jeffkenn

i backed out of a parking spot put the car in first gear got up to about 6 or 6.5K heard a pop. the car stalled. i started it again and it blew smoke out the exhaust so i shut off immediatley and called a tow truck. i had it taken to my local honda dealer. coincidently i had it scheduled for it's 60K mile service the next day. they called me and said they needed to do a "tear down" to find the problem. two days later they called me and said that water had entered cylinder #4 and since water does not compress it cracked the cylinder wall. i think they also said there was damage to the valves.
i have an AEM c.a.i. installed and they said that's how the water got in and of course the damage would not be covered under the extended warranty i purchased. they also said as little as half an ounce of water can do severe damage. in this case they said the engine needs to be replaced at a cost of $8,500. they did find a used motor for a total cost (parts & labor) of $6,600.
i called AEM and the first person i spoke to agreed with honda about the amount of water then the second person, Robert, incharge of warranty issues said it takes alot more than that. he said he was going to have J.C. , the founder of AEM, talk to my honda people tomorrow.
i'm not so sure that this was caused by water getting in through the c.a.i. i am pretty sure that as soon as honda saw it that their investigation may have been prejudiced. it was raining that day but the car was parked before it started raining and then driven (not very far) after it stopped. i have about 15K miles on the AEM and have not had any problems. i do avoid driving this car in the rain just on general principle since its a second car.
does anybody have any helpful info about this situation ?
meanwhile, i'm going to have an independent investigative mechanic look the car to see what else could have caused this.

i would greatly appreciate any and all input. thanks, JK

Russ

I have an AEM and last week, drove 55 miles in a torrential downpour. I mean it
was raining so hard, people were pulling off the side of the road to wait it out. There was
nearly an inch or two of standing water on the turnpike and the car in front of me was
just throwing twin streams of water right into my fascia.
No problems.
FWIW guys, if you have ANY engine-related failures, as far as I'm concerned from what
I've seen with Honda, you HAVE no engine warranty. Plain and simple. Good luck to anyone with
a CAI getting Honda to warranty anything related to the engine. This company sells us
a sportscar but wants us to drive it like a Civic and will ALWAYS take the stance that their beloved
S2000 couldn't POSSIBLY be at fault for ANY engine-related failures. They have list of
"faults" they can assign to you for any number of problems that in all honesty, would be difficult
to counter in a court of law. They know this and afterall, their pockets are bigger than yours.
Thank god some dealers exhibit more common sense and give customers a bit more slack when they bring in a damaged S2000. There is enough documented warranty issues with this car to stop this assinine assumption that it's ALWAYS our fault.

E36Ap1

I would have taken the intake out before I took it back to the dealer though.

Neil.H

Don't give them a reason to turn the claim down.

steven975

Acura warrantied a whole motor when it blew, and I had a CAI. Since it wasn't raining the day they towed it in, they said it couldn't be water. the ecu showed no overrev, so they good-willed it.

That's Acura, though. Too bad the S doesn't come with Acura service.

apex2k

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jeffkenn

jeffkenn

thanks for the replys.
i would be interested in knowing how many cases of blown motors are out there, for any reason, c.a.i. related or not.

also, assuming i am going to paying for this, is there any problem with a used motor or is it worth spending the extra 2,000 for new?

Russ, when you mentioned warranty issues with this car what are you refering to?

thanks, JK

Russ

Anything engine-failure related and you're fighting an uphill battle. I actually had a conversation
with a Honda Tech Rep who told me that in most cases, they believe a shift from 4th to
3rd (when the driver intended to shift to 5th) even if the revs do not go beyond 9K is
considered an "over rev" and thus, could be grounds for refusal of warranty work if for
SOME reason, anytime following such an occurance, something happens to the engine.
Don't ask me to explain such nonsense. If that was the case, downshifting would be
immediate cause for Honda to say, "no warranty work." I had friends with me who can
back up this thought process (at least from this one particular Honda employee). Hard to believe, eh?

"I just did a 3-2 prior to that apex, listen to those revs...all the way to 7K! oh no, there goes the warranty!"

VTEC4-2

CAIs (CWIs) are an unnecessary risk in my opinion.

Coolant and motor oil doesn't compress either.

Did the report finding water in the intake tube or manifold?

xviper

[QUOTE]Originally posted by apex2k