Brakes on the 2008 Honda Accord

I’m adding a new category to this blog: Consumer Complaints. When I have a problem with a company or product, I will describe the experience here. This will serve two purposes: first, it will spread information about companies that are not treating their customers properly. Second, it will allow me to track the problem for future reference. I am also starting a category for general consumer information.

So, on to Consumer Complaint #1: Brakes on the 2008 Honda Accord.

I drive a 2008 Honda Accord EX-L Coupe. It was making a squeaking noise, so I took it to the dealer. It turns out I needed new rear brakes, after a mere 17,000 miles. I talked to the service manager, and apparently all the 08 and 09 Accords are coming in for new brakes between 12k and 17k miles. I also looked online and found several links that document the issue:

Accord Brakes Complaint Link #1
Accord Brakes Complaint Link #2
Accord Brakes Complaint Link #3
Accord Brakes Complaint Link #4

However, the service manager also told me that Honda has not authorized the dealers to do anything about the brakes issue, and Honda has not issued a recall despite the fact that they are aware of the problem.

I called Honda Customer Care, and they sent my complaint to their regional representative, who will review it to determine if I am entitled to reimbursement. I will update this post when I get an answer. If you have had a similar problem with your brakes, I suggest taking the same course of action. Make sure Honda (the company- not your local dealer) is aware of the problem. Sooner or later, it may force them to take action.

For the record, this is the 4th Honda that I’ve owned. I love the car and I’ve never had any problems. But it’s inexcusable to put a defective part in a car and simply choose to ignore it.

UPDATE: 9/21/2009
I called Honda Customer Care, and they reimbursed me for half the cost of the brakes. While that is a nice gesture, it certainly won’t cover the cost and hassle of replacing rear brakes every 15k miles. Motor Trend recently reported the same problem on their long-term test vehicle, so maybe this will force Honda to finally do something about it.

Sarah Palin vs David Letterman

Recently, Sarah Palin made a trip to New York, the highlight of which was a controversial joke by David Letterman about Palin’s daughter getting knocked up by Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees. The joke has led to numerous complaints, including calls for Letterman to be fired, proving once again that this country has gone collectively insane.

Palin has a right to be upset. Letterman made a joke about her daughter on national TV. Any parent would be upset by that. Yet, the response to this joke is asymmetric to the joke’s nature and impact. She is simply playing the role of the victim to garner attention. News flash: jokes don’t have “victims.” They’re jokes.

First, anyone who claims Letterman was making a “rape,” “statutory rape” or “date rape” joke about Palin’s 14 year old daughter is simply ill-informed. Letterman has writers who write the jokes for him. One of Palin’s daughters got knocked up. A-Rod gets around. The joke practically writes itself. Letterman’s staff isn’t going to research a one-line joke to see which daughter was actually at the game. No one has the time or the resources to do that kind of research, especially on a show that tapes daily. In addition, Letterman is very careful about which jokes he allows on the air. Comedian Jim Norton recently appeared on Letterman, and the screeners wouldn’t let him use the line “My girlfriend’s very liberal, but I guess that’s common for girls who are still in high school” because it was too close to a pedophilia joke. Norton modified it to “but I guess that’s common for girls who are still 18,” and he had to fight to use the modified version. It’s just absurd to think a show so careful on one night would turn around and intentionally make a “child rape” joke a few nights later.

Second, we need to end this ludicrous idea that people have a right to never be offended. As I already said, Palin has a right to be upset. But if she’s offended, that’s just too damn bad. Letterman doesn’t deserve to be fired or owe her an apology because she was offended. We have forms of entertainment that range from the benign to hardcore violence and pornography. Some people are offended by the slightest bit of violence, profanity or sexuality, while other people have hard drives full of George Carlin bits and pornographic videos. At times, entertainment will offend people. It’s the nature of a free society. And one of the advantages of capitalism is that if it offends too many people, that form of entertainment will stop making money and it will go away.

This brings me to my final point on this issue: free choice. A small group of people find Letterman in bad taste, so they are attempting to apply their standards to society at large and deprive EVERYONE of his comedy. We live in a country where the government largely does not control our speech or entertainment, yet, for some incomprehensible reason, we permit self-policing by self-righteous vocal minorities. No one is forced to watch Letterman, and if one chooses to watch Letterman, one is not forced to laugh at or enjoy every joke. If Letterman is too offensive or edgy, simply change the channel.

PS: Sorry about the lack of updates. I haven’t had a lot to say lately, and this blog was turning into a traffic camera blog, which is unnecessary since DC CameraFRAUD already does a great one (see my links on the right). I did, however, have a Letter to the Editor in the Washington Times about traffic cameras.