has the car sat, undriven, for any extended amounts of time?

i hadn't driven my car in about a month and battery had died.. got a new one and had immediate issues with car dropping to dangerously low idle when taken out of gear. initial startup is good but everytime i coasted or came to a stop the rpms would drop and shudder and the car would shake a bit. it stalled itself once and i took it straight back to the shop and after doing some research i saw that this is not an uncommon thing to have happen with this car.

the computer/sensors/whatever just needed to realize they are not keeping the engine idling properly and adjust themselves. i've been driving it everyday now and the issue is noticeably clearing itself up. if this does happen to be the same issue the key seems to be with letting the car 'hurt' (no actual damage done in my case..) itself a bit to realize it needs to adjust. if you give it some gas to keep the idle rpm higher that just delays the healing.

anyway best of luck whatever it turns out to be.

 

To Tyraid, No there has never been a CEL. It has been happening for about 2 months now. Have spoken to Honda today, said there was nothing they could do, just take it to another dealer. Great customer service there!

To Sleek... Thanks for the encouragement, no it has never set up. But, when I had it the other day and it died on me several times, I just let die, without giving it gas, and it actually has not acted up for these last two days now. My daughter is so aggravated that she is just going to deal with it. Me, on the other hand, I am going to make as much noise as I can. I cannot believe that a car that sells for $36000. will not last for a year without being a tech to work on it. We will definitely NEVER buy another Honda and make sure and spread the word. I really appreciate your words of encouragement, and hopefully our problem will just go away, too. : )

 

Look, I think it stinks that you're having to deal with this. And I think the service that you've received from the dealerships so far could have been better. However, you need to get all your facts straight before you start making noise.

It is entirely possible that your daughter mis-shifted the car and ruined the engine. Like it or not this could be the reason why the car is malfunctioning. No car, no matter how expensive, will withstand the abuse of a mechanical over rev. Expecting a car to be reliable based solely on its price tag is laughable, in fact higher cost almost always means more visits to the dealer to fix problems (unless you own a Lexus). Does this mean its OK to have problems? No, but make sure that you exhaust all your options before coming to the conclusion that you won't own another Honda.

Finally, as several people have already suggested, get a case started with Honda of America. Once you have a case number they have to call you back, at the very least they have to listen to your complaint. I think you'll find that they'll try to accommodate your concerns, especially if the car is still within the warranty period (how many miles are one it?).

Last but not least, was ANYTHING done to the car lately that might have caused this issue? Was the car in for service just before it started acting strange? Does it have any modifications? For some reason the S2000 is one of those cars that very few places seem to service correctly. There are many stories on here of people bringing their S2000s to quick lube places or even the dealership and having a technician incorrectly service the car which later resulted in a failure of some sort. Good luck with this and keep us posted.

 

If the motor was not over-revved I would bet it's an issue with the DRIVE BY WIRE system. I have seen a similar problem with an automatic Infiniti FX35 at my friends shop and that was the culprit. Wouldn't hurt to check the coils and plugs either.

 

As far as I'm concerned after yesterday and speaking with Honda of America on the phone this morning, I have exhausted all the energy I'm going to. I PROMISE NO ONE that I know will EVER own another Honda. And yes, the car only has 29000 miles on it. Ford warranties their Cobras with NO questions asked, and every guy that I know that owns one has beat it, drag raced it, and missed shifts while drag racing it. One has received a brand new engine, so you're telling me that my 28 yr. old daughter who does mostly highway driving, and that's normal driving, not drag racing, can tear up a Honda and that's HER fault??????
I'm sure you are a very faithful Honda guy and that's fine for you, after all this is a Honda Forum.... just not for us.
Thanks for your input.

 

I am mad momma's daughter.
I've just read all these posts and I'm sickened by those that say I've obviously downshifted the car. I don't "redline" this piece of crap car, nor have I ever. Even though I'm a blonde girl I CAN actually drive a manual transmission vehicle, contrary to honda techs. This problem started about 2 months ago. I have been taking my car to the same shop for oil changes that I took my last 2 cars to, they know what they are doing and they don't try to "screw me over" like the last dealership I dealt with. I just know that this is ridiculous to pay 36k dollars for a vehicle and be treated like a second class citizen and have my driving abilities defamed. I will NEVER purchase a honda vehicle again and believe me I was obviously a loyal customer because I work for a Union and took a lot of slack for buying this car....should have listened.

 

There's a difference between missing shifts and missing shifts that result in a mechanical over rev, causing the engine to fail.

If your daughter did mis shift the car severely enough to bend valves (and I'm not saying that SHE DID) then I would not blame Honda for your problems. The warranty doesn't cover bad driving. In this case, I don't know if that's the culprit or not but if it is, Honda hasn't done anything wrong here.

EDIT: I just read the post above mine, looks like we posted at the same time. With posts like this I don't feel sorry for you any more. Good riddance, I hope it's sunny in your little world.

 

Well let's just set the record straight right here and now,
My daughter has NOT missed a shift that caused a mechanical over rev that caused the engine to fail.
She has owned NOTHING but manuals and has NEVER had any issues...like an RX7 Turbo, Camaro, Eclipse, and an Accord.
So "I" do blame Honda.

 

Now I'm just reading a script from the Jerry Springer show. Congrats, you both made my ignore list. Buh bye.

 

awww....Mom we hurt the poor little guy's feelings....and my little world is pretty sunny