Noise coming from front of car after first oil change

sonicGuard

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Hi,

Yesterday I brought my Honda Civic 2016 LX (Canada) in to the dealership for its first oil change per the maintenance minder. They also checked all the fluids of the vehicle along with the regular inspection.

I've had it for around 1 year now, and haven't experienced any issues from the car. Yesterday, after my oil change on my drive to work I noticed a sound coming from the front of the vehicle. It's difficult to describe the sound, almost like air is passing through a hollow point or like the sound of water hitting the bottom/front of your car when you drive over a puddle.

I thought it may be the block heater dangling, but I've re-adjusted and even wrapped the entire cable tightly. Not to mention with my block heater it wasn't making this sound before and it looked to be in the same position it was prior.

More relevant details:
-When I do under 50km/h (~30mph) I don't hear the sound
-When I reach anywhere between 50-60km/h I start to hear it again
-At one point today going down a road where it's 80km/h (50 mph) I heard an alarming snapping/cracking noise. Maybe something hitting something else but it was loud and did not sound good at all.
-Despite these noises driving the car does not feel any different.


I'll upload some audio I took. Sorry and don't mind the monotone voice, I was going to try and commentate hearing the sound a bit but had to concentrate on the road. I can imagine most people's first suggestion will be that I need to go see the dealer again. I plan to do this Monday, but on the off chance anyone has any ideas that would be great. At this point the dealership has completely lost my trust in them. My car went from being absolutely fine to making these noises right after I left from their service. Something like this happening was in the back of my mind before the appointment, but I shrugged it off wondering what could possibly go wrong with an oil change service appointment. Any insight is appreciated!

https://clyp.it/5obkfl4h If this link isn't OK I can try youtube again, but it didn't accept my mp3 or mp4 to upload.
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bembol

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Again why I avoid dealerships and DIY.

I can't make of it but this happened to my sister's Acura TSX where they forgot to put a new air filter.

Did you go back?
 
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sonicGuard

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I have not yet. I held off yesterday/today because I thought that it must be the block heater, but I took it out again 5 minutes ago after posting the thread and the same noise (this time with block heater completely taped down). I dread going back to them next week especially now that this has happened. I think next time I'll definitely either DIY or find a good non-dealership mechanic even if it means paying more. I just wasn't sure if there were any warranties I'd be voiding by not doing the first few years of maintenance at a Honda dealership.
 

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I don't really hear anything unusual. You are far better off getting under the car and take a look. Maybe the forgot to re-install the splash shield properly?
 
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sonicGuard

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Yeah I recorded it with my cellphone so it's a bit hard to hear. At the end when I slow down and speed back up it's a little bit more noticeable. I'll try and look under the car tonight although all I have is the jack that came with the car.
 


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sonicGuard

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EDIT: Sorry I say splashguard here, I don't think I have the right term. Whatever the piece is that you screw on the underside of the car over the oil (filter?).

So an pretty big update I think. Took my dad along to listen to the sound since he knows more about cars than I do. We took a look under the car and saw there's a flap of some sort hanging out. We tried to take pictures but looking at them now I'm not even sure what I'm looking at.

Our best guess is they didn't screw on the splashguard or it was missing some screws entirely. This caused it to blow freely in the wind, and those snapping sounds I heard were the result of it hitting the pavement and snapping pieces off. Suffice to say I'm pretty angry if that's truly the case. Admittedly I haven't changed the oil on a Honda before, and I've heard it's a bit tricker with gen10s due to this exact reason (splash guard on low bearing car).. but you'd think it's still pretty straightforward especially given the equipment at their disposal at the garage.

Anyways I guess I'm just venting. I'll post a couple pictures but I'm not sure if anyone will see anything. When I look under it without a camera I can see pretty clearly a hanging flap/piece.

Honda Civic 10th gen Noise coming from front of car after first oil change 1


Honda Civic 10th gen Noise coming from front of car after first oil change 2


Honda Civic 10th gen Noise coming from front of car after first oil change 5
 
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Space Lord

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Are you missing the metal piece under the oil pan? I had something similar happen to me after my 1st oil change except it was the passenger underbody piece. Then on a road trip the underbody piece fell off and I was dragging it for awhile since I was in the middle of nowhere. Dealer said it must have been because I hit something but I know I didn't. I would take it back and make them fix it since it cost me $150 USD to pay for the part and shipping.
 

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Looks like you are missing pretty much the entire underbody splash shield. Either it was never installed properly, or more likely the tech that did the oil change didn't realize that there is a metal central portion of the shield that can be removed to access the oil plug and filter. There is no need to remove the entire splash shield, which is what I assumed happened, and then not properly re-installed.

One of the hazards of getting an oil change at the dealer. Typically they give this job to the most junior tech since it is usually pretty straightforward.

Edit:
Actually, looking at the pics again, I think just the metal central portion is missing.
 
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sonicGuard

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@Space Lord Yep it certainly sounds like that's what happened. One of the pieces underneath wasn't put back properly or at all, and the result was something hanging and flapping in the air hence the "air-ey" sound I've been hearing couple with a few snaps. I will be livid if they ask me to pay for this.

@TimberWolf Yeah my guess is something snapped off as it was flailing/dragging along the road. Really disappointing and frustrating.

Thanks for everyone's input and help. I'm assuming even without part of the shield under there it'll be OK to drive it back into the dealership? I hope they have that part or at least tell me the car is OK to drive while we wait for the part. Don't really have much else in the way of transportation in my neck of the woods.
 

Space Lord

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It should be fine to drive back to the dealer I think I remember hearing about a member taking it off for awhile. Just make sure they have those screws that hold it on I heard they are really hard to find.
 


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Thanks for everyone's input and help. I'm assuming even without part of the shield under there it'll be OK to drive it back into the dealership? I hope they have that part or at least tell me the car is OK to drive while we wait for the part. Don't really have much else in the way of transportation in my neck of the woods.
Yes, you can safely drive it without the shield installed. Some people remove theirs completely for easier access. I had something similar happen to my Toyota where the guy forgot to bolt up the whole bottom panel and I was hearing a scraping sound as soon as I pulled off and hit a decent speed. Pulled over, saw it was hanging there by like 2 bolts. Drove back and cursed them out because the car was brand new and this was the first oil change.

Definitely let them know they did the oil change and they messed it up. Don't let them pull that "you must have hit something" crap on you. Contact Honda corporate if they try making you pay for it or give you a hard time about it.
 
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sonicGuard

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Thanks guys! Good to know I can drive it without worrying too much. We'll see how it goes at the dealership.
 

CIVICMAN80

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Not all dealers are bad. I work for Love Honda in Florida and we offer a 27.95 Honda full synthetic oil and filter change. We do have a dedicated oil tech but he is an older guy who owned his own shop and is very picky. He would not let any car leave missing any clip or shield. I am sure there is some bad techs at some dealers but I much rather take my car to a dealer then say a Tire Kingdom or anywhere else for that matter. I have been there for 12 years and have seen the hack work places like Walmart, Jiffy Lube, and Tire Kingdom have performed.
 
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sonicGuard

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I agree Civicman80, although they're the only Honda dealer short of having to drive another 30 minutes.

Anyways the update I promised: I called Monday, they said they could look at it Tuesday(today). They assured me I wouldn't be charged for them to look at it. After taking it in, they told me the bigger shield (not the smaller centre metal piece) was completely gone/ripped off along with a couple screws. They wanted to charge me 100$ for the part and said I must have rode a curb or hit something for it to rip off like that.

I pushed back a little bit and explained the noise had only started happening after the oil change. I understand mistakes & accidents happen, but I can't be paying 100$ for something that was out of my control. The front desk guy I talked to was really nice and reasonable. He came back shortly after and said they'd replace the part right then and there for free. I forget his exact words but something to the effect of doing it under good-will or whatnot.

It sounded like they didn't really believe they made an error at the oil change and that I was at fault still, but I figured there was no point starting an unnecessary argument especially since they were rectifying the mistake. I can imagine they do get people who try to say something is the dealership's fault when it isn't, but the timing and evidence of this should have been more than enough.

Anyways that's about it. Overall I think they redeemed themselves for the most part. I wasn't particularly thrilled when they wanted to charge me money, but the guy I talked to was reasonable and nice enough about it.

Printout I got says they replaced engine shield including service panel. Is service panel the metal piece? Thanks for all the help guys.
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