Oil leak...and feeling screwed

[brea]

I have had my 2007 CRV EXL Navi for one day (36 miles on Odometer) and noticed an oil leak from the stains on my driveway. I crawled under and noticed it was not coming from the oil pan or drain plug so I kept the vehicle garaged until two days later when I could return it to the dealership for my scheduled appointment for the install of additional accessories. I informed them that my major concern was this oil leak and not the accessories being installed and to let me know exactly why a new vehicle could develop such a leak without someone checking this.

Day 1: Deliver the vehicle and service rep is unsure what the oil is leaking from. Later in the day I call and service rep states the oil could be from “excess oil” when the vehicle was manufactured and may have just dripped down. I informed him there was no way that could be the case here and to clean it and wait for it to leak again. Well, I was right and that the oil leaked again and now they need to keep it for another day.

Day 2: Had to call service rep again to find what is going on with the oil leak and he still had no answer yet but told me that my accessories got installed except for the spoiler that didn’t come in because of the snow storms. He stated it would be ready by the end of the day. Well surprise surprise they could not find where the oil leak was coming from again and will now need it another day.

Day 3: I made a surprise visit to the dealership to see first hand what they have done about the leak. I went directly into the garage area and found my vehicle on up on the rack with a small puddle of oil below it. I found the tech person that was in charge and he told that they changed the oil pan gasket but now they will have to remove transmission because it is still leaking. He had no idea where it was coming from other than to agree with me that it could be a rear main seal and they will need to keep it longer and will not be able to work on it until Tuesday.

Day 4: Sunday – Closed

Day 5: Christmas - Closed

The dealership has now had the vehicle longer than I have. Has anyone experienced this problem like this or could advise?

I will keep posting as this fiasco evolves….

[soccer_sta_86]

brea, cant u just swap cars, its 36 miles, wht the hell can go wrong with a car tht got no miles on it?

[brea]

Not sure if the dealership is willing to do that. When i was completing the paper work on the purchase I kiddingly asked if I could return this if I changed my mind like in a day or two. I was told once the dmv paper work was filed, returning a vehicle would make it a "Used" car and they would not do that.

I thought about a swap but I had waited over a month for this Black CRV Navi and they currently don't have any others on the dealership.

If anyone knows if a swap has been done before or if it is possible I would appreciate it.

[Racoon]

Time to research "lemon" laws for where you live:

Motor Vehicle Warranty and Lemon Laws - California Dept. of Justice (http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php)

:)

[sleeksilver]

I would ask to swap out cars. That's no good.

[barbecuesauce99]

Time to call Honda America directly and state attorney general
Sorry to hear. :cry:

[4hondaowner]

I agree with Racoon and other writers. Check out the Lemon Law. Pursue your objective with documentation, pictures and even the techs findings that you stated above in day # 3. That in itself does not happen often. Being able to walk right into the service bays and go right up to your vehicle. Oil Pan Gasket > Transmission > Rear Main Seal >> this is not good. What's next - finding out before you have 1,000 miles that you have severe internal engine damage?

[miko]

Feel real sorry for you, brea. Problems like that right off the bat with a brand new vehicle is the worst. Hope it can be resolved to your satisfaction quickly.

[craverjd138]

Get American Honda involved with your issue. This doesn't look good. It's inevitable that there will be some rejects in a bunch of good ones so let them know about this. You don't have a tree in your backyard that's growing money, don't you? Your money should get what it's worth.

[okla07crv]

I had the exact problem. Bought it Friday and realized Sat night it was leaking with around 100 miles on it. The dealership still has it and can't figure out where the leak is coming from. I am driving one of their 07 crv's until I get the word. I will not allow them to start cracking into the engine or trans while it is mine. They will get me another one first, that's for Damn sure.

Good luck with yours...

[brea]

Day 6: Tuesday- I don't hear from the dealership all day until I make another trip which is about 10 miles away at about 4:30. I peek into the repair center and notice that two techs were working on the car. The manager then swooped down on me to get me out of the garage area. I explained that I want to see exactly what was going on with my car and the oil leak repair and complained that my service rep had not even bothered to call and give me a status report again.

The service manager then proceeded to take me over to the car and let me inspect exactly what was being done at that point. I was told then that they not only had to replace the rear main oil seal but that they decided to replace some type of an engine oil plug (not a drain plug). I tried to have the rep explain to me exactly why they decided to replace that plug and he stated that the dealership had received a notice from Honda that on another type of Honda vehicle that there has been plug leakage problems and they thought to be safe they would change out the one on my CVR since they had removed the transmission.

The service manager tried to ease our concerns of owning a vehicle that could only be driven 10 miles off the lot and developing such a major problem. He stated that this was a rare occurrence and that Honda would only authorize a warranty repair and he has never seen the dealership do a vehicle replacement when an issue could be fixed under warranty. Still that point I did not feel a whole lot of comfort in the vehicle and ask to speak to a person who could authorize a swap with another CVR.

My next step was talking to dealership general manager and explaining exactly what has transpired and how we feel about owning this CVR. He stated exactly that he wanted to satisfy us in any way they could. After a small discussion about our options we opted for a replacement vehicle and a rental car until a new CVR arrived. The general manager fully understood our concerns and insisted he wanted to satisfy all of our concerns and will locate a new vehicle ASAP. So now they are searching for a new CVR without any defects.

I am now feeling much better now about possibly owning my first Honda vehicle and would like to thank everyone again for their responses on my oil leaking issue.

[sleeksilver]

That's great that they have taken care of you like that :)

[4hondaowner]

Quick hits regarding brea's last comments.

1. A manager trying to get a customer out of the garage area? What are they trying to hide?
2. I would say this is a rare occurance. I wouldn't accept a warranty repair. I don't blame brea for not having a lot of comfort with the vehicle on the rack.
3. Replacement black CR-V with Navi best thing that could have come out of this whole nightmare. How easy are they to find?
4. How will they know if replacement CR-V does not have any defects?
5. If you have VIN number of the 36 miles on the odometer CR-V, keep it. When the replacement comes in, make sure it is not your oil leaking, rare occurance, unable to repair unit. Check all the VIN numbers on the doors, hood and rear gate. At this point in time I wouldn't trust dealership to fix the unit and then try to give it back to you. That sounds very untrustworthy, but right now you may be feeling the same way.

[okla07crv]

Well, they were pulling my trans today and at that point I asked the new car sales manager to order me a new one and they are and they gave us a new crv to drive util it arrives. Glad to hear your situation has been resolved too.

[joe cr-v]

Day 6: Tuesday- I don't hear from the dealership all day until I make another trip which is about 10 miles away at about 4:30. I peek into the repair center and notice that two techs were working on the car. The manager then swooped down on me to get me out of the garage area. I explained that I want to see exactly what was going on with my car and the oil leak repair and complained that my service rep had not even bothered to call and give me a status report again.

The service manager then proceeded to take me over to the car and let me inspect exactly what was being done at that point. I was told then that they not only had to replace the rear main oil seal but that they decided to replace some type of an engine oil plug (not a drain plug). I tried to have the rep explain to me exactly why they decided to replace that plug and he stated that the dealership had received a notice from Honda that on another type of Honda vehicle that there has been plug leakage problems and they thought to be safe they would change out the one on my CVR since they had removed the transmission.

The service manager tried to ease our concerns of owning a vehicle that could only be driven 10 miles off the lot and developing such a major problem. He stated that this was a rare occurrence and that Honda would only authorize a warranty repair and he has never seen the dealership do a vehicle replacement when an issue could be fixed under warranty. Still that point I did not feel a whole lot of comfort in the vehicle and ask to speak to a person who could authorize a swap with another CVR.

My next step was talking to dealership general manager and explaining exactly what has transpired and how we feel about owning this CVR. He stated exactly that he wanted to satisfy us in any way they could. After a small discussion about our options we opted for a replacement vehicle and a rental car until a new CVR arrived. The general manager fully understood our concerns and insisted he wanted to satisfy all of our concerns and will locate a new vehicle ASAP. So now they are searching for a new CVR without any defects.

I am now feeling much better now about possibly owning my first Honda vehicle and would like to thank everyone again for their responses on my oil leaking issue.
Hi brea,
I see you are from California. What dealer are you dealing with as this sounds like one I may be interested in dealing with and buying from.
Thanks,
Joe

[brea]

Joe, where are you located in California? I am in NorCal.

[brea]

Day 7: Wednesday - The general manager (GM) calls and states that he called the Honda headquarters about my vehicles oil leak problem and they suggested offering us a 6 year warranty or continuing with the vehicle swap. We again opted to go ahead with the car swap. The GM then called back to confirm he located our exact model configuration that had just arrived this week and he would have it trucked to the dealership by Thursday.

The GM again expressed his direct personal concern about our situation and called for a third time to let me know that additional the accessories we had installed on the first CRV have been ordered and should also arrive on Thursday. The GM then asked to speak directly with my wife regarding this ordeal to make sure she was also satisfied and happy with how things were being handled.

We are feeling so much better today.

[okla07crv]

Glad to hear. By the way, we picked-up our replacement today too. Our dealer was very good about the whole deal too.

[Cadd]

Wow! So....not all dealerships are evil.

[bigtexdog]

It is a CR-V, not a CVR.

Most garages will not allow anyone but their employees into the work areas for insurance reasons.

I'm glad your issue was resolved. It was starting to sound like a nightmare.

[chiph]

Quick hits regarding brea's last comments.
1. A manager trying to get a customer out of the garage area? What are they trying to hide?

Their insurance company doesn't like customers in the shop area -- something heavy (like a car) could fall on you, or you might get some toxic fluid in your eyes. All sorts of bad things, which their employees are already covered under workman's compensation laws.


4. How will they know if replacement CR-V does not have any defects?

There's no guarantee. But chances are good that it'll be problem-free, as the dealership will direct the prep guy to pay extra attention to your new one.


5. If you have VIN number of the 36 miles on the odometer CR-V, keep it. When the replacement comes in, make sure it is not your oil leaking, rare occurance, unable to repair unit. Check all the VIN numbers on the doors, hood and rear gate. At this point in time I wouldn't trust dealership to fix the unit and then try to give it back to you. That sounds very untrustworthy, but right now you may be feeling the same way.
Not a bad idea. Just don't be too obvious when comparing VIN numbers -- the last 3 digits are all you'd need to check. No need insulting them with an obvious comparison (if they're honest, which sounds like they are).

Chip H.

[mdugan7000]

Wow. Can you imagine the paperwork that has to get done with the state in order to pull this off? That dealer is obviously getting some $$$$ back from Honda. Come to think of it, can you imagine this happening at a Ford dealer?

[miko]

It helps to have a good dealer. This exchange came from Honda. They knew that eventually lemon laws would make them do it anyway. This way it made them look better.
They know it was a major problem. Glad to see it was resolved for the two on this forum. But not very owner is a member here. There are more with this problem.

[joe cr-v]

Joe, where are you located in California? I am in NorCal.
Hi brea,
I'm in southern calif and thought that maybe with your user name being brea that you might be from brea which is only a few miles from me.

Thanks for getting back to me though,
Joe

[brea]

Well the ordeal is now over as we picked up our replacement vehicle with all the added accessories installed.

We can now say we are proud owners of our first Honda vehicle and have enjoyed every minute of driving it.

I would also like to thank everyone on this board again for the added insight and recommendations in helping us through this.

Happy New Years !!

[norm27]

Yes it happened to me. I bought my 07 CRV EX-L 2WD on 12/23/06. On 12/30 noticed oil on the garage floor. The dealer diagnosed it as above and had to order parts to arrive 1/3/07. I had 200 miles on the car.

Keep in touch and we will compare notes.

Norm
ntaer@earthlink.net

[norm27]

Purchased 12/23/06. On 12/30/07 noticed oil on floor & took it to nearest
Honda dealer, not the one I bought it from as I did not want to drive too
far not knowing the cause of the leak. Tentively diagnosed as rear main
engine seal leak. Dealer rep told me NOT to drive it home to wait for the
parts to come in as I might experience other problems. Parts to be ordered
1/2/07.

The rear main engine seal was replaced on 1/4/07 and on 1/6 I found oil on
the garage floor. This repair was done by the closest Honda dealer not the
one I bought the car from. Which dealer do I go back to for further repair
in order to possibly qualify for replacement or money back under the Lemon
Law?

[brea]

Norman, I took mine back to the dealership I purchased mine from (which was not the closest one to where I live) and we spoke directly with the general manager of the dealership. He was the only one who was able to make the final decession on the having our car replaced. We stressed that this defect was not our problem and would not accept anything less of a replacement car. He then assured us that this would be taken care of ASAP and within a couple of days we had our new replacement CRV and we have been very happy with it.

I don't think you will be able to get another dealership involved enough to take on the responsiblity of a replacement car!

As far you driving it back to the dealership you purchased it from, I would check to oil level to make sure it was full before you left or have the dealership tow it for you. The amount of oil loss from my rear main seal would only happen after I drove it or started the engine and not from just being parked.

As you have already read on this thread two CRV owners have received replacement vehicles because of this oil leak issue and I am sure there could be others out there that don't post here or even know about this Honda internet community. I know I used the input from this board before I made the trip back to the dealership and it was most helpful.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[exskwid]

I was forced to live this nightmare with a Jeep Liberty. I ended up using NC Lemon Law to get Chrysler to buy it back.

The key to it is to write Honda and ask them to return the car to service. You might also call the company customer service and give them an ear full.

After going thru a lemon buyback with Chrysler I had an O2 sensor fail on my new CR-v with about 80 miles on it. All I could say was " here we go again...."

2007 CR-V LX
White 4WD

[mdmd531]

any sales agreement can be voided in 72 hrs. My Credit Union Loan Officer told us that after getting screwed and stuck with a car that didn't have the options promised/ like heated seats/ etc. Federal law, any and all purchases can be terminated within 72 hrs. of a sale. They don't tell u that, and that should be against the law, some type of dealer fraud.

[Brutis]

Honda should stop putting accesories on the leaky car & fly you in a new one ASAP!!! Accesorize the one that doesn't leak. Check out lemon laws for your state. You should have a booklet in your glove box that states the applicable laws for the state in which you reside. Total crap if honda puts you through all of this @#$%&%$*. You chose them!!

[Brutis]

unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sleeksilver]

Honda should stop putting accesories on the leaky car & fly you in a new one ASAP!!! Accesorize the one that doesn't leak. Check out lemon laws for your state. You should have a booklet in your glove box that states the applicable laws for the state in which you reside. Total crap if honda puts you through all of this @#$%&%$*. You chose them!!

Did you even bother to read this whole thread???? :roll:

Well the ordeal is now over as we picked up our replacement vehicle with all the added accessories installed.

We can now say we are proud owners of our first Honda vehicle and have enjoyed every minute of driving it.

I would also like to thank everyone on this board again for the added insight and recommendations in helping us through this.

Happy New Years !!

PROBLEM RESOLVED.



The other poster who had an issue hasn't posted in a while, it is very safe to assume his vehicle was taken care of.

[Racoon]

Thread closed.

:)