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I bought a new 2011 Honda Accord Coupe Oct. 2, 2010. Today (07/28/12)I went to look at a house for sale 20 miles from my house. When I get back into my car, it would not start.
The realtor and the neighbor both tried to jump the car without any success. It still would not start. Finally called AAA and had it
towed back to the dealership. My car probably only has 20,000 miles on it, maybe less.
Is it normal for a Honda battery to die this quickly? I googled Honda battery problems and was
disheartened to find all kinds of links with Honda battery problems. If I go on a long vacation, do I need to
be concerned the electronics will drain my battery if gone 12 days?
Is my Honda still a reliable car? I am really disappointed to have this situation happen in this short of time-frame. I originally really loved my car, but I am not so sure now!
Why do you think it's the battery? If it didn't jump, it's likely to be something else I would think.
My 2000 Honda battery lasted 9 years, which was quite long IMO. A battery should last at least 4-5 years. But again, if it didn't jump, this doesn't seem like it's the battery.
What actually happened when you tried to start it? When you turned the key, what did it do?
What actually happened when you tried to start it? When you turned the key, what did it do?
Initially trying to jump it, when I turned the key, it seemed like it would start, then stopped. The longer let it be on
the jumpers, the worse it got. At the last attempts, when I turn the key, the lights in the dash would flicker (flash), then
go dim, but stay on. My radio and power windows would not work at all.
It is some type of electrical problem, whether battery, or the alternator. But I am not a mechanic and the car is at the dealership now.
Going to guess some other electrical problem rather than battery, because if in fact the battery is dead than something probably caused it to go that dead (alternator or other electrical issue). Really, a battery less than 2 years old is not likely to be the problem alone. And it while I'm sure such cases exist it would be unusual to not jump start if it is indeed only the alternator/battery.
Regardless, I would expect it will be covered under warranty.
To answer your question as to whether it's still a reliable car, well, if they come up with a definitive "Here's the problem", and then you leave and it doesn't reoccur, then I think you have nothing to worry about. It's if it turns into a tricky electrical problem that they can't isolate that you worry about ongoing reliability. I'd like to think that would be unusual in Hondas given my experience with them, but my own latest Honda product is much older so it could have changed. Some people appear to think Honda quality has slipped for some models or in some areas.
Google can be very misleading on information like this. Does anyone put up a webpage that says "My Honda battery lasted a long time? "
The battery on my Honda Ridgeline lasted five years. I think that is more than reasonable in Texas. Our Honda Pilot battery lasted a bit less, but it had more miles. And the battery on our Infiniti M35 died at about 40,000 miles and less than four years. I thought that was premature.
You can literally type in the name of any auto manufacturer followed by "battery problem" and get a hundred results. Simply googling something and counting the number of results isn't exactly word class research.
I bought a new 2011 Honda Accord Coupe Oct. 2, 2010. Today (07/28/12)I went to look at a house for sale 20 miles from my house. When I get back into my car, it would not start.
The realtor and the neighbor both tried to jump the car without any success. It still would not start. Finally called AAA and had it
towed back to the dealership. My car probably only has 20,000 miles on it, maybe less.
Is it normal for a Honda battery to die this quickly? I googled Honda battery problems and was
disheartened to find all kinds of links with Honda battery problems. If I go on a long vacation, do I need to
be concerned the electronics will drain my battery if gone 12 days?
Is my Honda still a reliable car? I am really disappointed to have this situation happen in this short of time-frame. I originally really loved my car, but I am not so sure now!
It's under warranty, don't stop loving your car! Take it to the Honda dealership and tell them about your issue, they'll fix it under the warranty, no problem! Let us know what happens....
I bought a brand new Civic on 2-2-2006. After 92,000 miles, I'm on my third battery. The original battery lasted only until August of 2008. It was covered under warranty. The summers here in South Texas are brutally hot and dry and this will shorten the life of a battery. A three year life expectancy for a car battery has been my experience.
Take it in under warranty, get it fixed, that is why you pay a premium for a new car. Hopefully its just a quick fix.
As a domestic owner I have to point out, if this was a domestic, people would talk about how horrible they are and crappy quality, blah blah blah. Cars are very complex pieces of machinery, and unfortuneately we make them more complex every day. Things are likely to go wrong which is fine.
Here is a thought your car is the most reliable piece of machinery you will own. Think of any device you leave outdoors, and will last 10-20 years, maybe more working relatively reliably.
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