Help Needed With Engine and VTM Lights

[rpgod]

Hello,


I am new to this forum because I purchased a 2007 Honda Pilot EXL within the last few weeks and am having engine problems with it. In effect, the check engine light and VTM light have appeared when driven at speeds lower than 40 mph. Furthermore, my wife has not been able to discern any unusual engine noises or changes in “smoothness” across the rpm band. The dealer we purchased it from told us to take it in to a local shop to troubleshoot the problem. After two days, the local shop could not determine the origin of the problem. They checked the engine codes which displayed random misfires on all cylinders, the coil packs, spark plug wires, and spark plugs. Moreover they mentioned that the plugs were new oem ones and had been numbered 1 through 6 in permanent marker. Without any other ideas, they recommended that we take it into a Honda dealer for service. On our first trip to the Honda service center in North Dakota, they read the codes again (misfires on all cylinders) and said it needed a valve adjustment. We had that work done and received a call the next day informing us that the timing belt needed to be adjusted as it was off one cog. Ironically, we had gotten a Car Fax and Auto Check on the Pilot and they listed it as a one owner vehicle with some service history and 108K miles. The Car Fax, in particular, noted it had a timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and motor mounts all put in by a Honda dealer in New Jersey about two months ago. After getting the timing belt reinstalled. The service advisor told us we were good to go for a “very long time.” Two days later and about 60 miles further, the check engine light and VTM light came on once again. We took it into Honda once again and they did a leakdown test on it. Now they are claiming it needs an entire valve job to the tune of $1,600 since the leakdown test showed 50% on the front bank and 30% on the back bank. The same service advisor told us that the misaligned timing belt probably bent a valve being off by one cog. Wouldn’t we hear grinding or other mechanical noises if that were the case? In spite of the recent leakdown test, I am skeptical that: 1) a valve job is required and 2) this will take care of the issue once and for all. Furthermore, not many on this site with similar issues seemed to have resolved them. What is more is that our dealer warranty of 30 days/1000 miles is going to expire in a couple of days. All in all, the Pilot has been in the shop 11 out of the 24 days we have owned it. We are starting to wonder if the dealer really knows what the real problem is. Apart from the obvious hassle, we still would like to keep it, if this issue can be remedied once and for all. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! R.G.

[1YESfan]

Sorry, R.G., sounds like a nightmare. North Dakota is also miles away from the New Jersey dealership that worked on it. Sounds a liitle suspicious to me. I would def. contact the Jersey service dept. and dealership as their work should still be under warranty and if there was a trade-in with a lemon that was shipped out of state ( not sure how and where you purchased your Pilot) that would be grounds for small claims court. A lot of car repair starts with diagnosis and trying things out. Sounds like your car had issues before you received it. I wouldn't spend one more dime locally on your car but would demand ( again, not sure how you got your Pilot) that the Jersey dealership pay for transport back or work out a deal between the dealerships. Yeah, things happen but issues were involved before you purchased it. Maybe small claims in your area.

Good luck!