Question for all of you. I was told that repairs on the same year model Honda, for example CRV drive train, cost more to repair if it's Japanese made as opposed to an American made of the same model. So if I have two Honda CRV's of the same year model, but one was manufactured in Japan, and the other was manufactured in the US. The one in japan would be more expensive because it was made in japan. A mechanic tried to tell me that the parts are not interchangeable.

Can anyone give me any insight on this? I respect all opinions, but I really need a solid factual answer. My opinion is that the mechanic is full of it, but that MY opinion. I'm looking for facts here.

Thank You all for your time and insight!!

 

First off what generation are you talking? Information does help...

Are both of them identical trims (US based models or is one a import)?

 

Say 07 CRV EX manufactured in the US for sale in the US, and a 07 CRV EX manufactured in Japan FOR (import to the US) sale in the US. If I had to order a drive train for either car, would one be more expensive than the other one? If I had to replace both drive train in both cars at the same time, would I be ordering two different parts? Or would both cars use the same part, have the same part number, regardless of where they were built?
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Two cars both same year, make and model one is imported from Japanese for sale in the US and the other is built in the US for the US market.

My opinion is No, they should use the same part, but I was told differently by a mechanic.

I'm trying to research, on the web and I'm not getting any clear responses to my search.

Thank for any and all help.

 

In that case they are literally identical. If they were intended for different markets then there could be part options that don't exist in the US market or vice versa making sourcing those parts more expensive (namely shipping costs involved). That mechanic is so full of ****, he has become it.

There are strict US standards for vehicles that most other markets don't live up to in the government's eyes. This is why it is so difficult to get a vehicle imported intended for a different market (CDM / EDM / JDM / etc.) registered here in the US.

 

You should find a different mechanic. He's either clueless or just plain FoS and trying to set you up for something.

There are occasionally slight differences in vehicles made at different plants. Say, something like a radiator might be provided by a different vendor depending on the plant, but they are usually interchangeable and rarely more than marginally different in price.

Historically, there were examples of AC compressors provided by Sanden or Nippon Denso that were not interchangeable without swapping out the lines, but that's about as complex as I can remember the differences getting.

 

While I mostly agree, I don't feel that is due strictly to plant differences in every circumstance. There have been many times that preveious platform parts were used to get rid of them or even from other platforms. Usually this is a Chevy, Dodge, and Ford thing but it's not due to where the car was manufactured (overseas versus here).

Now if you needed say a JDM fender, bumper, or something of that nature where the part is offered only in a specific market, then I would concur. Brand differences will always be there due to supplier issues, better deals, or part revisions and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with where it was made.

 

I'm just going off what I remember from working at the dealer 15 years ago.

 

Bullshit. Some parts may or may not be interchangeable, and those parts will vary in price(AC compressor,alternator,ect...)


But overall the cost of repairs is the same.



<<<<<<<19 year mechanic

 

In my experience, I have been with Honda since 2002, the models that were made in Japan seem to be a better product, better fitment, just better put together. The two best models to prove that is the Integra and first gen CR-V. Once the US started producing more and more plants started popping up, very few were from Japan anymore. As we go along, I am starting to see more issues in production and factory assembly, 2014 was a rough year for some of the models. Just seems like some of the QC is left up to the technicians doing the PDIs at the dealerships, I can remember doing PDIs back in the day and not ever finding problems, now you really have to check everything to make sure things are how they should be. One thing to note, the Ridgeline is the lowest warranty repair cost vehicle ever I believe with Honda, I have never really seen anything go wrong with a Ridgeline but it isn't made in Japan.