20090521: HONDA MALAYSIA Quality issues on Wheel Hub Bearing

I've driven a few cars in Malaysia: These are paid with hard earned salary though.

1983 Honda Quintet, Japan, CBU MANUAL - SOLD, STOLEN

1990 BMW 318i, E30, Germany, CKD MANUAL - SOLD, TRADE-IN

1995 Nissan X-trail 2.0, Japan, CKD AUTO - SOLD, TRADE-IN

2004 Hyundai Accent, Korea, CKD AUTO - ACTIVE

So far, touch wood, none of them have had any major problems.

I did change a fuel pump for the Beemer which was thrashed for over 200,000km over it's 10 years life span, and that cost me just under RM 1k!

Apart from that, it's just the basic oil change and servicing.

Then comes along good old HONDA CITY.

Yeah, this belongs to da missus.

2004 HONDA CITY, Japan, CKD, ACTIVE

So far it's clocked just over 65,000km and noises started appearing.

Upon inspection at the service centre, they first diagnosed it as something "from the engine".

So they proceeded to "fix" the problem.

Of course with their "educated" guess, all was NOT WELL!

So the second round, they put their ears to the floor and then found out it was the WHEEL BEARINGS?

WHEEL BEARINGS? Made of what? High Density plastic? Just after 65,000km and you have SEVERE wear and tear? Unbelievable!

After some checks on line, our INDIAN counterparts have suffered similar problems, even at LOWER mileage, around 30-35,000 km as attested here!

In fact, a quick check with my regular mechanic showed that he's even changed some with just about 25,000km on the clock!

So much for quality control. But the worst part is the PRICE: About RM 500 each. Quite close to the 6,000 rupees in India! (Actual price was RM 569.39 less 15% = 483.98!)

The part number changed was 42200-SAA G51.

More expensinve in EUROPE @ 190 Euros! Can buy from here or here too!

(An alternative site had similar ones bearing the number 42200-R3-A06, no pun intended!)

So for you NEW Honda City fellas who are paying about RM 40,000 PREMIUM for the car, please be beware!