Dealership refusing warranty repair - transmission failed at 8k miles

Bought a brand new 2025 Honda Accord in March 2025. Paid $32,000. It now has 8,300 miles on it and the transmission completely failed last week - won't shift out of first gear, making horrible grinding noises.

Took it to the dealership. They're saying it's "driver abuse" and not covered under warranty. They claim I must have been "riding the clutch" or doing "hard launches." It's a CVT automatic transmission - there's no clutch to ride!

The service advisor is basically calling me a liar and saying it'll cost $6,500 to replace the transmission out of pocket. The car is literally 5 months old. What can I do?

This is exactly what lemon laws are for. A transmission failure at 8,300 miles on a brand new car is a substantial defect. The burden is on the manufacturer to prove abuse - you don't have to prove you didn't abuse it.

What state are you in? Lemon laws vary by state but generally require:

• The defect substantially impairs use, value, or safety
• The manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair
• The defect occurred within the warranty period

You should file a claim with Honda corporate immediately, separate from the dealership.

I'm in California. The car is still under the 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.

How do I file a claim with Honda corporate? Do I go through the dealership or contact Honda directly?

California has one of the strongest lemon laws in the country. Here's what you need to do:

1. Call Honda's customer service line (not the dealer) and open a case
2. Document everything - dates, conversations, repair orders
3. Send Honda a written demand via certified mail requesting warranty repair
4. Give them a reasonable opportunity to fix it (usually one attempt for a serious safety issue like transmission)

If they refuse or can't fix it, you can demand a buyback or replacement under California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.

Former Honda tech here. CVT failures on new Accords are rare but not unheard of. It's almost always a manufacturing defect - bad bearing, contaminated fluid from the factory, etc.

The "driver abuse" excuse is BS. They're just trying to avoid an expensive warranty claim. Escalate above the service advisor to the service manager, then to the dealer principal if needed.

Also, demand to see the technical inspection report showing evidence of abuse. They can't just claim abuse without documenting it.

I asked for documentation of the abuse and they just said "the technician's notes say abuse." When I asked to see the notes, they said they're "internal only."

This feels like they're just stonewalling me. I called Honda corporate this morning and opened a case. Case number is #2025-CA-8892. They said a field engineer will inspect the car within 5 business days.

Good move calling Honda corporate. The field engineer inspection is critical - they're usually more objective than the dealer techs.

A few tips for the inspection:

• Be present when the engineer inspects the car if possible
• Ask questions and take notes
• Request a copy of the inspection report in writing
• If they deny the claim, ask for the specific reason in writing

If Honda denies the warranty claim, you may want to consult a lemon law attorney. Many work on contingency in CA.

Also file a complaint with:

• California Department of Consumer Affairs
• Better Business Bureau (BBB Auto Line handles car disputes)
• NHTSA if this seems like a safety defect

Having multiple complaints on record strengthens your case and puts pressure on Honda to resolve this.

Update: Honda field engineer came out yesterday (Sep 2). He inspected the transmission for about an hour, pulled diagnostic codes, checked fluid levels and condition.

He agreed with me - no signs of abuse. He found metal shavings in the transmission fluid which he said indicates a manufacturing defect in the CVT belt or bearings. Honda is authorizing the warranty repair.

Dealership is now suddenly being super nice and apologetic. They're replacing the transmission at no cost and giving me a loaner car.

Great outcome! Make sure you get:

• Written documentation that this was a warranty repair
• Copy of the field engineer's report showing manufacturing defect
• All repair orders and invoices showing $0 customer cost

Keep all this documentation. If the transmission fails again within a reasonable time, you'll have a strong lemon law claim for a buyback or replacement vehicle.

Final update: Got the car back today with new transmission. Everything seems to be working fine now.

Lesson learned: don't take no for an answer when you know you're right. If I'd accepted the dealer's initial denial, I'd be out $6,500. Going straight to the manufacturer was the key.

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement to fight this!

This thread gives me hope. I'm dealing with a similar issue - bought a 2025 Silverado in June, engine light came on at 3,500 miles, dealership is claiming it's "normal operation" and refusing to diagnose it properly under warranty.

I'm in Texas so not sure if lemon law applies the same way. Did anyone here successfully use lemon law for an issue caught this early in ownership? The truck is barely 5 months old.

Based on the advice here I'm going to escalate to GM corporate tomorrow and document everything in writing.