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HONDA 2003 Element EX, V6, auto, air 1 owner $17,499
Maybe this guy would like to change my oil?
Same thing with me. I NEVER had leaking or defective filter. But also I never worried that simple filter oil leak could burn my car. Now I do. See the difference?
48. replace dryer ducting
The stuff you learn on Town Hall...
Kizhe, I used to let my oil drip for an hour or two but I wonder if a 20 minute drip is going to make any difference versus letting it drip overnight. Isn't most of the dirt suspended in the hot oil and doesn't most (99.9%?) gets dumped when you change it?
(Sabrina9, the word play was intentional; thanks for noticing <g>).
Steve, Host
If he's forced to rush, mistakes are more likely.
Everyone seems to be dodging this issue. Let me ask bluntly, do you think it is reasonable for Honda to allow just 12 minutes for a tech to do a complete, safe, and thorough oil change service?
IMHO, No.
-juice
You keep bringing up this 12 minute thing so I asked.
We (our store) doesn't even have a set time. It takes what it takes but we figure a half hour. That's what the guys get paid on. We tell the "waiters" that it'll take between a half hour and forty minutes.
I don't know who started the 12 minute rumor in the first place.
I was surprised noone else responded to that information.
-juice
It's not that difficult to not be careless!
I can't wait until someone asks Honda the real question. HOW MANY fires/oil leaks etc, have there been since 2/28 (close of NHTSA investigation) on 03's and HOW many have there been on 04's...
Judging from the emails I get and the latest NHTSA stuff, there are alot more than Honda admitted. Like shooting fish in a bucket if you ask me
Make: HONDA
Model: CR-V
Year: 2004
Complaint Number: 10081628
Summary:
WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH CONSUMER WAS WARNED BY ANOTHER MOTORIST THAT THE VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER, AND THE CONSUMER STOPPED THE ENGINE. IMMEDIATELY, THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED, BUT CONTINUED TO SMOKE. ONCE THE SMOKE CLEARED CONSUMER COULD SEE THAT THE WIRES IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WERE MELTED. SEVERAL NEWS PAPERS WERE RUNNING ADDS CONCERNING FAULTY OIL CHANGES BY HONDA MECHANICS.*AK
Yes the oil change should be done correctly. But when it isn't, it shouldn't cause the car to burn.
Someone here or on the problems board said engines get ruined all the time by bad oil changes. Yes ruined. Burned no.
My 02 has over 50K on it now (10 oil changes) so hopefully my V is past the danger zone. Sabrina and the others that had the fires I can't imagine how scary seeing your car burn up would be.
Anyone who claims this absolutely and positively is not a desgin issue needs to have their heads checked out (people at Honda). The horrible placement of the oil filter, with the excessive explosiveness of the exhaust needs to be looked into further. A couple drips of oil and the car shouldn't blow up.
All you Honda defenders out there...let's say 40 cars burned up so far, 0 deaths. Will you finally blame Honda when we're up to say 200 cars and 5 deaths?
The golden rule of car safety involves "risk aversion". If a barrier between the oil filter and the exhaust will save lives and averse the risk of fires...that's what Honda should do.
Very interesting.............
Thx for posting, we appreciate someone like a district mgr. of Jiffy Lube providing their opinion. As you can see CRV fires are the "hot" topic at the moment (pun intended). Can you expand a bit on what happened to the filter on the CRV you mentioned. Some of us are far from automotive experts. From the way you described, it sounds like the gasket simply shrunk, thus creating a small gap allowing the oil to leak out.
That's scary now. I had my first o/c on my 04 about 1000 miles ago and thought I was out of the danger zone....
13,000 miles. Was that the FIRST o/c. What month did it happen?
Lets just hope something happens to end these fires sooner rather than later.
I personally switched to WIX, Pure One or NAPA Gold until this problem is resolved.
I have noticed after my last oil change small droplets (2 or 3) of the old oil on my garage floor for 2 days after the oil change. This implies to me that the filter is placed in such a poor location that it is difficult to change without having the oil leak on adjacent components.
This my friends, is poor design engineering, plain and simple....Honda will have to admit it's mistake and correct it.
Losing all of your oil, isn't a drip, it's a gush. If the cars don't burn, theiy seize. Get the facts straight.
You, my friend, obviously haven't been under many cars recently. My Mazda P5 is, bar none, the most difficult oil filter I have ever had to change, an absolute nightmare. The inital filter was on so tight I had to remove the wheel well liner to get to the filter so I could get at it from a good angle.
My 86 Fiero was a toughy too.
FYI... thule roof pouch costs $79.
llbean $99. and larger pouch cost$125.
Pad is $15.
Could this have anything to do with the weight of oil Honda recommends in this car? Is the unusually light weight 5W20 unique to the CR-V or is used across the Honda lineup?? Could it be this weight that causes the problem, or perhaps the tech using some other weight that exacerbates the situation?
I really believe it has to do with mechanics not paying enough attention to detail. Maybe figuring that there is enough oil left on the the mounting surface to lubricate the filter?
If it was a problem with the filters, other Honda vehicles would be losing their oil at an alarming rate. I believe most Honda fours use the same filter now.
There must be a hot catalyst or something at a poorly chosen location, very close to the area where spills just tend to happen.
It's the heat source that might be out of the ordinary, perhaps at higher temps than what is usual. Did Honda add any catalysts in 2003 that the 2002 model did not have, say to meet SULEV standards or something?
-juice
If not, I'll offer them up to my local freecycle group.
Regarding the tires, I have about 20K miles on my 03 CRV and my Duelers are worn pretty good already. I do drive very agressively (lots of country roads, hilly and twisty) but I am surprised at how quickly they are wearing. What tires have you put on your CRV?
-tia-
you would make a great mentor. You know a lot of stuff about cars. No joking here. I think it is great!!! Was this mostly hands-on learning - did you have a mentor?
I put Yokohama Aegis LS4s on it. They got an excellent rating from CR using a series of objective testing proceedures. Noise was measured using a meter. Stopping distances in water, snow and on dry pavement speak for themselves. I'm very happy with them and will buy again. (If they're available.)
It's my wife's vehicle though and they may not be quite as performance oriented as you'd like. Jack-of-all-trades, if you know what I mean.
I feel sorry for those who don't upgrade tires until their OEM tires are worn out. You are missing out.
The Harmony's are very quiet and smooth.
Michelin has a $50 rebate right now when you buy a set of 4. tires.
Subaru Forester vs Honda CR-V
Steve, Host
That is not a problem on every vehicle. I've done thousands of oil changes. I worked a quicky lube for years.
Yes, some cars have the filter near an exhaust pipe, but not a catalytic converter. I suspect the CR-V's filter is near the cat. I've spilled oil on super hot exhaust before and never had a fire, but catalytic converters can be over 1000 degrees, well over the flash point of oil. Hondas have almost always had their filters near exhaust but not near the catalytic converter and it's never been a problem before....the CR-Vs oil filter HAS to be near the catalytic converter. I haven't been underneath a new one, is the oil filter near the catalytic converter?
Until you know for certain that the catalytic converter on the CR-V is located near the oil filter your statement about it's location is irresponsible.
JM2C
Anyone know the answer?
As far as the "mistake shouldn't cause a fire" mantra. Same could be said for eating, using the phone or adjusting the radio while driving. All those cause accidents of which some are fatal.
-juice
Yeah, a friend of the family killed herself the day she first used her cell phone while driving - fortunately, she didn't take anyone else with her.
Yes, all of those can cause accidents, but all are the result of driver error and therefore meaningless in this discussion.
Try to find heat shields or catalysts in the area, basically it might just look like the exhaust pipe, but a bit thicker, i.e. swollen.
-juice
And the misapplied oil filter is technician error. You can't sue/blame [insert automaker here] for driver error. The same for technician error.
If it were purely technician error, we wouldn't only be talking about the CR-V.
-juice