friday night, my girlfriend and i got into an accident in her brand new s2k. We went to take a turn and heard a big clunk and then the car lost control. we slid into a ditch and came to a stop. No one was hurt and we got the car out of the ditch. Upon inspection it wasnt all that bad but the front rotor was cracked in half and the other half was laying in the road. I guess that was the loud clunk we heard. So we get it towed to my good friends body shop. He is amazed at the rotor and tells me in 35 years of work he has never heard of that happening, especially with that size rotor. Keep in mind the car just came back from honda for its 6k mile maintainence, the wheels have never been touched. called the insurance company and they actually sent someone out on saturday to look at the car. The adjuster starts going on, and on about the rotor and says that they may not cover the accident due to the rotor. I start to talk to the guy about not covering it and he said "i suggest you call honda and tell them to buy the car back from you. Its a manufacturer defect and why should we pay for it and then raise your girlfriends rates." i see his point, and my GF already said if thats the case she doesnt want the car back, she would rather just get something else. The accident really freaked her out, and i was there and the brakes didnt work at all.

So in my shoes, would you call honda and talk with them about buying back the car? The insurance company told me to call and if that didnt work, then they would call as well.

Any of you work for honda and hear of this type of incident?

 

I've only seen this happen once, but it was on a heavy-track-going car. So, this is least likely to happen to you on the street, especially with a new car.

The 6K maintenance, it is actually 7500 miles, but it is only an oil change and rotating the tires. That is what the book calls for, and well.. the wheels are different sizes, so you can't rotate them. I just hope you two didn't pay for anything more than the oil change on that one.

As for your situation - you need to inquire with Honda. keep in mind, it will be an uphill battle. But you took it in on their scheduled maintenance, and it is a new car. You might have some leverage there. But this is a catastrophic failure on a wearable part. That is the problem. The wearable part is the rotor itself, but how it failed is the issue that you must press to them. I'm not so sure they would buy it back. They might offer to replace the rotor, which isn't going to put a ding in your repair bills.

Start making the calls today.

 

the dealer paid for the maintenance and yes it was just an oil change. The wearable part issue is not an issue. No way a daily driven car has worn rotors with 6221 miles on it. As far as replacing the rotor, they can pay for the whole damn repair work, $8,000 with paint, labor, and parts. Since everyone is telling me the accident is due to the rotor, honda should be accountable for everything that occured to the car post rotor cracking. But this is in an idea world i guess, not the real world. I will give them a call later today, but i agree, i think this is going to go nowhere

The only reason we took it in at 6k miles, was that the maintenance required light start to flash. Upon taking it in, this was resolved.

 

hrmm that is a shitty situation either way you look at it.

i would gather any witnesses you could find, that maybe saw it break and 'made' you lose control. you are going to have to prove to them that is what caused your GF to wreck, which wont be easy by anymeans.

I highly doubt Honda will cover the whole damage, but if i were you, I'd talk to an attorney, do you have full coverage? i dont see why they wouldnt cover the damage if honda will not.

Good luck.

P.S. you need to document the fact that the rotor was in the road, so that way they dont think the rotor broke when you hit something in the ditch, etc.

did you get any pictures?

 

pics = yes, but after the accident. i have the rotor from the road. no one was around, we where driving to tallahassee on a country road. it was paved and all. Guess ins. company is going to have to argue with honda, i am not paying for a lawyer, they can. If the insurance wants to take it up with them, be my guest. They after all, are the ones who do not want to pay.

 

are you able to post pics of the rotor? i would go to an attorney that has a free consultation, of course they are gonna want you back, but you can atleast get their ideas. I have a feeling its gonna be a legal battle, honda just wont pick up a $8000 tab just cuz you ask.

you should also think about getting that rotor examined by a materials engineer or other material science expert. they will be able to exam the piece and tell if it was a flaw in manufacturing, or stressed, etc. My old professor does this type of things, and has shown us many types of examples.

keep us posted with what happens.

 

will keep you posted. a honda representative is supposed to call me back shortly. They were surprised about the problem and have asked for pictures of the car and of the rotor piece. I have emailed both of them to the guy in charge of this case already.

 

I would definetly call Honda. Do you have mods done to your car? And if you don't even better. I work at a HOnda dealership and have the American HOnda customer service # if they give you problems. But only if you won't have them thinking you race your car.

 

stock as can be, the car is 2 months and 3 days old

 

where do you live? do you want the #?

 

FL and sure pass the #

 

1-800-999-1009. That is American Honda's #. If your local dealership give you crap, call. If your car is only 2 months old you better believe they should pay. You could take them to court if you wanted. I've seen it before. Try kindness first then be rude if needed. Our S is only 3 months old and I would cram it down Honda's throat if it was me. Let me know what they say.

 

I dont think you have a chance. Thats what insurance is for. Like someone else said they may pay for the rotor but nothing else. Your best bet wuold be to get the rotor examined and see if it was parts fatigue that gave. Also you have to look at other parts of your car to see if maybe it left a mark when it fell off. You have to look at it from all views. You say the rotor broke. how would they know if you hit something and thats what caused the rotor to break.

If you have full-coverage...tell them to deal with it. Thats their job and thats why u pay for them. Good luck...sorry to say, but youll need it.