does my mate have a leg to stand on regarding broken engine

thefishdude

ok so basically a friend of mine had a timming belt changed at main honda dealer on his civic, he assumed the tensioner would be changed as well as his when he has had this done on other cars in his life the garages allways changed the tensioner.

well cut long story short tensioner wasnt changd, 4 weeks later engine is now a very large paper weight.

the garage are saying its not there fault they dont change the tensioner when putting new belt on and he did not specifically asked for one.


sooo does he have any come back at all do you think???

forgotmyname

They didn't quote for the tensioner he didnt ask for it so getting anything back will be difficult.

How old is the car? Full dealer history?

mgdavid

you need to find out Honda's official service schedule / recommendation for a belt change, I'd expect it to strongly recommend a tensioner change, in which case they should have offered it. What year civic, what model and engine, exactly?

londonTiger

what does the receipt say? if it's a major timing belt change the whole kit needs to change, not just the belt itself.

The belt doesn;t usually snap by itself, usually the components wear out and their bearings give way, then they sping rough and get snagged which wears down the belt. so just changing the belt alone is not wise at all

marlot

I would have thought he stood a good chance if he sued them in the small claims court. It doesn't cost much to put in the claim.

Check section 3.4 in this document: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/cpregs/oft1008.pdf

The garage are expected to be the expert. If a reasonable person would have made a different decision if presented with the fuller option (of also changing the tensioner) then the dealers actions are unfair.

marlot

mgdavid wrote: »

you need to find out Honda's official service schedule / recommendation for a belt change, I'd expect it to strongly recommend a tensioner change, in which case they should have offered it. What year civic, what model and engine, exactly?

I agree. Part of the reason one goes to a main dealer is the diligence they are expected to perform. If the manufacturer recommends it, they should at least offer the customer the option

thefishdude

was a 1.6 civic about 5 years old, had gotten to 72k miles so and he decided he should have th belt done. it wasnt part of a service just booked in seperatly. i think they should of at least offered and advised about the tensioner as they know just like we do that its bad practive not to change one when putting new belt on

gilbert_and_sullivan

Idiot i am (note to self read the OP), you did have the belt changed at a Honda main dealer, they should stand by their work without quibble.

If they fail to then some naming and shaming here and on Honda forums is in order IMO, and get in touch with Honda UK.

Oh and small claims court is in order, but first everything must go in writing.

Norman_Castle

I would expect a main Honda dealer working on a Honda to be aware of the damage caused by the failure of the tensioner and expect them to asses the need for replacement based on age, mileage and condition and advise the customer accordingly. As they chose not to replace the tensioner they should accept responsibility for the failure.

AndyPK

That's the reason for taking a car to the dealer is that they know what they are doing and stand by it.
Don't let them get away with it or talk to Honda.

Hopefully get part costs covered.

jobdone1

What muppets a main dealers should know better and refuse to do the work unless the cambelt kit is fitted. That is standard in my books why strip it down just to change the bloody belt fools. Lots of people ask for a cambelt change and the response would be by any one in the know you need to replace with a kit.