honda dealer/service center 60 miles away.

Being a long weekend, no rental cars or hotel rooms were available and our family was stuck. The only option we had, and the one we exercised, was to take cab back home. The 300+ miles / 6 hours journey cost me $1100.

At the moment, my original Honda dealership is getting the van towed back to Seattle to fix it, and have provided me a free replacement rental van for the time being. I am expecting that they will not charge me for fixing the timing belt or repairing any other engine damage caused due to the loose screw.

My question is - would Honda, or the dealership that did the faulty repair of the engine, reimburse me the $1100 that I had to spend because of this issue? I asked them and they have told me that they will see what they can do.

Call American Honda Customer Assistance (800) 999-1009

All you can do is ASK.. They might pay for your bill since it occured due to a warranty repair. Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

:)

Hope that helps