Hello,
First let me say I am a pure Honda loyalist. I've owned 3 Honda over the past 20 years & I'm not exaggerating when I tell you I have not had one single problem.
I've always wanted a sports car & the day the S2000 was introduced I knew this was the car for me. A very cool sports car accompanied by the great Honda quality & reliability. I am a working class family man & at $32,000 it would some serious saving on my part. I've finally saved enough money to comfortably purchase a new S2000. I went out & test drove the car 3 times. It was everything I wanted & more...great styling, performance & the shifter (like butta). Then I discovered this message board & started reading through it. It's the best place for S2000 info, it's great, the owners are great. But as I said this car took some serious saving for me & I noticed there seemed to be quite a few problems with this car. It seems the legendary Honda quality may not be there.

I think if I never found this web site I would have already bought the car with 100% confidence.

If I got this car I would not abuse it in anyway & I would maintain it to a T, if there were problems with it it would devastate me. Please look over these concerns, give me your feedback on each one & maybe convince me that I'm over reacting:

- #4 cylinder failure (major problem)
- 1st - 2nd gear grind (major problem)
- premature clutch failure
- oil consumption
- premature tire wear (no biggy, I can deal with this)
- premature leather seat wear (not a real big issue to me)
- drivers side power window motor
- windshield cracking
- paint problems
- low speed handling problems
- Dealership's service departments seem to be hard to deal with

That's about it...Have at it. I'm looking forward to your responses.
Thanks!

 

I don't think this board provides anything resembling an accurate gauge of the reliability of the car. Since most of us tend to be enthusiasts and are reasonably knowledgeable about cars, we're more likely to find and pick faults. We are hardly representative of the majority of S2000 owners, because we are by definition a rather small minority of the ownership.

As for the problems you list, the worst -- the #4 cylinder failure are a very small percentage of the number of cars sold. The famous grind was a more frequent problem with the 2000 and 2001 model year. Premature clutch failure is impossible to gauge, since many drivers abuse the clutch in unspeakalbe ways, for example, with 5,000 RPM clutch drops. The leather wear issue is over-rated in my opinion, since many people seem to confuse wrinkles in the leather (which are quite normal) with cracks and premature wear. Oil consumption is higher with VTEC, but many of us burn very little oil once the engine is broken in.

We can only describe our own problems, and in my experience, this car has been remarkably trouble free. I've had a few gear grinds, but I can count them on two hands. None of the other problems have plagued me.

For the money, I don't think there's another high perfromance car that is as reliable and trouble free. Yes, people have had problems, but I don't think these suggest in any way that this is an unreliable car.

 

9 months with almost 15k....Hard driving miles. I spray nitrous do clutch drops and keep the rpm's well north of 6000 rpm for long periods. I still Have the original s0'2 ...but i will need new shoes in a few months. Any problem I had was directly related to the mods I did. But I was able to fix any problem I have had and have not been to the dealer for service once! My car feels faster then it ever has! It pulls harder and sounds meaner every day!....Look at it this way.....what are your other options.
Mini-s, WRX, RSX, EVO, Miata ,SRT,350Z,Z4,BOXSTER...Thay all have there ups and downs.

 

This is a message board. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. There are hundreds of owners who enjoy their cars every day without a single problem. What you are reading is normal in a forum such as this. Anyone with a problem posts, if you are just turning the key and driving everyday there isn't really much need to post. My car is from Feb of 2000 and it is approaching 60,000 miles. A few can tell you that I DO, in fact, drive it. It is my only car 24/7 in ALL seasons. Wind, snow, rain, night.... No problems so far.

Any subject you research online will yield similar results. From Minidiscs to Headphone amps, if one has a problem, one posts. If everything is going well, one simply uses the product and generally keeps to him/her self.

Hopefully your mileage will be smooth also.

Regards and good luck.

BTW, I am also on my original clutch!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rick Hesel
[B]
We can only describe our own problems, and in my experience, this car has been remarkably trouble free.

 

The reason you see so many posts with problems is because not too many people write threads to the tune of "everything is okay with my car." People tend to write about problems they have. Go look at the miata forums. Miatas are about as reliable as cars come, but the boards are full of threads about problems.

 

If you are considering new, I feel you are overreacting. The only reason I would tell you not to get the car is if you love to do burnouts.

Looking at your list, the only problem I have is the driver's auto-down sensor dysfunction, like 50% of the other owners polled. The motor isn't a problem, it just doesn't auto-down like Civics and Insights and Integras.

 

I am certainly not the expert on the board when it comes to these issues, there are many, many people who are well qualified to speak. I have a MY02 which I bought for some of the same reasons as you state. I've wanted a sportscar since I sold my MG, and when it says Honda that stands for something. I too am a long time Honda owner and fan.

The issue that I want to address is that of "dealers being difficult to deal with". I know there have been some threads illustrating how dealers have tried to blame the owner for what appeared to be warranty work. If you read the threads carefully you'll see that there is always two sides to the story, and the truth lies somewhere in between. I personally have never had problems with any Honda dealers in over twenty years of Honda ownership. Most Honda owners that I know are generally satisfied with the service. Not swept off their feet, but satisfied. That is saying something. Also, you should probably let your own experience be your guide. You have been satisfied with Honda.

As far as your other issues are concerned (excluding tire wear), I have not experienced any of them, but again, I am not the expert that you need to hear from. I however don't think that you need to be quite as concerned as you seem to be.

Barry Wyoming has an excellent thread on the short block replacement which you might want to check. Xviper, Destiny2002 and a few more members always have good advice.

Good luck. Its a great car and quite a thrill to own.

 

Mark I'm not into lengthy replies. However, I've driven and tracked my '00 without any of the above mentioned problems.

If you look at how long I've been on this board you'll get an idea of how much I've read. The problems you've read about have been talked about extensively. However consider this:

The #4 cylinder problem happens in a very-very small percentage of cars. I'm not sure this is still a problem for '02 or '03 for that matter. 1st - 2nd has been addressed by Honda. Premature clutch failer is BS; I have over 35,000 on my '00 including lots of track time. However, I should mention that it is NOT a strong clutch! No problems with oil consumption. Tire wear; it's a sports car. The leather could be better. Drivers side window was addressed two years ago. Windshield and paint problems are silly, IMO. My '00 handles great at low speeds, especially at autocrosses! The dealerships; you're on your own to find one of the few good ones.

Good luck!

 

I can't believe I am answering this as I usually just think "don't buy it" but you have been on the board for over a year so here you go. Trust me if you look at my sig I know about car problems.

1) All car models will have some cars that come off the line with problems from a Ford to a BMW to a Mercedes etc.

2) People with problems make more noise then those that are happy and there are far more people with no problems then there are with problems.

3) Some of these problems may be self induced no matter what people claim.

4) Make sure you have a good relationship with a competent service department, as they can be your saving grace.



- #4 cylinder failure (major problem)
Not as many as you think but may be a serious problem see 4) above.
- 1st - 2nd gear grind (major problem)
I have never had this in my MY '02 but others apparently have see 4) above
- premature clutch failure
Hard to judge as it could be driver related
- oil consumption
1 Burned 1/3 qt in the first 1000 miles and not a drop since
- premature tire wear (no biggy, I can deal with this)
You will need to deal with this if you drive it
- premature leather seat wear (not a real big issue to me)
Have not seen it yet but you should see my Porsche if you want bad wearing leather
- drivers side power window motor
Happened twice and not a big issue as for me yet.
- windshield cracking
Never heard this one but apparently it pits easily. Mine still looks great but I wax mine and it is way better then my Dodge truck which looks like it was sand blasted.
- paint problems
None on mine
- low speed handling problems
Not sure what you mean here
- Dealership's service departments seem to be hard to deal with
See number 4 above


There are a few threads floating around that were started to counter all of the negative threads like the one titled "My car started today" that you might want to look at.