Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Garage won’t give my car back because of airbags?

107 replies

Staffielove23 · 13/03/2023 23:11

The airbags in my Honda were recently recalled so I booked the car in at my nearest Honda dealership- 40 miles away. I got there just after 9am and waited in a nearby Starbucks. I was waiting for about five hours to be told the garage couldn’t replace the airbags because they needed a part they didn’t have. Then I was told I wouldn’t be able to get the car back because it’s unsafe to drive and they don’t have any courtesy cars available leaving me stranded fourth miles away from home. I asked what they expected me to do in this situation and the guy offered me a lift to the bus stop… I don’t fancy getting in a random person’s car and there are no buses where I live anyway (rural). I didn’t think airbags were mandatory so don’t understand why I couldn’t drive it home and return when they have the part required, and I think the way they handled it was appalling.

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 14/03/2023 17:28

Bikeybikeface · 13/03/2023 23:22

Air bags, if fitted, have to be functional. I assume you just find your own way home, I wouldn’t expect a garage to get me home.

I would if they'd screwed up by starting a job they didn't have the parts for!

GPTec1 · 14/03/2023 17:38

Staffielove23 · 14/03/2023 17:19

We phoned Honda head office after the Honda garage in Edinburgh told us to phone them to get authorisation for a hire car. Seems weird that they don’t know their own criteria.

All the cars effected by this recall are older, its a corrosion issue mainly in countries with high humidity.

They shouldn't have started the job without the parts or at the very least told you behand there was a 1 month delay & you would not get a courtesy car. giving you the choice, this should be your counter to Honda's ridiculous positon.

Courtesy cars can be given to any customer, the age of the car is irrelevant, Honda don't charge less because they are working on an older car!!!!

TBF this air bag issue is across many manufacturers not just Honda.

MarshaMelrose · 14/03/2023 17:41

Can't you get them to tow the car to a neighbouring town's dealership to do the job?

I have no idea why the age of the car affects getting a hire car? That's just a ridiculous excuse. It's their fault there's a dangerous problem with the car. Their fault you've been driving round with a dangerous problem. And they're fault they couldn't fix the car and have left you stranded.

It's really shocking service.

OutDamnedSpot · 14/03/2023 17:48

You need your best Daily Mail sad face for this one.

DogInATent · 14/03/2023 22:44

I have no idea why the age of the car affects getting a hire car?
It might be related to this being a recall that started 4 years ago (9 years for some models), so when the OP says "recently recalled" it may not be that recent. If that's the case, it's quite a different situation.

SchoolQuestionnaire · 14/03/2023 22:54

OutDamnedSpot · 13/03/2023 23:29

I’m really surprised by some of the responses here.

It’s outrageous that they kept you waiting so long, didn’t offer an alternative and can’t tell you when you’ll get your car back. I would be furious.

Can you call / tweet / email Honda head office? I’d also call Trading Standards / CAB to see what legal rights you have here too.

Me too. I can’t believe the shitty levels of customer service that we’ve been conditioned to accept.

I’d be absolutely furious at having to ring my dh to pick me up when my car is sat there. If it’s the Takata recall that’s affecting lots of cars it’s been been ongoing for bloody ages so they should have a process in place and shouldn’t have taken them out without having the parts. (My dm had an older car, not a Honda. She asked me to go with her to take hers in for the recall about 18 months ago so she didn’t have to hang around but they told her they had everything ready to go so it would be done in half an hour and it was).

I would complain literally everywhere about this. There is no justification for keeping your car from you for a month without a replacement simply due to their oversight.

SchoolQuestionnaire · 14/03/2023 22:59

Staffielove23 · 14/03/2023 16:59

Update.. spoke to head of customer care team today and they will not provide a courtesy car or a hire car because we don’t meet the criteria. Something to do with the age of the car. I will never buy Honda ever again.

I’d ring them back and tell them that the car is out of action due to their fuck up so the age of the vehicle has nothing to do with it. I’d also put this on Twitter. This recall is a safely issue so I’d assume they need a high level of compliance which they won’t get with complaints like this.

Isittimeformynapyet · 14/03/2023 23:16

found this on RAC site:

"Generally, you’ll be asked to take your car to your nearest dealer, and you shouldn’t be charged for having the fault fixed. If the work is likely to take a long time, you should be provided with a courtesy car"

FrostyFifi · 14/03/2023 23:21

This is bizarre. We got a letter saying our airbag in our van was dangerous so we booked it into the nearest authorised garage to get it changed for free and they obviously made sure they had the replacement for that date.

And it wasnt mandatory to do so, we don't MOT it there so the MOT garage would have been none the wiser if we hadn't bothered. And we drove it a good couple of months before we took it in.

They have no right to keep your vehicle from you.

Rebel2 · 14/03/2023 23:33

Isittimeformynapyet · 14/03/2023 23:16

found this on RAC site:

"Generally, you’ll be asked to take your car to your nearest dealer, and you shouldn’t be charged for having the fault fixed. If the work is likely to take a long time, you should be provided with a courtesy car"

That's pretty normal. The issue is availability - like we can provide a loan car but if there isn't one... we can't
Different situation to the OP though as they don't have the part to fix it

Mirabai · 15/03/2023 08:26

OP you need to be tougher - they are the ones at fault for retaining your car when they have no legal right to. And for booking in this repair without the part to hand.

Mirabai · 15/03/2023 08:40

If they won’t give you a courtesy care they must at least give you your car back.

lieselotte · 15/03/2023 09:22

If the recall is 4 years old and the OP has been driving it around for that length of time, it hardly matters if she drives it round for another month until they get the part, does it?

Nannyfannybanny · 15/03/2023 10:20

DH a motor vehicle tech, says in a recall for safety reasons, garage will keep the car. It's not safe or legal. However, they should have got parts....they have been difficult to come by for a couple of years. Curtisy car, some garages do some don't.

Mirabai · 15/03/2023 10:27

Nannyfannybanny · 15/03/2023 10:20

DH a motor vehicle tech, says in a recall for safety reasons, garage will keep the car. It's not safe or legal. However, they should have got parts....they have been difficult to come by for a couple of years. Curtisy car, some garages do some don't.

Sorry but this is not correct. There is no legal requirement for a car to have airbags to be used on the roads. It is not illegal to drive with the airbag light on. And in some cars it’s possible to de-activate passenger airbags.

Tessasanderson · 15/03/2023 10:45

Airbags are quite often linked into various other safety systems in cars. ABS, ESP, Collision prevention assist etc etc. Removing or disabling them may effect other safety systems and mean your car is unusable.

Thats said the dealership have treated you very poorly for a job they are being paid by the manufacturer to carry out. Its easy money for them.

Personally, i would call the manufacturer customer services line and complain. You should be able to wrangle a free service out of them for your inconvenience and misstreatment. In future the simplest solution in this circumstance is for the dealership to order you a taxi and either pay for it or offer to refund you the taxi cost when you return (2 x journeys).

shelbaba · 15/03/2023 11:05

The customer service mgr at Honda seems to be missing the point. It doesn't matter what their criteria is, they accepted ur car and can't do the repair and will not give it back now. Maybe it's more to do with the garage u went to but it's still a Honda garage.

I'd call the garage and ask to spoke to the branch manager. Explain again what's happened and that they shouldn't have taken the car in without checking if they had the part (especially seeing as they must have known how long the parts are taking if it's a month). It was unacceptable to leave you stranded 40miles from home and offer no help but to make matters worse they will not provide a car for you.

I'd tell them there is 2 options, 1 they provide a car or 2 give urs back. If they don't u will be putting it all over social media and contacting the press.

Can they legally keep ur car? You've been driving it with this "fault" possibly for years.

Mirabai · 15/03/2023 11:39

Can they legally keep ur car? No.

Mirabai · 15/03/2023 11:42

If your car has a PACOS switch the airbags can be disabled. This is separate to other security systems.

Brefugee · 15/03/2023 11:43

Air bags, if fitted, have to be functional. I assume you just find your own way home, I wouldn’t expect a garage to get me home.

if i had an expensive product with a faulty part that was recalled, and the nearest place to me was 40 miles away? too bloody right i would expect a courtesy car, or them to pay for a taxi for me.

Get on to Honda about it, OP.

lieselotte · 15/03/2023 11:45

You could see if any of these can help, but I imagine you'll have to exhaust the complaints procedure with Honda first: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repairing-a-car/motor-industry-associations/

lieselotte · 15/03/2023 11:46

To be honest if you have a second key I'd just go back and get the car. What are they going to do about it?

They could report you to the police for driving an "illegal" car but if it was safe to drive it for the last four years I don't think that's going to fly.

lieselotte · 15/03/2023 11:47

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 14/03/2023 17:28

I would if they'd screwed up by starting a job they didn't have the parts for!

Show quote history

Yes, it beggars belief that anyone thinks the garage has acted appropriately here!

Brefugee · 15/03/2023 11:55

get all over twitter OP. It doesn't matter how old your car is or when the recall started. Make a fuss.

It might not change anything but it will make you feel better.

GPTec1 · 15/03/2023 12:01

lieselotte · 15/03/2023 11:46

To be honest if you have a second key I'd just go back and get the car. What are they going to do about it?

They could report you to the police for driving an "illegal" car but if it was safe to drive it for the last four years I don't think that's going to fly.

With the air bags removed (as we were told earlier) the car may not be in a drivable state.

TBH this whole thread seems a very strange state of affairs, Honda is a huge company and their dealer network vast, so getting another car to the OP, even a non Honda one (which they often shift over to auctions, after a trade in, to be sold for peanuts) shouldn't be an issue.