2016 Civic engine recall - piston pin snap ring issue affecting some VINs

[Mannyp93]

LOL! This is starting to sound fishy to me......

Somethings not adding up. How do the dealers know something before Honda knows?

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[Mannyp93]

It came out yesterday morning.

I was in the middle of buying mine and the sales guy said he could not sell this car.

3 other ex on the lot were clear to sell. But they were not red.

Could it be your dealership was trying to make you buy a trim level higher by scaring you? Seems odd all the red LX's were affected but the EXs are ok.

 

[KA0S]

Somethings not adding up. How do the dealers know something before Honda knows?

Well bobman said he called Honda and they knew. You called the same number and there are no internal communications regarding anything except the Touring Infotainment issue....

I have a Touring so it would make sense that the "recall/product update" would flag my VIN....

There is no way that a dealership would have information on a recall, and NOT Honda USA/Canada.

I sent a text message to the service manager at the dealership, and he told me there is nothing in their system regarding any airbag/motor recalls either..

 

[KA0S]

Could it be your dealership was trying to make you buy a trim level higher by scaring you? Seems odd all the red LX's were affected but the EXs are ok.

This seems like a possibility to me to be honest...I've seen this happen before. A friend of mine went to buy a new vehicle, and he didn't want the top trim level. The sales manager told him that they needed to "fix" something on the available vehicles on the lot in the trim he wanted, and only the higher trim levels were available.

It is the end of the month you know....They are trying to move cars and make plan. So it's not far-fetched thinking this could be a possibility.

 

[Mannyp93]

This seems like a possibility to me to be honest...I've seen this happen before. A friend of mine went to buy a new vehicle, and he didn't want the top trim level. The sales manager told him that they needed to "fix" something on the available vehicles on the lot in the trim he wanted, and only the higher trim levels were available.

It is the end of the month you know....They are trying to move cars and make plan. So it's not far-fetched thinking this could be a possibility.

Exactly with the lease incentives currently the way the are on LX's thry are probably being moved off the lots alot more. Probably 3 LX's leased for every 1 higher trim.

 

[haztorks]

Sounds like they had someone else's car under contract with the OP by accident, and had to back out of it with an excuse. Or not. We'll see.

 

[bobman]

This seems like a possibility to me to be honest...I've seen this happen before. A friend of mine went to buy a new vehicle, and he didn't want the top trim level. The sales manager told him that they needed to "fix" something on the available vehicles on the lot in the trim he wanted, and only the higher trim levels were available.

It is the end of the month you know....They are trying to move cars and make plan. So it's not far-fetched thinking this could be a possibility.

I would not put it past any dealer to do something like that. But the car I was trying to get was the exact same as the other 3. Only a different color.

And I spoke to different 2 dealerships about this with the same sort of answers.

And honda confirmed what the dealers told me when i gave them the vin number I posted here previously.


Oh well. Maybe it's not a wide spread problem. Either way, Time will tell.


I'm looking at mustangs now.

 

[KA0S]

The whole situation sounds very unbelievable to me. If this was a motor issue, there would be a "stop-sale" or "recall" notice for ALL 2.0 models. They don't design the motor components/fasteners based on VIN #'s. It would mean EVERY 2016 Civic with the 2.0L motor would fall under this recall...And this is not something minor like audio not coming on. If pistons "come loose", it is not a minor fix....It's also a very dangerous situation...This is not something a dealership would know before Honda themselves.......

 

[KA0S]

Not to mention...If this "fastener" is "coming loose/breaking", this is an engineering design flaw...Not a VIN specific flaw.

And I don't understand how one person called Honda, and then another with different results...

This whole situation is quite unbelievable....

I will post the reply I get from Honda Canada tomorrow morning when I speak to them. My dealership Service Manager knows nothing about this, but a notice comes up on the Honda Canada site...So I'm guessing mine is for Infotainment update..

 

[bobman]

The whole situation sounds very unbelievable to me. If this was a motor issue, there would be a "stop-sale" or "recall" notice for ALL 2.0 models. They don't design the motor components/fasteners based on VIN #'s. It would mean EVERY 2016 Civic with the 2.0L motor would fall under this recall...And this is not something minor like audio not coming on. If pistons "come loose", it is not a minor fix....It's also a very dangerous situation...This is not something a dealership would know before Honda themselves.......

Dude , I just came here to find some answers and maybe share some information Not stir the pot.

Believe what you want I really don't care.

I encourage you to check your vin.

Have a nice day and good luck to all of you.

Mods. If This thread is not helpful please delete it

 

[KA0S]

Dude , I just came here to find some answers and maybe share some information Not stir the pot.

Believe what you want I really don't care.

I encourage you to check your vin.

Have a nice day and good luck to all of you.

I did check my VIN. It did come back with a recall/update campaign. But there is already information regarding the Infotainment issue..

Yesterday, which BTW was Saturday(traditionally not regular business day), was the first anyone has heard of this fastener issue.

I'm not saying you're lying....I'm saying I don't understand how another forum member who has a 2016 Civic, called the exact same number you called, and the agent checked all of their internal communications regarding info on the 2016, and the Touring Infotainment one was the only issue noted.....Does that not sound odd to you that one agent would have this info, and not another?

Is there a secret society of dealerships/Honda USA agents who are keeping this to themselves?

This could very well be an actual issue...But I'm floored by the fact that some people know, and some don't.....As I said, we're not talking about an audio problem here...We're talking about a major engine design flaw which would lead to catastrophic engine damage. You realize that is an engine blows, or there is internal engine damage, to swap a motor is anywhere from 15-20 hours....Imagine the warranty claims/costs Honda would have to pay out for this?? I would hope this is something Honda would widely broadcast and give all dealerships stop sales and recall info when this was immediately found. The cost to fix this failure would far outweigh any profits if this came down to blown motors...Not to mention...if it is something that affects pistons, the engine would have to be disassembled in order to repair this..Also 15-20 hours depending....

I'm also curious to find out which fasteners they are speaking about that would affect an internal components...Sounds like if this is indeed an issue, there will be a massive backlog to get these things fixed or replaced....I can't imagine every Honda dealership in North America has multiple mechanics with the ability to strip a motor and rebuild it....

 

[dick w]

Not to mention...If this "fastener" is "coming loose/breaking", this is an engineering design flaw...Not a VIN specific flaw.

I don't understand why you are so skeptical about this. Production issues that affect a limited range of VINs happen all the time. They change a supplier. Or some new associate on the line does something consistently wrong till they catch it. Or they discover a torque tool is not working correctly on a periodic calibration. Or find a batch of parts didn't get all the processing steps. Or… There are recalls that affect some finite number of cars produced in some finite date range all the time.

 

[KA0S]

I don't understand why you are so skeptical about this. Production issues that affect a limited range of VINs happen all the time. They change a supplier. Or some new associate on the line does something consistently wrong till they catch it. Or they discover a torque tool is not working correctly on a periodic calibration. Or find a batch of parts didn't get all the processing steps. Or… There are recalls that affect some finite number of cars produced in some finite date range all the time.

I'm aware of this...I know multiple people who have worked in the GM plant in Oshawa, which is now closed.....This DOES in fact happen, HOWEVER, it is widely broadcast if this happens...Not one agent knows, a dealership knows, and some don't....

One member posted and said they called and the agent checked ALL INTERNAL COMMUNICATION....Not just specific for his VIN as far as I understand. I sent a message to my service manager, and he had no information....They have many different models on their lot, including EX and LX from the same plant...

As I said...it's not impossible...What I find hard to believe is that only certain Honda employees have this info if this is a major flaw/defect....

 

[KA0S]

Just for my own information...I just called the number posted above, and asked the agent SPECIFICALLY....."Please do a check for ANY recall/update info regarding ALL 2016 HONDA CIVIC MODELS." They said the only recall/update campaign that is listed in their system/documentation or communication, is for the Infotainment issue....

So I'm really looking forward to Monday to confirm what recall/update campaign is listed for my specific VIN.

I'm also looking forward to a TSB or recall document being posted regarding the noted fastener issue. I'd like to show this to my service manager so they can rectify this, or get in touch with the appropriate people to find out if my VIN is affected.

 

[dick w]

Could it be because first they tag the affected VINs while they are otherwise working out the details and the communications on the subject and so on? All the postings on this would indicate something like that. VIN-specific stop sale or tagged for a defect with info to follow.

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