ALL cars are getting better all the time. The reliability problems of the current crop of cars are miniscule in comparison to anything 10 or more years ago. The auto market is too competitive for any manufacturer to get complacent. People talk! It great to have this type of forum, but remember folks with problems will post 'em, those with no problems generally don't have as much to say.

A personal note: I was forced to become a decent mechanic by owning a used MG Midget for a year as a daily driver in the 80's - I think there was at least one MAJOR failure of every system (engine, transmission, brakes, cooling, starter, suspension) not to mention the horrifying electrical system (2 dashboard fires! ). Ever have a throttle return spring snap in traffic? - I have!

In comparison, my year old S2K has had one minor recall for spark plugs, no other reason to even talk to the dealer.

Stock, unbeaten, properly broken in and correctly maintained S2K's are almost appliances (at least reliability wise). Start hard core modding, or 10/10ths driving, or neglect of the basics (oil level, tires), and all bets are off.

 

 

Boy, somebody has been stalking the post graveyard...

The thread was dormant over two years before kem revived it!

Transmission problems seem to have quieted down quite a bit. I know that mine has been fine since the second try at the TSB fix and running GM syncromesh.

Haven't heard about too many Cyl. 4 failures lately either, or even stretched valves due to an improper downshift...

All in all, pretty reliable, and now that dealers have enough competent, trained mechanics to work on S2000's, seems like the problems that do crop up are resolved more quickly and professionally.

 

Geesh, take a look at the number of S2000 owners total (based on sales), then take a look at the number of owners registered on this board, some of which are not very active members. S2KI represents a slice of the overall S2000 owner population.

You'll find most S2000 owners never bother using S2KI, maybe they never looked for this place, don't have a computer or care about the internet, etc.

Take a look at some of the people who post they have problems. If you look at the date of thier first post, it's probably correlates with the first time they complained about a problem. Meaning, many people who don't have a problem won't look for a forum for help... they are out there driving with a smile on their face somewhere.

And a few might be trolls... take a look, many are registered as an enthusiast.

A greater percentage of S2KI (internet user) owners are younger (less experienced at maintaining a car). They are also more likely to modify their cars than the general population. And probably drive their cars harder.

So if you judge the quality of the car by browsing forum topics, you're very misled. I can say the S2000 is very good out of the box, and after many thousands of miles of hard driving... based on every single Owner I have personally met face to face.

 

No problems on my car other than a couple of TSBs that I took care of (clutch buzz and power window) -- and I broke 48k miles this morning while revving it up on my 50th (or so) canyon run!

Nevermind all the reports I see on s2ki about the bad apples. After driving the car for so long, I just get a feeling of very strong reliability from it.

 

Don't have one, so I can't give a personal testimonial. A single anectodal story isn't worth much anyway. However CR's survey-based rating shows it to be #1 in reliability, ahead of the Miata, in the Sports Car class. Though the asterisk indicates it was based on an essentially, one year, limited data set. In two months, they'll have another issue out with probably a much larger data set.

I agree that looking at a car-dedicated forum will give a biased, and probably inaccurate, view of a car's reliabilty.

The other thing I'd like to mention is to consider how dealer's treat you if something (though unlikely) does go wrong. This board indicates a fair number of complaints about dealer's blaming problems on driver abuse. Now, given the nature of the net, this may be statistically irrelevant. Complaints are the rule, and frankly, the S2000 is probably abused more than most other cars.

I would be concerned over how a 240 hp, 9000 rpm 2.0L engine and lightweight drivetrain that highway cruises at 3500+ rpm holds up over 80-100+k miles. Alas, that data set will be statistically irrelevant for a while to come.

 

I have a 2001 with 19K miles. Only problems I've ever had is 1st->2nd notchiness when the tranny is really cold. ( Ie < 20 degrees ) As soon as it would warm up the notchiness went away. And a ringing shifter that is easily fixed by lubeing the shifter cap.

We will see how the next 19K hold up.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kem
[B]ALL cars are getting better all the time.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Legal Bill
[B]


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