NHTSA Complaint #10367661 — 2005 HONDA PILOT

2005 HONDA PILOT EX WITH NAVIGATION, 81K MILES APPROX. PROBLEM: - NO 2 SPARK PLUG AND THREAD (COIL) BLEW OUT DURING IN-TOWN DRIVING, THE CYLINDER HEAD WAS DAMAGED CAUSING EXTENSIVE RE-CONDITION EXPENSE. - ALL SPARK PLUGS ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE ORIGINALS, WE HAVE NO RE-COLLECTION THAT ANY SPARK PLUG HAS BEEN REPLACED SINCE WE HAVE NOT REACHED THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDED TUNE UP SCHEDULE OF 105K MILES. SERVICE HISTORY WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN CA BACK IN DEC 2004. WE FOLLOWED ALL RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES BY HONDA. ALL SERVICES, EXCEPT A RECENT OIL CHANGE, WERE DONE BY HONDA DEALERSHIPS ACROSS THE COUNTRIES. THE RECENT OIL CHANGE WAS DONE BY A LOCAL GARAGE, AND NO WORK HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THE SPARK PLUGS AS CONFIRMED BY THE GARAGE OWNER. COMMUNICATIONS WITH HONDA - BASED ON MY DISCUSSION WITH HONDA AMERICA ON NOV 19. 2010, THEY WERE WILLING TO OPEN A CASE IN ORDER TO TRACK THE COMPLAINT. HOWEVER, THEY WILL NOT INVESTIGATE THE MATTER FURTHER SINCE MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. INVESTIGATION: WE BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A LATENT DEFECT ON CERTAIN SPARK PLUG (OR ON THE ENGINE ITSELF) IN CERTAIN HONDA PILOT. BASED ON MY RESEARCH, A SIMILAR FAILURE HAPPENED IN ANN ARBOR, MI, IN MARCH 2010 TO A 2004 HONDA PILOT. IN THAT CASE, THAT CAR HAD 58K MILES ON IT AND THE NO. 5 SPARK PLUG CAME OUT CAUSING SIMILAR DAMAGES TO THE ENGINE. I HAVE NO EVIDENCE IF THE ANN ARBOR INCIDENT HAS THE ORIGINAL SPARK PLUG OR NOT. HOWEVER, IT IS JUST ONE CASE TOO MANY FOR A MANUFACTURER WITH A VERY GOOD RELIABILITY REPUTATION. LIKE THE OWNER IN ANN ARBOR, WE ARE SO LUCKY THAT WE WERE NOT INVOLVED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT WHEN THE FAILURE HAPPENED. HOPE THE AUTHORITY WILL INVESTIGATE THIS MATTER FURTHER AND URGE HONDA TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GET HURT.