Below is a Washington post story I took from the Web just now, I read
a similar report on my local paper, TV carried similar stories. Again
as I said I may be overreacting. I plan to watch my oil level
closely, and I plan to inspect the oil filter following changes, Andre

"Steve Bigelow" <stevebigelowXXX@rogers.com> wrote in message news:<e%ZIc.919708$Ar.409682@twister01.bloor.is.ne t.cable.rogers.com>...
> "Andre" <ofc2003@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:4e8c5280.0407130704.626ae05@posting.google.co m...
> > I called Honda 800 999-1009 after reading reports of CRVs burning and
> > exploding;
>
> Exploding now, are they?
>
> Please post where you read this.

27 Fires Linked To Oil Changes In Honda CR-V

By Greg Schneider
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 9, 2004; Page A01


At least 27 Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicles from the 2003 and 2004
model years burst into flames shortly after getting their first oil
changes, according to records provided to the federal government by
the manufacturer.



While no injuries were reported, many of the vehicles were destroyed,
usually with 10,000 miles or fewer on their odometers.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration investigated
the situation and concluded July 1 that the cases were the fault of
dealerships or others who improperly installed oil filters. The agency
agreed with American Honda Motor Co. that oil from the filters most
likely leaked onto the vehicles' hot exhaust systems, quickly igniting
-- in some cases as the owners drove the small SUVs home from being
serviced.

"We consulted with Honda. Honda concluded it was a technician's error,
and they have taken steps to make sure service technicians who work on
this vehicle understand that they need to be particularly diligent
when they replace the oil filter," NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said.

But auto safety advocates say they're dismayed that the agency didn't
take a stronger stand. "Relatively new cars catching on fire? Running
the risk of injuring their occupants? It's a very unusual and a very
dangerous situation," said Sally Greenberg of Consumers Union,
publisher of Consumer Reports. The fact that a routine oil change
could have such catastrophic results suggests "a dire and a dangerous
situation that both the automaker and the auto safety agency should
have looked much more closely at," she said.

Honda, whose products are consistently rated among the safest
vehicles, doesn't know why the fires are happening in only the two
most recent CR-V models, spokesman Andy Boyd said. "That's the part
we're still investigating. Honestly, that's something we're still
trying to understand," he said, adding that there have been no major
design changes.

While Boyd said the problem is "absolutely not a design defect," he
said the CR-V's engine is configured "such that there is a higher
likelihood of oil spraying onto the manifold than . . . on other
vehicles." Honda has no plan to recall the vehicles and install a
barrier to block the oil from hitting the hot exhaust manifold, he
said.

"At this stage I don't believe we think a recall is warranted," Boyd
said "We think with a little more communication and education with the
dealers, the problem can be eliminated."

About 140,000 CR-Vs were sold in the United States in 2003. Honda said
22 of them caught fire from the apparent oil filter problem. So far
this year, five owners of 2004 CR-Vs have reported such fires to
NHTSA.

NHTSA's records relate the stories of drivers whose vehicles caught
fire. Their names were blacked out. A woman driving on Braddock Road
in Northern Virginia last January noticed smoke coming from under her
2003 CR-V. A passerby pulled up and told her it was on fire, so she
swerved onto the shoulder, the electrical system shorted out and all
the doors locked. She got out without injury.

A North Carolina family driving to church one Sunday in May noticed
smoke and had to rush to get their two small children unbuckled from
safety seats before their 2004 CR-V went up in flames.

A Georgia man coming home from a flea market stopped when he noticed
smoke, tried to open his hood and "heard an explosion and the front
end just burst into flames," according to records Honda supplied to
NHTSA.

All had recently had their oil changed for the first time. Honda
recently warned its technicians about the need to be careful replacing
oil filters in a regular newsletter mailed out to all 1,008 U.S.
dealer service shops, Boyd said.

Now the company is drafting a letter to the dealerships themselves, as
well as preparing an article for a newsletter sent periodically to
independent repair shops such as Jiffy Lube and Pep Boys. Honda also
plans to change the language on the oil filter itself and its
packaging, warning of the dangers of improper installation.

There are no plans to send warnings to customers who might change the
oil themselves, Boyd said.

The problem is believed to happen one of two ways: The O-ring gasket
on the old oil filter sometimes sticks to the crankcase, and if the
new filter is installed over it, oil can leak around it. Or, if the
gasket on the new filter isn't lubricated properly, it might set
incorrectly and allow oil to leak around it. Then it can spray onto
the hot manifold and burn.

Kay C. Brittain of Jacksonville, Fla., was driving to work from her
first 5,000-mile oil change when she noticed black smoke in her
rearview mirror. She pulled onto the median to turn and go back to the
dealership, but a passing motorist shouted that her 2004 CR-V was on
fire.

A week later, the elderly parents of one of Brittain's co-workers
avoided injury when their 2003 CR-V burst into flames.

Brittain, 56, who learned from Web site chat groups of other such
incidents around the country, said she had no problems with the 2002
CR-V she drove for two years before trading it in for the new model.
Now that she has gotten her dealer to replace the one that burned with
another 2004 CR-V, she has lost her peace of mind.

"It just scares me. Here I'm sitting with a brand new car, and come
5,000 miles I'm going to have to go through it again," she said. "I
don't want this to happen to somebody else. If there is a problem, I
think Honda should acknowledge it and at least check this out and not
write it off.

"I'm just afraid something bad's going to happen. I just want them to
take it seriously."