::: begin vent :::

I wondered why I kept smelling the sweet smell of collant from the engine compartment of my two and a half week old, 800 mile, 2004 SOP 4WD EXS so I took her in for the dealer's service department to check.

Catastrophe. Appartently, the technician discovered that the engine block had a blister-shaped manufacturing defect that fractured and allowed coolant to leak out!
Something they had to remove the transmission to find out.

Of course, the "recommended service action" is to just replace the block.
I am not comfortable with this. How could I be? I mean, it's two and a half weeks old and It only has 800 miles on it!

Will they really be able to rebuild my engine with the new block correctly at the dealer? I don't know. What about the resale value of my car in a few years when the block # and VIN # don't match up? Am I wrong to be upset by this?

I mean, I love this car. But this experience has understandly put a big wet blanket on my Honda experience.

::: end vent :::

Sorry to rant like this, but I really need some advice on how to handle this.
I have already contacted the dealer, my lawyer, the service technician and American Honda Corp.
What else should I do???

Min

I would not sit back for this. At minimum, you should be getting a new motor, not just a new block- I don't care how good the local service techs are, they don't have any experence building a motor from scratch. Definitely escalate this up to the GM of the dealership, or go over his head to Honda Customer Service, 800-999-1009. This is a MAJOR manufacturing defect, and I don't see whythey shouldn't replace the car. I don't know what state you live in, but if your state has a "lemon law", see what you need to file under it.

You are not wrong to be upset by this. An offer for a new block is ridiculous.

I absolutely disagree with first reply. The manufacturer warranties the vehicle against defects for 3yrs or 36000 miles. If a defect occurs they will fix it. The first reply is an emotional overreaction. An experienced tech should be able to replace the block with no difficulty. It is a lengthy job(2days?) but not difficult for an experienced tech. I strongly urge cautious optimism that this repair will be completed properly. It should not impact future value/resale in any way because it has no bearing on titling of the vehicle....as opposed to let's say an accident/flooding that totals your vehicle. Defects are frustrating, but if you work positively with your dealer and avoid overreactions everything should work out fine. Request a rental/loaner while your car is in the shop and ask to go over the car with your service rep/tech when you pick it up. Good luck!

he is right to ask for a new motor, not a new car. the rotating assembly has been broken in with the old block and possibly have had aded stress put upon them because of the leak in the block. this would constitute a problem possibly occurring down the road internally. fill us in on what happened cause im interested.

ps not all mechanics can reuild a whole motor, my mechs at the Ford dealer i used to go to called my 2.0 liter Zetec in a focus a nice lookin VTEC engine, so good luck!

While this is a real pisser, I would advise aganst overreacting. I think Honda will fix your car, however they see best (I would just put in a new engine and save all that labor cost), and you will be on your way. It's certainly a good idea to inform Honda of your concerns, but to contact a lawyer (unless its for free) or demand a new car, is unnecessary in my opinion.

People make things. They are often defective. That's the way the world works. Just check out the expensive mechanical items that have been sent to Mars in recent months for good examples.

...the dealer mechanic will 99.9% likely be replacing the "short block". This is the bottom half of the engine including the crank, rods & pistons, and all seals.

This is an "unbolt everything and then reassemble" type of procedure, and requires very little in the way of precision measuring and parts matching - the ultra-time-consuming part of rebuilding an engine. A short block from Honda costs $1169.62 @ mechanic's wholesale, while just the block itself costs $403.85. The difference will buy less than 7 hours of mechanic time (shop rates are running $100-110 these days), and it would take at least that long if not longer to make sure the old crank, pistons, etc., fit the new block properly. And that doesn't include the cost of new seals and other fiddly-bits that would come with the short block.

So when they say they're "replacing the block", like I said, odds are near certain that they're "doing a short block" with a precision assembly from Honda.

(BTW, a "long block" would include the head. Honda doesn't have a "long block" in the parts book, so no matter how you look at it, to completely replace the engine would require that the dealer assemble a short block and a head from separate assemblies. May as well use the "old" - but practically brand-new - head.)