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My Crosstour is back in the shop again :-(

22K views 81 replies 11 participants last post by  MACrosstour64 
#1 ·
So the vibration is back in my Crosstour, this time it's so bad, its like driving over the rumble strip on the highway.
Back to the dealer she went yesterday, they said oh its the tires need balancing and the rotors needed to be cut again. So I sat for 3 hours while they did that. Did not fix it. Back to the dealership I went. She's still there now. Talked to them this afternoon, they said they have absolutely no idea what is causing this severe vibration. I told them I do not feel safe driving it, it feels like the wheels are going to fall off. They said they basically were going to have to play parts replacer again, and start with the front axles. Bad news is they are on back order with no idea when they will get new ones. They also said the car showed a code in the history for a solenoid periodically failing. But they dont think that has anything to do with it. Both the axles and solenoid are expensive so they need permission from Honda to replace them.
I did a little reasearch on the internet today, and found there are THREE others who have had this identical problem. With the rotors keep warping and the vibration, though they are not connected. Which is good news, because I know its not just me. Bad news is the other 3 gave up and traded the cars with out finding out what was causing it.
In total frustration, and finally hitting Lemon law status, I decided it was time to call Honda Corporate and talk to them about this since its a Certified Pre owned. The woman I talked to was floored, and said she was going to put "urgent" on it to escalate it to a district manager representative to call me asap. Hoping for quick resolution, I don't have time for lengthy negotiations, I work 2 jobs and go to college full time.
I'm grateful the dealership gave me a nice Accord EXL Coupe to drive while this gets sorted out, but I'm just so done with having my CT in the shop chasing a mystery vibration. :(
I am open to getting another one, I think this is just a weird fluke, and I had the misfortune to buy it.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
I dont think its the dealers fault, they didn't know the car had this problem, and they've moved heaven and earth and lost a fortune trying to fix it. I don't blame them at all. I am not thrilled Honda isn't willing to step in and still wants to play parts replacer with the dealers money and my patience.

But the dealer is stepping in and taking extraordinary measures measures to help me. Soon I may be driving your twin Ivan :) We can race each other hehe
 
#4 · (Edited)
...don't give them any more chances. I would not!
So I have good news and bad news.
Good :D: Honda rep showed up TODAY at the dealership (very quick considering I reported the issue less than 24 hours ago).

BAD :mad:: Honda Corporation wants to continue screwing around trying to fix the car, meanwhile the dealer is only reimbursed 20 bucks an hour,
which is less than they pay the foreman who's working on the car,
and add to it I'm racking up 100 miles a day on the loaner car that they could have sold.
Dealership agrees, this is BS. Honda is willing to replace the front end, the solenoid, and if necessary the transmission to try to fix it,
but here's the kicker, all 3 are on indefinite back order.
So I could be driving this loaner for weeks if not months, more money lost by the dealer, and I'll be a more pissed customer for making payments on a car I don't have.


GOOD :D: The rep happened to be driving a 2015 Crosstour EXL AWD V6 (hoping it has navi like mine, but I forgot to ask), so the dealer called Honda Corporate and said we want the reps car,
so she left with one of their cars instead which Honda will buy from the dealer.
The dealership is trying to do right by me, they are going to buy the Crosstour from Honda, then try to make the numbers work so they can sell it or lease it to me.
This is taking a huge risk because then they are stuck with my unfixable car. Later they will fight with Honda and try to get them to buy back my car,
or they will take a blood bath on it at auction, they won't bother trying to fix it, because I believe and they do as well, this is not a fixable car.
Just like the other 3 I found on the internet.
I'm happy Honda Corp jumped on the case so fast, not happy they want to continue playing parts replacer with the dealerships money and my patience.
So in the end I may come out on top, with a 4 year newer vehicle. I will definitely make sure I get it certified and extended warranty.
I have not lost faith in the quality of the brand, or the model, but hey, not gonna risk it.

Dealer said its a process to buy the car from Honda, plus they have to get my loan paid off with Honda, and get a new loan or lease for me,
Its definitely going to take time.

I think the dealership must be pretty confident they can make this work, or they would not have asked to buy the reps car from Honda when
they already have 4 loaded Crosstours on their lot they haven't been able to move.
By buying hers from Honda, they can sell it to me for way less than the ones on their lot, saving me and them money.
I do not in any way blame this dealership, this exact same thing has happened to 3 others that I know of,
and those other dealers could not fix the car either. My CT is just a dud, it happens, all Mfg's build some sooner or later,
I just had the misfortune to be the one to buy it.
I'll keep you updated on this!!
 
#6 ·
Legal "Incentives"

As long as no one makes them do otherwise the manufacturer will continue to play this incompetent charade on your dime, so to speak. They do, however, understand specific legal language and will respond to those words when they are clearly spoken.
 
#7 · (Edited)
As long as no one makes them do otherwise the manufacturer will continue to play this incompetent charade on your dime, so to speak. They do, however, understand specific legal language and will respond to those words when they are clearly spoken.
Oh I get that, I have been through this twice with a different Mfg. And I successfully did it with no attorney, and got back every penny I paid, plus refunded all accessories I put on the car, so I'd consider myself "good" at handling this kind of situation. I know exactly the way to get them to cough up buying it back, but do I have the time? No, I am in college full time for over another month, I work 2 jobs, have hours of homework to get done every night, so the soonest I could exchange this language with them is mid to late December, meanwhile I keep making payments and my car sits idle at the dealer, snow starts falling soon in MA and I am driving a front wheel drive loaner car. Right now I'll take the quick less stressful way out. And I've run the numbers, and taking this route I come out better than if I made them buy the car back and refund me.

But if the dealer is willing to pay off this dud, put me into a brand spanky new Crosstour with in a week, yea I'm gonna take that route. Screwing around with Honda and exchanging veiled threats and specific language could take months. Meanwhile I've got a car in the shop, with no available parts to even TRY to fix it. And I'm driving a loaner running up bills for the dealer. Again I've run the numbers and the dealers way out is a much better option for me in the long run.

Since the car they got me, is being sold to them at a severe discount, I will get that discount passed on to me, and be better off than if I leased one with zero miles. I believe this one has like 10k on it, and my warranty will start the day I take possession.

Honda is jerking the dealership around, they get to abuse the dealer at 20 bucks an hour to try to resolve it, instead of buy it back and have to pay one of their engineers hundreds an hour to rip it apart. I think its a really low move to do that to the dealership, they are losing a lot of money on this car. They did 4500 bucks worth of work so far, replacing the drive shaft, both rear axles and the differential, plus turning rotors replacing pads etc, all at 20 bucks an hour, so they recoupe less than a grand for all that work, never mind all the time they have spent just trying to figure out the problem.
Putting in new front axles, solenoid, maybe transmission, is more than 4500 bucks more, and again dealer gets maybe a grand back. Maybe then Honda would give up, but they are getting the labor to screw around at a fraction of the actual cost. Bad mojo to mistreat your dealerships like that in my opinion.
 
#8 ·
No word from Honda Corporate today.
The Honda dealership told me to come in and they'd see what they could do to trade me out of my broken Crosstour. Best they could do was a 2015 Civic EXL lease or a used 2010 Accord Coupe EXL. Took them both for test drive, and neither held any interest for me.
I called Honda Corporate tonight and left a message for the rep assigned to my case. Meanwhile my car sits idle at the dealership waiting for new front axles to arrive. They are on back order. The last time that happened was the differential and that took 12 days to come in.
 
#9 ·
Honda Corp rep just called this morning, she seemed pretty shocked what's going on with my Crosstour. She said now she needs to talk to the service manager about what's going on. She will call me back on Thursday this week, and hopefully have a game plan in place by then to decide the fate of my car. I made it clear I do not trust the vehicle anymore, and I do not want it back. I also made her aware of the 3 others I found who posted on line in various places who had identical problems with their Crosstour.
I also made it clear, that we have way exceeded Massachusetts law on lemons. Today my car has been off the road 20+ days since purchase less than 6 months ago.

I'll keep you posted.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks!! Keep fingers crossed! Honda corporate called the service manager this morning, and will call me back Thursday with their decision. Still no ETA on the new axles, still listed as indefinite backorder after 7 days. :(

I had an annoying situation this morning though, no ice scraper in the loaner, and woke up to 14 degrees and the loaner Accord Coupe was all frosted over.
My ice scraper is at the dealership in my Crosstour, so is my can of de-icer LOL.
So, I took apart the smart key, left the fob in the cup holder with the car running, defrosters blasting, locked it with the key part inside the smart key fob, and ran back inside lol
Looks like I'll be repeating this process until I either 1. break down and go buy another scraper, 2. get my Crosstour back, or 3 Trek 50 minutes to the dealership and retrieve mine from the trunk of the Crosstour lol.
 
#12 · (Edited)
just bought out the lease on my sisters old 2012 ex-l w/navi.. rotors are warped on that too.. car has 30,000 miles on it.. i had one night i was fooling around with an older mustang on the highway - once the rotors heated up i couldnt believe how bad they were.. normal driving isnt bad so i'll just leave them until it gets worse.. honda upgraded the calipers on the crosstours to dual pistons - and ill assume the rotors just cant handle it since they werent upgraded..

two things - NOBODY cuts rotors anymore. it just doesn't make sense. aftermarkets are probably $40 a piece for new ones, and once rotors warp they will continue to warp once they get overheated again after they are cut.. the dealer is only cutting them cause its on their dime, and its cheaper for them to do since the mechanics get paid regardless. for the normal person after you factor in the cost of having them cut, and the time wasted doing it - your right at the cost of new ones. i wouldnt be at all surprised if some dealers cut still cut rotors just to talk up the "savings" they passed onto you - knowing youll just be back again..

secondly - that dealer is not loosing money - so i wouldnt listen to the "poor us" speech if thats what your hearing.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Nope, they are not doing any poor us speech.
I just know from my prior lemon law case with another Mfg, that the dealership is paid about 20 bucks an hour for warranty work, so if the head foreman who makes more than that is working on the car (which is the case in mine), they are losing money. They have not whined about that at all. I just think it's not fair personally. But I'm sure they get it back from Honda in other ways.
And I agree the rotors are probably garbage poor quality. But while she's under warranty there is no way they will put anything but Honda OEM's back on her.
IF she gets fixed and the vibration stops, I will invest the money in some good quality after markets for her.
 
#14 · (Edited)
So, Honda called me this morning, they are not willing to do anything yet. They want to see if the axles fix the problem. And the axles are in route to the dealership as of this afternoon! YAY finally!!

If that does not fix it, the only thing left to replace is the transmission.
They do not feel Honda will authorize that, in which case they feel Honda will cave in and help me get out of the car and into something else.
The new axles should be in the car by Tuesday at the latest. And then we will know if it still vibrates.

For tonight they took back the Accord coupe loaner I've been driving, and they let me drive a 2015 Crosstour off the lot to see what I think of the new one. WOW! I love it! Ride is smoother, handling tighter, but the stereo in the new ones suck compared to my 2011! In any event, I drove home with a big grin on my face, happy to be back in a crosstour even if she's not mine.
AND they are covering my next payment. I love this dealership, they really do take care of their customers.

Who knows, maybe just maybe, if the axles don't fix mine, they will work out something for me to buy a new one. ~fingers crossed~
 
#15 ·
Yesterday I got the call I've been hoping for.
The dealership called and said the axles came in and my car was ready.
I Excitedly went to pick her up with fingers crossed. Hopped on the highway last night and she seems to be ok!!
Going for a little road trip around MA today to see how she does before I'm willing to call her cured for good.
After all the parts they've put in her, she's basically got a complete new drive train now!
 
#16 ·
Logic Tree

After they replaced your rear differential back in mid-September the car behaved itself for almost two months, with the original front axles still in place- something does not add up here.

If the problem was front axles then why did swapping the rear diff work at all? I'm reminded of those jokes about "How many monkeys does it take to..."

Be extremely hesitant to sign off on this latest fix. Which reminds me, I gotta go water my lemon tree now.
 
#17 ·
After they replaced your rear differential back in mid-September the car behaved itself for almost two months, with the original front axles still in place- something does not add up here.

If the problem was front axles then why did swapping the rear diff work at all? I'm reminded of those jokes about "How many monkeys does it take to..."

Be extremely hesitant to sign off on this latest fix. Which reminds me, I gotta go water my lemon tree now.
I agree, but here's what they told me, last time the vibration could be felt though the entire car, doors windows seats front and back. and when they disconnected the rear drive shaft, it stopped, so they replaced that, did not help, rear axles did not help, replaced differential and it stopped.

This time it was only a vibration in the steering wheel, which they said means it was the front end. I just took her for a 70 mile ride and she does seem to be ok.
But like I said I'm going to give it at least a good week or so before I'll delcare her cured. I have 4 thousand miles left on my Honda certified warranty, and I have 35 thousand left on my extended warranty, so should this vibration return, I'm still covered.
 
#18 ·
I put another 100+ miles on it since my last post. I went to the dealership to pick up stuff I left in the loaner car by accident. And on the way back, the vibration started again on the highway on hills. Every consecutive hill after it started, it got worse.

Now its almost as bad as it was the day I left it at the dealer a week ago.
I'm disappointed, but not going to get wound up about it. I know the dealership has my back and will go to bat for me. Just going to stay calm and see how this plays out with Honda.
There is nothing left to replace now but the transmission and engine. And I have serious doubts Honda will do that. Dealership felt if the front axles didn't fix her, Honda would be willing to get me out of the car and into something else, and they'll ship her to CA to dissect and find out what is wrong.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Invoke the Lemon Law, m'am. I really dislike seeing customers getting played by multi-billion dollar corporations. Your safety and satisfaction are not a big priority to Honda it seems. That car should not be out on the road, period.
If they don't offer a decent resolution for me, I'm going to have to find a lawyer. But the problem is I dont have the cash to rent a car, and I dont believe this one is safe to drive. If I hire a lawyer the dealership will have to back off and disassociate from me, (orders from Honda).
The dealership has offered to pay off my loan and let me walk away.
Which I have considered, except I'd literally be walking, no cash to put into another car. They have offered to pay it off and let me trade it for a pre owned Honda, but didn't like anything they had.
So I'll hold on and see what Honda says. Though like you said, I strongly suspect they dont give a rats ass.
I'm so kicking myself for trading my 1 year old Crosstour for this car.
My CRV was perfect, I just didn't like being in a lease, I was putting on too many miles, and I'd always loved a crosstour.
So when the opportunity came along, I jumped on it. I'm way over 20 days off the road now., 10 days this month, 12 in September, and 5 in July. All for this damn vibration.
 
#22 · (Edited)
You know, I questioned that back before they replaced the entire rear end of the car. And they told me no that's not it. I don't know if they even checked it.
The Lady from Honda told me last week she'd call me Tuesday this week to check in with me. It will be interesting to see what she says when I tell her replacing the front axles didn't fix it. The dealership claims the only alternative left is to replace the transmission. Which I dont think that will do anything, as the car shifts perfectly.
Dealer swears my car is safe to drive, so I'll be driving it until Honda engineers and the dealership come up with a plan what they are going to replace next,
Or until Honda decides to take me out of the car.
They did let me take a 2015 over night last week, and what mine does is definitely not normal for the vehicle.
 
#23 ·
So, the rep from Honda just called again, she wants to talk to an associate in the engineering tech line that dealers call, to see if there is anything left to try besides the transmission.
She assures me Honda is dedicated to fixing this car and resolving the problem it's having. So it looks like these dummies may be willing to cough up 7 grand or more for the transmission.
I don't know what the problem is that's causing the vibration, but I highly doubt its the transmission, it shifts perfectly. She's going to call back tomorrow and let me know if they plan to replace the transmission or if they have come up with some other part to replace instead.
I vote replace the car period.
I'll just be patient and see what they plan to do.
 
#24 ·
Honda Corp called again today, confirmed with the dealership they feel the vibration is probably the transmission, and it would cost somewhere between 6500.00 and 8500.00 to replace it.
Honda Corp is now not so sure they are going to pay to replace that. Which means (I hope) they are going to get me out of the car.
Fingers crossed if they do, I will have enough $$ to put down on a new Crosstour!
The Lady from Honda corp is going to call me again Monday.
Dropping the car off at the dealership again on Saturday, they are going to run diagnostics again and see if the car throws any codes.
 
#25 ·
Priceless.

That quote by the dealer saying your severely vibrating car "is safe to drive", a pretty bold statement given that they do not even know what's wrong with it. Confidence like that should be put in writing before you drive the car again. If you wear a wristwatch I hope it's BS-proof, because that smelly stuff is getting deep!
 
#28 · (Edited)
That quote by the dealer saying your severely vibrating car "is safe to drive", a pretty bold statement given that they do not even know what's wrong with it. Confidence like that should be put in writing before you drive the car again. If you wear a wristwatch I hope it's BS-proof, because that smelly stuff is getting deep!
I agree, I dont know how they could guarantee its safe, but they did have a point, that the front and rear axles have been replaced, drive shaft is new, rear differential new, if transmission or engine died, it would not kill me or cause an accident. Other than the transmission and engine, the rest of the drive train is new.

If Honda isn't willing to try replacing the transmission, they will have no choice but to buy the car back. They can't just leave it like this.
 
#26 ·
Hi! I have the same exact problem with my 2011 Crosstour Exl-navi V6. I leased the car from 2011-2015. Decided to purchase it last Sept. 2015. Took the car to the for a service re the vibration from 35mph. Up to speed of 70mph. Been going on for months.. It has 56,000 miles mostly on freeway. Thought it was just the tires. So i bought new tires but the vibration is still there.. Balancing and alignment was done. Still there. When i took it in for a diagnostic test they said it was the front axels need replacement. I was disappointed but the good thing is.. The Power Terrain warranty covered it. Yup it's over a thousand dollars and needed approval. The service advisor said they only have one axel available. The other one is on national back order..
( when the approval came) I took the car back to get at least one axel replaced. Only to find out that the axel was gone!! I was sooo disappointed! Now they don't know when the axels will be available.. I don't feel safe driving the car anymore. I mentioned to the car dealer that I'm not the only one who has this problem.. I think this should be considered a recall!!
 
#27 · (Edited)
GLAD to hear someone else has the problem. And I don't feel safe driving mine either, though they swear its safe.
I'm wondering if I got your axles. They pulled both of these from other dealerships, and it did NOT solve the problem.
So far they tried drive shaft, rear axles, rear differential and front axles, and its still got the vibration. I drove it about 225 miles today from MA to CT and back to MA today, and she had the vibration the entire time. No matter if I was on highway or back road. On the highway, you can hear it not just feel it. The faster you go with mine, the worse it is.
Honda is paying for all the repairs on mine too.
Dealership wants to try the transmission next, she goes back in the shop on Saturday.
I seriously think I got your axles, Honda located them at 2 different dealerships elsewhere in the country and sent them to Massachusetts. :cool:
Didn't do any good though.
Maybe your dealership and my dealership and Honda should all have a conversation and try to figure this out!
When I googled it, I found 3 others that had the exact same issue, and none of them ever figured it out either, they traded their cars to get out of it.
Where are you from? I'm in Massachusetts
 
#30 ·
"If Harley-Davidson made an airplane would you fly in it?"

Well, Honda DOES make an airplane...and it's a good thing this merry band of schmucks only wrenches on automobiles.
Since the dealership is out of loaners right now (due to the takata airbag thing), I had no choice but to keep driving my own car. I had to get to work and classes. Day off today, not going anywhere with it. Tomorrow she goes back to the dealership where she's gonna sit until they either authorize a transmission, or Honda buys me out.
 
#31 ·
I just dropped off my car again for the vibration. Figured I'd get it over with today instead of having to get up early tomorrow to do it.
So the service manager told me if I want to get bought out of the car, the lady I have been dealing with is not the one who'd do it. She only deals with warranty. And it does not matter how much the transmission or what ever it is costs to fix this car, even if it exceeds the value of the car, they will do whatever they need to, spend what ever they have to, to fix it.
Unless I find out who the person is I need to talk to, to get bought out is, and tell them I want out.
 
#33 ·
...the person you must talk to now is an attorney, to represent your Lemon Law case. I think that's the most direct route outta Dodge (or Honda), and would end these unsuccessful "hey let's try this!" experiments.
True, but this is what happens the moment I engage a lawyer, Honda tells the dealership to cease all communication with me and all efforts to repair the car. Meanwhile the lawyer eventually gets around to contacting Honda, months go by, I'll be forced to drive the crosstour as is, if it craps out the dealership won't be able to get me a loaner. I'll be on my own until the lawyer resolves it.
I've been through lemon law cases before and it takes between 2 to 6 months to resolve. Meanwhile I'm stuck with the car, running or not running. If it craps out I have no way to get to school or work anymore.
I think I am just going to take the help the GM is offering me, which is he'll pay off my loan and let me start fresh on a purchase of something else he has in stock.
It won't be a new crosstour, too rich for my blood.
I think that's the fastest and less stressful way out of this for me.
Probably going to go back up there tomorrow and look at cars and decide.
I'm so over this foolishness with my car. I do not believe the new transmission will fix it.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I had to return my loaner today because they sold it.
Now I'm in an official service dept loaner, joy, a civic LX.
They feel sure that whats wrong with my car is the torque converter.
They are going to call Honda tomorrow and get authorization for it.
They admit that if they are wrong this time, Honda will be pissed at them as they have spent so much money replacing parts on this car.
Honda will not be the only one who is pissed.
In November they have had my damn car more than I have had it.
And every time its "it's fixed! Come get it!" I trek to Auburn MA and find it's not fixed take the first exit I come to and turn around and head back.
So irritated right now.
Apparently the lady I have been dealing with at Honda is only a warranty person.
Who I need to talk to is the mediation department to get bought out of the car.
If the torque converter doesn't fix this, I'm calling the mediation department.
I'm so done
 
#35 ·
So, the dealership just emailed me.
They are convinced now that it is the front and rear motor mounts that are weak and allowing the motor to rub when under load, and causing the vibration.
Not sure if this is a viable scenario.
Considering the car vibrates worse the longer you drive it, and very little for the first 10 to 15 miles or so.
Chime in if you have any experience or opinion on the legitimacy of their latest scenario.
Much appreciated.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Agreed, if it turns out to be the motor mounts, they have spent thousands replacing unnecessary parts. My entire frickin drive train has been replaced.
One motor mount arrived today, the other will arrive tomorrow and both will get installed.
Is there only 2?
I had no idea they had a history of failing.
Funny thing is (not really funny), I had been asking them since June when I took it back the first time, "have you checked the motor mounts?" I asked them at least 5x, and the manager would say yes we checked them, and yes we checked the transmission mounts too.
I'm sure if it turns out to be the motor mounts, Honda isn't going to be happy with them for paying for all those other thousands of dollars in parts for nothing. :cool:

I'm just so annoyed, we've passed 30 days in the shop total since June, and in November they had it more than I did. So yea I'm not a happy camper
Honda better be prepared to cough up some compensation for this BS
 
#38 ·
No big surprise, the dealership called me today and said after a long test drive, they are still feeling the vibration, the new engine mounts did not fix the problem.
So I called Honda Corporate warranty person I've been dealing with. She said she was going to call the dealership and get back to me.
Meanwhile I called Honda Corporate office again and told them I want to talk to someone in the mediation department, my car has been in the shop in excess of 30 days in under 6 months, double the required days in MA for lemon law and I want out of the car. I'm fed up, patience gone and burned out.
This is just ridiculous!!
 
#39 · (Edited)
Today they have decided its the tires causing the vibration. (not sure I buy this, anymore than I believed it was the front axles or the engine mounts).
They already checked the tires numerous times during this process and kept telling me it was not the tires. So why is it the tires now? Who knows.

They claim when ever they rotated the tires around the car, the vibration changed.
They have none in stock that will fit my car.
They will try on Saturday to source them somewhere, test drive it and get back to me again.
Honda Rep said once the car is either declared fixed, or declared unfixable, we will have a conversation about compensation for the BS.
 
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