My dealer rang me up last week to get the car in for this recall. There is at least one oil nozzle per piston, spraying oil on to the underside of the piston to cool it. this nozzle is on a banjo coupling fed by a hollow bolt attaching to the block and communicating with the oil pump delivery. the original had two holes in it and the modified one has four. the mechanic showed me the old and the new part. apologies if this has been previously posted, my computer will not display recent thresads. anyone know any more?

 

This recall started in the Netherlands 2 or 3 months ago. Honda refuses to admit that it's related to the well-documented #4 cylinder scoring problem, even though the new banjo bolt is for the #4 cylinder. We in NA are keenly interested in seeing this recall come here, but are frankly skeptical about American Honda's willingness to do it.

Good to hear that other countries are getting the recall though...maybe there's hope yet for us Yanks.

 

oh not another recall, I don't like taking it in to the dealer as is.

 

See these threads:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...?threadid=67081
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...?threadid=69568

 

while I really, really dislike Honda's service here in North America, I think I'd take it in if my options were:

1) Oil starvation, engine block blows, replacement at my cost
2) Take it in to Honda and get a free banjo bolt replacement

Thanks for the information, heli. It really is good to see that Honda of Europe is properly handling this situation. If only AHM would do the same for those of us in North America..

Honestly, though.. the part replacement doesn't seem too complicated. It requires removal of the oil pan, but that would be worth it to fix this issue. Perhaps owners can source the new part and do the modification themselves?

Matt

 

How can American Honda be be reluctant, skeptical, or even ignore this recall if Honda in Europe/the Netherlands is carrying it out? If it's been escalated to a recall in the Netherlands then it's an obvious design flaw. Why can't the word from Honda Corporate (Japan) be announce and just make this a world-wide recall? Is Honda that afraid of any bad PR? I guess in this difficult economy, Honda doesn't want anything to affect their sales or reputation.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Silver Bullet
[B]How can American Honda be be reluctant, skeptical, or even ignore this recall if Honda in Europe/the Netherlands is carrying it out?

 

I have no direct information but here is what I believe:

When run at high RPM for an extended period of time the regular banjo bolts don't deliver sufficient oil. The different driving conditions I think refers to the autobahn where it is possible to legally go for long stretches at top speed.

The conditions don't exist here in NA according to AHM because it would be illegal here to max out 6th let alone do it for long periods of time.

That said, if you live in SoCal, NV, AZ or the plain states and think you might do some high speed cruising then you might want to strongly consider performing this service yourselves. Is it reasonable for AHM to not do this free? It probably is. It is relatively unlikely for most people to run their cars in these conditions. You need to find a really long (150+ miles) , really straight road with no traffic and no cops and be willing to risk the clink if you are wrong. Roads and conditions like this do exist but not in such quantity that AHM should offer this fix to every S2000 in North America.

If you think you might run your car like that then get the work done and have the peace of mind in knowing it has been. If not then don't run your car like that even if the opportunity presents itself.

I would really like AHM to tell us the secret they are holding back so we can avoid doing damage to the engine. Surely telling us that this might happen under these conditions so don't do it wouldn't open them up to any liability or obligate them to make the car perform as such. It would also be nice if they installed these bolts standard on ALL '03 and future models since they know the problem may exist. I can't see how this would change their costs any. I guess we won't know until the parts catalog comes out in the fall whether this change has been made since they probably wont tell us.

I for one, living in So Cal, have this opportunity presented frequently and thus I'm going to get a set of these new bolts and do the work myself.

 

I am absoulutely with you cthree. what actually started me thinking about this was a vortech sc. i was looking through the instructions and noticed that you have to remove the oil pan at some point and tap it. i think all the owners of these kits or anyone, like you say, that is interested in testing the engine's limits, shoud get this done themselves.

My only realy concern is how readily available these parts will be. If its anything like getting a JDM Civic Type R cam, Honda will be screwing us royaly.

 

You don't have to drive at 140+ mph to drive at high rpm. And for a car that's meant/marketed to be revved and dare I say requires it, it's logical to assume that a non-trivial percentage of owners will visit the upper third of the rpm band more often than in other cars. At the very least, there should be a TSB informing dealers that they could recommend the procedure to customers if the customer indicates that he visits vtec-land early and often.