Engine Sludge and Engine Problem

[DannyNewberry]

I have a 2006 RL wih 54,000 miles. I drive 75 % of the time on the highway as I live about 30 miles north of town and work in town.

As I was going to work my RL started to slow down and the engine started making strange noises. I turned off the engine and was able to coast to within 100 yds of an oil change center. I started it long enough to drive the 100yds then coasted into the garage. They changed oil to see if that stopped the knocking. It did not.
I had the car picked up and taken to a Honda dealer.
A couple of days later they called and said that I needed to produce proof of oil changes because the engine had alot of sludge. After I produced the receipts they told me they were not going to warranty the engine because I hadn't change my oil often enough.
I changed it on average around 5,000 to 5,500 mile even before the indiator came on that service was due.
I have searched the internet and have found many cases where Toyota, Lexus,Dodge,SAAB and VW have had problems where their engines have failed due to sludge buildup and they have extended their warraties as far as 8 years 200,000 miles.
Has anyone else had a similar problem with a RL?

Another kicker is when I went to look at the car myself they had only pulled a valve cover off and from that They determined that I had a main bearing out.

I had to agree to pay $200.00 to pull the pan to see what was wrong. They pulled the pan but not the anti splash plate. I asked them how can they tell what's wrong if they don't look in the engine?
I said maybe it just a broken piston and that is all it needs. They told me "we don't do repairs we will only replace the whole engine".

Has anyone used the BBB disput resolution process? How did it work for you?
I hate to have to pay a lawyer to fight this.

Watch out the indicator on your car may get you in troubleif you do what it says!!

[zroger73]

Giving you the benefit if the doubt and assuming everything you say is correct, then it sounds like you just got a bad dealer - I'd try a different one - or call Honda customer care.

[GaryP]

I have yet to hear on the forum with anyone with a similar problem. My average oil change in 10,000 km or 6000 miles. This is always with 5-10% left on oil life according to the maintenance minder. Nothing but synthetic. All my Oil changes have been at Honda dealers. Partly because I don't trust the 14 years olds at the quicky lubes and because the Honda dealer keeps a national computer record of your services.

An oil change record under 5000 mile average is excellent. I think I would be calling Honda directly. You should be able to resolve this without BBB.

[weatherman]

The fact that you had the oil changed each time before the MM told you to is recorded in the vehicle's computer. That should be enough proof!! I would definitely call Honda customer service and consider going through a different dealer. Just my .02 worth.

[csimo]

There has to be more to this story than we're being told.

The basic design of the 3.5L engine in the Ridgeline is shared by several Honda, Acura, and Saturn vehicles. I have never heard of a sludge issue with this engine.

You say they wanted receipts for oil changes and you produced the receipts and said you hadn't changed it often enough? Something doesn't sound right.

At 56,000 miles the engine would still be covered by the powertrain warranty. If your dealer is denying warranty coverage I would demand an appointment with the Honda regional service manager.

[IFLY Ridge]

I would try another dealer as it sounds like a run around. FWIW my wife's 01 MDX (same base engine) has 195K on the clock and has never had the oil (Mobil 1) changed before the MM said to do so. If what you say is true, there has to be other things going on in the motor. Just my 2 cents.

[ChrisM]

Originally Posted by csimo

There has to be more to this story than we're being told.

The basic design of the 3.5L engine in the Ridgeline is shared by several Honda, Acura, and Saturn vehicles. I have never heard of a sludge issue with this engine.

You say they wanted receipts for oil changes and you produced the receipts and said you hadn't changed it often enough? Something doesn't sound right.

At 56,000 miles the engine would still be covered by the powertrain warranty. If your dealer is denying warranty coverage I would demand an appointment with the Honda regional service manager.

Agreed. Something is up. I have worked on my share of cars in my life and have only seen one Honda motor in anything that has excessive sludge buildup which was a totally abused 90' Accord with something like 220k miles on the clock. I have never seen sludge buildup on a 3.5 motor. Maybe HondaTech can weigh in on this one.

[PerryLynch]

I hate to make a "Me too" post, but yes, they are definitely trying to take advantage of you. You sure this isn't Apple Ford in Columbia?

Pull out your Owner's Manual, find the pages that show the recommended oil change interval, which I believe is actually LONGER than every 5k miles, and make note of the page #. Then go into the dealership, show them these pages, ask them why changing your oil every 5k is not sufficient, and ask them if they are prepared to back up their position.

Tell them that if they are not willing to support your truck, they can slap it back together and you'll have it towed to the next dealership. Also be prepared to involve your credit card company in refusing to pay for repairs that they didn't perform. Their diagnostics were faulty if they didn't accurately determine the problem. Unfortunately, you won't know that until it's actually repaired properly.

[arteegee]

Again some apparently need troll-detecting software.

[GaryP]

Originally Posted by arteegee

Again some apparently need troll-detecting software.

Yep I bit and bit hard............I need a giant can of troll spray. In retrospect I think he was looking for the Ford forum anyway.