Joshua, we're now up to 15 short block replacements due to piston/cylinder failure (and four do to porous block) on my short block replacement thread.

The only one of the fiifteen that had the oil light come on was cde. Not all of the fifteen had low oil, but many did. cde's case is unusual because a defective installation of an oil filter might well have caused his failure. From his thread, if I remember right, he got the tap-tap-tap well before he had the catastrophic oil loss.

I bet you are right too that AHM will cover this. Dhoward might need to provide proof that his car was checked for fluid levels 600 miles before the failure.

dlq04, you are certainly right that we shouldn't have to document our dipstick status every gasoline fill-up. I merely propose that as a way to avoid some dispute if we need warranty work. It is easy enough to do and might well speed up AHM's acceptance of its responsibility, if an engine replacement is needed. $11,000 at risk. No cost for documenting.

As a physician, I can tell you lots of the documenting we do is for the malpractice liability benefit rather than for the patient's benefit. Sad but true. That is the legal/medical climate of the U.S.A. today.

 

dhoward,

How many parade laps did you take and were they right hander turns? It's been said here before that our cars lose oil through the intake tract in right hand turns. If I were you I'd take a closer look at this. Perhaps a design flaw? I hope everything works out ok for you.



John

 

John,

Two different parade lap runs consisting of 3 laps each. Three right hand turns, 5 lefts and several long straights.

vhoward
dhoward's other half (who wants his NSX back)

 

vhoward, if I were you, I'd print out the threads related to #4 cylinder failures and the threads related to short block engine failures.

I'd get a signed and notarized statement from the person who checked your oil and coolant level earlier in the day.

I'd get a printout of the tsb on engine oil consumption.

Then I'd go to the owner and explain how you understand how they might MISunderstand that you caused the engine failure, but in your case, you have documentation that the oil was full six hundred miles before their service team diagnosed it with "no oil" and how this could only be due to a defective engine. I'd point out that fourteen other short block failures were covered either by warranty or by courtesy repair. I'd ask the owner to go to bat for you with the regional Honda rep to have AHM cover this.

I really doubt that you will end up having to pay a single penny of this repair, and I'd expect your car to be "good as new" whatever that means.

Private mail me if you like. I'd love to have your VIN#, date of manufacture, date of purchase and anything else you think important.

It sounds to me like you take much better care of your S2000 than the average car owner and that your engine failed due to something beyond your control, i.e. a design or manufacturing flaw.

 

Hey Deb and Vince - it's Joe w/ the Black&Red S2K (#82). I was behind your car on the drive to dinner and after; it was clean. I was also the last car to leave the Hotel on Sunday and (parking lot empty) didnt notice any large oil spots from where you guys where parked. 1/4 of a quart of oil leaves a *huge* mark - much less 4Q. I would've caught it. Same with at the track - you're spots were clean. (I almost flagged the driver of the Rabbit down when he pulled out of the garage b/c of a stain his car was leaving - he had a small water leak fr/ the rad).

Anywho - my shop does a lot of work on Nissans and I'll be staying off of Robinson St this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. I'd like to come look at your car and put it up on stands if that's ok with you.

Talk to you later -

 

ContachPatch, IMO, I don't believe these engines leak any oil, although there may be exceptions. I'm consuming a quart every 1,700 miles. I have a spotless garage (painted floor, 12 over head lights, etc.) and I've never seen a single drop of oil on either the engine or the floor.

 

Joe R.

The car is in Atlanta at Gwinnett Place Honda. I am planning a trip up there this week to hopefully meet with the local Honda rep and do a little more research on the car. If the car was in Central Florida my local Acura dealer would go to bat for me, but Gwinnett Honda doesn't know me from Adam. Believe it or not, I called my local Acura dealer and gave them the scenario, the provided me with names and numbers at AHM and stated that we needed to ask for a "authorized disassembly" at AHM's cost because we are "loyal" Honda owners (no other brands in the past twelve years).

Interesting side note, the dealership called me back and stated they had done some diagnostic tests and determined that it was the number 2 cylinder that was bad. How can they determine this without taking apart the engine? If the car had no oil, the number 4 cylinder would be the first to be starved of oil and should be the first to fail.

We are still in the information gathering phase to present a fair case to AHM. I would like to extend a warm thank you to all who are continuing to post to this thread. You insight into this problem and support means a lot.

dhoward/vhoward

01 S2K (Temporarily idle)
99 Z-NSX #17 Supercharged (Medicinal purposes)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dhoward
[B]Interesting side note, the dealership called me back and stated they had done some diagnostic tests and determined that it was the number 2 cylinder that was bad.

 

Deb and Vince,

I don't think which cylinder died makes too much difference. The #4 cylinder is usually the hottest and the most subject to low oil. However, it really doesn't matter for your case since your oil was full 600 miles before your engine died.

You are correct that when they disassemble the engine, if they use appropriate diagnostics, they might find a manufacturing defect which caused your catastrophic failure. Utah S2K on this board has a lot of experience and might be helpful.

For sure, Utah S2K will suggest you get a sample of the oil for analysis. I really think this is a good idea.

AHM knows that this is their problem. You just need to reach the right people. You will.

 

Check this thread:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...p?threadid=4823

I had a similar problem...basically the vehicle will use oil in the early part of its engine life (this is already well documented on the board).

When it actually uses the oil is still somewhat a mystery to me. However, with my 2nd motor, I checked the oil at every fuel stop...if there was any heavy VTEC-ing it would be down a quarter or half a quart. However, #2's oil use is slowing and basically I don't need to add any between changes (which occur every 3-4k mi).

By the way, I do track occassionally (twice a year or so) but it's a daily driver (mostly freeway) so I don't drag race or abuse the car.

You need to take you problem to Honda's regional rep or higher. If this problem is occuring prior to the first recommended oil change (7.5K) then it should be covered by warranty.

Good luck! (email me if you want to discuss further!)

Mike