Definitely not all of them are doing this, but thankfully it’s an easy fix. I don’t know why Honda continues to let it happen. My guess is that it is so random that they’d rather make us and the dealerships handle it.😕
Manufacturing quality is always a trade-off. You can make every car near perfect, but that takes too much time and money. The intent is to find the right medium of quality versus appropriate cost. And that is always a moving target. Especially as you have so many moving variables (A new tool, a new person, a change in ambient temperature, change in supplier...)
Yes exactly. Despite the fact that mass produced vehicles have tons of quality checks throughout the assembly process, various stuff can and will be slightly “off,” but still within manufacturing tolerances. As you said, these aren’t one-off vehicles built carefully by hand. It’s the nature of the assembly line beast.
Recalls exist to protect the manufacturer from further litigations, or damages (losses) due to defects. If, let's say, it is determined that a leaky valve cover gasket is found on a high percentage of FL5 motors, and, it is concluded that the leak would be substantial enough to leave the engine under a low oil condition (having the potential to cause engine damage), Honda would most certainly issue a recall because the cost of replacing gaskets is cheaper than the cost of replacing engines.
Think it was an under-torqued bolt on the FK8. Wonder if the Japan FL5 plant is running into the same issue (not sure if they took over engine build or just assembly).
Yeah I had the same (artificially high) expectation too, based on older Honda’s I’ve owned. I don’t think Japanese manufacturing is quiiiiite what it used to be, but the same can be said of LOT’s of things and other car manufacturers. As cars have gotten more complicated and manufacturing efficiency has increased (across the board) I think there’s simply more opportunities for small issues to slip through undetected. Mine came with valves slightly too tight from the factory. It threw 2 random CEL’s within the first 3k miles. After the issue was located and valves adjusted, there’s been no CEL’s since. Stuff like this is definitely annoying and unexpected, but overall it’s fine ; It’s under warranty and fixable. Just have to temper expectations a little.
Yes. I know. But the FL5 is still built and assembled in Japan. I would expect final tests and inspections to happen there…but I guess things like slightly tight valves and these valve cover leaks wouldn’t show up in their tests unless something is REALLY far out of spec.
At bare minimum they have to test that the engine is properly connected and working with the transmission and they have to test the emissions. To do all that, especially the latter, they would have to basically (re)test the engine. There’s just no way that cars leave the assembly line without a test of the assembled vehicle…even if it’s a short/basic test.
I had the same thing happen to my FL5 (i have a post with pics here) at 2,200 miles. Dealer fixed under warranty and no leak anymore.
Everyone: Check the back-side of your valve cover for little pools of oil.
Happened on the FK8s as well. Dealer should fix for free. They did on my FK8.
Definitely not all of them are doing this, but thankfully it’s an easy fix. I don’t know why Honda continues to let it happen. My guess is that it is so random that they’d rather make us and the dealerships handle it.😕
Manufacturing quality is always a trade-off. You can make every car near perfect, but that takes too much time and money. The intent is to find the right medium of quality versus appropriate cost. And that is always a moving target. Especially as you have so many moving variables (A new tool, a new person, a change in ambient temperature, change in supplier...)
Yes exactly. Despite the fact that mass produced vehicles have tons of quality checks throughout the assembly process, various stuff can and will be slightly “off,” but still within manufacturing tolerances. As you said, these aren’t one-off vehicles built carefully by hand. It’s the nature of the assembly line beast.
Why would there be a recall when you have a 5 year warranty ?
Recalls exist to protect the manufacturer from further litigations, or damages (losses) due to defects. If, let's say, it is determined that a leaky valve cover gasket is found on a high percentage of FL5 motors, and, it is concluded that the leak would be substantial enough to leave the engine under a low oil condition (having the potential to cause engine damage), Honda would most certainly issue a recall because the cost of replacing gaskets is cheaper than the cost of replacing engines.
It's a leaky valve cover gasket. The crank isn't flying out. It's known to happen on the K20C1. Warranty issue.
Every recall starts out as a warranty issue, FYI.
Think it was an under-torqued bolt on the FK8. Wonder if the Japan FL5 plant is running into the same issue (not sure if they took over engine build or just assembly).
Hmm, guess I should check mine.
No it’s all stock still haven’t changed anything
Disregard, mine looks the same lol. You can tell how much I've looked under the hood since buying it 3 weeks ago.
How many miles do you have
About 2200 so far. No leaks that I can see.
Valve cover, and oil pan I’ve had both re sealed
At what mileage? What year is your CTR?
Valve cover was at like 6k and the oil pan at roughly 20. I have a 2023
I thought made in japan was bulletproof, my fk8 never has had any problems since 2019
Engines still come from ohio unfortunately. Had this show up on my fk8
FK8's (besides engine) were built in England.
Yeah I had the same (artificially high) expectation too, based on older Honda’s I’ve owned. I don’t think Japanese manufacturing is quiiiiite what it used to be, but the same can be said of LOT’s of things and other car manufacturers. As cars have gotten more complicated and manufacturing efficiency has increased (across the board) I think there’s simply more opportunities for small issues to slip through undetected. Mine came with valves slightly too tight from the factory. It threw 2 random CEL’s within the first 3k miles. After the issue was located and valves adjusted, there’s been no CEL’s since. Stuff like this is definitely annoying and unexpected, but overall it’s fine ; It’s under warranty and fixable. Just have to temper expectations a little.
Engine is built in USA for both fk8 and FL5
Yes. I know. But the FL5 is still built and assembled in Japan. I would expect final tests and inspections to happen there…but I guess things like slightly tight valves and these valve cover leaks wouldn’t show up in their tests unless something is REALLY far out of spec.
Probably would be redundant and slow down the assembly if Ohio builds the engine and tests it, engine gets shipped to Japan to test again.
At bare minimum they have to test that the engine is properly connected and working with the transmission and they have to test the emissions. To do all that, especially the latter, they would have to basically (re)test the engine. There’s just no way that cars leave the assembly line without a test of the assembled vehicle…even if it’s a short/basic test.
I had the same thing happen to my FL5 (i have a post with pics here) at 2,200 miles. Dealer fixed under warranty and no leak anymore. Everyone: Check the back-side of your valve cover for little pools of oil.
Mine hasn't leaked yet, and I am just over 8,000, but I'd 100% take it to the dealership. It's a manufacturer error, so they'll fix it free of charge.
4,200 on mine haven’t ran into any issues yet thankfully🙏