NHTSA Complaint #10265349 — 2006 HONDA CIVIC

MY 2006 HONDA CIVIC HAS A CRACKED ENGINE BLOCK AFTER ONLY 84,000 HIGHWAY MILES ON THE CAR. THE ONLY INDICATION I HAD OF A PROBLEM WAS WHEN MY CAR OVERHEATED SUDDENLY. WHEN I CHECKED THE COOLANT LEVEL, THERE WAS NOTHING THERE--DESPITE THE FACT THAT I'D HAD AN OIL CHANGE WITHIN THE PAST 4 WEEKS AND ALL FLUIDS HAD BEEN TOPPED OFF THEN. MY MECHANIC THEN DISCOVERED THAT COOLANT WAS LEAKING FROM A CRACK IN THE ENGINE BLOCK. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE PROBLEM COMES ON WITH VIRTUALLY NO WARNING, AND I WAS LUCKY THAT THE CAR DID NOT BREAK DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. MY MECHANIC COULD NOT THINK OF ANY REASON FOR THIS HAPPENING OTHER THAN A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. I AM NOW IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE VEHICLE SERVICED BY HONDA AND APPLYING FOR AFTER-WARRANTY ASSISTANCE. I HAVE READ ONLINE THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO NUMEROUS OTHER 2006 HONDA OWNERS. I ALSO FOUND THAT HONDA HAS ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (08-044) FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM. IF THIS IS ENOUGH OF A PROBLEM THAT THE COMPANY HAS ISSUED A BULLETIN TO ITS SERVICE DEPARTMENTS, WHY HASN'T A RECALL OR EVEN AN OWNER NOTIFICATION BEEN ISSUED? *TR