Car Chat General discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

Cracking Engine Blocks on 2006, 2007 and a select few 2008 Honda Civic's (non Si)

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 04-03-10, 05:48 AM
  #1  
ArmyofOne
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
 
ArmyofOne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Van Alstyne, TX
Posts: 7,828
Received 160 Likes on 112 Posts
Default Cracking Engine Blocks on 2006, 2007 and a select few 2008 Honda Civic's (non Si)

Wow...this has me n-n-n-n-ervous.

8thcivic.com R18A1 Engine Blocks Cracking. Honda TSB 08-044.

CarComplaints.com, Honda Civic (non Si) Engine Blocks Cracking!!

I have the TSB from Honda of America in .pdf Format. Anyone know how to attach a PDF to a post?

I am posting this so any Clublexus members who have in their household or know someone who does have a 2006-2008 Honda Civic (EX, LX, DX, coupe or sedan, does not matter) can be made aware of the problem. As of right now it is only a TSB and as such, if it happens and you are out of warranty, you are SOL.

Originally Posted by HOA TSB 08-044
Engine Overheats or Leaks Coolant

SYMPTOM
The engine is leaking coolant and may be overheating.

PROBABLE CAUSE
The engine block is cracking at the coolant passages.

CORRECTIVE ACTION
Install a new engine block assembly.
Originally Posted by HOA TSB a08-044
Any repair performed after warranty
expiration may be eligible for goodwill consideration by
the District Parts and Service Manager or your Zone
Office, depending on how far out of warranty said vehicle is at the time of diagnosis. You must request consideration, and get a
decision, before starting work.
Great...this is making My wife and I SERIOUSLY consider trading in. Because we are still under a warranty, monetarily it doesnt matter. But the thought of driving a car that could literally leave us stranded, at any moment without warning makes me sick to my stomach. Whats worse is Honda knows about it, and they arent even making an attempt to issue a recall. A few people I know have had the issue...one was 10,000 miles out of warranty. Honda offered to pay for $500 of the repair. The total cost of the repair came to $4,259. She now has a 3800lb paperweight that she owes $10,000 on, and cannot afford to fix. She checked with her Insurance, they wont cover it. The average Civic owner doesnt have that much money just sitting around. I know I certainly dont.

Honda, I understand people make mistakes, and things happen. But at the very least, Own up and fix the problem. Reading all of those posts about it, it is clear to me there is no pattern, and this could happen at any time, any mileage. You dont have to issue a recall for it, Simply warranty this repair for a reasonable about of time, say 10/250,000. Thats more than reasonable and would make me, and MANY other Honda Civic owners, happy.

EDIT: I figured out how to attach a PDF. Here is the Official TSB From Honda.
Attached Files

Last edited by ArmyofOne; 04-03-10 at 08:15 AM.
ArmyofOne is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 11:57 AM
  #2  
I8ABMR
Lexus Fanatic
 
I8ABMR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Waiting for next track day
Posts: 22,609
Received 100 Likes on 65 Posts
Default

What is happening to the Japanese??????? First Toyota and now engine blocks cracking on what some would consider one of the most reliable vehicles on the road
I8ABMR is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 12:53 PM
  #3  
joe80
Lexus Test Driver
 
joe80's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: il
Posts: 1,439
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

yikes.. i had 06 LX and 07 SI.. my goodness.. don't have it anymore, but man this is serious business.
joe80 is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 12:56 PM
  #4  
I8ABMR
Lexus Fanatic
 
I8ABMR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Waiting for next track day
Posts: 22,609
Received 100 Likes on 65 Posts
Default

stuff like this is what hyundai is probably hoping for
I8ABMR is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 01:14 PM
  #5  
GSteg
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
 
GSteg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 16,017
Likes: 0
Received 78 Likes on 60 Posts
Default

Honda haters are rejoicing

Honda should definitely fix it under goodwill, but it's going to be hard to prove whether the owner drove aggressively or not. This is the first time I've heard of the issue, but now is not the time to be having problems whether you're Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc.
GSteg is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 01:34 PM
  #6  
I8ABMR
Lexus Fanatic
 
I8ABMR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Waiting for next track day
Posts: 22,609
Received 100 Likes on 65 Posts
Default

my wifes TL had a broken engine mount that occurred after the warranty expired and they did the entire job under good will knowing that that ish was not normal
I8ABMR is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 01:46 PM
  #7  
ArmyofOne
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
 
ArmyofOne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Van Alstyne, TX
Posts: 7,828
Received 160 Likes on 112 Posts
Default

whether they drive aggresivly or gingerly, it doesnt matter. The defect can accour at random places/times.
ArmyofOne is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 02:53 PM
  #8  
TRDFantasy
Lexus Fanatic
 
TRDFantasy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: A better place
Posts: 7,285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Thousands of VINs are listed in the TSB? Unbelievable .

I have suspected that this could turn out to be a problem for years, and now it looks like it is the case. Honda engines get hot quite quickly, and I've witnessed overheating Honda engines on a variety of models dating back to the early 1990s.

While overheating is not the main cause of the problem, it's one of the effects happening due to the problem, and the overheating obviously makes things worse.

From the sounds of it, on some of these engine blocks, the problem is that the aluminum is too porous, causing the cracks.

Despite the severity and importance of this issue, it likely won't get a lot of coverage on the internet, let alone the media just because it's not "cool" to criticize Honda .

Originally Posted by GSteg
Honda haters are rejoicing

Honda should definitely fix it under goodwill, but it's going to be hard to prove whether the owner drove aggressively or not. This is the first time I've heard of the issue, but now is not the time to be having problems whether you're Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc.
Karma is coming back to Honda.

Honda's reputation for bulletproof engines is now out the window.
TRDFantasy is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 03:02 PM
  #9  
ArmyofOne
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
 
ArmyofOne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Van Alstyne, TX
Posts: 7,828
Received 160 Likes on 112 Posts
Default

How do you think I fee? Im driving a ticking bomb...
ArmyofOne is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 03:05 PM
  #10  
ArmyofOne
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
 
ArmyofOne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Van Alstyne, TX
Posts: 7,828
Received 160 Likes on 112 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by TRDFantasy
Thousands of VINs are listed in the TSB? Unbelievable .

I have suspected that this could turn out to be a problem for years, and now it looks like it is the case. Honda engines get hot quite quickly, and I've witnessed overheating Honda engines on a variety of models dating back to the early 1990s.

While overheating is not the main cause of the problem, it's one of the effects happening due to the problem, and the overheating obviously makes things worse.

From the sounds of it, on some of these engine blocks, the problem is that the aluminum is too porous, causing the cracks.

Despite the severity and importance of this issue, it likely won't get a lot of coverage on the internet, let alone the media just because it's not "cool" to criticize Honda .



Karma is coming back to Honda.

Honda's reputation for bulletproof engines is now out the window.

Applies To: 2006–07 Civic – ALL
im kinda pissed.
ArmyofOne is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 04:03 PM
  #11  
GSteg
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
 
GSteg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 16,017
Likes: 0
Received 78 Likes on 60 Posts
Default

Out of those 'thousands' of VIN listed, how many of them actually have their engine blocked cracked into pieces? We don't have enough statistics to tell us how big this issue really is. Just because the VINs are listed doesn't mean they're all affected. Take the Tundra's camshaft for example. Toyota built 100,000 of the 5.7L engines and only 20 people experienced camshaft failure, even though they all used the same parts.

This may or may not be as widespread as we thought. Honda may be playing it safe(r) by listing all the potentially affected engines. Until we get some real numbers, lets not assume Honda engines are no longer bulletproof. Almost every engine has some sort of problem, especially newly created (then) engines like the R18.
GSteg is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 04:09 PM
  #12  
Joeb427
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
Joeb427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 11,670
Received 15 Likes on 14 Posts
Default

Great.
My son has a '08.Where are the VIN#'s?
Joeb427 is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 04:15 PM
  #13  
TRDFantasy
Lexus Fanatic
 
TRDFantasy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: A better place
Posts: 7,285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by GSteg
Out of those 'thousands' of VIN listed, how many of them actually have their engine blocked cracked into pieces? We don't have enough statistics to tell us how big this issue really is. Just because the VINs are listed doesn't mean they're all affected. Take the Tundra's camshaft for example. Toyota built 100,000 of the 5.7L engines and only 20 people experienced camshaft failure, even though they all used the same parts.

This may or may not be as widespread as we thought. Honda may be playing it safe(r) by listing all the potentially affected engines. Until we get some real numbers, lets not assume Honda engines are no longer bulletproof. Almost every engine has some sort of problem, especially newly created (then) engines like the R18.
Why would the TSB list VINs that are unaffected? Even if it is a precautionary measure, that means those engines have a defect which could potentially cause problems.

Replacing blocks or entire engine assemblies is not cheap. Honda would not simply list VINs that are unaffected.

The thousands of VINs listed means that the potential for this problem exists in thousands of engines. In other words, thousands of engines have this defect, which may end up cracking the block.

Toyota did not recall thousands of Tundra engines, or even list thousands of TSBs. 20 faulty crankshafts is nothing compared to potentially thousands of cracking Honda blocks. With the Toyota crankshaft issue, it wasn't the "same" parts technically. There was a manufacturing defect with a batch of crankshafts that Toyota quickly caught and corrected. It was the same part, but manufactured in a different, and defective manner.

Here it seems there was a manufacturing defect with the Honda blocks.

It might be the same part, but a manufacturing defect means it was manufactured differently than other blocks that are not affected.

Toyota has never had an issue where they had a TSB listing thousands of VINs for cracked engine blocks. This is such a serious and fundamental problem that is does call into question the reputation of Honda's engines.

Defective or cracked engine blocks are a fact of life, as nobody can perfectly manufacture engines all the time. The difference is, these defects SHOULD HAVE been caught at the factory, and these engines should have never gone into production cars.
TRDFantasy is offline  
Old 04-03-10, 05:13 PM
  #14  
GSteg
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
 
GSteg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 16,017
Likes: 0
Received 78 Likes on 60 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by TRDFantasy
Why would the TSB list VINs that are unaffected? Even if it is a precautionary measure, that means those engines have a defect which could potentially cause problems.

Replacing blocks or entire engine assemblies is not cheap. Honda would not simply list VINs that are unaffected.

The thousands of VINs listed means that the potential for this problem exists in thousands of engines. In other words, thousands of engines have this defect, which may end up cracking the block.
So what? Toyota, Nissan, Ford, etc all list a huge range of VINs in their TSB even if the problem occurs on limited numbers of cars. It's better to cover more cars than not cover enough, especially if reputation is at stake. Why would Toyota go through all the trouble of replacing accelator pedals on cars that that are 'unaffected'? The numbers are staggering and a mass recall is not cheap. Toyota would not simply replace pedals that are unaffected, but they do it anyways to lessen the damage done to their reputation. I see no different with Honda. They did not cover all 8th gen Civics, just the 2006-2007/2008 models that could be potentially affected.

Do you have any concrete numbers as to how many engines were affected by this crack? Out of the insane numbers of Civic engines (bread and butter car), how many of them have this issue? You, me, nor anyone else here knows. It's too early to tell how widespread this issue is.

Toyota did not recall thousands of Tundra engines, or even list thousands of TSBs. 20 faulty crankshafts is nothing compared to potentially thousands of cracking Honda blocks. With the Toyota crankshaft issue, it wasn't the "same" parts technically. There was a manufacturing defect with a batch of crankshafts that Toyota quickly caught and corrected. It was the same part, but manufactured in a different, and defective manner.

Here it seems there was a manufacturing defect with the Honda blocks.

It might be the same part, but a manufacturing defect means it was manufactured differently than other blocks that are not affected.
So why does Toyota get a free pass? They both have manufacturing defects and it's not like Honda is completely denying the problem. For 06-07, there were about 750,000 Civic sold. Even if 10,000 engine blocks experience the problem, thats only 1.3% of the total 06-07. It's not the end of the world.

Toyota has never had an issue where they had a TSB listing thousands of VINs for cracked engine blocks. This is such a serious and fundamental problem that is does call into question the reputation of Honda's engines.

Defective or cracked engine blocks are a fact of life, as nobody can perfectly manufacture engines all the time. The difference is, these defects SHOULD HAVE been caught at the factory, and these engines should have never gone into production cars.

That is a load of horse sh|t. A very small numbers of engine (R18A1)affected so far all of the sudden makes Honda's engine questionable? The Lexus IS-series had a fuel line recall (affected a great amount of cars), and that is such a serious and fundamental problem so should we call into question Toyota's ability to make fuel lines? After all, those defects SHOULD HAVE been caught at the factory, and those fuel lines should have never gone into production cars, no?

I'm not going to defend Honda if it turns out that the earlier R18A1s all had have the same problem. Hell screw them if they they don't cover engines are cracked, but it's ridiculous to use this as an opportunity to blast Honda. It's not surprising though..
GSteg is offline  
Old 04-04-10, 01:19 AM
  #15  
spwolf
Lexus Champion
 
spwolf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 19,841
Received 110 Likes on 81 Posts
Default

this would never be "recalled", but usually when something like this happens, they extend warranty... even if there was no extension - yet, they should offer godwill. If they dont, I would complain all the way to the top.
spwolf is offline  


Quick Reply: Cracking Engine Blocks on 2006, 2007 and a select few 2008 Honda Civic's (non Si)



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:22 PM.