Honda Dealership done messed up

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

The 2015 CRV in my signature has got the dreaded VTC actuator grind upon start up. It's been there the last 20K but its gotten worser, and the original Warranty is coming up less than 10K miles. Here's a video of the exact same griding noise.

Set up an appointment for Monday the 16th for it to be checked out. Honda dealership confirms there is a problem orders parts and says it will be ready Friday. No Problem.

Friday rolls around, call Honda. Say's they are waiting for a part yet. It will be Monday, missing an O-Ring.

Monday rolls around, call Honda. Service tech doesn't know whats still the hold up, says they will call back later. Dealer ship calls my mother and tells her there is something wrong with the timing. She relays the info back to me. Now im curious of what is going on...

Tuesday rolls around. I randomly show up at Honda to get some stuff out of the car I need. They walk me up to the car, I notice the cars hood is still popped. So I open it up. The engine is completely dismantled. The intake is off. The whole head is off the engine. The timing chain is bungie corded to the hood. Oil all around the engine bay. Obviously I walked in on some open heart surgery. I ask what is going on. He responds "when it was put back together it wasn't put back together correctly. And because of that the engine head was cracked.

So I ask what is going to be replaced. He said the head will be replaced. I asked if the anything else would be replaced such as valves, pistons, etc. He said the only thing being replaced will be the cast head. So here is my question, should they be replacing valves too? Or at least regrind them? Should I be concerned with problems popping up in the future? Anything I should watch for when I pick it up?

I was a little upset, and probably should have asked more questions.... At least there was no varnish!

 

[dishdude]

I'd assume they are replacing the head with a rebuilt one that will have mostly new parts. They don't transfer parts from head to head in the shop. Doubt you can even get an empty head from a manufacturer. I'd be a little ticked they didn't reveal this all over the phone - but since you didn't talk to them something might have been lost in translation.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
I'd assume they are replacing the head with a rebuilt one that will have mostly new parts. They don't transfer parts from head to head in the shop. Doubt you can even get an empty head from a manufacturer.
That's what I would have figured, the service adviser said that it would be reused on the new head.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Originally Posted By: dishdude
I'd assume they are replacing the head with a rebuilt one that will have mostly new parts. They don't transfer parts from head to head in the shop. Doubt you can even get an empty head from a manufacturer.
That's what I would have figured, the service adviser said that it would be reused on the new head.


Most service advisers are clueless.

 

[Omahaug]

Yeah I'd be ticked too because they seemed like they were trying to hide it. One can argue that they are not legally bound to tell you, but I'm not talking legality, I'm saying the transparent upfront thing to do would be to tell the customer you f'ed their engine up.

The minimum they need to do is replace what they damaged. If they did damage the valves, replace them. I don't think we know exactly what they did wrong. I also wouldn't want them to use a timing chain that's been sitting out in the open exposed to dust, dirt and water, they should replace that too. All they had to do was zip bag that. Did they do that or was the chain just left exposed?

They left the deck of the engine "open", did they make any attempt to cover anything up? Because it's fairly easy for water and debris to get into the engine bay on a windy, rainy day. I wouldn't want [censored] like water, dirt, bugs or leaves entering my pan or coolant passages. What a disgrace to leave the car like that. If that's the way they work, I'd have little faith in how they would finish the job. Do they even know where they left off?

Instead of them just telling you, if I were you I would have taken pictures on the spot and then had that jerk off give you something in writing that they did that. This way if anything goes wrong in the future you have protection. The pictures you probably can't get any more? But you should definitely get them to admit what they did in writing.

 

[Chris142]

They can't just put the old valves into the new head. They won't seal. They will send both heads to a machine shop to have the valves and seats machined. I doubt it cracked. I'm guessing The tech got the cam timing off which bent the valves.

 

[Omahaug]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
They can't just put the old valves into the new head. They won't seal. They will send both heads to a machine shop to have the valves and seats machined. I doubt it cracked. I'm guessing The tech got the cam timing off which bent the valves.
Yup, that's what I don't get. I'm not aware of anyone "cracking" a cylinder head putting things back together. The more likely story is they got the timing off.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted By: NoNameJoe

The minimum they need to do is replace what they damaged. If they did damage the valves, replace them. I don't think we know exactly what they did wrong. I also wouldn't want them to use a timing chain that's been sitting out in the open exposed to dust, dirt and water, they should replace that too. All they had to do was zip bag that. Did they do that or was the chain just left exposed?

They left the deck of the engine "open", did they make any attempt to cover anything up? Because it's fairly easy for water and debris to get into the engine bay on a windy, rainy day. I wouldn't want [censored] like water, dirt, bugs or leaves entering my pan or coolant passages. What a disgrace to leave the car like that. If that's the way they work, I'd have little faith in how they would finish the job. Do they even know where they left off?
I'm still not even really sure how it was damaged. Other than it was installed incorrectly. I never did see any covers, I am really hoping they did.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
They can't just put the old valves into the new head. They won't seal. They will send both heads to a machine shop to have the valves and seats machined. I doubt it cracked. I'm guessing The tech got the cam timing off which bent the valves.
I really hope that's the case. He told my they where ordering a head and it would take a couple days to get. Some of it doesn't just add up. Should be ready this Friday. So I guess I'll know whats going on then.

 

[Zee09]

I'd find a new dealership.
Good Luck!

 

[bugeye]

Due to the misrepresentations by the local Honda dealer during "servicing", we will never consider a Honda or Acura product as the dealerships are all of the same ownership.

 

[Dallas69]

To OP:
Why don't you talk to the manager and find out in detail what happened?
Any repairs should have a very good warranty.
They need to make it right and stop trying to hide their mistake.
I would not trust anything they say from now on.
Take pictures before they finish. Document everything.
Good luck

 

[Dave Hess]

What happened was.... the flat rate tech was in a rush to beat the clock and overlooked something very basic.

For sure the guy will slap everything together to get this car out of his bay and onto the next vehicle.

Unfortunately you're the victim of his sloppy work.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Tuesday rolls around. I randomly show up at Honda to get some stuff out of the car I need. They walk me up to the car, I notice the cars hood is still popped. So I open it up. The engine is completely dismantled. The intake is off. The whole head is off the engine. The timing chain is bungie corded to the hood. Oil all around the engine bay. Obviously I walked in on some open heart surgery. I ask what is going on. He responds "when it was put back together it wasn't put back together correctly. And because of that the engine head was cracked.

So the hood was popped (but not open) and the chain was bungee corded to the hood?

 

[DuckRyder]

Honda Parts Now does seem to indicate the head assy comes without valves (but with valve guides).

My vote is that they will send both heads out to have the valves transferred and a “valve job” will be done in the process.

Though their story does not exactly make sense, the only way I can think of for the head to be damaged is if the valve is bent so badly that it cracks the head in the bowl/guide area and obviously that valve would not be reusable.

I’d go down there and talk to someone with a clue (which is probably not the service advisor) and find out exactly what they are replacing and why.

 

[JHZR2]

If cam timing was off and a valve bent, could there be damage to the cam from that event??

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Dealer ship calls my mother and tells her there is something wrong with the timing.


Translation = Dealership calls and tells my mother "it won't be ready on time"

 

[RooflessVW]

Mistakes happen.

Sorry they happened to your vehicle, but it is very likely that everything will work out in the end and the vehicle will continue to provide reliable service over a long life.

If you feel otherwise, I suggest you talk to dealership management about assistance into a new vehicle or some sort of compensation in the form of an extended warranty.

 

[dtownfb]

As a couple people mentioned, the real issue is the lack of transparency. You need to escalate this to the Service Manager or General Manager. They really screwed up and tried to hide it. I wonder what they would have told you if you didn't stop by....

 

[jeepman3071]

Hopefully they make things right, offer them the chance to do so.

Unfortunately, the Honda dealerships in my area have some of the worst management and customer service I've ever seen. Very arrogant with the belief that their cars sell themselves, and if you have a problem you are doing something wrong. My mom fought them on multiple issues with her 2011 Fit when it had under 10,000 miles on it.