Car trouble.

[caloosa bug 0]

I'd have to disagree somewhat on a dealer. They can vary greatly. My dealings with dealerships have been horrendous. $400 Bill for a $14 valve on the compressor that a local mechanic could have done for 50. And a window recall that was free..went to pick it up and turned it on to music blasting out my stereo. The door speakers were missing bolts and not tight.

 

I'd also check that oil drain plug and filter.. sounds like when the service was done they may not have tightened it correctly..if so I'd go have a serious talk with them.

 

On the other hand sometimes a dealer with good ratings may be the only option, and yes there are higher-ups to go to.

 

It's a messed up $ hungry world. All you can do is try and arm yourself with research and dig deep into the various shops in your area.

 

 

 

[Dave G. 0]

Thanks for the replies.

I did join a Crv forum beforehand. THAT is where the troubleshooting is at. But I do appreciate all input from this forum as well.

 

Dave G. hits home. I deal with technology problems all day long. I know that I do not always have all the answers, and I also have to turn to Saint Google sometimes for some crowd wisdom. I know that error codes can be way off (i.e., printers that say they are out of paper when a user reaches his printing limit, go figure...). But I also know that, very often, the problem is a very minor thing that you can fix by wiggling a cable or tweaking a setting.

 

So that is just it, I am no mechanic, but I know enough about troubleshooting generally to smell bullshit at the mechanic. It feels like they want to charge me for a new computer power supply when the problem is that the computer goes to sleep every 20 minutes.

That can happen ( loose wire or corrosion, pinched wire etc) but I got to say in my experience in the last 10 years or so, there is less of that and generally something wrong. Might just be a bad sensor ( often is) but it also can be a $4000 repair. I've seen it go both ways and come on just as instantly.. Rarely a loose wire these days but possible.

[Kentuckysteve 0]

Oil pressure has a lot to do with how the vtec solenoid operates and can also cause the car to loose power and operate in the manner you have described.I would fill it up with oil then have someone clear the codes from the computer.Drive it and see if the codes reappear.Find out where the oil is going.I agree that the dealerships are going to be expensive but far less likely to screw you than joe blow's shop down on the corner that takes your car in the back and you have no idea what they do to it when it's in there.Dealerships are ASE certified.Today more and more of your neighborhood mechanic's are not.Dealerships also have access to repair equipment that some local garages do not.

[Dave G. 0]

There are good and bad dealerships, some try to take you for all they can. However, one thing they do do generally is get to the bottom of the problem.

[caloosa bug 0]

Dealerships are ASE certified.Today more and more of your neighborhood mechanic's are not.Dealerships also have access to repair equipment that some local garages do not.

 

Very true. They will find the problem instead of throwing parts at it. It may cost $$, but they will find it.

[Bimini15 0]

Well... I am going to the dealer for sure, but my dealer gets 3/5 stars reviews, so I might go to another Honda dealer tha is farther away.

And it is still to be seen if I am taking it in for a diagnostic or for a trade-in.

[Kudu 0]

Local independent mechanic that someone has used that you know.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Shouldn't you be owning a SEAT anyway?

[Bimini15 0]

Ha! Not here, but I do wonder sometimes how a car brought from Europe would fare in the US...

[mikechell 0]

Okay ... I am going to offer my opinion, based on the fact that I have been teaching people how to work on Honda Marine Outboards since 2002. (I spent a few years teaching Honda Motorcycle techs before that). I do NOT work for Honda, however, it's just that my school is contracted with Honda to do most of their motorcycle training, and all of their outboard training.

 

1) Honda makes more engines that any other company. They didn't get to that position by allowing customers to leave a dealership unhappy. Honda customer relations awards speak volumes. If you are ever dissatisfied with work or treatment at a dealership, you are given a direct number to their American Headquarters or a District Service Manager.

2) The VTEC is a low maintenance system. But, as KentuckySteve pointed out, it operates on oil pressure. If you found no oil on the dipstick, after having a dealership do an oil change, go back there, immediately and lodge a complaint. Trust me, they will do everything in their power to get a resolution, and keep you as a customer. (If they don't, see number 1).

3) Although the basic electronics on a Honda run on OBD protocols ... the VTEC might not be fully integrated. Honda's diagnostic tool is different than the standard, after-market scan tool. Take it back to the dealer and demand satisfaction ...

[DrVette 0]

I have had a few that drove me nuts and i couldn't figure them out over the years. A couple i caved in and hired a dealership to do diagnostic only.

That might be something to think about.

If they have a solid answer you can decide what to do from there. The towing expenses might kill savings or not...Depends on the answer.

 

I never would have found a hose to a fuel pump (in tank) that had cracked. Sometimes it would run perfect...then it might start coughing and sputtering. I spent days trying to find the problem. I even used manufacturers diagnostic trees. I don't know how they figured it out in 30 minutes flat.

They wanted a couple hundred to fix it. It was less than a dollar's worth of hose. I did it my-self. And changed the plugs because.

[Dave G. 0]

I have had a few that drove me nuts and i couldn't figure them out over the years. A couple i caved in and hired a dealership to do diagnostic only.

That might be something to think about.

If they have a solid answer you can decide what to do from there. The towing expenses might kill savings or not...Depends on the answer.

 

I never would have found a hose to a fuel pump (in tank) that had cracked. Sometimes it would run perfect...then it might start coughing and sputtering. I spent days trying to find the problem. I even used manufacturers diagnostic trees. I don't know how they figured it out in 30 minutes flat.

They wanted a couple hundred to fix it. It was less than a dollar's worth of hose. I did it my-self. And changed the plugs because.

Well, they probably started their diagnosis off the idea that they did 1000 others with the same symptoms before your car came along LOL !

As a mechanic by trade ( now retired and glad of that), I can say that some things you just know because you have seen it over and over again. Other things are common to a make and model etc etc. Like: if a VW Jetta 2.0 is overheating, look to the water pump more so than the obvious thermostat, because that engine likes to spit the plastic impeller. Or, back in the day of non roller cams in chevy engines if a small block liked to backfire through the intake, it was probably a flat exhaust cam lobe, more so than crossed wires. And so it goes, some of this gets to be common knowledge and some of it gets to be dealership knowledge more so than just common because they work on their brand every day of the week.

[islander727 0]

Before you take it in, replace the blinker fluid.

 

All the auto store chains carry it, but it's kept in the back. You have to ask for it at the counter. Unfortunately, it is only offered in quarts. Your car requires six total.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Blinker fluid? Must come from the same company that makes welding tape? I alway's tell the repairman at work to use welding tape, i'm sure he thinks i'm some dude!?!

[DrVette 0]

You may not know this but i have seen welders use a tape that changes color if the area away from the weld gets too hot...There really is such a thing. My old welder would use that and these crayon looking things to let him know if he needed to temper the metal after welding.

And they use to sell a muffler tape kit called welding tape...it was fiberglass and the resin mixed/set as you wrapped it. I tried it once...there is a reason it is no longer around.