Well the title says it all... I took my 07 TLs to the dealer to fix a squeaking when it first started up (one of the TSBs) a few weeks back.
Today I decided to paint my rusting wheel hubs and while the passenger side wheel was off I was inspecting the general area for any leaks and what not and notice oil splattered over various areas. After tracing it, I pop the hood to see if I could get a better view and just happen to place my hand on the power steering resevouir and to my surprise it was extremely loose. I tilt it to the side and see a melted hole in the side exactly where it was resting against the upper pulley.
Luckily I noticed it and luckily the hole isn't very big, theres still enough fluid in it that it is at the "Minimum Line".

My question: Should I be concerned about the belts prematurely aging due to the power steering fluid dripping on them? I plan on making the dealer replace the resevouir of course, would it be necessary to try and make them replace the belts as well?

I appreciate everyones input, thanks guys!

 

may as well ask em for belts as well.

 

yea ask for a new resorvoir and belt if it needs one

 

Ok thanks fellas. I'll see what they say, I'm hoping the steering fluid would act as a conditioner in the mean time haha. It looks normal.

 

I'm following up primarily so if there's anyone in the Pittsburgh area they know to avoid Bariel Acura in Wexford.
I called Honda corporate to file a complaint about the issue stated above, the case manager informed me that the dealership was willing to replace the belts as well as the reservoir (common sense) and power wash the engine bay.
So once I get home from picking my car up I take the vanity cover off to further inspect, what do you know... there is still power steering fluid splattered in the engine bay (even though they assured me twice that they used a cleaning agent and power washer to clean everything) AND the belt looks exactly the same. I'm not a mechanic but I like to think I have pretty good common sense- I expected the serpentine belt to at least be slight darker black and with crisp sharp edges, am I off? Shouldn't a new belt be obvious when compared to the one that was on the car already even though the car only has 27k on it? I have it in writing that they changed the belt so I guess if anything happens long term I can present it and show them that the belt SHOULD have been new...

So needless to say I called the service manager again to inform him of my findings and he assured me that the belt was change and the engine bay was cleaned. Should I waste my time to take it back there to have them clean it, or should I say good riddance and just try and do it myself with a garden hose?

Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks guys

 

not really, a belt might lose SLIGHT color after like 50k miles, and the edges wouldnt really be more crisp. the only thing is that it'll look cleaner, thats about it. keep in mind that the serpentine belt is not under the sun(no color fading) nor is it under the stress that a timing belt would have.

 

Take some photos and email them to the dealer's service manager. Call him up and ask him to look at the photos and see if that looks like the engine has been properly cleaned to avoid a fire!

Tell him you are done playing games and want a local dealer to clean it and they pay for it!

 

btw, if it drives fine with no problems then your belt is fine. the belt doesnt do a lot, just spins the alternator, power steering, etc. even if it was really worn, the symptoms would only be minimal.

but if you REALLY wanna check, look at your auto tensioner, it has 2 marks that should line up perfectly if the belt is providing the right amount of tension(something a new belt would have). the lines are hard to see but its there, look up auto tensioner if you dont know what it is

 

When they "clean" the engine bay do they use any special detergent? Or do they simply just use a power washer? Would it be something I could on my own at a manual car wash?

 

If it's nothing special other than a pressure washer I'd rather do it myself to avoid the hassle. Are there any specific parts I should avoid besides the alternator? Can I use the soap feature then rinse that you find at a local manual car wash?