SenseiRick

If you can't understand the situation - it's because you weren't there!
Second My story hasn't changed - my original post was an initial description of events......
If you follow it closely it makes 100% perfect sense: I am just adding missing pieces as people are asking for more information - About the Grammar - sorry but there's a lot to type and people want to get straight to the point and skip all the little un-important details, which is why I need to respond and fill those gaps......cool

Now the dealer said - You Need a new Engine - your damage could have only been caused by over-reving.........then I asked them what's the damage?
they said your valves are damaged and 2-spark plugs are broken and you have bent rods????.........never did I claim anything else - however 1 thing I still have in the back of my mind is: my friend when he showed up at the scene just before the tow truck and check the engine - his first comment was: you broke a timing chain or broke a valve! Now do I believe that YES! - Did the dealer mention anything about it! NO! But My friend never opened up the engine so his speculation is not credible!

the details of how it happened are up top - in response to your question: After the pop the car immediately came to a screeching stop - then all the bars vanished - my foot was off the gas - it was actually on the brake (that was my immediate reaction) I also depressed the clutch when I hit the brakes - after that Point I can't tell you if the clutch worked or not - I do know another thing - after the engine seized I lost my power steering because even with all the engine lights on I had to roll the car to the shoulder and had no power steering.............if this isn't enough let me know.

I am just trying to figure out what could have caused this chain of events and cause this.........What I still can't get through my head is the fact that they (and some of the above)
keep speculating a mis-shift and offer no proof in the data recorder
(when at the Time I wasn't even shifting)............

infinitebass

Could have been a misshift previously. Why have you not had them open the engine and check the timing chain? Why have you not gone up there and taken a look at it yourself? We've all made suggestions about things you should do, but you haven't.

If it was a timing chain, all you have to do is go up there, ask to see the timing chain (Just pull off the valve cover) and look. pretty simple way to see if that was it.

Blake

s2ka

Bummer on the engine, you are probably not going to get much sympathy here on the forum, and even if you do get sympathy it won't help your situation. Your best bet is to go back to the dealer, talk calmly and nicely to the service manager, giving the honest facts as you know them. If he/she can't satisfy you, ask for the name and phone number of the regional sales manager. Since you are still in the warranty period you are in a much stronger position than if you were out of warranty. If you are young, you might have more success bringing someone older with you who has experience with cars (mechanic, parent etc.).

Good luck with it.

slalom44

SenseiRick: If the timing chain broke at the initial "pop", then the engine would shut down immediately, and probably trash your valves, rods and plugs in the process. It would be impossible to be bouncing off the rev limiter with a broken timing chain. That means that something else happened at the "pop", and the timing chaing broke later, trashing your engine. Are you saying that you disengaged the engine, then the engine started bouncing off the rev limiter or were you just driving along, and without changing anything, the engine broke loose from the drivetrain and hit 9000 rpm?

It sounds like the dealer is jumping to conclusions. Bent valves, rods, and plugs can be caused by a broken timing chain even if the engine is idling!! So your mission is to convince the dealer that the broken timing chain did the damage, and to determine what happened at the "pop" that set things in motion. If it was just a broken timing chain, then your engine would never have accelerated.

Good Luck!!

suvh8r

I personally think that talking to a lawyer is your best bet. If they can't prove that you were over-revving then the lawyer/courts (if it goes that far) should get you a new engine. Just don't let up on this and keep pestering them.

mav

Hmmmm From what I know and read about this situation, I thought problems due to a mis-shift/overrev is immediate. How can damage occur over time and how long will something like this take to show up? What are the early symptoms, if any?

Jreyenga

Are you saying the tach was at the rev limiter or the motor itself was actually revving up to 9 grand??? I think this might be a big part of the confusion...

If the cam stopped spinning, and there may be a sync ref sensor on the cam, that could cause the sensing of engine speed to get out of wack, and maybe the ecu "displayed" full rpm... You really need to clarify wether or not the tach showed that rpm or if the motor was really spinning that fast. With your story, it's virtually impossible for the motor to suddenly jump to redline.

the only way that I can think this could have happened fitting your story would be for first, the driveline or clutch let go while you were accelerating hard in 4th, and then second, the throttle to stick open when you take you foot out of it... those two things happening at once just ain't very likely.

But, if it was just the ecu having a fit about no sync signal because the timing chain let go, that sounds reasonable...

davepk

Actually, That now seems to be the most reasonable explanation so far that fits the description. The only remaining question i have is during the 4 to 5 seconds the RPM gauge was pegged did you also hear the normal corrosponding engine note. You said the RPMs went wild, do you mean that the gauge went wild? or that the engine and its note went wild?

slalom44

Originally posted by Jreyenga: I think you hit the nail on the head, Jreyenga. If the engine wasn't moving, but the tach showed 9K rpm, then the broken timing chain makes sense. It would also explain all of the other things SenseiRick describes - except for "the rpm's slammed into the rev limiter".

SenseiRick: You just might get a new engine out of this after all!!

gene

Cut to the chase, write the CEO of HONDA AMERICA a short, honest business letter asking for his help.
Tell him you have a new HONDA that blew an engine and HONDA's Service won't honor the warranty.
Tell him you bought your HONDA (not a BMW) because of the reliability and service reputation.

This CEO/reputation/please help-me tactic has worked for me with HONDA &SEARS & EDDIE BAUER. when the local folks would not budge. I should mention that in the letters I always had a valid complaint about the way I was "miss-treated" (that's what pissed me off enough to write to a CEO) so you may need to goat the local HONDA folks into doing or saying something inappropriate. Know what I mean?

I used to be in IBM sales and when a customer wrote to our CEO , the word that came down was 'fix this customer's problem. Period'. and we did.