Ok my cuz is having some troubles with the local honda dealer. he brought his car in for service since his 05 honda civic was overheating. the first time they didnt find anything so a week later it started to overheat more often, so he brought it back in. and they found out that the radiator was clogged up. and it will be covered under warranty. but hours later they called him and told him that it will not be covered and that the engine was damaged.

I want to know if they are full of **** or what? the car only has anout 16000 and he only did 3 oil+filter changes(i did all of them), no one ever touched the radiator cap. any advice on what to do?

 

I'm not sure, but maybe you should post this on a Honda forum?

 

16,000 miles is not excessive for original factory coolant. Normal coolant change intervals are usually from 15,000-30000 miles, depending on driving conditions.

Since they found engine damage, I think it's likely that it was also a head gasket. Weak or leaking head gaskets, if undetected or left unrepaired, are notorious for causing overheating and other damage, because engine oil and radiator coolant can mix with one another and do a number on the bearings. It can also change the thickness and consistancy of the coolant and plug up the radiator.

Assuming that your cousin didn't abuse the engine, race it on a track, red-line it, put on any tire-wheel combination that would affect speedometer/odometer readings (that can void the warranty) , or do anything else dumb, and the engine damage is severe, I'd say there is a decent chance that Honda owes him at least a new engine AND a new radiator. Honda's 3/36 drivetrain warranty in effect at the time (recently lengthened to 5/60) should probably not yet have expired on that '05 car at 16,000 miles, so, without any other mitigating factors that we may not know of, I'd say it's time for Honda to pay up. If a Honda zone or district manager ( it usually takes someone of that level ) will not approve a new engine, you may have a legal case.....but talk to a lawyer.

To be honest, though, assuming no engine abuse, this is quite unusual, especially at 16,000 miles, for a Civic, one of the auto industry's reliability icons.

 

yea i know my cousin doesn't race this car because well, its not a race car. the oil still looks brand new( it was changed January i think). he only drives it to school and back. i told my uncle to call honda customer service and he said they will open a claim against the dealership so right now we are just waiting so far.

Right now the car is at my shop, should i go ahead and start work on it or should i wait?

 

What is the reason that this dealership is giving for warranty denial? I can't think of any reason why they wont cover this unless they are claiming your cousin put some sort of coolant additive in the coolant system and that clogged up the radiator and coolant passages. If everything is OEM factory there should be no justifiable reason not to cover it IMHO.

 

they said they found a thick mud like substance covering the lower portion of the recovery tank and that it contaminated the whole coolant system. maybe they are thinking someone put something in the coolant?

 

That is probably what they are suggesting. Whether or not that is true is the real question. It could have been contaminated at the factory when new, or later during your cousins ownership. It would be nice if they could identify what the muddy substance is though. You might want to ask your cousin if he used any sort of additive, or any of those stop leak products in the coolant.

 

i doupt he put anything in the radiator. if anything went wrong he knows he still have warranty and would bring it straight to the dealership.