Hi,

Dunno if anyone can help me but iv started to notice an issue with the S.

When letting the car come down the rev range, once it gets to just below 3000 RPM there is a noticable engine note change, the only way to describe it is more "metallic-y" and louder. This only happens for 500 RPM or so and then it goes back to normal, and only when coming down, not going up (although it flies throught that 500 so quick it might just be me missing it).

It is a lot more noticable when the engine is cold, i dont know if this is just because all engine noises are more noticable when its just started or what, i am not particualrly experienced when it comes to them.

I mentioned all this to Honda when i took the car in for its 63k service the other day, and apparently the engineer said the noise was so slight he was surprised id heard it.....this is not the case as it is very noticable when on the road, not sure what he had heard.

Anyways after much wrangling and agreeement that there was something there they prodouced a bulletin notice saying that it was due to something within the "clutch-springs - i think its hard to remember" and that "some customers may notice a noise due to this when decelerating from high RPM". This is partly true, but the noise happens when decelerating throught that rev range from any RPM, so im not sure.

Finally they got back to me - i have a hondacare extended warranty, which has just expired - and they said that the warranty company want a full strip down first, which i will have to cover the cost for -

 

From your detailed description I'd say you're dealing with the well known clutch buzz issue.

If the extended warranty is up I'm not sure how much luck you'll have getting the dealer to replace the clutch. For 380 pounds I'd say you could get your own clutch and pressure plate and just have a trusted shop do the work but I'm not familiar with pricing in regions outside of North America.

Check out this page for TSBs for your model year. The 2001 model year is affected by the clutch buzz/decel TSB. Even though your warranty expired based on time, you might still be able to get the dealer to do the service as your car has relatively low miles and they might replace it under good faith. This all depends on the dealer. Some guys in the states have had luck going this route.

EDIT: I just re-read your post. Looks like the dealer is already aware of the TSB issue with your car. From your viewpoint, I would argue that the dealership should have performed the service while the car was under warranty. If they didn't, that shouldn't be your problem. I would change your approach a little bit. Instead of asking them to fix the buzz, ask them to perform the TSB that should have been performed all along. If that also fixes your clutch buzz issues then great, if not then at least you have a new clutch and can pay someone else to find the solution without paying dealer rates. Just my 2c.

 

thanks for the reply.

yeh the warranty is up now but i reported the problem before it expired and let them know this,i was told then that even if my warranty runs out because this problem has been recognised in the warranty period then they will still cover it....provided it is at fault.

i will try the approach you suggest, ill post on here how it goes, hopefully they'll be understanding :-p