** 56k Warning ** L15A Engine Internals

[Tony]

Ok, I have decided to get a qualified mechanic to do a full inspection on my engine.

Basically this is what happened, the connecting rod broke and the piston spun 90 degrees clockwise. The piston hit one of the valves because the valve relief has moved (because of the 90 degrees piston spin). The shreaded rod has punched 2 holes on the block causing oil leak, and engine stalled.

The mechanics have proved that this was happened during low rpm driving. At low rpm, only 1 of the intake valve will be fully opened, the other valve will only be half opened. Both valves will only fully open when VTEC is engaged. The fact that only 1 valve has been damaged proved that it was happened before VTEC is engaged.

They have proved that this is not caused by over-revving the engine or mis-shift because there wasn't any damage in the valvetrain and there no signs of overheating as well. In fact, the valvetrain appears to be in near new condition, which has ruled out the chances that it is caused by excessive wear or poor lubrication. They came to the conclusion that this is caused by manufacturer's defect.

I have already paid for the repair and inspections myself. Basically Honda has denied my warranty claim because they said it can't happen just like that at 3000rpm. They said I must have over-revved the engine or mis-shift. They said they will need to charge me for the inspection, it can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, and he said it will cost me $12000 to fully repair the engine. I was freaked out by the price and I have decided to tow my car away to get someone else to repair it. This is my experience with Honda, is there anything I can do to recover my loss? I'm frustrated and I don't know what to do. btw, my car is 19 months old and it has done 43000km.

Here's some photos of the open engine:

[Zimp13]

get a full report from the qualified mechanic and lodge this matter with the small claim tribunal.... if can get another report from another qualified mechanic to back up this fact.....

[Zimp13]

$12,000???? better get a damaged jazz, use the engine and sell the rests as parts... may be u still make some money out of it..... so not cos of water???

[Tony]

get a full report from the qualified mechanic and lodge this matter with the small claim tribunal.... if can get another report from another qualified mechanic to back up this fact.....

I'm so broke at the moment I can't really afford to pay another mechanic to do an inspection on the engine. It's very expensive to get qualified mechanics or engineers to write reports.

[Tony]

The repair end up costing around $4000 at the end. Which is not too bad.. the Jazz engine isn't the easiest thing to source as well.. Most people are selling them at $2200-2400.

[TypeG]

hm..... if i were you, get a report done and give it to Honda ( to whoelse tell you it cause by over rev) not the money matter but it is fxxking bad to treat a customer like that.

[Philip Lee]

hm..... if i were you, get a report done and give it to Honda ( to whoelse tell you it cause by over rev) not the money matter but it is fxxking bad to treat a customer like that.

i absolutely agree that Honda sxx in this regard

[ekslut]

hm..... if i were you, get a report done and give it to Honda ( to whoelse tell you it cause by over rev) not the money matter but it is fxxking bad to treat a customer like that.

Agreed. You now have proof that it was not over-reved or there was no misshift that coused this. Get Honda to reimburse you for the costs, and if they don't, I would be looking at taking legal action.

[ahcash]

Sorry Tony... Not sure where you are at with this matter... I assume....

Have you actually call Honda Customer Service regarding this? (NOT the friggin Dealers..) You should call them up and tell them about your incident and demand to speak to the Customer Service Manager and lodge a claim since they (dealers) do not want to inspect the cause of the problem and that you have done your own inspection and the technician has indicated this caused by manufacturing defects...

If they denied the claim... let them know you are taking this as far as it goes and perhaps legal action against them..

Speak to the Consumer affair to see what options you have? Take them to court with the some sort of media or government body backing you up...

Get the media to push it for you.. Publish in Herald Suns Car's Guide perhaps?

The repair end up costing around $4000 at the end. Which is not too bad.. the Jazz engine isn't the easiest thing to source as well.. Most people are selling them at $2200-2400.

The replacement of the block cost $4000 or the inspection cost $4000 ???

[Tony]

The replacement of the block cost $4000 or the inspection cost $4000 ???

Everything together. Including engine, labour and inspection.

[strepto]

Its a really really sad sight to see this, but I hope that this matter will be sorted out to your benefit!

[Zimp13]

Sorry Tony... Not sure where you are at with this matter... I assume....

Have you actually call Honda Customer Service regarding this? (NOT the friggin Dealers..) You should call them up and tell them about your incident and demand to speak to the Customer Service Manager and lodge a claim since they (dealers) do not want to inspect the cause of the problem and that you have done your own inspection and the technician has indicated this caused by manufacturing defects...

If they denied the claim... let them know you are taking this as far as it goes and perhaps legal action against them..

Speak to the Consumer affair to see what options you have? Take them to court with the some sort of media or government body backing you up...

Get the media to push it for you.. Publish in Herald Suns Car's Guide perhaps?



The replacement of the block cost $4000 or the inspection cost $4000 ???

1. time consuming
2. may be costly
3. may not win
4. cant repair the car before matter settled (common sensely)

just need to weigh all of these factors really.....