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Sedans Acura RL Honda/Acura Odometer Class Action Suit
73 messages, Last post on Jun 05, 2008 at 5:02 AM
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Replying to: thegraduate (Jan 04, 2007 6:32 pm)
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Replying to: micro99 (Jan 04, 2007 8:30 pm) If Honda is within limits having not done anything wrong but still stepping up to make customers happy, it makes me wonder what other vehicles and brands over or understate their mileage and just don't know it or don't admit it.
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Replying to: thegraduate (Jan 04, 2007 9:01 pm)
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Replying to: ray_h1 (Jan 05, 2007 8:27 am) This is a good example of a case where a very small minority of Honda owners may reap a small benefit in isolated cases (regardless of whether their odometers may have been faulty or not), while trial lawyers laugh all the way to the bank. For Honda to have litigated this case to disprove allegations that their odometers were defective would have cost millions of dollars. It was cheaper for them to concede, admit no wrongdoing, but agree to extend warranties or lease buyouts by 2-3% beyond the stated mileage limits. This also only pertains to mileage limits. The 3 year portion of the warranty that applies to nearly all Hondas is not affected, so the benefits of this class action are extremely small for consumers. But a few lawyers got rich in the process. There's no question that some odometers regardless of make are defective or miscalibrated. But to subject all Honda or Acura owners to be included in this class is a waste of money and judicial resources. I threw my notices into the trash.
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Replying to: cstiles (Jan 05, 2007 6:13 pm) If the odometer calibration is 3-4% higher than actual readings -- mpg values will be deceptively higher, limited mileage warranty will be shorter, and maintenance intervals will be more frequent. These factors seem to disfavor car owners. However, higher odometer readings may actually reduce the number of speeding tickets, as we all tend to drive a bit slower when the odometer edges to the right. So, take the positive and negatives, and disregard the class action notice. |
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However, higher odometer readings may actually reduce the number of speeding tickets, as we all tend to drive a bit slower when the odometer edges to the right. So, take the positive and negatives, and disregard the class action notice. ??????? What ?????? |
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...when I took a laptop computer with GPS software into my former Honda S2000, the digital odometer and speedometer were absolutely, exactly, correct. The computer measured mph in 1/10 mph increments. I could set my cruise control on 65 mph in the S2000 and the computer read 65.0 mph. Tap it up, and as soon as the computer hit 65.6 mph, the S2000's speedometer went to 66 and vice-versa. the odometer in a 300 mile trip was reading exactly the same as the GPS. In our MDX, the damn odometer is off by 3%. Frankly, for a company to claim that 3-4% is within the regulated amount of error for the odometer is pure BS. They can calibrate it to within .1% accuracy without breaking a sweat. Lots of manufacturers are known to have high reading speedometers. BMW and Porsche to name a couple. My 911 speedometer (digital readout) reads 65 mph when I'm actually only going 61 mph, That's a 7%+ error. But on a 370 mile highway trip to our second home, the odometer reads 370.3 miles when the independent GPS logged 370.2. Our MDX shows 381.4 for the same trip. I am certainly no fan of trial lawyers. But I have no sympathy for an auto manufacturer that is as good as Acura/Honda, playing games with the odometer readings. You know damn well this is not an innocent mistake. This is the same company that can squeeze 120 hp out of 2 liters in the S2000. And yet an MDX odometer reads precisely 3% too high. If they were really within some bogus range of error, there would be 50% of odometers reading too low. I guarantee you, there isn't a single one doing that. And I'll put up my 911 on that bet.
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Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 07, 2007 6:50 pm) Over time, can't odometers deviate due to myriad factors? Tire pressure, slight variations in alignment, electrical pulses or surges, varying temperatures screwing up the precision of the instruments, software glitches, etc.? I'm not convinced that these readings were ever intended to be that precise. Take for example, external temperature monitors. I know a few people who go ballistic when their temp readings are off by 1 degree, and demand that the carmaker replace the unit under warranty. I usually tell them to get a life and worry about more important things. I don't believe that these instruments were ever designed to be exactly precise. The technology used is inexpensive, and 95% of consumers understand and really don't get their underpants in a bind, until one day some lawyer taps them on the shoulder and suggests this could be their lucky lotto jackpot. The rest of us consumers included as class members get coupons for $1.29, thanks to the settlement. There is no question that our judicial system should offer checks and balances, and keep Corporate America honest. There are good examples of this in recent history. However, there are also far too many examples of lawyers chasing the all might dollar and filing frivolous class action lawsuits, screwing with the legal system, to the detriment of all consumers. On the surface, this Honda case smells like that to me.
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Is right at or just below the indicated speed. (I drove at 40 MPH on the needle, and the Garmin Streetpilot C330 I got for Christmas read 39).
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Replying to: cstiles (Jan 07, 2007 7:39 pm) - Odometer: measures distance. - Speedometer: measures speed. If a manufacturer wants to fudge their speedometer +/- 5%, that's not necessarily a punishable offense. I don't like it that I have to calibrate in my mind that a 74 reading in my 911 is actually the "safe" 69 for avoiding a speeding ticket on the PA turnpike, but so be it. The issue with Honda/Acura is consistently high reading odometers. Over time, can't odometers deviate due to myriad factors? Tire pressure, slight variations in alignment, electrical pulses or surges, varying temperatures screwing up the precision of the instruments, software glitches, etc.? I'm not convinced that these readings were ever intended to be that precise. In short, NO. Sure, in theory a slight deviation could occur if you decide to inflate your tires to 80 lbs of pressure with helium. But using an average tire size, they go 700 revolutions per mile. Or, say, about 7.50 feet per revolution. Consistently reading 3% high would mean that your odometer is reading 7.50 feet when your tire is only going 7.27 feet. That's over 2 3/4" off on every revolution. If, in reality, your alignment, air pressure, or any other mechanical system was causing even a fraction of that kind of variation, your car would likely blow up at 65 mph with the resonant frequencies that would result. I bought a $29 odometer for my daughter's bicyle. It measures to 0.01 mile increments and is guaranteed accurate to within 0.1%, according to the owners manual (but still not to be used for "official" marathon or event measurement). She's ridden an accurately measured bike/jogging path with 0.1 mile markers (which is used for running 10k races) and it's dead on. So if Trek can sell a bicylce odometer that is accurate to within 0.1% for $29, I think Honda can do better than 30+ times worse. Imagine if Honda/Acura's GPS systems were off by 3% over the United States. That would be up to a 100 mile variation from coast to coast. They'd have you looking for Main Street in the wrong bloody State. But in my TL and MDX, they can tell me which side of the street to look for my destination, whether I'm in Pittsburgh or Boston. Don't make excuses for Honda/Acura. They have some of the world's best automotive engineers, as my experience with the S2000 validates. The fact that certain models have odometers that are consistently reading high is not an accident. And they are probably not the only violator, as my old Nissan Maxima at 155k miles was off by about 2% (equal to 3,100 miles). |
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