I thought Hondas were supposed to last forever. I HAD a 2007 with 175K miles on it that I babied with every intention of keeping it until at least 250,000 miles. About a year and a half ago, the guys changing my oil started telling me my oil was low. Keep in mind I always, without fail, had the oil changed between 15-30% remaining life. I once asked a trusted mechanic why the oil would be low between changes if no warning lights were coming on. He said sometimes older engines just burn oil. But I've never once had any sort of leak or spotting under the car.
Several weeks ago, my husband checked the oil (between changes and I still had 50% oil life remaining) and there was NOTHING on the stick. He added two quarts and I went on my merry way. A couple weeks later, I was driving down the road and the low oil pressure light started blinking. No weird engine sounds, no oil leaks. I pulled over and googled why the light might suddenly come on and, based on what I read, headed over for a full oil change about 2 miles down the road. They said there was no oil left and noted the engine was making a kind of weird noise.
Up until that point, there had been no weird noises, and in fact, I had just had it in a week earlier to an outstanding mechanic to replace the radiator and hoses. No other issues. After the oil change I drove about 1/2 a mile toward the our mechanic's garage and it died. Long story short, had the Pilot towed and the engine was blown - something along the lines of rear cam was bent (most likely due to the low oil pressure) which shredded the timing belt (which had been changed 60,000 miles earlier) and bent the valves. For $4500, I could have a new, used engine installed.
At first I beat myself up thinking I should have done something more to prevent this, only to find THIS today:
2007 Honda Pilot : No major problems since new until Jan '18. Dealer's service dept changed oil when mileage was147,293. After approx. 2500 miles, on 4/15/18 oil light went on will on a 500 mile weekend trip.. Added 5 quarts oil on the road, then had mechanic change oil and check for leaks or other problems. No leaks, no problems found.
On 6/15/18,153,000 miles, oil light on again during a trip.. Added another 5qts. Still no leaks observed. Honda service checked today, 7/3/18, and said Pilot needs a new engine. No repairs done. I bought this 2007 Pilot new from this dealer and all service has been done by them, always following Honda recommended service schedule.
They checked VIN# against list for Honda's class action settlement regarding this issue, but report that the VIN is not included. The problem of excessive oil consumption appears the same as those present in cars in the class action. Is there any action that I can take? I was so pleased with my Honda Pilot for all these years.
I have taken excellent care of it and expected to be able to trade or sell it when I was ready. Now I'm devastated. This was entirely unexpected. I will sell the car but cannot, in good conscience, fail to divulge the problem. I'm a single woman, retired, and on a fixed income. Now I have to find a way to purchase another car with virtually no value left in the one I have. A major dilemma that I don't need!
I've had plenty of Honda and Acura cars over the years but this is first one where I have had this serious of an issue with a few miles as 100K. The oil life gauge is no indicator of what the consumption of oil is actually. You need to keep a watch on this issue or you may be rebuilding your engine sooner than expected... This is a disappointment that this has not been recalled.
2007 Honda Pilot using excessive oil. Searching the net for an explanation and came up with there is a class action lawsuit against Honda. Models include the 2007 Pilot. When I called the Honda Class Action people my vin did not come up as a vehicle identified in the lawsuit. (this info coming from Honda). They did say I have a recall for a drivers side airbag but the part isn't in yet. I am more concerned about the oil consumption.
Technical Service Bulletin (TSB #11-033)
Are there any options for me to get this repaired under this action?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Honda Pilot uses a quart of oil every 200 miles at highway speed.
- Michael J., Farmington, NM, US