Need some car advice - 2003 Accord out of oil

[sexy lady]

i would tell her to call Honda canada back and be firm and tell that that they either replace the car with a new one or that she will that this matter to court. if she is aggressive enough and start throwing threat around she might get what she wants.

This is the way i take care of my problems and i would say that majority of the time it happens to my favor.

I dont think that honda want the bad publicity

good luck

 

[kooley]

i would tell her to call Honda canada back and be firm and tell that that they either replace the car with a new one or that she will that this matter to court. if she is aggressive enough and

Taking them to court is no threat because there is no law that says they must replace the car, just the defective part.

 

[gypsy]

Re: my 2 cents

3) a new engine is, in my mind, perfectly acceptable. Why would a new (not rebuilt) engine cause the car to lose value?

it would hurt resale value if the serial number on the engine dosent match the actual vehicle's vin... but i've bought and sold dozens of cars and have never checked for that, nor has anybody buying a vehicle from me

so ultimately i agree, take the new engine and move on

 

[aptenodytes]

I would think matching numbers are only important in collector-type cars?? It certainly wouldn't make a difference to me, and I've never checked and don't know anyone else that's checked.

 

[Girth]

Accept the offer for the new engine, just make sure they throw in a few free oil changes.

 

[DANCER BOOKIE]

OK first off the oil in a brand new car is a dettergent oil it is made to clean away all the little bits and should have been changed at 3000 kms but my boy at hamburg honda niagara falls said he has heard of this before your screwwed though honda will replace the engine but only if it fails !! sell the car he said it may not fail for aleast 40 50.000 kms later but you do have bearing and cam and piston scoring and should slowley start using oil (burn) have a nice day (dam peanut shells all over the floor )

 

[james t kirk]

OK first off the oil in a brand new car is a dettergent oil it is made to clean away all the little bits and should have been changed at 3000 kms but my boy at hamburg honda niagara falls said he has heard of this before your screwwed though honda will replace the engine but only if it fails !! sell the car he said it may not fail for aleast 40 50.000 kms later but you do have bearing and cam and piston scoring and should slowley start using oil (burn) have a nice day (dam peanut shells all over the floor )

You're right about the special oil, I honestly don't know if it had been changed yet or not to tell you the truth.

At the very least, it needs a new engine, and i don't think Honda has a a problem with that.

It's funny, i was telling another friend about this and he had bought a Mercury Villager Minivan in 96 i think and it was recalled and Ford put an entirely new engine in it (well, a short block i believe) due to an oil delivery problem.

Anyway, what he told me is pretty much what you would expect. It took the dealer 3 times to get the new motor running right. (Problem with a short block is you have to swap a lot of stuff off the old engine onto the new engine.)

I agree that no-one buying an accord is going to check numbers. But if they find out the engine was changed, odds are they will walk away.

I will suggest the media to her.

It's just amazing for a brand new car to have this happen. I think she may be screwed and maybe accepting the new engine would be the lesser grief avenue.

But she is spitting nails right now, so who knows. It's her call, not mine.

 

[The Bandit]

There is no way any manufacturer Import or Domestic will give you a new car. Replace the engine yes, but a new car no way...A bumper to bumper warranty is for an individual part, but not the car as a whole.

 

[tboy]

Yeah, silverman is the way to go. He loves stuff like this. My first reaction was your friend deserves a new car but really, its not the whole car that is damaged, just the engine. Ergo, she is entitled to a brand new engine.

When she does go in for the engine swap, make sure she gets a loaner until the job is done. Also, make sure she writes down the serial number of the original engine and the number of the replacement. (just to make sure they actually replace the engine, I have heard some stories about places that DON'T).

BTW: no one asked: didn't the low il light come on? or the check engine light? I used to have a honda civic and even with a full load of oil if I took a corner way to quick the low oil pressure light would come on.

 

[aptenodytes]

OK first off the oil in a brand new car is a dettergent oil it is made to clean away all the little bits and should have been changed at 3000 kms but my boy at hamburg honda niagara falls said he has heard of this before your screwwed though honda will replace the engine but only if it fails !! sell the car he said it may not fail for aleast 40 50.000 kms later but you do have bearing and cam and piston scoring and should slowley start using oil (burn) have a nice day (dam peanut shells all over the floor )

'Break in oil' hasn't been used for what? 30 years?? The oil in a new car is the same stuff that you put in at the first oii change.

 

[gypsy]

I agree that no-one buying an accord is going to check numbers. But if they find out the engine was changed, odds are they will walk away.

I agree and selling a car with a non-original engine with full knowledge of this fact and not disclosing it could be a liability of some sort

If i knew that the engine was not original i'd walk away fast from any car!

 

[james t kirk]

BTW: no one asked: didn't the low il light come on? or the check engine light? I used to have a honda civic and even with a full load of oil if I took a corner way to quick the low oil pressure light would come on.

I wasn't there at the time, but apparently, the check engine light did come on as the car was in the process of dying, but not the oil light.

When she told the dealer about this, they told her (and her male companion) that the Accord doesn't have an oil light.

When i was over at the house, they both told me this (the no oil light) and i said bullshit, every car has an oil light (should really have a pressure gage). They were both adamit that the car didn't have an oil light.

I went outside (she has a loaner) turned on the ignition and presto, there's the oil light.

They both were amazed. Shows how much she knows about cars.

When she does go in for the engine swap, make sure she gets a loaner until the job is done. Also, make sure she writes down the serial number of the original engine and the number of the replacement. (just to make sure they actually replace the engine, I have heard some stories about places that DON'T).

Excellent point thanks.

 

[james t kirk]

Re: write it all down

If they arent going to replace the engine until the current one dies, give me a call. It wont take me more than an hour to kill the engine..and they will still never be able to figure it out at the garage! If that's what it would take, it would be better to get it over with promptly, rather than have this looming over one's head for months to come.

I agree totally.

And thanks for the offer of destroying the original engine. I may just take you up on that offer. Seriously. They are telling her to drive the car with the "new oil" in it and see how it goes.

Now that's bullshit.

 

[sshotrr]

Re: my 2 cents

1) don't take legal advice from this board/thread
2) the engine is pooched, no oil = FUBAR. Putting oil in after the engine has seized is like closing the barn door after the horses have left. Or installing sprinklers after the fire.
3) a new engine is, in my mind, perfectly acceptable. Why would a new (not rebuilt) engine cause the car to lose value?
4) Use the media. Silverman helps is good in the GTA.
5) complain to the Ministry, and complain to the OMVIC. The dealer may decide that spending the time dealing with OMVIC and the Ministry is not worth the hassle. Don't forget to send a letter to the BBB complaining that the dealer is a shit.
6) post the dealer name on every website you visit with the story. Nothing like letting everyone know who NOT to deal with.
7) Use the media. Did I mention use the media?

Totaly agree with most of this statement .Honda will not buy this car back and legaly they don`t have to .Contact the media !Aslong as your are not lying about what happened don`t be afraid to name names .

I would be asking the dealer why you paid $300+ for pre-delivery inspection . I doubt that the car used that much oil in 3700km. It was probably low from the factory .Saying that I always check the oil of my new cars for at least the first 10 000km just to make sure there is no problems.

 

[Speedo]

Contacting Silverman and other consumer fighters is a great idea. Only problem with the electronic media in general is that some stations may balk if XXX Honda happens to be a major sponsor. It shouldn't happen that way but it does, because most places are run, not by journalists who've moved up the ranks, but by bottom-line suits who sold detergent before joining a radio or TV station's sales team.

Good luck, JTK. I hope she's successful in making their lives miserable...

 

[YorkNorthGuy]

Not to rain on her parade, but it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that fluid levels in the car are correct. I would take the engine that they are offering. If it got nasty, she would be on the hook for not detecting it.

 

[Speedo]

Not to rain on her parade, but it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that fluid levels in the car are correct. I would take the engine that they are offering. If it got nasty, she would be on the hook for not detecting it.

Sure, after a reasonable time. But how many people check to make sure there's oil in the vehicle during the engine break-in period? Surely the dealership is 100% at fault here...

 

[kooley]

Sure, after a reasonable time. But how many people check to make sure there's oil in the vehicle during the engine break-in period? Surely the dealership is 100% at fault here...

Going by most vehicles ownern manuals, the owner is supposed to check all fluid levels and tire pressure and light bulbs every 7 days.

 

[xarir]

When I bought my car, there a charge for PDI. That's pre-delivery inspection which means someone other than me checks every fluid level and lightbulb before I take possesion of the car.

Now me being the anal car afficionado that I am, I checked fluid levels & most lightbulbs anyway after I took possesion, but I think the point is that the car dealer (and ergo, the car manufacturer) certifies that the car is 100% perfect when you take possesion of a brand-spanking new car.

So either someone didn't check fluid levels, or the car was not 100% perfect. Either way, the dealer is at fault.

 

[james t kirk]

When I bought my car, there a charge for PDI. That's pre-delivery inspection which means someone other than me checks every fluid level and lightbulb before I take possesion of the car.

Now me being the anal car afficionado that I am, I checked fluid levels & most lightbulbs anyway after I took possesion, but I think the point is that the car dealer (and ergo, the car manufacturer) certifies that the car is 100% perfect when you take possesion of a brand-spanking new car.

So either someone didn't check fluid levels, or the car was not 100% perfect. Either way, the dealer is at fault.

That's perfect......

If she paid to PDI the car, then they are at fault.

They have already told her that they can not find where the hell it was leaking from. So it may very well be that the thing never had oil in the first place. (I always thought PDI was a pile of shit myself, since I know they won't check anything and really, they shouldn't have to.)

Thing is I am sure that joe PDI guy will merely say he checked the oil, but my bet is that he did not.