NHTSA Complaint #10852390 — 2012 HONDA CR-V

ON COLD STARTUPS THERE IS A GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WHICH LASTS FOR A FEW SECONDS. THE GRINDING NOISE IS HEARD USUALLY AFTER THE CAR IS LEFT IDLE OVERNIGHT & DOES NOT OCCUR ON AN EVERYDAY BASIS. MY MECHANIC IDENTIFIED IT AS THE VTC ACTUATOR (CAM} & SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE IT SHUTS DOWN THE ENGINE & THEN IT BECOMES AN EXPENSIVE ENGINE OVERHAUL. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE HONDA SERVICE DEPT.(2 PLACES) & TOLD IT MUST BE VERIFIED TO BE REPLACED. THE TROUBLE IS WHEN I LEAVE THE CAR IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, AS I SAID IT HAPPENS RANDOMLY. HONDA KNOWS OF THIS PROBLEM (BULLETIN:09-010) BUT REFUSES TO REPLACE THE PART WITHOUT VERIFICATION. I BELIEVE IT'S UNREASONABLE TO LEAVE MY VEHICLE FOR A LONG LENGTH OF TIME & GO WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION. I EVEN RECORDED THE SOUND & HONDA WON'T ACCEPT THAT. MY WARRANTY IS RUNNING OUT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR & I'M AFRAID THIS WILL NOT BE ADDRESSED. MY VEHICLE HAS 33340 MILES ON IT, WELL BELOW THE 60000 MILE OF ENDING THE WARRANTY BUT THE 5 YEAR MARK IS APPROACHING. I HAVE READ ON THE HONDA CRV OWNERS CLUB (WWW.CRVOWNERSCLUB.COM) SITE THAT THE PROBLEM EXISTS IN MANY VEHICLES WITH THE 2.4L ENGINE. THERE IS ALSO A BULLETIN WITH AN IMPROVED PART TO CORRECT THIS BUT VERIFICATION OF EACH VEHICLE IS NECESSARY. PLEASE HELP, I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY CONDITION AS THE CAR CAN SHUT DOWN EVEN WHILE DRIVING AND THE DRIVER THEN HAS NO CONTROL WHATSOEVER OF THE VEHICLE. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=KR20BAOXBO8