I'm sure that if you researched the history of problems on the Miata in its first year of production, there were probably many more recorded problems or failure incidents than for the S2000, over the same period of time. However, because of the small number of S2Ks on the road, then the number of problems or failures, as a percentage of the S2K population, compared to the Miata, obviously appears greatly amplified.

I think you'll find that almost all failure incidents that are likely to occur on the S2K have already been recognized, and most fixes have already been built into the 01's. Any failure incidents that occur in the future are almost certainly going to be of the same type that can occur on virtually any vehicle during a production run - even on the Miata.

 

There was a seat belt recall? What was the problem, I missed that post.

 

MX5dude,

I use my S as a daily driver. 18,000 miles. No problems.

I think that you are not considering the relatively small sample of S2000 owners this forum represents. S2000Online may shortly cross the 1000 member mark. That is out of 20,000-30,000+ worldwide production for the first year or so? You must take into account how 'fanatical' S2KOnline owners are about their cars. We are small in number, but very vocal about problems. As has been stated the majority of owners who are enjoying a trouble-free S usually don't postthings like; "I had an uneventful, but stimulating ride in the S today. No problems to report. Just wanted to say I'm loving this car!"

We get these posts at first, but if there are no problems people generally keep quiet about the car except for group buys and questions about new things. If you were to lurk in other manufacturers forums you would see the same small percentage of owners focusing on every aspect of the car as we do here.

btw - I had a great drive from Newburgh over 218(runs along the Hudson River) to West Point today! No problems to report. Zainoed my interior leather bits this afternoon. Will probably go over 18,000 miles on my way to visit Rick tomorrow. Another great day in my Stook!

 

Interesting JRM. I've had most of the mentioned problems on my Sept/99 car. It's never been abused, no clutch dumps, etc.

I haven't spent a lot of time b!tching about it here and Honda has taken VERY good care of me. I believe they have fixed the early production problems that a few cars had and I'm very happy with my car. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. While this car hasn't been as perfect as my 90 Miata now that Honda has fixed the problems I had I expect it to be.

The Miata is a great car -- the S2K is an even better one.

 

I've driven both cars, the Mx-5 and I own a stook. The MX-5's was a friend of mines and was heavily modded with every bolt on you could think of, and I pushed the hell out it. But after I got into the stook for the first time, it doesn't even compare. Its like apples and ice cream. I recommend you test drive an S2K before you make a decision. If you get a 2001 model, I'm pretty sure those cars have less of a chance of the problems mentioned. Even though you have to remember that there were 30,000 cars made and only a few of the owners are a member of this forum, and even fewer members had problems. 2000miles and going strong.

 

To all

I can see that most of you seem to warship your stooks - that is definately a good sign..
You have a point: when you have some bad apples on a tree not all are rotten..far fro it.
I have a friend with an early 97 Boxster 2.5, one of the first ones with over 60k miles without a problem, and people talk a lot about several problems with this model.
Altough it still seems to me that at least the first year stooks have had a lot of troubles, it is only natural and expected that Honda addressed the respective issues.

Thanks for your opinions/input.

Rui

 

Keep in mind the problems you have may not be your own. High RPM motors are extremely sensitive to break in procedures. You have no idea who "test drove" your car before you bought it! If you buy a very low mileage car 0-25 miles and break it in properly.....it will run a very, very, long time....just like a Honda Sportbike!

 

Miata's aren't without their problems. A few examples:
- weak nose on the crank in '90, eventually causing erratic timing & needing a complete tear down to fix.
- crankshaft endplay problems in '99. Too much play, causing increased wear, necessitating engine replacement/teardown.

Also, as others have mentioned, it's common to hear focus on problems on a forum like this.

Scott.
'00 S2k

 

MX5Dude,

No problems to report on my '01. I had an uneventful ride to work today.

 

I just have to say that I feel your pain MX5DUDE. I recently ordered an S-2 and did a lot of research before hand on the car. Since I came to this website I was horrified about all of the problems I was hearing about. My adam's apple dropped into my stomach when I was reading some of the descriptions. I just want to thank everyone for putting my mind to rest a little. T minus 44 days and counting. Just in time for spring.