Owning a sports car that has excellent reliability is a rare thing. When you consider the thrashing the cars regularly receive from their owners at the local track day or on an enthusiastic canyon carving drive, most sports cars would light up the maintenance required icon on their dash. I, for one, dread the thought of having a car that requires frequent maintenance or replacement of broken down parts in addition to the usual oil change and wear & tear servicing.
Coming from owning an older turbo four wheel drive sedan, I found the excellent reliability of the S2000 a refreshing change. I do not constantly have to monitor the oil levels like a hawk (although it’s a good practice to check on your oil levels regularly), never had to fret over coolant or oil temperature changes, didn’t have to lose sleep over potential damage caused by boost spikes and could rest easy knowing that the transmission wouldn’t grenade itself as long as I applied proper technique while shifting.
I’ve brought my S2000 multiple times to the track and with the help of a large oil cooler and brake ducting setup, managed to get the stock car doing 15~20 hot laps at a go without a break reliably and doing no more maintenance than what I usually did every 10,000 kms. A used oil analysis on my engine, transmission and rear differential oils at the 2 year mark showed excellent wear rates with little to no coolant or metal bits showing up in the samples provided. This was interpreted as proving wear was kept to a minimum over the years despite frequent hard driving.
Track-going buddies of mine fared significantly worse in their modified turbo cars (in cars such as Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evolution)as they regularly suffered premature brake failure, transmission breakages and oil leaks. This resulted in thousands of dollars being spent on maintenance even after oil coolers and other cooling modifications were installed. Endurance racing participants and tuners in Australia who I know personally have spoken volumes about how competitive the S2000 has been due to its ability to withstand the immense stresses of racing.
Based on my records over the last three and a half years, the only parts I’ve had to replace (other than typical maintenance and wear items) were:
1. a worn out shift linkage bushing
2. a leaking air conditioning coil
3. an air conditioning compressor which failed due to excessive heat due to frequent track use
4. an ABS sensor (costing approx 80 USD)
5. a broken wheel stud
6. a cracked coolant overflow tank cap
7. a bulb behind the air conditioning dial lightup (I didn’t bother to replace this non-essential part)
8. a faulty Pedal Position Sensor (costing approx 100 USD)
Wouldn’t you consider this small list of replacement parts to be excellent evidence of how rock solid and reliable the S2000 is on and off the track? Tell us your experiences and share with us how well the S2000 has held up over the years for you!
Photo courtesy of Honda
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on Jun 26th, 2011 at 12:37 am
Its reliability shines when it is compared to other German sports cars.
I think other Japanese one has the same or similar reliability to S2000.
on Jun 26th, 2011 at 7:17 am
reliable sports car? corvette.
on Jun 26th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
True about the reliability.
I had done 20+ laps with stock brake calipers and pads without any brake ducting mods and never experienced any brake fade or reduced stopping power.
on Jun 26th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
bbp wasnt going fast enough
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 8:18 am
^ Burn
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 10:51 am
My question is clutch wear? How long are you guys getting out of stock clutch?
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 11:01 am
I’ve been amazed at the trouble-free nature of my 2005 S2000. I’m coming up on 50k miles and haven’t had to fix anything other than changing the battery and regular maintenance. A couple Porsche friends also tell me horror stories of paying 3-400 for oil changes at the dealership? It’s great having a true sports car that you don’t have to worry about when you hit the road…
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 11:03 am
To your question Kelly, that’s 50k on the stock clutch…
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
@Kelly
I’m at 40,000 with stock clutch and it still feels almost like new.
on Jun 27th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
I got 110,000 out of factory clutch = previous owner drove mellow – I bought at 92k and drive very aggressive = bought stage 2 ACT clutch and Love it = very grabby with no additional pedal pressure.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 12:56 am
bbp: track temps are >50 deg C where I normally track after extensive ducting I could go >20 hot laps at a go, come and pit to rest, go out for another >20 hot laps at a go, etc until I ran out of fuel. Guys running big brake caliper kits could not do the same if they had no ducting.
turbosix: in a hot climate, 3 rounds on the track and u can pretty much give up pushing it cos the brakes would be shot.
70k miles / 3.5 years for my stock clutch through street/track/drift abuse and it was still useable. Changed it for peace of mind.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 4:02 am
After 2,5 years (new car) I had only to change a broken wheel stud.. and that was probably a problem of the aftermarket wheel nut.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 6:21 am
Thanks for the comments guys, I drive very hard and only have 20k on my red AP2 formula red. I dont think I will get traditional life, I drive out to miller raceway often and do some SCCA events. I will look into the ACT clutch…
Thanks,
Kell
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 8:22 am
Absolutly true about the s2k reliable car indeed, But can somebody tell me whats up with the clang noise on accasion when I take off from a light or start to back up. Had shop look at it cant find a thing. ??????
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Well don’t ever buy a Mazda rotary if you don’t like paying repair bills. The s2k has been a great car. @ Richard Addison check the backlash in the differential. After alot of miles 80k+ you can get play in the rear pinion that will make a light clunk noise. Or make sure your axle nuts are tight
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Richard Addison: Tighten you spindle nut.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Cool thanks I will look into it Although,
The spindal Nut has been torqued down to 220 pounds it still goes it on accasion.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Then its the diff, its normal as long as there is no grinding or whining noises coming out of it.
on Jun 28th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
My ’06 GPW has 61,000 miles and I’ve had to replace the front brakes and clutch master cylinder, flush and fill transmission oil and the differential is due next. Other than these things, I’ve done oil changes.
on Jun 29th, 2011 at 6:28 am
Yup No Grinding or Whining the only Whining I get is when my wife Complains that Im messing with the car to much but other than that no the car seems sound Just that accasional noise that sounds like someone tapps two pipes together,
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 9:44 am
I’ve owned a total of 3 wrx’s, some before, and some in-between my first and second s2000. Yes, I’m stuck in a rut choosing between the wrx and the s2000…
My first was a 2002 wrx wagon which I tracked many times. I have to say that I disagree with the OP’s comment about Subaru Wrx’s being unreliable.
True if you seriously mis-shift or abuse the clutch that the transmissions have been known to grenade, however it’s a 4 wheel drive, 3400 lb, econobox sports car, and from spending many, many hours on NASIOC, the main subaru/wrx forums, most of the owners that have grenaded their transmissions were doing stupid stuff, like dumping the clutch at 7k rpm.
The worst part is that they then go crying back to the dealership claiming that the transmission should be replaced under warranty…
By the way, if you were to get the actual no-holds-barred sti model, you could dump the clutch at redline over and over and it wouldn’t grenade… moreover, with a 4wd turbo car, the proper way to launch is NOT at redline, but around 4k rpm slipping the clutch…
I got 105k miles out of the stock engine in my 2002 wrx before I spun a bearing, most likely to low oil conditions+hard cornering (my fault for not checking the oil often enough). I was running “stage 2″ on that car as well…
Other than that, it was an extremely reliable car, especially considering the massive amount of abuse that cars take when they are pushed hard on a daily basis as well as beaten on as a track mule. I never had to do more than change the oil+filter, check the fluid levels, brake pads, etc…
I can’t speak as to the reliability of mitsubishi’s offerings, however… one of the main reasons why I chose subaru over the tri-diamond brand and their turbo charged 4wd offerings…
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 10:01 am
I also wanted to add that, comparing the wrx to the s2000 is a bit unfair. The wrx is about a 24k semi-race 4 door street toy. If you were to compare the s2000 to the similarly priced sti, then there would be a fair comparison.
The engine and transmission on the sti are bulletproof, and designed for the abuse that comes with track use. The wrx is not designed for such use.
For instance, the sti has special wheel bearings in the 2005+ models which can be swapped out by simply unbolting 4 bolts on the steering knuckle. The wrx’s wheel bearings have to be pressed out, and were not designed for the high temperatures generated during track abuse (they do wear out quickly with track use, however it’s a 3400 lb car). The sti wheel bearings are also packed with a special high temperature grease and the wheels have a larger pcd than the wrx…
The transmission on the sti is completely different from the transmission on the wrx, as is the engine. The former is designed for track/racing while the latter was designed as an economical street monster. And when I say monster, I do mean monster. 24k for a 5.5 second 0-60 4wd turbo charged beast with “good” handling straight out of the box (easy power oversteer with the gas pedal mid corner is a slide-happy toy), 110 foot stock 60-0 stopping distances as well… This sort of performance is quite rare under the 30k price point, and even then you’d be hard pressed to match these sort of numbers…
Yes, the brakes do fade in stock form, however it is an econobox street machine. Upgrade the fluid, pads, SS brake lines, and a Master Cylinder Brace, not an iota of fade, and one of the firmest, most response brake pedals I’ve felt… Switch over to a stoptech 328mm bbk and even the track instructor was commenting on how amazing the brakes were….
Learn to shift perfectly, and there will be no problems with the tranny… I never had a single problem… stock clutch went to 75k miles with multiple track days…
The wrx is quite an amazing car when you consider what it costs and what it delivers….
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
I have seen many totally ABUSED corvettes with big big trouble. Well it doesn’t mean that Corvette is not reliable. It’s the people who believe that corvette are meant to be driven that way. And it doesn’t have anything to do with reliability.
on Jul 12th, 2011 at 6:01 am
I’m concerned about the life of my clutch, given the retarded clutch delay valve my car came with. Some people above mentioned how long their clutches last, but are they talking pre 2006 or not? Clutch delay valves have been standard on the car since 2006 and I’d remove mine without hesitation if I wasn’t concerned about voiding the 100k warranty my car has.