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HFT - a bit of a mystery problem

MattUK

MattUK

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Location
Newbury, Berks
Car
06 2.4 EX Tourer
Hi Guys

Wondering if any of you might have come across this one before and whether you think that the advice that we are getting from our local dealer sounds right?

We've had a problem with the battery going flat for a while now; have replaced it with a Bosch unit and thankfully we have a powerpack thing for starting if necessary, just as well as the new battery didn't fix things. Took it into our local Honda today & asked them run an electrical test to see what might be draining the battery (£50 to run the test!) - was told that we would need a new HFT unit at £1,749.41 + 1/2 hour labour to fit @ £54. Apparently this is not an uncommon problem, they had the same thing a couple of weeks ago with another car.

I asked them to let me know exactly what was wrong with the unit and they came back with "We don’t actually know what the fault with the HFT is, they are sealed units so we're unable to get into them to the physically see the issue. We do know that they cause a dark current draw which is what is causing the battery to drain". They have recommended that because of the cost, they just leave the unit disconnected and have said that this shouldn't affect anyting else (ie. satnav, audio etc should continue to work as normal).

I'm really keen to get your take on whether this is a reasonable response from the dealer - at the end of the day, if so, then we'll just leave it disconnected and get a cheap bluetooth unit to clip on the sun visor. Is this level of fault reporting the best I'm likely to get with the HFT and do you think that the replacement cost sounds about right (I nearly fell off my chair!).

Anyway, all thoughts greatfully received!

Best

Matt.
 
Have a good search on hear Matt and walk away from that dealers is my add advice.
There is a DIY on hear to replace this unit for a few hundred pounds I beleave.
 
Labour for that seems reasonable, BUT over 2k for what seems like an afterthought from Honda is not cool.

As Brett mentioned, DIY for this is easy, so if it must be replaced get one from a breakers.

Frankly, the HFT is not worth it IMHO.

Nokia and Parrot do far better.
 
MattUK said:
Hi Guys

Wondering if any of you might have come across this one before and whether you think that the advice that we are getting from our local dealer sounds right?

We've had a problem with the battery going flat for a while now; have replaced it with a Bosch unit and thankfully we have a powerpack thing for starting if necessary, just as well as the new battery didn't fix things. Took it into our local Honda today & asked them run an electrical test to see what might be draining the battery (£50 to run the test!) - was told that we would need a new HFT unit at £1,749.41 + 1/2 hour labour to fit @ £54. Apparently this is not an uncommon problem, they had the same thing a couple of weeks ago with another car.

I asked them to let me know exactly what was wrong with the unit and they came back with "We don’t actually know what the fault with the HFT is, they are sealed units so we're unable to get into them to the physically see the issue. We do know that they cause a dark current draw which is what is causing the battery to drain". They have recommended that because of the cost, they just leave the unit disconnected and have said that this shouldn't affect anyting else (ie. satnav, audio etc should continue to work as normal).

I'm really keen to get your take on whether this is a reasonable response from the dealer - at the end of the day, if so, then we'll just leave it disconnected and get a cheap bluetooth unit to clip on the sun visor. Is this level of fault reporting the best I'm likely to get with the HFT and do you think that the replacement cost sounds about right (I nearly fell off my chair!).

Anyway, all thoughts greatfully received!

Best

Matt.
Click to expand...

Matt,

As Brett said there are some DIY's on here etc,

Here are a couple of links to get you started.

Bluetooth not Working

hft not working

These show you how to get the unit out.

I had a quick look at lings, which tends to give you and idea of how expensive something can be, this is what they quote for the HFT unit

Lings

Personally I would have a look at those threads, disconnect the unit and see if the problem is still there afterwards, if it isn't then yes it probably is the unit, if it is still there then you have just saved a lot of money!

Once you know it is the unit, then have a look on ebay and search for scrappers breaking Honda Accords and maybe get a second hand unit for a lot less. Or just get a bluetooth kit.

Good luck and keep us all posted.
 
Just disconnect it. simples. It doesnt do anything else and everything still works apart from the HFT
 
Guys

Thanks for the great replies, much appreciated!

We've decided that we'll tell the dealer to leave the unit disconnected, pick up a standalone Bluetooth unit and keep an eye out for a cheap HFT unit from a local breaker - replacing it looks like something that even I could cope with (tools required, table knife - fabbie)

Many thanks

Matt.
 
Sounds like the best plan to me.

My EX has the HFT AND a CK300 Nokia. I prefer the Nokia.
 
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