Car recalls are not unheard of but there's been too many of them in the news of late. A good chunk of them have to do with airbag defects like the notice I got in the mail just yesterday for my 2005 Honda Civic. Now let the year sink in for a minute, roll it around as my notice also said the recall covers the years 2001-2005!!! I've had my car for a decade now and I've driven it practically everywhere. Danbury Mall, Poughkeepsie Galleria, Middletown New York among other daytripping destinations and Honda Corporation tells me now?!? Now picture the poor mechanics who work for Honda. IN ADDITION to their normal regular daily work schedule they now have to do the recalls. Parts may run out and then Honda offers to reimburse you for any alternative transportation you may have to take. Total clusterf*×k. Thanks guys. May my next car not be a Honda.
As major as the recalls are, the odds are low: of 37,000 deployments that potentially saved lives, only 88 blasted the car interior with shrapnel. Takata has them in BMW,
ReplyDeleteToyota, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru..about everywhere . So, you are part of a recall crowd.
Back in the day, I had some interaction with the industry since they use common
small arms primers to start the things. IMO, they seemed to blow up a lot of stuff
while mfg (say compared to us primer folks) their units and there was a bit of cross
over employment among the explosives type people. We were called on time by
Ford about supplying "man-rated" primers; their specifications were a book 2" thick,
much more stringent than the military, or even NASA. We turned them down and they asked if they could just purchase our regular stuff from some ware house.
Which they did. Last week we traded in the Mrs. Caravan for a Chevy Traverse.
Supposed to be safer...it has almost as many airbags as speakers as well as a bevy
of bells and whistles we will never use. On the other hand, it is Takata-free!
How do you like your Honda otherwise?
Overall good. With 96,000 miles never had any mechanical problems or breakdowns if you can believe it. Struts and stuff sure. My issue is why a whole DECADE later do I get this notice? Couldn't they have inconvenienced me even five years ago?
Delete96K is impressive. Is that a 4 or 6 cylinder? I've been trading up after
Deleteabout 100k the last few years, sort of the 'while it still has value' approach.
So, since my 51 Ford Coupe with fender skirts in college, I've gone through 21 vehicles over the years. (some faster than others). I knew a
young hotshot mechanical engineer who turned down a Detroit job with
the Corvette Division to become an ammunition expert. Being a ranch
kid, he referred to the 4 cylinder engine, like his girlfriend had as "half an engine *spit*". Of all my cars, my favorite was a gold '66 Olds Toronado .
The old 4-cylinder. I just have to get outof Yonkers every once in a while. The long trips seem to clear my head. Go to Brewster for a pack of gum ya know?
DeleteThough maybe not a perfect analogy I am reminded of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons."
ReplyDeleteAs a pipe smoker, I have in inherent distrust of airbags, ya know?
ReplyDeleteAs a former piper my main problem was keeping the tobacco lit. I'd huff and I'd puff 'til my jaws got sore. I felt like Richard Simmons after (fill in scenario)...
DeleteDepending on the tobacco, the secret to keeping a pipe lit is how it is packed in the bowl: too tight, it doesn't get enough air to keep it going-
Deletetoo loose, the embers fail to ignite the stuff further down. Then you have your flakes, your strings, your chunks...to say nothing of burleys, brights
latakias. The secret is a good pipe lighter, like the Zippo model, and sticking with one tobacco. Pretty soon you have it down. Alternatively,
you can get one of those Arabic hookah water pipes, but they will scare your cat.
I'm wondering since I've never been a fan of airbags can't you just tell them to remove the damn things and I'll take my chances? An airbagectomy.
ReplyDelete& since my car is an '05 I'm still trying to figure out what spurred my recall notice after a time lapse of ten long years. Did some Honda technician wake up one morning and have a Barney Fife OMG moment?
ReplyDeleteDMV, almost never have a good experience. Few years back went to the one in White Plains to renew my license. Guy behind the counter mumbled, talked kinda low and quick and then accused me of being hard-of-hearing and then told me to step into the yellow shoes which caused some confusion. Glad when it was over.
ReplyDeleteThe driver license photo: IMO, if they can take a photo of a person looking like a
ReplyDeletecriminal, they get a bonus. In my case, they probably got a 3 level promotion.
I always look like a psycho. One time I had my eyes closed.
ReplyDeleteSo today's my big day. Got there early and they ran out of the airbag inflator parts but they had one pair left for me. Gonna take all day so I made arrangements. My Dad's gotta get it done, my friend's Mom too. I think everybody and their grandmother who owns a Honda has to get it done. I'm considering a Subaru for my next vehicle. I'm on vacation this week and while I won't say it's ruined my vacation it has definitely overshadowed it. It's like two or three notches below getting a colonoscopy midweek during your vacation, ya can't fully enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteSome Dodge trucks have an odd airbag problem:
ReplyDelete"The second recall involves 667,406 Ram pickups from 2013-2015—this time, only 1500 through 3500 models are included—for side and curtain airbags that can deploy when the doors are slammed shut. In addition, the seat-belt pretensioners can activate. FCA said it was aware of 37 owner complaints and two injuries, all of them on four-door cabs." Be safe-remove the doors?
I read about that one just yesterday. I've a better idea: walk there if you can. We're an obese nation anyway.
DeleteJust wondering; if they had airbags on NFL helmets, would there be fewer concussions?
ReplyDelete& if they had airbags on boxing gloves would Muhhamad Ali have Parkinson's?
DeleteWhoopee cushions on golf clubs would make TV golf more interesting.
DeleteI actually like golf and I'll start to watch it on Sunday afternoons but it has that somnolent effect on me. I go into a kind of mental fugue state after about a half hour and have to change the channel.
DeleteProbably more fun to play than watch: athletic-wise, it is outdoor bowling.
DeleteHow did the vacation go? Think of it as practicing for retirement.
ReplyDeleteI also had to help my folks with their Honda recall. In fact Honda seemed to dominate my whole vacation. Should've taken another week off.
DeleteAirbags: back in the day, we kids would draw straws to see who would get to stand in the front seat. Times change.
ReplyDeleteToday if I were a kid I'd say to my Dad "I'm good, I'm taking my bike."
DeleteToday, you'd be considered a 'free range; child.
Delete