greenblack
07.09.04, 21:02
O płonąych CRV już było. Wciąż zgłaszają się nowi właścieciele spalonych
wraków. Honda zwala wszystko na nieumiejętne wymiany oleju, ale nie potrafi
wyjaśnić, dlaczego chodzi tylko o roczniki 2003-2004. Może płoną, bo to po
prostu Hondy...
Poza tym w nowym Accordzie alias Acura TSX wysiada całe oświetlenie. Z
przodu, bo reflektory są nieszczelne, z tyłu, bo klapa bagażnika przycina
kabelek. Badziew prosto z Japonii.
USA: NHTSA still eyeing Honda CR-V fires though investigation closed - paper
07 Sep 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Owners of new Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicles in the United States continue
to report vehicle fires shortly after initial oil changes, and a federal
agency reportedly is keeping an eye on the problem two months after closing
an investigation.
According to the Washington Post, by the end of last week, 20 people had
reported fires on 2004-model CR-Vs to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, and another five people had reported oil leaks and smoke.
That was up from five reports in late June, shortly before the federal agency
closed its investigation.
Honda Motor identified another 22 such fires in 2003-model CR-Vs during the
government's inquiry. No injuries have been linked to the fires, but several
of the reports detailed narrow escapes from vehicles that often were
destroyed by flames, the report added.
Agency spokesman Rae Tyson told the paper NHTSA investigators are "aware of
the new complaints that have come in, they've been in communication with
Honda, and they are going to continue to monitor to see if Honda's efforts to
communicate with the service departments has had the desired effect."
The company reportedly said the problem seems to stem from technicians,
usually at dealerships, improperly replacing oil filters during the first oil
change. The rubber gasket inside the rim of the car's factory-installed oil
filter sometimes sticks to the engine block, and when a new filter is
installed over it, the stacked gaskets fail to seal properly. Oil leaks out
and sprays onto the car's hot manifold, catching fire.
What Honda hasn't been able to explain is why the 2003 and 2004 model CRVs
would be especially prone to the problem, the Washington Post noted.
It said that, in mid-July, Honda sent letters to its dealerships pointing out
the potential problem and urging them to take care in changing oil filters.
The company also sent out notices on an internal e-mail system and posted the
topic on a website for Honda owners.
Honda was unable to include a notice in a quarterly publication sent to
independent service companies such as Pep Boys, a spokesman told the paper,
because the publication went to press before the decision was made to address
the problem. The next edition, out in October, will carry the notice.
Honda USA’s spokesman reported said the company believes the information
campaign is making a difference. Since the notices went out to dealers July
14, Honda counted nine new incidents, none in the past 20 days.
But the Washington Post said those numbers do not match complaints on file at
NHTSA, which show two new incidents in the past two weeks and eight since
July 14. But NHTSA does not provide enough information to correlate its
complaints with those received at Honda, the spokesman reportedly said, so
there's no way to know if they're tracking the same ones.
Still unanswered is the question of why the CR-V seems prone to catch fire
from a simple oil leak, the Washington Post said. Honda’s spokesman told the
paper the company is still investigating, but that there has been no change
in filters or engine design that would readily explain the problem.
David Champion, chief auto tester for Consumer Reports, told the Washington
Post he and his staff have looked at the CR-Vs and come to no firm conclusion
about the cause. It's possible, Champion said, that Honda has changed the
type of paint or coating it uses on the engine block, causing the oil filter
gasket to stick after being installed at the factory. But the spokesman said
Honda does not believe that to be the case.
He reportedly added that Honda is supporting its dealers with information,
but that it believes the problem lies with technicians who do not follow
proper oil-changing procedure. In cases where a burned CR-V has had to be
replaced, the spokesman said, it's been up to individual dealerships and
their insurance companies to foot the bill.
USA: Honda recalls 158,187 Accord and Acura TSX to fix electrics
07 Sep 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Honda Motor said on Tuesday it would recall 158,187 cars sold in Japan, the
United States and some 39 other countries to fix problems with the vehicles'
lights.
There have been no reports of accidents related to the defects, Honda
spokeswoman Yuriko Yabe told the Associated Press (AP).
Defective seals around the headlights on the vehicles' left side could allow
water to seep in and keep them from turning on, Honda reportedly said in a
statement.
Honda also said it would also fix faulty tape protecting electric circuits in
the luggage compartments of some vehicles. Repeated openings and closings of
the lid could snap a wire and cause rear lights and registration plate lights
to stop working, AP said.
Affected by the recall are 31,102 Accord and Accord Wagon models sold in
Japan and produced between October 2002 and June 2004, the report said.
The remaining 127,085 cars, produced between June 2002 and June 2004, were
models for export. They were affected only by the defective tape, the company
told Associated Press. Those exported include 40,060 Acura TSX sedans shipped
to the United States, 16,690 Accord sedans exported to Britain, 11,000
Accords shipped to Australia and about 6,000 Acura TSX sold in Canada.