My in-laws have a 2019 Pilot that has always been dealer serviced. Today I noticed oil spots on their driveway then I go to their garage and notice the spots coincide with the rear differential of their car. My in-laws had their diff serviced back in April. I crawl under the car and the fill plug is finger tight and dripping. Thankfully the drain plug was good and tight. This is the second incident with the same dealer. Last time it was the oil plug that was dripping after an oil change. This kind of service at a dealer nonetheless. I said next time I’ll do the diff service as it’s very easy to access on this car.
Honda service left fill plug loose
- Thread starter Nmr1981
- Start date
I would ask the dealership to steam clean the car and your driveway.
Glad you caught it.
Once my friend's '15 Altima strippie was dripping oil and going through oil for the 1st time. Turns out the M1 oil filter was barely tight at all. Spun off with zero torque; some Bozo screwed up!
I am the only person who works on this car.
Glad you caught it.
Once my friend's '15 Altima strippie was dripping oil and going through oil for the 1st time. Turns out the M1 oil filter was barely tight at all. Spun off with zero torque; some Bozo screwed up!
I am the only person who works on this car.
Dealer will say it was done for automatic- in- motion- oil spray -rust inhibitor.
I was thinking the exact same thing! Who complains about free undercoating?
Must be a Canadian thing.
Owen Lucas
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edit: Did the tech install a metal washer on the fill hole bolt? it could have backed out without this if the bolt didn't bottom out.
I replaced the diff fluid on my Pilot and shot a step by step vid. I hope it's helpful/
The hardest part is the mess it creates but with a large drain pan and a few painters tarps on the floor you should be good to go.
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On my 21 HRV that is how I do it minus the air bleed ....Very easy to do...
Well it’s my in laws car so, when they bought the car they got free oil changes, for life I think, so even though there is a much closer Honda Dealer my MIL insisted that they go here. When they left the oil drain plug really loose my FIL called and they wanted him to bring it back to them, he said no way because it’s 40 mins away. This latest incident I believe is going to make them forget about the free oil changes and use the closer dealer.
I’ve always had my 3 cars dealer maintained as well. During the pandemic, I brought my 2014 Odyssey to a local Honda dealer for tranny fluid drain and fill. A couple of months later, I noticed that they forgot to put the transmission fluid dipstick back. It was completely missing. They ordered me a new one, no big deal, things happen. This was right around the time I started to do all my own maintenance, so I decided to replace the transmission fluid for fear of moisture intrusion due to lack of the dipstick. The 2-month old transmission fluid was jet black. I’m not an expert in fluids, but felt that the fluid should have still been red in color. It was then I felt that they probably never changed it to begin with and I never looked back from doing all maintenance I could do myself.
I understand techs have to learn,but they need supervision, instilling good work habits and thoroughness, pride in their work.Shoddy workmanship is never allowed.It doesn't take long to inspect a service before releasing the car to the owner.This tech and supervisor should be alerted to this problem so it doesn't happen again
I would top off the diff, they don’t hold much oil so it is likely low.
There are so many maintenance-related services that are difficult to determine if they've ever really been done.
In this case I think both times the tech started to do the job and got distracted halfway through and put the cart in front of the horse so to speak. The diff fluid was definitely fresh so I topped it off and torqued the bolt. Distracted tech or multi tasking who knows but better supervision surely would help. I urged my FIL to call and let them know not to rat on anyone but to bring this to their attention before someone’s car is damaged, maybe a reminder to the techs.
The tech (dealership) is usually under the gun (tuff row to hoe most likely). Not an excuse mind ya. Tech should be aware of mistakes as well as be more attentive. Always double check your work if you are interrupted. Glad I can still do mine own fluid changes. Work buddy takes his Prius to Toyota dealer for oil changes and its never consistent. He almost comes unglued. LOL Can only imagine the frustration
