That superior Honda Engineering.

[Drew Dowdell]

Yay for DOHCs right? Well not if it is a Honda I-4 or V6.

What modern cars can you think of that need valve adjustments as part of scheduled maintenance under 100k miles? Ever wonder why all Hondas have valve tap as their mileage increases? It is the superior engineering of manually adjustable engine valves....

We also need a whole new throttle body to fix one tiny piece of broken plastic.

When Albert txted me the price for all of this, I just told him to pick out which color Encore he wants.

This superior piece of Japanese engineering is getting cleaned up, scratches fixed, and if I can find some poor schmuck to give me the $10k that KBB says it is worth, I'm taking the money and running.

[David]

WOW, That really sucks. I am actually really surprised that they have manual adjustment lifters in this day and age. I do not think GM has any manually adjustable lifters in any of their engines in the last 15 years or so.

If you do not mind me asking, what does Honda want for a new Throttle Body?

I would clean it up and us it as a trade in for that awesome new Encore.

[Drew Dowdell]

We'll sell it privately. I will be buying a new (to me) car in June/July time frame. Then we'll sell the CR-V and use the cash from that plus an additional down payment on a replacement... probably an Encore.

$978 installed for the throttle body... best price I can find on an aftermarket part is about $450.

[David]

OUCH, they really zing ya for that throttle body. Good luck with it over the next few month. Hope it hangs in there and does not cause any more issues for you. Look forward to getting an ownership review once you get your new ride.

[Drew Dowdell]

Well there are two new rides coming.... we'll see what they end up being I guess.

[2QuickZ's]

Have you checked into what is involved in replacing the throttle body yourself? They are usually pretty quick and easy to do. The one on my Camaro I used to have took at most 30 minutes to swap. I also put a new throttle body on my Saab 9-5 right before I sold it and that was at most a 1 hour job taking my time to do it right. Not difficult at all. It just takes time to get all the bolts loose, new gaskets in place and all bolted back together. Even with coolant lines running through the TB you usually don't even need to drain any coolant. A small amount will leak out when you disconnect the lines but that's about it.

[ocnblu]

Congratulations on the new Buick Encore!

[caddycruiser]

This is odd.

Having worked with Acura (and therein Honda) for over 2 years now in the dealer end, I can count on one hand the number of common things I've seen. Transmission issues? Yes in older 5-speed models. A few rattles and cheap speakers that blow out without much effort? Check. But otherwise...even with a lot of miles...not much like valve adjustment, etc. One of my clients with a 1999 CL and the 3.0L with 206k miles just traded on Saturday. Few wear spots like a broken center console lid, but started, ran, and drove NEW. Tight and silent. It's almost weird sometimes how well together the cars seem.

Drew, was this the CR-V? Any other years over the years? Some common issues, yes. Otherwise not much of anything.

Good luck with clean up and sale.

[daves87rs]

Much of it has to do with the dealerships themselves....

My neighbor has a 2007 Accord that is lucky just to get an oil change......car has almost 200k and still runs pretty good.

That said, the Encore sounds like a much better idea to me! The color choice might be tough... I've seen a few in nice colors....

[ponchoman49]

The Honda 3.5 V6 also still currently uses a timing belt which means yet another big dollar repair item that will eventually need replacement. Even the new 2013 V6's still use this today. Just about every other manufacturer uses chains which will supposedly go the life of the engine. My neighbors Odyssey just needed this done as it stranded them in a shopping center parking lot a few weeks ago. It's also on it's second transmission and the A/C crapped out last year plus it rusting around the rear wheels wells and it's only 6 years old!

Edited April 23, 2013 by ponchoman49

[regfootball]

timing belts suck.

[David]

Never understood the need for timing belts when timing chains proved themselves long ago.

[Drew Dowdell]

Have you checked into what is involved in replacing the throttle body yourself? They are usually pretty quick and easy to do. The one on my Camaro I used to have took at most 30 minutes to swap. I also put a new throttle body on my Saab 9-5 right before I sold it and that was at most a 1 hour job taking my time to do it right. Not difficult at all. It just takes time to get all the bolts loose, new gaskets in place and all bolted back together. Even with coolant lines running through the TB you usually don't even need to drain any coolant. A small amount will leak out when you disconnect the lines but that's about it.

Yes, I have. Part alone is about $400. But I did some digging and I might be able to fix our current throttle body.

This is odd.

Having worked with Acura (and therein Honda) for over 2 years now in the dealer end, I can count on one hand the number of common things I've seen. Transmission issues? Yes in older 5-speed models. A few rattles and cheap speakers that blow out without much effort? Check. But otherwise...even with a lot of miles...not much like valve adjustment, etc. One of my clients with a 1999 CL and the 3.0L with 206k miles just traded on Saturday. Few wear spots like a broken center console lid, but started, ran, and drove NEW. Tight and silent. It's almost weird sometimes how well together the cars seem.

Drew, was this the CR-V? Any other years over the years? Some common issues, yes. Otherwise not much of anything.

Good luck with clean up and sale.

Yes, this is the 2004 CR-V. I think 50% of my frustration is with the car and the other 50% with the incompetent dealer.

[Drew Dowdell]

Never understood the need for timing belts when timing chains proved themselves long ago.

GM moved on from timing belts in V6es after 1995... as long as you don't count the Cadillac Catera with that weird Opel engine. The only other modern GM V6 with a timing belt was the Saturn Vue.... but woops that was a Honda V6!

[2QuickZ's]

Did you get this done? If so, did you do it yourself? I should have warned you before that if you looked at any of the throttle body "rebuild" places, ask them what their "rebuild" involves. It seemed the ones I contacted for my Saab TB basically just cleaned it and adjusted calibration if necessary. They didn't really replace anything. That is why I wound up buying a new one. You pay 50% of the cost of a new one on a "rebuild" that amounts to nothing more than a cleaning.

[Drew Dowdell]

I didn't. I'm away from home for a while. The car runs fine for the moment.

[J Reinhardt]

In my opinion, if the car is longer under powertrain warranty then I wouldn't take it to the dealer. They're prices are higher and I've had nothing but negative experiences with them. I would take the car to a independent shop instead. The problem is finding a honest, reputable one though.

Edited September 18, 2013 by J Reinhardt