Car Mechanics article

[VicW]

In the July issue of Car Mechanics there is an article titled, 'Whatever happened to Honda'.

In general it is saying that the Honda reputation for reliability is no more and cites various problems with Honda models.

With reference to the Jazz it says that the Jazz is the biggest disappointment. Quotes:-
'The CVT gearbox will be due to fail at any moment despite needing regular,expensive,two yearly fluid changes'
'Then there's the notorious Jazz issue of failing ABS pumps.'

By contrast I read in the motoring section of the Telegraph that Honda had retained its reputation for reliability,a statement by one of the large,after market warranty providers.

This forum doesn't appear to contain any comments about, 'CVT gearbox failures' or 'ABS pumps being notorious for failing' so where did the Car Mechanics article get its information from I wonder?

Vic.

[chrisc]

Sounds like one person's opinion.  Could also have been a badly maintained car too, you never know what some people will do, they begrudge putting in petrol, so servicing comes way down the line.

I know a fellow who told me with some pride that he had never changed the oil in his 1999 Toyota Cressida in 6 years.  So I pulled out the dipstick and there was this black sludge adhering to it.  It was a waste of breath telling him what to do, until I mentioned that his petrol consumption would drop considerably if he changed the plugs and oil.  He thought I was conning him.  Too mean to pay someone to do it and he asked me to, but I managed to wriggle out of it.

[VicW]

The article was one of a collection in a section called 'Dealer's Diary, Our Man in the Trade' and was not about one particular car and he was talking about other models of Honda as well.

Perhaps he has been unfortunate with his trade-ins.

Vic.

[guest869]

They should have mentioned bearing failures and leaking seams......

[chrisc]

They should have mentioned bearing failures and leaking seams......

Wheel bearings or engine bearings?  You must stop this driving up the kerb.  That is only for ladies with 4x4s with huge tyres.  Leaking seams?  You mean the gaps in the body panels like the one at the edge of the roof?  That would be a bummer if it leaked.

In 1959 the first Minis had the outlet hole from the roof gutter positioned above the driver's door, so when you stepped out of the car, the water went down your neck.

[BigG]

I was a little disappointed with the Jazz when I had one.

Hearing about all the issues and experiencing some of them, windows steaming up as soon as the temp outside gets colder or it rains. Rear wheel bearings starting to hum, and my biggest gripe was the underbody corrosion! I know the Jazz was only a £12k car new but c'mon how about a little more underseal!? I looked at several Jazz's before I bought one and they were all similar underneath, All up to 6 years old (at the time) with rusty rear wheel arches/sills/chassis!!!!

My car had rust on the rear doors inside at the top, under the weather strips and near the drain holes at the bottom. Luckly the car was still under the Honda corrosion warranty (by a week!) and I managed to get the doors and the arches resprayed free.

I doubt I'll get another GD Jazz again, but to give it credit, the engine was flawless and never let me down.

[guest2662]

as a matter of instrest big g how old is your car?

[BigG]

as a matter of instrest big g how old is your car?

It was a 2005 sport.

[chrisc]

Lots of cars seem to have rust on the rear doors at the top, just at the window.  I have seen many Golf 3s and Jetta 3s with this.  Both my daughters had Golf 3s and they went rusty.  It is not a difficult repair, but could have been avoided with proper prevention at the factory

After reading your post, I put my Jazz up on a lift and had a look underneath.  Certainly there is something sprayed under the wheel arches, but it is not thick.

Fortunately we do not have salt on our roads in winter since it never snows, but we have something worse - the sea about 1km away.

I always take care when washing to hose underneath to free up any dried mud or road dirt that might trap moisture

[BigG]

After reading your post, I put my Jazz up on a lift and had a look underneath.  Certainly there is something sprayed under the wheel arches, but it is not thick.

Under the arches of all the jazz's i've seen there is underseal only on critical/bodywork joins, the rest is just painted metal. I took off all the arch plastics on mine and it wasn't a pretty sight. Even behind the plastic thats supposed to protect the bodywork there was corrosion.
I also noticed that the arch plastic stops about 2 inches from the lip of the arch (why??!!). This area has no underseal and was a breeding ground for rust.

When I did a search online for corrosion on the Jazz I couldn't find anything, which I found odd. It either doesn't bother owners or they never actually look for it (it's my worst car nightmare!) 

[chrisc]

The dealer says the underbody is sprayed with "Bituseal" which is a Dynachem product.  It is dark grey in colour and corresponds with what I saw under the rear wheel arch.  I haven't yet taken off the arch plastics yet, but if I find insufficient coating I will certainly get it done.  I agree that corrosion spells the end of a car, there is not that much you can do afterwards.

[guest2982]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18973775

[chrisc]

I agree 100% with the BBC article.  However, it offers a short-term report, and corrosion would be long term (ie after the warranty expires)

I spoke to the Honda dealer about corrosion and he said the only corrosion they see in the workshop is from a dodgy body repair where the metal was not prepared properly.  Never any underbody or wheel arch corrosion.  Also, the bumpers being plastic, these are the areas which would normally take a small knock in traffic, etc.

He did mention that the Honda Ballade around the 1980's was prone to corrosion just under the windscreen and on the boot lid.  Probably not many of those left now (this is the model preceding the one with the pop-up headlights.

My friend had the Honda with the pop-up headlamps and he sold it to a member of his staff in 1994.  This lady is still driving the car every day today and she says it goes on and on without trouble.  Just consumable parts like tyres and batteries.

[BigG]

I spoke to the Honda dealer about corrosion and he said the only corrosion they see in the workshop is from a dodgy body repair where the metal was not prepared properly.  Never any underbody or wheel arch corrosion.  Also, the bumpers being plastic, these are the areas which would normally take a small knock in traffic, etc.

A dealer would say this though, they are not out to say their cars are prone to corrosion.

I suppose it all depends on your countries climate, over her in the UK its very wet and cold, add road salt to that and its not good for a car with inadequate under body seal.

There's a member on here with an 05 Sport who posted pics of his painted calipers and the rear arches on his are in a pretty bad state.

[chrisc]

Well, the workshop manager of Honda Claremont (my closest Honda dealer) lives opposite me and also reads this forum from time to time.   He was astonished at the corrosion report and was the one who put a Jazz up on their lift just to see for himself what the underbody protection was like.

He said it could have been better and was a bit skimpy, but on the other hand had not seen any rust developing on any Honda models for many years.  They are quite a big dealer and the workshop handles 20 to 30 cars a day.  He suggested that some extra bitumen product would not go amiss