Shortages on products from appliances to vehicles to furniture became common during the pandemic, and while things are improving, one shortage is leaving drivers stranded without their cars for months.
After a crash in August 2022, Stefanny Fernandez took her 2020 Acura, which sustained minimal damage, to Auto Body Dimensions in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for a job she thought would take just a few weeks.
“It was 10 months,” she told News4.
Fixing the exterior damage took just a few weeks, but in the crash, her seat belt locked up. When that happens in some Acuras and Hondas, the seat belt tensioner no longer retracts or pulls down, so the repair shop had to order a new one. The parts for that are on backorder.
“Seat belts, airbag control modules are almost impossible to get,” Auto Body Dimensions manager Abdi Barre said.
And while waiting for the parts, Barre can’t legally let a customer take their car home while they wait if it’s a safety issue.
“So, we cannot release that car,” he said. “We’re stuck with the car. I mean, we have two Acuras here, both MDXs, different years, different belts, different colors, same result.”
Meanwhile, customers like Fernandez rack up rental car bills.
“It was $3,000,” she said.
That amount was after the insurance company stopped picking up the tab in March. Fernandez said they told her the repairs were taking too long.
“It’s not my fault; it’s not my problem,” she said. “My issue, that there is a backorder on a part, and I get it. It’s not their fault, either. I should not be penalized for it.”
Fernandez reached out to American Honda, the parent company of Acura, for assistance with her rental, but according to her, it said it wasn’t responsible for paying for car rentals and she should work with the insurance company.
In a statement to News4, American Honda said it is “working to resolve all replacement part backorders as soon as possible” and it regrets “any inconvenience” its customers are experiencing.
The company went on to say, “Since each delayed replacement part may face different supply challenges, [we] they recommend working directly with local authorized Acura and Honda dealers to ensure that appropriate priority is placed on critical part orders.”
“I never heard of anything, anything like this before in my life,” Fernandez said.
After a lot of emails back and forth with the other driver’s insurance company, it did eventually agree to reimburse her for the remaining rental costs.
According to Auto Body Dimensions, this part shortage is only impacting Acuras and Hondas, but there are part shortages across the board.
So, if a mechanic can’t find a part, call around to other shops and dealerships. Ask if they can source parts from other places or use parts from other manufacturers. Local salvage yards are another resource.
