andre,

1. have you ever heard of astroturf?

2. do you know how many "news stories" are submitted every day to the
washpost by interested parties seeking to further the objectives of the
persons that paid them?

3. [most important of all] why do you keep spamming this newsgroup with
this stuff? are /you/ being paid to astroturf?


Andre wrote:
> 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. com...
>>
>>>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."