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Sedans Acura TL Honda/Acura Odometer Class Action Suit
73 messages, Last post on Jun 05, 2008 at 5:02 AM
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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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Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 08, 2007 5:34 am)
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Replying to: thegraduate (Jan 08, 2007 8:18 am) In the case of my 911, the speedometer reads 5-7% too high, but the odometer is spot on, compared to an independent GPS. In the case of my former Nissan Maxima, the speedometer was about 3% high, the odometer 2%. And in the case of our MDX, the speedometer is close to spot on, whereas the odometer is 3% high. So one reading high or low doesn't necessarily mean the other one is. And, once I figured out the percentage of discrepency, it was constant. No variation due to temperature, relative humidity or stereo volume. If you do a lot of driving over the same 370 mile route like I have done the last 20 years, you notice these little discrepencies, which turn out to be as much as a 12+ mile swing in odometer readings. Someone once suggested that maybe the higher reading comes from doing more "passing" rather than driving the entire route in the right hand lane. So on one particularly boring drive by myself, I went back and forth between the right and left lanes about once per mile, passing or not. It added about 0.2 miles to the trip. And nearly made me sea-sick.
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Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 08, 2007 10:00 am) Besides, if the instruments are indeed subject to being slightly inaccurate, they should be off kilter in both directions. Apparently that is not the case, which is suspect by itself. |
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Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 08, 2007 5:34 am) Regards, Webby
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Replying to: webby1 (Jan 08, 2007 1:31 pm) Same thing applies to people who had to pay for out-of-warranty repairs that were just outside the 36,000 mile ceiling. I threw away the paperwork, but it's all specified in the fine print. |
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