I dunno, for the premium rates you pay for dealer labor vs. an independent garage, I'd expect the techs to have basic auto repair skills, which totally includes basic automotive wiring; it's not a difficult skill. Finding the fault is most of the work, repairing wires and connectors is relatively trivial in comparison... we aren't talking SMT PCB-level stuff here.
I understand your point. But there is some real nuance to this from a manufacturer perspective.
As I noted earlier... it's a quality control thing for Honda Corporate, as it is for many companies, especially Japanese companies. One thing Honda is pretty well known for is process consistency. If they let mechanics simply repair wiring harnesses "old school" style... then they lose a lot of control over part quality... and a poor job of repair of a harness could in fact cause more issues than it solves. Honda requiring the harness be replaced assures that after the repair.. it is back to factory OEM.. which is what Honda strives for (just read their warranty documents on how they approach warranty repairs... particularly under a HondaCare plan.
I agree that repairing a wiring harness is not rocket science.... but it does require some finesse and skills to do it correctly and consistently and I doubt many service techs are really up to the task.. at least to Honda quality standards.
Honda could issue manual repair instructions, but that breaks a key part of Honda TQA... closed loop quality control. When they require a harness replacement by a trained and certified technician.. Honda knows that the vehicle is OEM compliant when it leaves the shop, because an OEM harness was used to replace the bad harness, and it is a Honda specified and certified replacement component. Manual repairs of wires or insulation..... no way for Honda to know what was done and to what quality standards as there is no easy method for Honda to verify the repair.
FACT: even back in my days in engineering design of communications and computer equipment.... the general practice on bad wiring or bad mechanical issues was to always replace the assembly. We actually had to design for that, or for total replaceable unit. The assumption was.. once compromised, quality can no longer be easily audited and controlled. Used to be that applied only to commercial and military spec equipment... but those quality levels and processes have actually migrated over time down into many consumer products, including motor vehicles.
Some of this is also cultural. Example ... Japanese TQA programs and process tend to go the Field Replaceable Unit approach to maintenance and repair, with pulled units (which can also be things like wiring harnesses, are then retrieved and processed for QA opportunity in improvement of design, etc. If it is a repairable unit.. they more often R&R them at a central depot as this serves Japanese TQA goals and requirements. Whereas, I can totally see German manufacturers specify repairs-in-place more often, especially since technicians in most professions in Germany are highly trained and are more like a typical engineer in the US professional community than a tech.
I personally would repair a damaged harness... but I also have the training and skills to do so. Many people do not.. so they might go to an independent shop that does electrical repairs. If the vehicle is still under warranty (factory or extended) this could void said warranty though.
