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More Honda Problems and Comments

12.09.2018 by Jules // 1 Comment

More Honda Questions

Click on the question to read. Leave answers or responses below.

I continue to get questions and comments relating to Honda’s TSB 09-010, “Engine rattles at cold startup”.  If other’s would like to weigh-in with answers or replies, I’m sure fellow Honda owners would appreciate it!  Please leave your responses below. Thanks so much! (Click on the question/box below to read full question and respond under “Leave a Comment/Reply”).

Please help answer these questions:

2013 Honda Accord Question

I own a 2013 Honda Accord Sport and it has that rattle on start ups and is now consuming oil. Before I get to the 5000 miles it will be more then 3 quarts low. Which means my oil light is coming on when I stop at a light or stop sign. I have taken my car to Spreen Honda where I serviced the car since I bought it. They said it could be my VTC accuator. Does that fit with the 2008-2012 Honda Accords problems? ~Steve Whittaker

2007 Honda Civic Question

Hi there, I’m having the same issue with the cold start up as well in my 2007 Honda Civic si as well but I don’t see any tsb for it just for the accords and crvs please help! It’s definitely the same issue for my car .~Michael Camacho

2012 & 2014 Honda CR-V Question

I currently own a 2012 and 2014 CR-V both are AWD and purchased new. Both have been taken to dealerships for routine maintenance as needed per their respective Maintenance Minder. The 2014 has had the VTC actuator rattle since almost new. U notified the dealer promptly ad was told they either couldn't replicate or it was "normal" and needed no correction. At about 90k the oil indicator came on and it was due to low oil - 2 quarts. Now drinks about a quart every 2,500 mi. Today my wife called to let me know that her VSA, EPS, and malfunction indicator lamp came in simultaneously in the 2012. She has about 52k miles on that one. She has reported infrequent rattle but still some. Come to find out that she was also 2 quarts low. Neither of us had been notified by the dealer of prior low oil levels or consumption issues prior to the indicator lights. Dealer's resolution is to have oil changed every 3-5k miles. Or, have the piston rings cleaned/replaced at a cost of $1,600 each and that may not correct the HTC rattle. I have driven Hondas for the last 14 years because of their reliability and low cost to own. Now I'm staring at huge bills that may not correct the problem. Thoughts on what we can do to help the cause to get this more attention? We're a little lost and irritated. Would appreciate any help. Thank you! ~Nicholas Felder 

VTC Actuator & High Oil Consumption Help Request

Question:

I have 2010 Honda CRV . Issues with my car started to rattle brought to Honda and they do fix the VCT actuator. After a year it started to rattle again. 2nd issue; high oil consumption. Recived a letter from American Honda as well. Honda did the test and they said that the car doesn't have issues with oil consumption, it was a bad test, so I asked them to repeat the test. We just did the oil change then, now it's 970 miles and there's only 30% oil left which means that 1000 miles car consumed almost 3 quarts of oil. Please help me.  ~ Joel Dineros 

Answer:

Hi Joel,

I've just recently discovered an updated TSB 12-089 which covers high oil consumption in 2010 and 2011 CR-V's. It extends the previous warranty as stated:

American Honda is extending the warranty coverage on the Piston Rings and Pistons for 2010-11 CR-V 2WD and 4WD to 8 years from the original date of purchase or 125,000 miles, whichever comes first.

American Honda; TSB 12-089 , Version 9

Sounds to me like your Honda dealer isn't being honest when they're telling you your CR-V doesn't have a problem. Can you try a different dealership? You can always call American Honda and ask which dealership they would recommend. Be sure you take notes/keep records of all of your conversations for future reference.

I hope this helps!

~Julieanna

If you can help, please leave your response below. Thank-you!

Another One Bites the Dust

I bought a used 2012 CRV at a dealership in 2014. It had around 25,000 miles on it when I bought it. The six years that I have owned it now has 108,000 miles on it. My VTC actuator started rattling on cold starts in the beginning of 2019. I took it to my trusted mechanic in summer of 2019 who is not a Honda dealership mechanic and he changed the serpentine belt thinking that was the issue for that was needing to be replaced. The next day the rattle was still there. My mechanic did a little more digging and found out about the VTC actuator TSB 09-010 out. He told me from what he read that there is no recall on it but it has been known for a while that this was an issue. He said that what he read on the TSB it said there was no safety concern and it was still okay to drive your vehicle was just more of a obnoxious noise. He gave me a quote of what it would cost for him to replace it and let me make the decision if I wanted to get it fixed. He said he would document everything in case there was ever a recall on it so I could potentially get my money back. I chose to wait and do a little more research online . I was overwhelmed with all the issues people are having and even if they did get it fixed sometimes it would come back. I chose to wait since it was just an annoyance and not a serious issue causing damage on the motor. My noise has progressed to not only making the noise in cold weather but also warm weather and also while I am driving making me very concerned and uncomfortable. In the last 2 weeks my oil light will come on briefly and then go off and I still have 20 to 30% oil life. This has all come on very quickly. I have an appointment scheduled with the Honda dealership on Monday March 23rd, 2020 to have them look at this. This is all happened within a little over a year. I don't expect much sympathy from them but I'll see what they have to say. The sad part about all this is I chose to buy this used CRV after my Honda Accord had been Totaled by a 16 year old who was driving his dad's F-250 to school for the first time. He wasn't paying attention and ended up plowing right into the back end of my Honda Accord making my back seat my new trunk. My daughter and I walked away safely with no injuries with exception of a bump on my head. The headrest in the back seat came two inches away from the head rest of my daughters in the front seat. I chose to stay in the Honda family for I was very pleased with my Honda Accord. I just paid my Honda CRV off in November of 2019 and now this is all happening. I'll see what the dealership has to say. I just wanted people to know and be aware that there could be more that goes wrong with your car if you have the VTC actuator issue.

Categories // Honda Tags // 2010 Honda CR-V, 2011 Honda CR-V, Honda, Honda Service Bulletin #09-010, TSB 12-089, VTC actuator problem

My 2008 Honda Accord VTC Actuator Problem | TSB 09-010

07.16.2014 by Jules // 59 Comments

2008 Honda Accord

2008 Honda with Engine Rattles at Cold Startup also known as VTC Actuator problem
2008 Honda with “Engine Rattles at Cold Startup” aka VTC Actuator Problem

I took my 2008 Honda Accord to Fernandez Honda for an oil change yesterday and, as I have done since 2008, I mentioned to the new service advisor, Kevin Whitaker, that my car has always made a terrible noise when starting the engine cold. (It never does this when the engine is warm.)  For the FIRST TIME in SEVEN years, I received some feedback.  He told me it sounded like the VTC actuator, and I should not continue to drive the car if this was the case as it can cause catastrophic engine failure.

The result of VTC actuator complete mechanical failure is catastrophic.  The valves from the intake of either cylinder  2 & 3 or 1 & 4 WILL result in a tensioner to fail and a fantastic collision of the valve with the piston.  ~ drive accord.net

Rattle At Cold Startup

I was concerned.  I purchased my car brand new from Fernandez Honda, and have NEVER taken it anywhere else to be serviced.  I am fanatical about keeping my car running and looking nice.  As no one at the dealership ever seemed concerned about the “rattle” that I attempted to describe, (it never made the noise at the dealership as the engine was always warm), I put it down to a “quirk”.

At any rate, I drove straight home.  Within 2 seconds of typing “vtc actuator” the search engine automatically populated the search field with “2008 Honda Accord”.  I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.   I went to YouTube, and clicked on one of the videos.  I didn’t have to watch anything, the noise that I heard was exactly the same as my car has always made.  I couldn’t believe it.  Why in SEVEN years had no one suggested this could be the problem?  It took me less than 5 minutes to discover this after being given the “potential problem” information.  A HUGE thank-you to Kevin Whitaker, as without his input, I would still be driving around in ignorance.

Read My Latest Post

TSB 09-010

The amount of people who are on the Internet complaining about this problem is UNBELIEVABLE.  Honda has not issued any kind of recall, although they HAVE issued more than one TSB (technical service bulletin) to the dealerships.  *NOTE:  This vtc actuator problem affected all 2008 Honda Accords.

Honda TSB #09-010

This bulletin is a PDF, so you will need to have Adobe Reader installed in order to open.  Download it free at:  https://get.adobe.com/reader/

*Also note, this TSB is an older version,–for the latest version, (TSB 09-010 v5 updated February 2017), you can purchase my eReport here.

Honda TSB 16-012
*Link above is for 2016 v1.  Version 2, (dated February 23, 2017), is included in eReport.

I called Fernandez back yesterday and left a message requesting a call back.  Did not receive one.

Today I called Honda directly at 1-800-999-1009 and spoke with Leonard. He gave me a case number and said it will be dispatched over to a case manager and someone will call me back within one business day.

After hanging up, I called Fernandez Honda back and asked to speak to Kevin.  I was told he was on a call and I would be put through to his voice mail.  I’m still waiting for a call back…  I’ve always had excellent customer service from Fernandez Honda, so my expectations are high.  (Sadly, this isn’t the case anymore.  See my update as of August 2020.)

Honda Vehicles Affected by the “Engine Rattles at Cold Start-Up” VTC Actuator Problem

  • 2008-2012 Honda Accords (ALL)
  • 2007-2014 CR-V’s (Check year and VIN number. Initial TSB 09-010 listed all 2007-2012 CR-V’s as affected.  TSB 06-012 lists 2013-2014 CR-V’s as being affected.
  • 2012-2015 Crosstours (See this post for more information)

News flash for those people who own a 2014 Honda Accord, apparently they have problems too.  Click here for more information.  For ALL Honda owners, if you would like to know if there has ever been a recall or any other issues related to your vehicle, click here to be taken to their site where you can enter your VIN number.

Note:  See my post on how this VTC actuator problem can and has contributed to the “Sticking Piston Rings Resulting in High Engine Oil Consumption“.  Download the latest TSB’s and all information in my eReport in easy PDF format; only $7.97.

Download Your eReport
Purchase my 81 page eReport




VTC Actuator Replacement Part


Contact Information For Honda:

  • American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
  • Honda Automobile Customer Service
  • 1919 Torrance Blvd.
  • Mail Stop 500-2N-7A
  • Torrance, CA 90501-2746
  • Phone: 800-999-1009
  • Twitter

Update August 30th, 2020:  Unfortunately, Fernandez Honda has sold out to a large conglomerate, Group 1 Automotive and I no longer recommend them.  Their ethics and service both appear to have disappeared with the new ownership.  (Read my Yelp review here.)

Update:  9/25/2014 For those who were wondering how this was resolved, Fernandez Honda graciously offered to fix my car for a very small charge of under $100.00.  So far, so good.  For the first time since 2008 when I bought my car brand new, it does NOT make any noise when I start it.  How much damage driving it with the VTC actuator like it was for over 100K miles…well, I don’t suppose we will really ever know. The fact that I purchased my car brand new from Fernandez Honda, and had only taken it there for service, probably had a lot to do with their agreeing to fix it for a very small charge. So far my car is purring along and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts for a little while longer. *I apologize to those whose comments I lost.  I am no longer hosting my site through GoDaddy, but through SiteGround.  When I transferred my site, I lost my comments.  Feel free to comment again if I haven’t answered your questions with my update. 🙂


Variable Valve Timing Explained

https://www.slideshare.net/souravbagchiprofile/variable-valve-timing


Honda Safety News

Honda fined for not reporting injuries and deaths.

Does your Honda have recalled airbags?

Tap here to check if your Honda has been affected by the airbag recall and here to read Honda’s press release.

Updated Airbag Info (September 2018)

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2018/RMISC-18V268-3963.pdf

Categories // Honda, News Tags // 09-010, 2008 Honda Accord, 2008 Honda VTC actuator fix, 2014 Honda Accord, Accord, Honda, Honda recalls, Honda Service Bulletin #09-010, Honda TSB, Honda TSB #09-101, service bulletin 09-010, Takata, TSB #09-101, vtc actuator, vtc actuator honda, VTC actuator noise

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