treydog

I just want to say that I'm glad I've found this site, this seems to be the site of sites for S2000 info.

I have a '00 s2000 w/ 7500k and the clutch smell became to much for me. I called my Honda dealership, and they said that there is a TSB on the clutch.
So I took it in, BAD NEWS!!!

Tech said clutch was almost down to metal! The flywheel and pressure plate have burn marks on them. He said it all has to be replaced!!
He said the TSB and Warrenty doesn't cover wear items like these, and he would cut me a deal, if I bought all the parts he would install everything labor free.

So my Honda still sits at the shop, waiting for my decision.
What do I do guys? How can this be, I bought a Honda because of their know reliability, I figured if I spent 35K on a Honda, I'd really be getting a great car. But after taking my car to dealership and now reading past archives on this forum, this car doesn't hold up any better then a Ford Taurus! I don't want to flame anyone or myself, but this is ridiculous. As far as how its been driven the last 7500, I've OCCASIONALLY dropped clutched past 5K rpms, maybe 5 or 6 times. This isn't right, any sports car should be able to take this punishment!

What to do, please help me make my S2000 experience as best as I can, considering the issue at hand.



One more thing, my girl left my dog in the garage one night and it scratched my rear windows all up, I heard there's a TSB on the rear window. Can I work it out to get a new rear windows through this TSB? ( I ask this cause I can't seem to find the details on this TSB)

Thanks again guys (or gals)

jerrypeterson

Typically, if something is damaged Honda will not cover the item under warrantee. So if the dog shredded the rear window, you are in a bad place. As for the clutch rattle TSB on the MY2000 drivetrain, well that is really in the grey area. 7500 miles isn't very much life for a clutch. If the repairs are covered under warrantee, all of the replaced items will be sent to Honda Corporate. If this is not covered under warrantee you can keep the old parts. In other words, ask if you get to keep the clutch and flywheel. If they do not provide the used parts back to you, and the labor is under warrentee something sketching is probably going on here. Bottom line: I can understand paying for the clutch, but personally I would fight for the cost of the flywheel. Worst case scenario, I'd play with the idea of going with an aftermarket flywheel. The reality is this: if any level of abuse has contributed to this scenario the cost of parts is miniscule to the cost of labor for this job.

Shamu was in a similar place six months ago with only 5000km on the odo. I would recommend PMing him and ask him about his experience.

I would seriously consider contacting Honda Corporate if you aren't comfortable. The person you should write is the District Sales Manager (aka DSM). Unfortunately, I do not have his contact information handy because I am in the middle of moving. I recommend escalating if this doesn't feel right.

The perception that these are unreliable cars is pretty skewed. It is the exception and not the rule to have problems on the S2000. These are very reliable cars, and handle quite a bit of abuse before they start complaining. Outside of scheduled maintnence, I would only be wary of dropping the clutch at every stoplight. Remember, the membership is very active and in many cases very knowledgable. People will post about the slightest problem, and everyone will jump in to help find a solution. Unfortunately, this creates a flawed perception that we drive a flawed vehicle, when that is truely far from the case. Lots of us have MY2000's and have driven very aggressively without any issues.

bryons2000

How much would it cost you for the clutch parts alone? From what I have heard, the MY2000 clutch is not as strong as the 02, and is more sensitive to abuse. From what you have wrote, I can say that I think my MY2000 original clutch with 36k miles has been used more aggressively, yet I have not had any problems with it yet. Your situation is at the very least frustrating with so few miles on the car. If you do decide to get the clutch job done, won't they replace it with the 02 clutch anyway? It will be a bit stronger, and a little less noisy right? Well, I would just get the new clutch and tell myself that its an "upgrade"!

I would say get the clutch, pay for it now, then write the DSM like Jerry said. Maybe a well written letter would convince them to reimburse you for the prematurely rotten clutch!
Good luck -bryon

S2K_CLS

I used Tonkin for my service needs and found them to be very fair.

As for the clutch, the TSB covers noise. However what you describe is "wear". My S2000 had about 17k when the clutch was done under the TSB. They never mentioned mine looking "burned, etc". The "burn" marks are generally associated with slipping. In some ways, you could say that dumping the clutch isn't as hard as the slipping that a lot of people do to get the car rolling.

When I owned an S2K, there wasn't really a TSB about the windows, just about window care. That might be different now. That was my biggest dislike about the S2K -- plastic rear window.

I'd say that if you have to pay for parts but are getting the labor for free, its a good time to upgrade.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by treydog
[B]
Tech said clutch was almost down to metal! The flywheel and pressure plate have burn marks on them. He said it all has to be replaced!!