Honda Factory BS

On February 15th - my birthday - I was driving down to Florida on I95.
Somewhere in South Carolina near Timmonsville at about 1AM, I made an
ill-fated mistake. While I was at a gas station I decided to check the
oil level in my Civic, and it was a little low; so I get some oil and
start pouring it and this Jamaican guy comes up to me and starts talking
to me about how he likes the way I drive because it keeps him awake. It
was hard to understand him with his accent, and I was too busy
concentrating on him and wasn't paying enough attention to the problem
at hand. Anyways, I closed the hood and drove off, not realizing that I
didn't put the oil cap back on.

So I'm driving down I95S while I finally realize, OH SHIT I FORGOT MY
OIL CAP. I pulled over at the first exit I could find and popped the
hood. There was oil everywhere and the cap was nowhere to be found. I
had to plug it with something because I had a long way to go, and
waiting til morning was not an option since I had an emergency to tend
to down in Florida, so I used the ONLY thing I could which was a wrapped
up piece of cardboard. Now I had a piece of cardboard in the hole that's
supposed to have an oil cap. I can't imagine what that extra paper fiber
and such has done, getting into my oil and doing who-knows-what to my
bearings and every other metal-to-metal connection in the engine.

A few miles down the road, I see "Honda Way" at Timmonsville, and the
big Honda factory off the side of the interstate. I figured I'd pull
over and see if I could get some help. When I pulled up to the guard
station at the outside of the factory, I was met by this black lady with
short hair. I asked her if she could please help me acquire an oil cap,
and I'd be willing to pay just about ANYTHING for the help, but she just
replied that "We don't sell car parts" with a snotty attitude and told
me to drive down the interstate to the nearest Exxon station. Gee...
thanks. I ended up driving the next 450 miles with my ghetto cardboard
oil cap and my fairly-new engine is probably almost ruined. You can't
tell me that they didn't have probably thousands of oil caps in that
factory. This part that costs them a few dollars could've saved me
thousands, but they don't have the courtesy to go a LITTLE out of their
way to help a loyal customer? And to think I would've paid anything for
that cap. It's disgusting.

 

Just my opinion, but shucks no a factory is not an ordinary retail business
and certainly not in the small hours of the morning.

How's the engine sound right now? You never got the low oil pressure light
on, right?

If you have nothing but a greasy engine exterior, and have since found a
suitable cap, then change the oil a couple of times (for peace of mind),
clean up the engine (cover electrical parts with plastic wrap), and forget
about this.

Enjoy your Honda.

 

Just my opinion, but shucks no a factory is not an ordinary retail

Sure, they're not a regular business, but we're talking about something so
small yet so important; something that could've been easily replaced to
avoid major problems.

I never got the oil light but the engine does sound odd. I hear a noise
that sounds like a valve ticking or something, the kind of thing I normally
hear when the engine's cold, only the noise persists now and doesn't go
away. I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

 

Maybe your server has strict filtering... here's what I posted...


On February 15th - my birthday - I was driving down to Florida on I95.
Somewhere in South Carolina near Timmonsville at about 1AM, I made an
ill-fated mistake. While I was at a gas station I decided to check the
oil level in my Civic, and it was a little low; so I get some oil and
start pouring it and this Jamaican guy comes up to me and starts talking
to me about how he likes the way I drive because it keeps him awake. It
was hard to understand him with his accent, and I was too busy
concentrating on him and wasn't paying enough attention to the problem
at hand. Anyways, I closed the hood and drove off, not realizing that I
didn't put the oil cap back on.

So I'm driving down I95S while I finally realize, OH SH*T I FORGOT MY
OIL CAP. I pulled over at the first exit I could find and popped the
hood. There was oil everywhere and the cap was nowhere to be found. I
had to plug it with something because I had a long way to go, and
waiting til morning was not an option since I had an emergency to tend
to down in Florida, so I used the ONLY thing I could which was a wrapped
up piece of cardboard. Now I had a piece of cardboard in the hole that's
supposed to have an oil cap. I can't imagine what that extra paper fiber
and such has done, getting into my oil and doing who-knows-what to my
bearings and every other metal-to-metal connection in the engine.

A few miles down the road, I see "Honda Way" at Timmonsville, and the
big Honda factory off the side of the interstate. I figured I'd pull
over and see if I could get some help. When I pulled up to the guard
station at the outside of the factory, I was met by this black lady with
short hair. I asked her if she could please help me acquire an oil cap,
and I'd be willing to pay just about ANYTHING for the help, but she just
replied that "We don't sell car parts" with a snotty attitude and told
me to drive down the interstate to the nearest Exxon station. Gee...
thanks. I ended up driving the next 450 miles with my ghetto cardboard
oil cap and my fairly-new engine is probably almost ruined. You can't
tell me that they didn't have probably thousands of oil caps in that
factory. This part that costs them a few dollars could've saved me
thousands, but they don't have the courtesy to go a LITTLE out of their
way to help a loyal customer? And to think I would've paid anything for
that cap. It's disgusting.

 

Original post seems to be missing. Hmmm.

 

If it hadn't been 1am, with only a guard at the plant, you probably
could have gotten to someone to help you.

Just bad luck...

 

Hm. It's hard to imagine how a little cardboard material, deriving perhaps
from your temporary fix, would cause serious problems. And the cardboard was
wrapped in... ?

The engine at most pulses gases into the valve cover area: In, out, etc. So
it's not like it would constantly suck the cardboard down there. I assume it
was soaked with oil 450 miles or so later when you finally replaced it.

I think I'd just do those oil changes and have an independent import shop do
a valve lash check and adjust, telling them what happened with the oil fill
cap.

Not that the valve lash somehow is out of whack because of this mishap. Like
you say, the ticking it happening all the time. Rather, it gets the
technicians under the valve cover and subsequently checking things there.

It's hard for me to believe this would cause a serious mal-lubrication
problem, even if driving for 450 miles. That wrapped up piece of cardboard
stayed put, right?

Maybe clean up your PCV valve and connecting pipes, too. That valve can
click with irregular flow. I am using carburetor cleaner on it lately. The
carb cleaner can says to use it on PCV systems, too. I have also used PB
Blaster on the PCV valve.

I dumped some STP gas treatment in my fuel system (twice!) a few months ago
and probably should have done an oil change within two weeks, 'cause now it
seems to be fouling my PCV valve (not seriously, but definitely
noticeably--little waxy carbony oily specks). My mileage is down a bit, too,
even for winter driving.

For the record, how many years and miles on this Civic?

Updates welcome. Hopefully your obviously careful followup will prove this
to be inconsequential.

 

On the Civic are 223k, but on the engine are approx 40k. I think you may be
onto something about the PCV. I did notice that the rear of my car had
accumulated an odd black stain, I suppose from burnt oil, and although the
oil light did not come on, the oil reserve was nearly empty by the time I
got to Florida.

 

What do you mean by "the rear"? The rear of the engine compartment? The rear
where the exhaust pipe ends?

This is probably beyond my Honda experience. Maybe someone else will spot
something.

That PCV valve should cost under $25 from the dealer. If it's never been
replaced before, maybe just go for it. Its spring does wear with time. Add
something that may foul the oil system, and it may wear sooner, rather than
later.

Depending on which Honda Civic model you have, one can disconnect the pipe
to the PCV valve, put one's finger over its inlet (or in some cases,
outlet), and one should hear it operate (click!). No click, no good. A
click, maybe good, maybe not.

Again, just a theory.

I had an emergency repair in 2002 which required the tech to remove the
valve cover. The kid put it back on in a rush and, I later discovered,
twisted its gasket so the seal was improper. A few weeks later I was under
the hood for something routine and noticed the engine's exterior covered
with oil. I checked the oil and it was below the low mark. But I'd never had
the low oil pressure warning light come on.

Something like 35k miles and three years later, my engine has been running
fine.

So I think there's enough "reserve" in the oil lube system that one need
only worry, as far as oil quantity is concerned, if the oil pressure light
comes on.

Elle
Original owner, 1991 Civic, 174k miles.

 

Ditto to all of above.

 

Have a mechanic check out the engine. In my experience, driving with low
oil for an extended period of time can damage the engine. This was
especially true for older models where the camshaft lobes would get worn.
It could explain the valve ticking that you're hearing now.

Eric

 

I'm with Elle and TeGGeR; I doubt there was any identifiable damage.

I had an engine suffer from oil starvation many years ago when the filter
split a seam, and the oil light didn't come on until I pulled off the
freeway to see why there was a cloud of smoke following me. There was a very
noticable swishing sound, like a whattayacallit brush on a drum, that didn't
come from the valve cover and turned into a clear rod knock by the end of
the week. But if you didn't even have the light when you idled I expect
you're okay.

Pilots speak of their engines being "auto-rough in clouds" and I think
that's the deal with the ticking - a valve sound you just didn't notice
before, and now your nerves are on edge.

Mike

 

Knut wrote:
<snip>

translation: it's my own fault. i feel bad. i want to blame someone
else so i can feel better.

you want sympathy? wait your turn.

bottom line is, as everyone else is saying, there's probably not much
amiss. just drive the car. if there's a problem down the road, it'll
be an [expensive] lesson on paying attention. bet you don't do it
again. and if you /do/ do it again, stop, call aaa and get a tow home.

last thing, do NOT get the engine compartment steam cleaned. it can
ruin electrical connections, contaminate brake fluid and cause multiple
other reliability issues. clean with gunk and a gentle stream from a
garden hose. replace belts if contaminated. replace brake fluid as a
precaution.

 

Actually, I am admitting fault here, and I'm not blaming Honda for my
problem. That's not the issue. The problem is they didn't even put a breath
of effort into even attempting to help, and that makes me rather angry.

 

and if you /do/ do it again, stop, call aaa and get a tow home.

And if you're 450 miles from home, getting a tow home is going to cost an
arm and a leg, and that wasn't an option to begin with. My mother suffered
from a stroke and I was trying to get to Florida in a big hurry to see her.
I didn't want to be waiting in another state all night over something so
simple as an oil cap.

 

Considering that a security guard has no power what- so-ever, or even work
directly for Honda. You have no beef with Honda. The guard probably did as
much as she was permitted to do per the company procedures.

 

You didn't put a breath of effort into helping yourself.

You claim a piece of cardboard was the ONLY thing you could use to make
a makeshift oil cap and that's silly. On I 95 there are about a zillion
plastic soda bottles and other assorted types of discarded litter, very
simple to fashion a good makeshift oil cap from something discarded or
even something you had.

Then you drove 450 miles? Are you saying that in 450 miles there was
not one Wal-Mart or other store or service station where you could have
bought something to use for an oil cap? I don't get that part of the
story at all. I realize you were in a hurry, but it would have taken
maybe 10 minutes to stop. I'm sure you stopped to go to the bathroom,
get a bottle of soda or coffee, etc. You took the time to go to the
Honda factory, you could have taken the time to stop elsewhere.

 

But she was black!

I don't know what that has to do with anything, but the OP felt the
need to let everyone know the guard was an African-American.

I wonder what her version of the story is?

"Last night I was working my shift and some crazy dude shows up out of
nowhere at 1am wanting to buy an oil cap for his car". "Seriously, he
drives right up to the gate and asks me to sell him an oil cap, he
thinks because it's a Honda factory I can just run in and grab an oil
cap for him. Oh yeah, we got hundreds of oil caps, but ther're all
attached to engines! Bwahahaha! What does he think this is Autozone?
Come on, I told him to go to the Exxon station but he seemed kind of
pissed but that's all I could do since I'm just a security guard and
have strict orders. Now if it was Denzel Washington, I would have given
him the oil cap off of my own car, but since he looked more like Carrot
Top..."

 

wrote in

Alright, dude. I can see you're a smart ass. I hope something similar
happens to you in the future. And no, a plastic bottle cap is not going
to work to plug the hole that is much larger. And what good is it going
to do to stop at a wal-mart? If they don't have a honda oil cap, what
good is it going to do? The cardboard I had worked as good as anything
else I could have bought and wasted my money on BESIDES an actual OIL
CAP. And I'm sure they have countless amounts of these at the factory
that aren't being used at the moment. You're a fucking jerk, you know
that?

 

Yes, and with that attitude I'm just as surprised as the next guy that a
security guard that doesn't work for Honda, at 1am didn't go looking for one
to accommodate you.