Recently bought a 2006 Honda Pilot… was concerned being 14 yrs old, and no record of a timing belt change, I contact last Service date - a Honda Dealership in PA… all it said on the car fax = “Vehicle Serviced- Maintenance inspection completed, right air bag assembly replaced”… NOT A WORD about the Engine …
Emailed Service Dept - showed proof of new ownership…Was sent the Invoice of this service date, upon request… and it says " “A C/S that the vehicle had shut off while driving , did make a noise and every light on the dashboard flashed beforehand , misc replace the engine with remanufactured engine from LKQ 329966 CA”. Reman Engine cost $3,525 I guess…
Are these things supposed to be reported on the CARFAX… if it says REMAN - how to be sure it wasn’t from a Salvage yard ?
Looked up LKQ reviews… they are less than 2 stars… Horrendous…
If you look at the Carfax site they state they only have what is reported to them . There is not a requirement that any shop has to report to any vehicle record site .
If the invoice says ( Reman ) then that is probably correct because very few dealers would not take a chance on a falsehood like that.
Carfax even admits they only collect a fraction of all repairs and accidents. Their database is growing, but I’d be surprised if it’s over 15% of all repairs and accidents. What is on the Carfax report is probably accurate. The problem is what ISN’T on the report.
With all due respect . . . I don’t see a big problem here
First of all, as @VOLVO_V70 already stated, CarFax can only list things that have been reported to them. The engine replacement may not have been, for any number of reasons
As for the car having had the engine replacement, as long as the procedure was performed properly, I don’t see how it affects anything. It certainly shouldn’t affect the value, not that it would be a factor on a 14yr old vehicle, anyways.
If you’re concerned about the timing belt, just have it done right now. Everything. The timing belt, idler, tensioner, and anything that is driven by the timing belt. If the water pump is driven by the timing belt . . . I’m not terribly familiar with the Honda Pilot . . . then do it was well, it’s old enough at this point. Also do the camshaft- and crankshaft seals.
There is nothing that is “supposed” to be reported to CarFax. You assume too much.
LKQ actually IS a chain of salvage yards of the pull it yourself variety. They have branched out into reman parts. I would not put much creedence into reviews as they do not always tell the whole story.
Since the engine died with a noise while on the road that usually means run out of motor oil. I would have concerns about what else has been neglected along with the possibility of rust on a 15 year old car from PA.
I am just the wife here asking questions…I don’t know that much about many of these things… but am learning… physically the vehicle has hardly any rust, it’s beautiful and the deal was very good… just dismayed to hear it had a re-manufactured engine put into it… the reason we buy Honda’s , or have started to, is because of their long lasting engines and transmission, their reliability. We have a large family so $$ can be tight with 2 in college right now , honestly, this IS the NEWEST vehicle we have ever bought. And we paid the most for it… so to us… this is Pretty “NEW” even though it’s 14 yrs old …
It appears that the service adviser that wrote that is unaware that LKQ is a network of salvage yards that sells used auto parts.
The last time I got an engine from LKQ they had removed the timing belt and tensioner pulley from the engine before shipping it with a notice that a new timing belt must be installed, a new timing belt is required under their warranty terms.
Check the parts list on the engine replacement invoice to see if there is a new timing belt, water pump etc.
Actually, Hondas (plural, thus… no apostrophe!) do NOT have a record for long-lasting transmissions. For quite a few years, Honda transmissions have been problematic, along with their motor mounts and transmission mounts.
You are mistaken in thinking that a certain badge on the back of the car means it’s bulletproof. Not so.
As a dealer mechanic over the years I’ve seen countless low miles engines (20 to 40k miles) that were wiped out due to irregular oil changes or lack of oil from not ever raising the hood.
My personal record was a VW that had the oil changed at 3k miles and the hood never came up again until 12k miles when 2 connecting rods exited the front of the engine block.
Of course the owner towed it in to us around 11 at night, left an Early Bird ticket shoved through the door with a “Won’t start” message, and blamed us for the whole thing… The car was also full of fresh oil and a new filter on it; a common attempt to cover their ass when they’ve screwed the pooch.
If the car is running well at 14, is not rusted, and gets you where you need to go,then you don’t have anything to worry about.
I bought a 1990 Ford Aerostar Eddie Bauer in 1991 from a reputable used car dealer. It was still under warranty when the engine had to be replaced a year later. I was happy to have a fresh engine.
Who knows why an engine might have failed? My dad had a colleague who bought a brand new top of the line Oldsmobile 98 back in 1951. The engine had to be replaced in the first week of ownership.
Back in the day when I bought used cars, I looked for frame damage and rust. If these things checked out, I would go for a test drive. If there were no noises I couldn’t identify (the used cars in my price range always had a few rattles), and releasing the the accelerator at about 40 mph, coasting to about 15 mph and then tromping the accelerator didn’t produce a puff of blue smoke and the car picked up speed without bucking, I would then have my mechanic evaluate the car. I ignored the odometer reading as it was common in those days to roll back the odometer.
The important thing is that your 2006 runs well and isn’t rusted. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
On a 2006 model, perhaps the transmission has been repaired or replaced. I don’t believe the repair history means a whole lot on a 14 year old car.
I know owners of Nissan products with continuously variable transmissions (CVT) who have driven their Nissans over 100,000 miles with no problems. One owner I know had a Toyota Prius. The main battery died and it was so expensive to replace she traded it for a Nissan Versa and the Versa has traveled over 100,000 miles with no major problems.
It is a Remanufactured Engine… it was never opened up, just replaced with the old one… I called LKQ about this, they said it would have a new belt in it… beings it was labeled Remanufactured. It was a HONDA dealerership in Harrisburgh that did the work, another Honda dealer told me they would not put Remanufactured on there (plus the price sounded corrrect) if it was from a Salvage yard. (Price would have been half that much if from a Salvage yard)… Obviously I am hoping all of this is correct… No timing belt replacement on the Invoice from 9-2017. THe warranties on these REMAN LKQ engine are 3 yrs… not that it transfers to me, it doesn’t… but I assume I can wait about a year to do the TIming belt replacement with only 10,000 miles on this REMAN ENGINE…
Any advice ? As for knocking hondas… I don’t know… we are generally CHEVY & Buick people… just took a 1997 Chevy Suburaban (over 200,000 miles on it) off the road we had for 10 years and only paid $4,000 for it… just took a lot of gas and had to rebuilt the tranny in all that time, change a gas tank too… we have another 200,000 + Miles Burb (1999), still going but again… drinks the gas… we have 2 Honda Crvs (a 1997 and 2001) virtually problem free and very reliable - for over 5 yrs.
“Remanufactured engine” can mean so many different things, just like “refurbished” electronics. It could mean it has all fresh gaskets, seals, belts, and hoses, or it could mean it was tested, deemed operable, and sold without anything being changed (basically a tested used engine). It could mean the engine was blown due to a broken timing belt leading to valve damage, and had its entire valve assembly replaced, or it could mean the engine overheated, so the head was planed and reinstalled with a fresh head gasket.
As a knowledgeable consumer, if someone tried to sell me (or recommend installation under warranty) of a remanufactured engine, I’d want to know exactly which parts of the engine were remanufactured, which parts were original, and how much mileage was on the engine before it had work done on it, but chances are, that information isn’t available.
My advice is to follow the maintenance schedule as of this engine was never replaced, and was the original engine. Don’t assume anything, and don’t take for granted what some dealership service writer tells you since he or she might just be telling you what you want to hear to get you out the door.