Good thread.

I certainly don't want to pay for manufacturers defects and will pursue all avenues of recourse, should this become necessary. The hype exists, and I for one have probably fallen into it with past experiences.

Still, my car is new and running great, so it gets the benefit of the doubt. When the warranty comes close to expiration, I'll reassess.

 

Buy a WRX..hhehhee....

Honestly though, when I had my S2k, I NEVER had a single problem with the car, loved it, hopefully will own one again some day.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to purchase.

 

Hey Jim, I know I'm not Chaz, but...




Off the top of my head:
1. Transmission
2. Driver's Window
3. #4 Cylinder Failure
4. Soft Top Latches
5. Rear End
6. Spark Plugs
7. Seat Belts

Go to http://www.alldata.com and look up ANY other car. Go ahead, don't be afraid. Ok, I'll do it for you: 1997 Corvette. First Model year like our car, and pretty high-end. Production numbers are larger, but there's only ONE factory that's dedicated to the car like ours. Here goes, I've eliminated BS service bulletins and redundant/non-applicable stuff:

[QUOTE]
01-06-01-011

 

Don't confuse the number of service bulletins with the number of incidents per car (which is what I've asked about.) Ask your friends how many flaws they've had to have fixed on their cars. Having a lot of service bulletins is not neccessarily an indicator of the number of errors per car. And BTW, Honda keeps the service bulletins a secret at AllData! Didn't you read the message? Or did you just look at the titles?

To tell you the truth, I'm too worn out on this topic to answer all of your other comments. We'll always have people who only owned Hondas that think these cars are amazingly superior. These people enable poor after-sales service in the same way that people who cover for alcoholics enable the drinking.

So I guess we'll always have to fight for service and support and we'll always have to depend on the group for support with drivetrain related warrenty claims. Thank heaven for the internet!

 

guys guys guys, NO NEED TO FIGHT
i only asked if the s2k is a good car or not?
reliable or not?

 

Here is why you are hearing about problems on the borads:


The boards are where people go to ask questions. Im sure 99% of the people who have s2000s have no problems. The thing is you dont hear about the problems. You only hear about the problems never the good things that go right with the car. Its like that in everything. Im sure the s is a great car but on hear you only hear about problems.

Hope this helps

 

I know a really good car when I see one. Given the nature of the S2000 and the newness, I find it quite amazing. Clearly a hell'va lot of research went into this engine. One can only hope it will withstand the test of time and high mileage. It sounds like Honda may have addressed some of the transmission issues with improvements in 2002 model year. But, like the original poster, I have some concerns but I try to balance the fact that bad news travels fast.

My personal benchmark for an excellent car:
I have a '90 Nissan Maxima, purchased new, that has 120,000 miles on it. I have never owned a better car. Only expense in the first 60,000 other than oil changes was a battery and I changed the timing belt for preventive maintenance. In the next 60,000 miles I replaced a exhaust manifold, water pump, and struts. That's it and the body is damn near as good as new. It doesn't use or leak any oil.

My personal experience with the S2000:
Using oil (a quart every 1,700 miles for the first 5,100 miles; now it's used 1/2 quart in the next 2,000 miles). I'm attributing this to car's special break-in needs.

Replaced the windshield due to stone breakage. While this could happen to any car, I'm attributing this the car's aerodynamics which probably make it more likely to happen.

One of the top latch locking mechanism's just came apart.

3rd gear is notchy but getting better with age.

My opinion:
Given the high number of new elements in this car (engine, transmission, frame, suspension, rear wheel drive, etc.), it's quite amazing to me that so much seems to work so well for so many. I'm continually amazed by this sweet engine and with all of the high tech stuff that went into it. The fun factor with this car, if you like twisty roads, shifting gears, rev'ing engines, and going like hell, is as good as it gets. However, it's not perfect as the
suspension

 

There was a thread on this forum recently about the simple joy of driving the S2k without problems...something like, "drove my S2k today and it was great"????

Anyway, I had a 2000 for 1-1/2 years with NO problems and am very pleased with the way my new one is humming right along.

cal

 

Hey Tommy, Here is my 2 cents worth...
Other than any warranty covered services, which I did in conjunction with regularly scheduled maintenance at my reliable and honest Honda dealer, I have had no problems with my car! The performance and drive experience has been great, and the wnership experience of owning a first model year S2000 has been great. Mine has over 22k miles so far and it just keeps going.
It is unfortunate that the dealer network for Honda is not consistant, so your delaership experience will vary from dealer to dealer. But the car will make you do this===>>>

 

As has been discussed before, online forums tend to make problems appear to be far more chronic than they really are, for the simple human fact that negative news is often what we need action on and are interested in.

Keep this in mind when reading any Internet-based forum.

If you are having doubts about the S2000, well -- I have no doubts at 5,500kms and ticking. Zero problems, and I am driving the car as it was intended.