My 5 week old Honda Accord 2.0T with the 10AT transmission needs a new transmission due to an internal flaw that cannot be serviced in the field. Has anyone else had such an early failure with a 2019 Honda product with this transmission?

I am trying to determine if there is a fundamental flaw with this transmission or if it is a bad batch produced recently for 2019's on the lots now or if I am one of the few really unlucky customers of Honda. I am a bit angry right now because Honda America is unwilling to take back the car or extend the warranty, etc. I just received my title (from the NC DMV who took a while to send it) the day before my car needed the new transmission! I have driven it 1300 miles since I bought it, but I don't think Honda would do anything to help even if it was the next day with 1 mile on it based on the response I got today from the case worker. He said that is what the warranty if for.

I personally think if a 5 week old car needs a new engine or transmission a car company should do a bit more for a customer. How about extending the warranty since you have to do major surgery to my car!

 

I can sympathize with your frustration... my wife has had her 2.0L Touring for six weeks now. Our transmission is just fine... but we are dealing with a front bumper cover with a casting flaw that we want replaced. I do not expect any special treatment, just what I paid for.

Just out of curiosity... if your transmission failed at 20K miles a year and a half from now, would you expect Honda to extend your warranty then ??? I have not heard of any other failures besides yours although this vehicle and power train are relatively new and thus, more time is needed to assess this new transmission's viability and whether your failure is isolated or a systemic problem.

So have them replace the transmission... provide you a loaner vehicle while your service is being performed, and request that they bring your repaired Accord to your home or work when completed so that you are not inconvenienced any more and swap your car for the loaner.

Chances are good that this is just a bad luck moment for you... and I hope from this point on you get miles of trouble-free operation and enjoyment of your Accord.

 

Thanks JRCivic1 for your feedback. I do think the topic of what is reasonable to expect from a company is interesting to discuss. I would not expect anything more than warranty repair at 1 1/2 years and 20K miles. Below is my logic on why at 5 weeks I think more than a repair is reasonable to request. And in between 5 weeks and 1 1/2 years is a fuzzy zone for me!

Latest Update: I do have my car back after 7 days at the dealer with the new transmission. The dealer took care of a loaner and was great to work with. I still have a case open with Honda America and I am waiting to see if they will extend the warranty. Honda America has NOT been proactive in making me feel good about this experience. So the rest of this post is about what I personally think is reasonable to expect from a responsive car company with a good sense of customer relations.

For me the issue with a large repair like a transmission (or engine, etc.) is that field replacement of these major components is likely not as controlled as in the factory. I believe my repaired car is likely to have a higher risk of future issues caused by the field repair. If I already had significant mileage on the transmission the benefit of a fresh new transmission would outweigh the risk of the field replacement. My transmission replacement was documented at almost $7000 which is around 25% the value of my new car. And I have almost no benefit of a 0-mileage replacement transmission since my failure occurred after only 5 weeks. For non-critical functions like a trim piece, or broken headlight, etc. I think the risk of a field repair versus factory installed to the value of the car is insignificant.

Assuming a failing transmission is a rare occurrence for Honda (let's say 1 in 1000 while under 70,000 miles) then the cost to Honda to extend my transmission warranty from 60K to 70K miles would only cost them $7000 per 1000 cars sold = $7. Offering to extend my warranty seems like a low cost way for Honda to make a customer feel better about the risks I highlighted.

I don't really know where I would draw the line on a company doing more than is legally required. I probably would think if a repair cost more than 20% of the new car value in the first 12 months of ownership that a car company should extend the warranty 12 additional months. If they build a typically reliable product the cost to do so is very low and is great for customer satisfaction.

The fact that Honda did not immediately propose something as simple as extending my warrant a year leads me to believe that the cost of doing so is not negligible. It leads me to question if the repair rate is higher than would allow them to extend warranties on major items like transmissions. The counterpoint is that I see very few people online having early failure of their transmission, so I am hopeful I just had a poor experience with a Honda America case worker! I really enjoy this car and want it to be reliable for a long time. I plan for my two kids to drive it as a hand-me-down for the next 10 years.

 

I can't image the type of frustration this caused you as you just got it, but I've had a lemon Accord before back in 96. I'm hoping this isn't another lemon generation like back then. I recently made another thread with my concerns about this and I doubt it had to do with just a fluke transmission, instead it's more that these transmissions are very new and haven't been tested and improved for long enough to make them last. Thank your stars it failed when it did as it's covered under warranty.

 

Installing a transmission isn’t hard. It’s nuts and bolts...

if you were having an engine “REBUILT” I could understand the field concern you mentioned because a human can’t build an engine as well as a computer designed to torque everything down perfectly. But a transmission is just installing a new transmission. 🤷🏽*♂️

Dont buy hondas anymore if you’re that unsatisfied. That would prove your point to the company. They’d lose one loyal customer! 👊🏽

 

Sorry to hear you're having such issues early on. I think I would also have your mindset if it happened to me. An extended warranty in your case is NOT too much to ask for, especially if 12 months is all you want.

I am very tempted to purchase one of these new Accords, but they possess much unproven new technology. Even the K20 isn't exactly the same as the previous k20s which were well proven.
I decided to sit back and wait for the issues to surface and in 3 - 5 years make a move or pass.

 

The K20C engine and it's variants are in their fifth year of production and the failure rates have been very small. The 10-speed transmission is only in it's second year, so there is definitely room for some caution as to what it's ultimate reliability will be. The reported failure rates have been very small in the first year and that is a good sign... hopefully that trend continues.

 

Just another reason why I will only drive a stick. I have a '17 Accord with a manual.

 

I have felt the same way for a lot of years... but unfortunately, the wife and I are getting up there in years and a "two pedal" car is much easier on us for long trips during the Holidays.