Rumor .....RSX going BANG

I've heard of some Rsx engines blowing up . Acura saids this won't be covered under there warranty b/c they said that the people that have blown them aren't use to the close gears and that it's there fault not Acura's . I think that this is a bunch of BS ...has anyone else heard of this ? Heres a link concerning this problem http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?threadid=6578

I've never heard of an engine blowing up like that. I don't believe it to be true. If you've never driven stick, I can see you fucking the engine and tranny up. Only time will tell.

Acura is right though! Honda/Acura owners haven't seen 6 speed manual unless they own a 97+ NSX or S2000. The last time another car had 6 speed was 92 Legend coupe. The 6 speed on RSX-S is close ratio and fairly close placed. Although not as close as Celica GT-S's 6 speed.

how come that guy kept saying "wink wink" "nudge nudge" ?? :confused:

I have a hard time believeing that. I've hammered every honda that i have owned, and my friends all drive their Honda/Acura's hard as well. Never has any of us blew an engine. I find it hard to believe that Honda/Acura would put anything less than bullet proof in the new RSX. :bandit:

I didn't read the link regarding the problem yet but it might be a matter of missing a down or upshift. In the Nissan SR20DE we've had a couple cases of someone trying to downshift to 4th but missing and putting it in 2nd and over reving the motor. The SR20 will break or throw a couple rockers, an easy fix. But maybe the RSX motor doesn't handle it quite as well.

It's also bullshit that a car company would say it the customers falut if it happens to a bunch of people then there is an obvious problem. It's sold as a performance car and if you drive it hard and it breaks it's not the customers fault.

Well I read the link that was posted and it does look like a mis-shift issue. I also take it back it looks like a bunch of wankers driving these 'flawed' cars. :D:D:D

Like I said before. People are not used to the new 6 speed. They miss-shift period. It's not Acura's fault if people can't shift.

ok, I went down to a "Car Care Clinic" at my local Acura dealership.....and i was talking to the machanic and he was telling me that alot of guys in Toronto either racing or just pushing there cars have been in 5th gear and trying to down shift to 4th and missing the gate and landing in 2nd.....Well the RSX-S Redline is 7900 RPM, he was telling me that the engine is DONE at 10500 RPM, and at that speed with the weight of the car youd be somewhere around 13000 RPM or 13500 RPM.....So what does it cost to fix? One month and $13K (Cdn).....but he told me that Acura was going to cover it for the first year.....but after that RSX owners were on there own.

All i have to say is Bullshit I've misshifted on an si one time and it hit right at redline and everything was fine I believe acura is just getting a little sloppy with there engines and trannys . Also i've driven a Celica Gt-s and if the gears are close like that i can understand someone downshifting from 5 to 2 b/c the gears are really close .

Hehehe... I told my friend about this right before he test drove one... just to make him nervous. :hehe:

Let's see you are at 3000rpm in 5th gear. You downshift and miss-shifted. There is no way you will only be at redline of 2nd gear. You will be way past the redline that you will blow your 4th cylinder etc. The miss-shift part is true about all these engines breaking apart because of owners that haven't got use to 6 speed.

Well from what i read @ clubrsx.com cars "blowing up" arent a problem i really think its just ppl missing the gates......but 2nd gear "notchyness" or "grinding" is a problem that seems to come up...it was there in the Honda S2000 too....for all of you wondering what im talking about....alot of RSX have noticed a grinding/notchyness when shifting from 1st to 2nd....THATS what scares me....

Originally posted by moe182
Well from what i read @ clubrsx.com cars "blowing up" arent a problem i really think its just ppl missing the gates......but 2nd gear "notchyness" or "grinding" is a problem that seems to come up...it was there in the Honda S2000 too....for all of you wondering what im talking about....alot of RSX have noticed a grinding/notchyness when shifting from 1st to 2nd....THATS what scares me....

Yes the sound was also found on the 2000 model year Honda S2000. There was a recall for it and by the time 2001 roll out it was already fix.

When I drove the Type S there was a lot more sound than just 1st to 2nd gear.

um i think its just the fact that whoever blew the engine dident know what they were doing...

If I were Honda, I would not cover this type of abuse under warranty, if the user did indeed blow the engine because of mis-shifts. The people destroying the engine obviously aren't used to the 6-speed. When I took the S out for a spin, I miss shifted a couple of times, but caught myself before letting the clutch out. Under the stress of racing, I'm sure people would erre and blow the engine because they didn't become familiar with the tranny. Tsk, Tsk!

This is definately true. I just had an engine blow on me. I was not due to a mis
shift either. Stay away from these cars. This is the first production year for a new engine and Acura will never admit that there is a problem.

I would like to hear from other owners who have had blown engines on the 2002 RSX.

I know that there have been 3 RSX's w/ blown motors at the dealer where I have my R serviced.I saw one car up on a lift,the hole in the block was about 6" in diameter!I was told Acura originally told the customers that they would have to pay,but then months later covered under warranty.All cars were owned my kids,techs suspected missed shifts as culprit.

I know of three 2002 Type R blown engines in Jacksonville, Florida.
The dealer is blaming these on downshifts and an over-rev situation.
At first the dealer says they won't cover the damage, but now they are;
out of the goodness of their hearts going to "goodwill" the engines. Goodwill
is another term for "secret internal extended warranty". Acura(Honda Motor
Corporation) knows there is a problem with these engines and is trying to cover it
up... anyone out there that has knowledge of blown engines in their part of the country, please reply to this thread with the name and location of the dealer. If you own an RSX that has gone bang, please include your e-mail address--

My car also has the same grinding noise when I shift from 1st to 2nd... At first, I thought it was just meeh, but I guess it's a problem with a majority of rsx's.

My friend had an rsx-type s and down-shifted from 5th to 2nd, on purpose, don't ask meeh why, and his engine blew up also...

This problem is similar to that of the new M3's...Will Acura cover this or is that one year coverage thing true??

Another problem w/ my S, it makes this weird whirring kinda noise in 1st and 2nd gear when it's at around 3000rpm. Does neone else have this problem???

Originally posted by MaDDiE_123

My friend had an rsx-type s and down-shifted from 5th to 2nd, on purpose, don't ask meeh why, and his engine blew up also...


I say he deserves to be shot.. i mean.. is he just plain stoopid or what?? geez... like i always say... learn how to drive before buying a nice car...

Damn, I'm basically completely new to manual trannies and I never had any problem with the 2000 Celica (where the gates were narrow) or the RSX. The 2000 Celica was SUPERNARROW!! But for frick sakes, if the people want to race, just take the revs up, then put the stick in neutral to "go back to home base" so you know where you have to go. The problem with blown engines isn't the shifter, it's newbies who have too much pride and too little brain to just recognize they're newbies. I'm a complete newby and I've already smoked several cars, including a motorbike - so you obviously don't have to be Andretti to have fun.

Originally posted by GOD
All i have to say is Bullshit I've misshifted on an si one time and it hit right at redline and everything was fine I believe acura is just getting a little sloppy with there engines and trannys . Also i've driven a Celica Gt-s and if the gears are close like that i can understand someone downshifting from 5 to 2 b/c the gears are really close .

you're right because the redline for your SI and the RSX are the same. Plus the tranny is the same. Plus it was the same conditions at the same speed and everything. If you downshift into 2nd at 100mph and at 40 mph theres a big difference einstein.

The only excuse for this is user-fault. if shifting feels unfcomfortable, DON'T PUSH THE CAR TO IT'S LIMIT. It's common sense, learn the limits of your car before you attempt to grace them, and end up overstepping them. I've been driving my dad's miata whenever he lets me and it's a 6-speed. I'm lucky as it's been hailed a perfect 10 as a shifter but i definently know when not to be stupid. I take extra care when downshifting. Like someone in the other forum said with the latest tranny it has springs that return the stick to neutral when it slips out of gear, so best strategy is to let it slide out, then pull straight down. I shift quickly up but no way in hell would i pull a stunt on a downshift unless it was my daily driver and i practiced alot safely and moved up.

To people with problems, good luck getting it covered or whatever you're going to do, and be careful next time, the tranmission handles all the power and can be fatal to the engine

I still have not seen/heard of RSXs blowing up. I know many who own RSXs, both Auto or Manual. You might already know this, but even with auto, you can go to "manual-D" gear and shift just like a manual, except without the clutch. I have seen ppl redline with this setup and have fuel cut-off plenty of times, with no probos. Same goes with REAL manual. I think the people that started this thread are just some Marketers from other car companies who are trying to sell their cars.

I've had my RSX for about a year now, I drive it hard everyday.. It's actually been the only car I've had that's lasted THIS long. Anyways I think that's a bunch of BS about the engines blowing. Even with downshifting and missing a gear... About 3 months after buying mine I was still getting used to the shifting (cuz of driving a 5 speed for so long)I was doing about 85 mph and downshifted into 2nd instead of 4th...it revved like a mutha, but that was about it. And I couldn't agree with rsx_ryder more, learn your car before really getting into it!
I've also noticed the notchiness/grinding....:smoka:

The notchiness/grinding has always been present in the integra line... It has to do with the synchromeshes wearing, and the percentage of wear leads to a higher percentage of RPM-discrepancy between the dogs' teeth and the gears. It's not noticed in 3rd thru 6th because the percentage of discrepancy is significantly lower. It's not seen in 1st gear, because the honda trannies have a super-paranoid synchro mechanism on 1st gear that doesn't let you shift into it unless the engine and driveshaft are dead-even on speed (or you're stopped). If you want to test it, roll up your windows, turn off the air and stereo, and get up to 15mph in 2nd gear. then patiently downshift to 1st, holding the stick against the gate into 1st. You'll actually hear the layshaft in the tranny spin up before it'll let you in. Noted, it's not a good idea to enter 1st gear at anything above 5mph on our cars, so don't yell at me if you break your tranny! :)

On my teg, I've downshifted from 5th to 2nd numerous times (of course, never when I'm above-redline for 2nd gear), always by double-clutching and rev-matching the engine. When doing this, I have no problem with engagement or grinding and everything goes great.

Note: I have screwed up a downshift to 4th when doing about 80... I caught the dead-space between 4th and reverse while doing a hard shift... It totally ruined the synchros for 4th, 5th, reverse. That was replaced on warranty because the problem had been seen many times by the dealer. Apparently it's a quirk in the lever-arm actuation that causes the control arm for both the 3rd/4th and the 5th/reverse in B-series trannies to engage at the same time, fighting each other for synchronization.

For those poor dummies who blew their RSX's engines and trannies by missing downshift from 5th to 4th at above 85mph (65 is about redline limit, but 85 is roughly the blow-up limit), they just need to understand their car's gearing and the fundamentals of manual transmissions better. Any reasonably-understandable shifting mistake (like downshifting from 5th to 2nd at 75mph) will be properly handled by the rev-limiter and a mild dose of press-the-clutch-cause-something's-wrong intuition. If you do something that could only blow up your car at 15mph over the highest speed limit in the nation, they have a strong common-sense case to deny coverage based on abuse.

If you want to know manual transmissions, synchros, and other engine basics a little better, check out the tutorials on http://www.howstuffworks.com/ ... They're quite simple and easy to understand.

Originally posted by Marasmus
For those poor dummies who blew their RSX's engines and trannies by missing downshift from 5th to 4th at above 85mph (65 is about redline limit, but 85 is roughly the blow-up limit), they just need to understand their car's gearing and the fundamentals of manual transmissions better. Any reasonably-understandable shifting mistake (like downshifting from 5th to 2nd at 75mph) will be properly handled by the rev-limiter and a mild dose of press-the-clutch-cause-something's-wrong intuition. If you do something that could only blow up your car at 15mph over the highest speed limit in the nation, they have a strong common-sense case to deny coverage based on abuse.

If you want to know manual transmissions, synchros, and other engine basics a little better, check out the tutorials on http://www.howstuffworks.com/ ... They're quite simple and easy to understand.

actually they downshifted in attempt to hit 4th and hit 2nd. and i take it you were in overdrive when you went from 5th-2nd?

Originally posted by Bryan8412


actually they downshifted in attempt to hit 4th and hit 2nd. and i take it you were in overdrive when you went from 5th-2nd?

Correct - they missed 4th and hit 2nd. There is no such thing as overdrive - it's entirely a myth. 4-speeds with "overdrive" are just 5-speeds. Silly marketing term that serves no purpose. I was in 5th gear - the top gear for my tranny.

Originally posted by Marasmus


Correct - they missed 4th and hit 2nd. There is no such thing as overdrive - it's entirely a myth. 4-speeds with "overdrive" are just 5-speeds. Silly marketing term that serves no purpose. I was in 5th gear - the top gear for my tranny.

actually overdrive is if the last gear is under 1 gear ratio..
if 5th and 6th are 0.925 and 0.795
than you have 2 overdrives

I don't think they are getting sloppy or there are any quality issues... If you are at 8k, and on accident go into 2nd instead of 4th, bang. I talked to my local dealer and they said they have already had one come back with spun bearings from doing this, they also said they covered it... so you do the math. I think it is retards not knowing how to drive, but it is awesome that Acura takes care of its customers. I have always driven rear wheel drive American V-8's, but when they killed the T/A I decided to sell my 95 T/A and shop... for something other than a new T/A. I don't regret this car at all. I can see someone screwing stuff up if this were their first 6 speed.

Brandon Johnson

Two nights ago, I made a right hand turn, accelerated to 5k, felt resistance at that point, then BLAM. No misshift, no down shift. The car had been idling rough for a few weeks. I took it to Acura and they told me the problem was due to the AEM SRI. They let me go home. Next day, I blew the engine, and blew it BADLY from what they tell me. Three Big ass holes in the block. They are also refusing to cover the damage under warranty saying I overreved the engine and it would have never happened if I had left the stock intake on the engine. I also know of two other blown RSX's in the area.

another point of interest....

I have noticed a VAST range in performance from one car to another. I know each car is different but this is ridiculous. There seem to be some RSX's (mostly the first ones out like mine) that don't exactly run as well as others.

I too have (had) the second gear notchiness. Acura down here has replaced at least one second gear that I know of to fix this issue.

Originally posted by moe182
ok, I went down to a "Car Care Clinic" at my local Acura dealership.....and i was talking to the machanic and he was telling me that alot of guys in Toronto either racing or just pushing there cars have been in 5th gear and trying to down shift to 4th and missing the gate and landing in 2nd.....Well the RSX-S Redline is 7900 RPM, he was telling me that the engine is DONE at 10500 RPM, and at that speed with the weight of the car youd be somewhere around 13000 RPM or 13500 RPM.....So what does it cost to fix? One month and $13K (Cdn).....but he told me that Acura was going to cover it for the first year.....but after that RSX owners were on there own.

Myfreind did that in his 91 Civic Si. He has the B16a1 swap in there. It did go up to around 13000 rpm. The engine did not blow though. It hasn't run the same since but it didn't blow.

Ive rebuilt 2 RSX motors so far(the same kid both times). The motors had valve damage which damaged the cylinder walls on the first motor. I think he drove it awhile on 3 cyl's, there was metal in the cyl's from broken valve guides.it was interesting that the metal swapped cyl's
and scored those cyl walls too(in cyl's that had good guides and valves)
I checked with tech line and they say the cause is missed shifts, the RSX(type S) has double synchros on all its gears,this lets it shift into a gear that a single synchro couldnt get in (integra)remember you cant shift into a gear untill the speed of the gear matches the shaft speed,the single synchro couldnt match the speed so it blocks the shift(protecting the motor) They also said the RSX has a much stronger clutch than an integra and that if you got into a missed shift (wrong gear) with the integra the clutch would slip,not so on the RSX. Ill let you know if I hear anything new. tubby

:flipa:

Look, i have a 2002 RSX Type-S 6MT and a 1999 Honda Civic HX 5MT. I learned on a stick, i drive only stick. I have NEVER missed a gate. what the fuck kind of idiot misses a gate? I agree with Honda on this one entirely. If you miss the brakes and hit the gas should they pay for that too?

There is about 20-30 cars per dealership blown so far (20-30 at mine in Austin, TX). 100 dealerships nationwide in the US. So there is about 2000-3000 engines blown. So who says it's the users fault? Do you think 2000-3000 people meant to blow their engines? Do you think that Acura should cover this under warranty? I do. We need a poll. How many think that these people don't account for the average person, but they are merely all retards and should have to pay $10,000 for their mistake? That's what it costs, by the way. $8000 for the engine, $2000 for labor.

By the way, my engine went bang once so far. It is currently at the dealer again because it died on the freeway for no aparent reason. No bang this time, no over-rev this time. I couldn't get it started afterward. The dealer got it started the next day, but they couldn't get in into gear for some reason. I think my transmission is finally do for the grinding problem, or notchyness, or not going into gear problem. Sucks for them. Piece of crap Acura.

All this time, I'm thinking... WTF. My Eclipse never left me stranded, and here I am stranded twice by my POS Acura. My Eclipse engine, the venerable 4G63 engine was solid, capable of 600HP. Never once did it have a problem starting or anything (Manual transmission too). Anyway, why can't Acura and Mitsu come together. Mitsu will supply the engine, while Acura will put it all together, and do it right. Little Acura/Honda can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen... in other words stop making this POS engine now before you go bankrupt. BIG DOG Mitsu can have recall after recall and keeps on ticking because it's one of the top ten BIGGEST companies on the planet!

Originally posted by crashn_98
I've had my RSX for about a year now, I drive it hard everyday.. It's actually been the only car I've had that's lasted THIS long. Anyways I think that's a bunch of BS about the engines blowing. Even with downshifting and missing a gear... About 3 months after buying mine I was still getting used to the shifting (cuz of driving a 5 speed for so long)I was doing about 85 mph and downshifted into 2nd instead of 4th...it revved like a mutha, but that was about it. And I couldn't agree with rsx_ryder more, learn your car before really getting into it!
I've also noticed the notchiness/grinding....:smoka: You got lucky. But I bet you have a bent valve or two. I'd take it in and have it checked out. Be completely honest with them and they'll hook you up no problem: they'll check it and service it under warranty.

Originally posted by SuperGreen95EX


Myfreind did that in his 91 Civic Si. He has the B16a1 swap in there. It did go up to around 13000 rpm. The engine did not blow though. It hasn't run the same since but it didn't blow. You friend now has bent valves. He needs to fix them before the damage gets worse and the engine blows.

For me is a truth!!! I have a RSX-Base, and it cost me here in Puerto Rico $27,000.oo.... And with only 6K miles the car had that problem, well is in the service right now, hoping that the warranty will cover the charges... I've heard that the warranty sometimes don't want to cover the problem... And I'm Waiting for their answer... The service quote me $1,343.00 in parts.... Camshaft, valves, Assembly Arm.... Does anybody had pased trought this already ?????

:grey: [email protected] :smoker2:

My apologies
lately i have asked around at the three closest Acura dealerships and many type S engines are going bang. however, they insist that it is bcs of overrevving etc...
i dont know if i believe it. i am thinking of trading mine in for an 03 WRX as soon as the 04 redesign comes out...

I heard that it was an early model prob. and that it was taken car of by now. If it is still going on, my guess is that it is just overreving and mis-shifts rather than a quality issue and a problem with the actual car itself. Acura makes a high quality car that lives up to it's consumer's expectation's, I think that they would have admitted if something was wrong and would have had it fixed by now. I have talked to many other type-s owners and they have all told me that they haven't had any problems and that they love there car's and wouldn't trade them for anything else right now. Just what I've heard my opinion though.:smoker2:

Actually I don't really know if that is true. I actually started driving stick in my new 2002 RSX. I remember the sales agent told me not to rev it above 3000rpm becuase the engine had to be worked in. On my first day driving home I ran in on the highway, I was working shift up to 5th and I've accidently went to 2nd from 4th a few times, it redlined but no damage. Now I am more use to stick and I still find no problems. I guess it all depends on how you work your engine. I'm sure it's not good if you rev high and sitting at 5th and dropping to 2nd quickly. But as far as I know my car is still OK. However, I do notice that 1st to 2nd I hear the grinding, I get that everytime. I thought it was me but I ask a lot of my buddies with Hondas(Civic, Preludes) They say honda engines are all like that. So, I accept it as is.

People should learn how to drive........

Acura needs to learn to own up to their mistakes, and learn to STOP blaming every flaw on customer driving habits. I am a Professional Engineer, I have driven many cars many times over, manual and automatic, and I have never seen a car with so many engine faults that cause the engine to go bad.

It has happened to me twice. Each time I almost got killed trying to get off the freeway, in busy traffic, after my car stalled due to the engine going bad.

I will never buy a New Acura AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have an 02 Type S and have never had a problem with it. No stalls, mishifts, blown cylinders or anything else described here. whats more is that all the RSX (base and type S) owners i have spoken to have had no major engine problems, and Reading Acura, Lancaster Acura, and Rahal Acura (in PA) have had absolutely no blown motor repair issues although they did do one tranny swap in an S. initially i thought this was a serious matter, but other than the 1st to 2nd notchiness (of which i feel dash rattle is as big a problem as mine has only ground twice) i see no real evidence of a secret coverup or horribly malfunctioning tranny's, only idiots who need to take it easy learning stick or 6 speed (6th and missing 4th instead going into 2nd? how many of you would admit to that, and if so, how often does it occur then? why dont all celica GT-S's have blown engines then? their shift gates are even closer). plus, i also noticed that with all these purported blown engines no one has a single verifyable name or even dealership to go with them. 'i know this guy' or 'theres this one type S' doesnt cut it in my book.

Oh yeah, and BTW, i think integra JDM front end conversions are ugly!

just a quick add-on...there have been blown RSX's (1 base, 2 type S) out here, but only three of them, all from overrevving or mishift-overreving, not 20 to 30 per dealership. and the one tranny swap in a Type S. BTW, for those of you who have had problems or whatever, what mods pray tell have you done to your cars so i can avoid them?

Originally posted by TakimotoRacing
...plus, i also noticed that with all these purported blown engines no one has a single verifyable name or even dealership to go with them. 'i know this guy' or 'theres this one type S' doesnt cut it in my book.
My name is Daniel Sanchez, and I bought my car at David McDavid Acura in Austin, TX. The shop foreman at the Service Department told me (himself) in August 2002 that they have seen 20 cars go through the shop with engines replaced do to problems. That's 20 in the first year, at one dealership. 20 times 100 (roughly 200 dealerships) is 2000 vehicles in the first year. It's now been over 2 years that the car has been out, can we easily make the assumption that if twice the amount of cars have been sold, then twice the amount of cars have had engine problems? So, an easy estimation says 4000 vehicles exist with engines going bad (out of the ones sold to this day, being 2 years from when the car first came out). As to my understanding nothing has been done to remedy the situation (AKA design fix).

I have a big listing of people with vehicles that have gone bad. Here's one that I have personally talked to in person, in your area (when I was up there in April):

Josh Aldrich, Forest City, PA ([email protected]). I didn't get permission to post this, so please be courteous, although he's a very easy going good guy.

Originally posted by TakimotoRacing
I have an 02 Type S and have never had a problem with it. No stalls, mishifts, blown cylinders or anything else described here. whats more is that all the RSX (base and type S) owners i have spoken to have had no major engine problems, and Reading Acura, Lancaster Acura, and Rahal Acura (in PA) have had absolutely no blown motor repair issues although they did do one tranny swap in an S. initially i thought this was a serious matter, but other than the 1st to 2nd notchiness (of which i feel dash rattle is as big a problem as mine has only ground twice) i see no real evidence of a secret coverup or horribly malfunctioning tranny's, only idiots who need to take it easy learning stick or 6 speed (6th and missing 4th instead going into 2nd? how many of you would admit to that, and if so, how often does it occur then? why dont all celica GT-S's have blown engines then? their shift gates are even closer). plus, i also noticed that with all these purported blown engines no one has a single verifyable name or even dealership to go with them. 'i know this guy' or 'theres this one type S' doesnt cut it in my book.

Oh yeah, and BTW, i think integra JDM front end conversions are ugly!

Aren't you the same person who said this on page 3 of this thread?

Originally posted by TakimotoRacing
My apologies
lately i have asked around at the three closest Acura dealerships and many type S engines are going bang. however, they insist that it is bcs of overrevving etc...
i dont know if i believe it. i am thinking of trading mine in for an 03 WRX as soon as the 04 redesign comes out...

Why the discrepancy???...........Nonetheless, I agree that it is faulty to assume that just because a dealership in Texas has had 20-30 blown engines, the same condition exists in all other dealerships around the country. I have driven my type s for over a year now and have noticied virtually no problems with the engine or transmission. The dealership near me also reported that they have no knowledge of such a large quantity of blown engines. have Maybe I have just been lucky :sunglasse. Or maybe its just exaggerated :bs:.

BTW, GST2RSX-S how many other dealerships have you been that also have reported 20-30 blown rsx engines?

Originally posted by rsxer45


Why the discrepancy???...........Nonetheless, I agree that it is faulty to assume that just because a dealership in Texas has had 20-30 blown engines, the same condition exists in all other dealerships around the country. I have driven my type s for over a year now and have noticied virtually no problems with the engine or transmission. The dealership near me also reported that they have no knowledge of such a large quantity of blown engines. have Maybe I have just been lucky :sunglasse. Or maybe its just exaggerated :bs:.

BTW, GST2RSX-S how many other dealerships have you been that also have reported 20-30 blown rsx engines? My car is currently at Gunn Acura in San Antonio, TX, and yes they have very similar numbers.

Here's a good story to read:
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?threadid=63926

Originally posted by rsxer45


Why the discrepancy???...........Nonetheless, I agree that it is faulty to assume that just because a dealership in Texas has had 20-30 blown engines, the same condition exists in all other dealerships around the country. I have driven my type s for over a year now and have noticied virtually no problems with the engine or transmission. The dealership near me also reported that they have no knowledge of such a large quantity of blown engines. have Maybe I have just been lucky :sunglasse. Or maybe its just exaggerated :bs:.

BTW, GST2RSX-S how many other dealerships have you been that also have reported 20-30 blown rsx engines? My car is currenlty at Gunn Acura in San Antonio, TX and they also have similar numbers.

Here's a good story to read:
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?threadid=63926

Originally posted by GST2RSX-S
Here's a good story to read:
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?threadid=63926 HERE:
this is new info and something potential buyers should know about how HoA is handling the problem with valve damage.
(Save your breath on flames about stupid drivers not deserving a such a great car - yadayada)
I bought an 02 RSX (not S) for my 17 yr old daughter. Less than 7 mos old, she doesn't race, and is in fact a novice manual driver. Brought to dealer because of driver side window jammed completely down (defective rack) and a random 'ticking' noise under the hood. Without any diagnosis other than listening to the noise, the technician immediately started accusing her of racing the car, and implied repair would not be covered under warranty. 3 days later they report 20% less compression in Cyl 1. 1 wk later I get a call telling me how lucky I am cause HoA will cover the repairs. Here is the rub. They interrogated the on-board Computer and recovered info that indicates that the car had an over-rev of 8300 rpm while traveling at 73mph. Apparently any over-rev of more than redlie (6500 rpm) means you are suddenly branded and the "one-time good will repair" is all you get. Also, no other data is recorded so you can't identify when the problem occured. I bought this car off the lot with 150 miles, it could of occured before I got it. Also, duration of the overrev is not recorded. -Anyone think 8300 should bend a valve on any engine?

It gets better. after 13 days I hear that they have inspected the head and cannot detect any visible bending of the valvels but one of the exhasut valves looks slightly irregular when spun in a chuck so they will replace both valves. They can't find any signs of impact with piston (ever hear of a bent valve that presumably was caused by hitting the piston yet didn't leave a mark?) After 19 days they finally get the engine back in anf running and guess what, it still makes the same noise.

At this point I call Acura cust svc line cause its obvious this dealer sucks (not the one I bought the car from). They are nice and agree to get invovled, and ask for time to resolve problems. on day 21 the dist svc mgr looks car over and proclaims its a bad valve guide (maybe). Day 26 and tech discovers a split rocker arm roller ON CYL 2!!! (where there are no bent valves or impact signs or loss of compression) By the way they have so far refused to retest compression on cyl 1 (ever see a new car fail to seat rings properly?) There are no signs of impact caused by overrev but the dealer and Acura continue to blame the overrev for my problem. After almost 6 weeks I might get my RSX back but they are not even sure if this will correct the noise.


So today (day 27) I want everyone to know that based on my experience, you need to WATCH OUT.

First, any overrev (>6500) is captured by the OBC and dealers and Acura will try to blame it for any feasibly related problem. They don't record enough info to help you the consumer, such as date/time (in case your mechanic is running time trials in your car or the problem occured sometime is the distant past and is unrelated to the symptoms) They also don't light up any dash lights to let you know they have captured this data. Also, it doesn't matter to Acura when the overrev occurred or if they can show evidence of any correlation to your problem. I asked, "what happens if at some point in the future I have a bearing failure that appears to be caused by a sliver of metal plugging an oil galley?" They answered that this is a one-time good will repair and any problem caused by an overrev will be repaired at their discretion. In other words, this overrev is now on your "ermanent record" and we can decide not to honor the warranty.

Second, 8300 rpm is too low an rpm to expect valve damage. I have owned 6 Honda products and besides the RSX, I drive an 01 MDX. I love the cars, but this is indicative of a serious design flaw that HoA should own up to. I also have a Porsche 928S4 w/5 speed. It has a redline of 6500 just like the RSX and I have run it to 9000 without blowing valves, and that engine is notorious for its being one of the 'tightest' interference designs ever.

The sad thing is this could be corrected with better valve springs. Amazingly, I have not yet been offered that remedy. (thanks to poster of note about improve '03 springs)

I could have bought an S, but didn't thinking that the non-S would be more reliable and safer for my novice daughter. Sadly it appears that even though Acura is trying to market to a youth driver market they are apparently not building their engines sturdily enough for a novice. Combine that with how stupid they have gotten about handling the problems in this design and you have a real problem. I was in negotiations for an 03 MDX as this occurred - no way now. When I bought the RSX, my daughter and I stood on the lot for a long time debating manual vs auto. If any of the many people I talked to, including the service mgr, had said that these cars are performance cars and not suitable for novice drivers, we would have bought the auto and been happy customers.

Anyway, if youve read this far, you must be interested in my problem so I am aksing you to post any similar stories so we can accumulate enough data to try to convince Acura to change their ways. I think a valve spring upgrade for all std xmission RSXs before '03 should be offered. If you are racing and slamming 10000 rpm on a regular basis, shame on you. But normal drivers who make a mistake shifting should not have to worry about lunching their engines. Additionally, I would reccommend a gear lockout be considered. The OBC knows speed and can drop a lockout for any gear that could damage the engine with an improper shift. What do ya think?

AND THAT'S THE END OF IT, GOTO http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?threadid=63926 TO READ ANY POSTS THAT FOLLOWED.

Thats an unfortunate story but who is to say that is not only an isoloated incident. You have not submitted proof of the 4000 blown engines through your "easy estimation." Im not trying to call you a liar, it is just that I find "20-30 blown engines per dealership" hard to believe and I think it is less of a problem than you think (i guess because I and several others I know are not in the same boat as these "4000" others) . Sure, there probably a few people out there (including yourself) who have blew their engines but it seems to me that these are isolated incidents.....nothing even near 4000. Submit some proof of these large quantities of blown engines ( ie numbers and statistics or something) and maybe I will lend some credence to these accusations.

By the way, my Lemon Law Court hearing went well. It was on Tuesday, July 29. I disproved everything the Acura Manufacturer Rep had against me to say it was my fault, and deny warranty. All that is left is for the Judge to get back to me on his decision. The only thing that is going against me is whether or not my case is a "safety hazard" by the letter of the law. My car left me stranded on the freeway twice, leaving me to push it to safety, putting me in harms way. I could have been killed. The only problem is the time frame. It has to be once in the first year, and once in the second year. The first incident was at 12 and a half months, while the second was at 18 months. So, it's up to judge to give the final call.

Important points that the Rep had, that I disproved:

ECU information for over-rev (on the two occasions): None, the Rep quoted 9400RPM for the first incident, and then he corrected himself (after I asked him to be certain since I was told there was none) and said "I'm not sure now?" Oops, big mistake Mr. "I know what I am talking about." ECU has no evidence, ruled out.

Engine Damage (for second engine, first engine not present): Not severe enough to tell whether over-rev or just a plain bad engine due to manufacturing. Rep was quoted saying that he's seen engines in the past that had similar damage and was not user related. Engine has no evidence, possibly ruled out.

Dealership Sponsored event where 1/4mile testing was performed (I attended this, with 30 other RSX's, and half a dozen dealer cars): I had a witness state nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and all my 1/4mile times correlated with Magazine tested numbers. No strange results on paper, nothing strange seen by a witness who attended event and appeared at court. She was my guest at the event, solely for the purpose of enjoying herself with me. She rode with me twice, and she observed four times. Event not relevant due to witness testimony and results on paper. Event ruled out.

Other tell tale signs from wear on Tires or clutch that might indicate abuse: Clutch is worn but not out of the ordinary. Tires have been replaced, but the original set was sold at less than 5K miles (tires and wheels were upgraded asthetically to 17" which are heavier, and not
done specifically for performance).

Manufacturer Reps expert opinion: Engine was over-reved. Although, there is no proof. No proof, no denying of warranty.

And there you have it folks. All the details, but in a quick summary. I'll let you know what the judges results are, when I get them.

I'm not saying it's a lemon until it is, and I'm not saying it's going to be warrantied until it is.

Later.

Ok, first of all, THIS THREAD IS DEAD. ITS OVER. LET IT GO.
NO ONE has provided any substantiated evidence that in fact there are ppl driving around innocently one day in his/her shiny Type S's and suddenly BOOM! BLOWN ENGINE! all that i have read in here is either hearsay or unverified stories of ppl that claim their engines have blown up on them.

HOW ABOUT PUTTING UP A PIC OF THE RECIEPT ON THE REPAIR JOB? YOU KNOW, THE YELLOW THING THEY GIVE YOU WHEN YOU GET SOMETHING FIXED, like, oh, i dont know, A BLOW ENGINE!?! Or a copy of a report of the fact that said engine has blown? HOW ABOUT PIC OF LAST 6 VIN# DIGITS TO SEE IF THEY FALL IN THE TRANNY RECALL?

WHY IS THERE NO PROOF?


RUMOR...WRX going BANG
HEY! GUESS WHAT I HEARD THE OTHER DAY! You know those WRX's? the Turbo subies? Well guess what! The turbonetics turbocharger in them has an inherent flaw in its ball bearing turbine so that when it spools up the turbine begins to gyrate and blows up! Now i have no proof of this whatsoever, but a friend of a friend of mine says he heard this guy who got his leg blown off by it! Yeah, and there are supposed to be at least 5,000 cases already but theres this big international coverup by Subaru!!
...No, Really! Im serious!

Honestly, this is how absurd this thread sounds. When i see some REAL, VERIFYABLE PROOF of MULTIPLE CASES NOT INVOLVING MIS-SHIFTS, then i will believe it.

As for tha man who bought the RSX for his daughter, were you with her when it happened? Because kids dont always drive 55 if you know what i mean, and a misshift is possible.

Oh yeah, and unless its an S2000 or a rotary, 9000 RPM is bad news for any conventional reciprocating engine. Lets see some proof first.

I understand your point of view.. you bought a car that people talk badly about. Not just people that bought other cars, but people that bought the car themselves. Don't feel bad, it's just a car. Atleast not you or I died, unlike the poor guy that killed himself in a race in his RSX. Maybe if it wasn't for those darn commercials we wouldn't have people driving the cars to their limits, as it's advertised. After all everyone knows that an american car driven to it's limits will sure die, as it's made to. We all just need to realize that no car is safe from manufacturer flaws, and not all cars work as advertised.

As i said before, i have had the first to second grind, and also had a problem with the ignition system (it stalled on me for no reason right after start up around 2k mi.) but i see no evidence that over 4000 engines have just blown for practically no reason, and i do agree about ppl pushing their cars too far too often. i just think that if there was such a problem SOMEONE wouldve gone public by now, and by that i mean the better buisness beareau (forgot how to spell beareau :rolleyes: ) , a formal inquiry , or have verifiable proof. All i have read in here is either hearsay or lacks evidence, and im a scientific theory kind of guy.
if somebody has a document abt this, please scan it and upload it as well as dealership etc.
if this does turn out to be fact, then i will indeed replace this vehicle. make no mistake, i do not absolutely love this car to the point o forsaking all others and 'the RSX Type S is the ultimate car blah blah blah' cause 5k and i got me an Evo, 350Z, or, better yet, a Renesis RX-8.
oh yeah, and btw, about the American cars being more dangerous, while i agree, remember that Acura is an American based car company, despite the RSX's being built in Japan, so thats why it might be a more dangerous car to begin with! j/k (i know acura's also exist in canada)

not used to it.. wtf man... i am 16 and this type s is my first car.... and i learned on this car and i have had np... and yea i do get that 1st - 2nd grind ever once in a while..... wtf is ^ w/ that?????? :2cents:

Just reading up on you guys' talk on blown up engines. I bought one of the first Type-S 2002 and had plenty of stalls and 3 gear grinding experience (2nd to 3rd), but all on low rpm...didn't know how to drive manual. It took me two days to learn the gears...picked up the car Friday and drove it to work the following Monday.

The car is almost 2 years old, 30 days to go at 36,500 miles. I sometime hear of whinning noises inside the engine. The only other problem is my driver-side power window, tugs on the door; sluggish compared to the passesnger window.

But anyway, along with my rambling nonsense...do you guys have tips on how to shift from 1st to 2nd a little smoother within 3500 rpm range? I think 1st to 2nd has the longest throw.

I was passing a truck and redlined at 8300 rpm on 2nd, the car buckled a little bit...is this bad? I've only taken the car at 135 mph thrice with each session around 30 seconds long from 4th gear, 5th gear and 6th gear. Is this bad for the engine?...still trying to read top speed.

Uh...yeah...break over, back to work...