So I have been trying to follow the progress of the Honda VTC actuator debacle. I bought my 2012 Accord back in August and it has had the grind on start up quite frequently since purchase. Its more pronounced when cold, but its there on most start ups. I took my car in back in September to have it fixed, this is when they told me that Honda has instructed them to stop replacing the part because the new part would just start having the same issue. I do frequent searches online to see if a fix has come out yet. Honda has been promising a fix for YEARS now, well as of the end of last month they finally started rolling out the new updated VTC actuator. I waited a couple weeks before scheduling an appointment because Honda was / is slowly releasing them, and each dealership only gets a few. I called my local dealer today to confirm they had the part before I drove over on Friday (day of scheduled appt). I got the manager involved because the service advisers didn't seem to know what I was asking. Anyway I got a call back from the manager this afternoon saying that sure enough, they had a single unit in stock. He didn't even know the fix was released yet (just happened two or three weeks ago). He confirmed it would be covered under the powertrain warranty and that it should be done within the day! Excited to be one of the first to receive the fix. Hopefully they wont damage anything in the process, and may this fix last!
If you dont know what the VTC issue is or sounds like, watch this video...this problem has been going on for 8 years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM96ks7gDBI
If you dont know what the VTC issue is or sounds like, watch this video...this problem has been going on for 8 years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM96ks7gDBI