06 Si Nightmare

[RylandSI]

Alright well Id like to first start off by saying I purchased a 2006 Honda Civic Si (body kit and all the lil goodies) used with 6k Miles
I drove for about 800 miles when it happened.. The nightmare I never saw coming
I was first drawn to the Civic Si for the handling and speed and also the enormous "fun factor" that the cars have a reputation for
It all started when driving through a neigborhood and I noticed that I had 20% oil life left and I thought it was pretty cheap that the dealership had skimped out on changing the oil when they got it on their lot. But I got to a stopsign and downshifted then began to accelerate out of it.
I got to around 4,000 RPM and then I heard a click and my RPM's dropped to 0 and the car stalled out and both my check engine and oil light illuminated. I then rolled to a stop about 30 feet down the street where I started the car back up on the 4th or 5th try and had to get the RPM's up to around 5,000 just to keep it from stalling.. I then made the 5 minute trip back home and stalled making it up my driveway.. frustrated I just pushed the dead car up the driveway where it was towed in the morning.
Once the dealership got it they basically told me it was dead.. $7,9000 in damages to the engine..
As they tried to explain it they said it like this.. The K series and only the new K series could have this happen.. something with the oil and the oil pressure of the new Vtec (didnt really get his explination). What he said was that when I downshifted at the stop sign the oil pressure hit 0% then when I accelerated out of it the Vtec basically killed itself causing immense amounts of friction to absolutely destroy the engine.. eventually (from the drive home) leading to a cracked longblock and blown gaskets along with other fried internals..
He said to me that this engine and only this engine could have that happen and its a rare thing..
But I mean cmon.. $8,000 to fix a car I bought for $20,000? seems a little unreasonable
Anyone have any ideas or comments? Perhaps similar stories or better yet.. anywhere where I could buy a 2006 K series Vtec?
Thanks guys

[Nomar06]

You bought it from a dealer right? well doesnt matter. This should be under warranty right? Why would the oil pressure drop to 0 from being at a standstill.

[airportguy770]

Dont let them bull$hit you, That should be under warranty, No reason for the oil pressure to go to 0 cause you came to a stop

[civic5ex]

ya this sound like something that the warranty should cover
oil pressure dropping like that???? hope this isnt a common problem

[nighthawk06Si]

that some bull crap. you shouldn't be paying 8g to fix a engine you just got. it should still be covered under warranty. Also it was teh dealer's fault for not pdi'ing the car before selling it to you seeing as how it had 20% oil life left for a certified used car.

and he shouldn't be blaming you just because you downshifted and that's what caused all the damages...

[udumkid]

1st "who did the last oil change"?
2nd did you ever checked the oil level in the car?
3rd how many miles did you put in the car since you bought it?
4th did you add any after market upgrades?

This is the reason I hate been the owner of an si,the "fuC*en" dealerships always try to find a damn reason to reject any warranty work....and what the f%%k is he talking about its normal for a k series to drop to 0 psi in oil pressure when you disingage vtec??? here is a couple of examples for the oil pressure to drop to 0psi:

bad oil pump
leaking bearings
clogged oil filter
clogged oil galleys
clogged oil pick up screen
incorrect oil weight,not enough oil in the crank

so to me it looks like they should honor the warranty,even tho they dont want to. good luck

[sbigshot]

Originally Posted by nighthawk06Si

Also it was teh dealer's fault for not pdi'ing the car before selling it to you seeing as how it had 20% oil life left for a Certified Used Car.

^^Only if it was purchased used from a Honda dealer. My car is Honda Certified Used, it has a 4yr 48K mi bumper to bumper warranty. Regardless, this should definitely be covered by the remaining Honda warranty!!! Call Honda directly if this dealer won't cover this repair.

(6K and 20% oil life ... hopefully this wasn't the original oil and filter. Another good argument for the trusty every 3K oil change.)

[aodmisery]

theyre bs ing you most likely they were changing the oil and forgot to put any back in.

[sbigshot]

Originally Posted by udumkid

did you ever check the oil level in the car?

One of the 1st things you should have done when looking at the car on the lot. Also, take the oil fill cap off and have a look inside the engine ... put some of the oil from the bottom side of the cap on your finger ... should be somewhat clear in appearance if the car was properly maintained by the previous owner.

[sf-si-02]

No, I lost a k-series to oil starvation, and this sounds familiar. However:

(1) you do not lose all oil pressure, its always above 19psi--- unless there is no oil at the pickup(keep reading)
(2) When you started having problems, you should have stopped. WHY PEOPLE DRIVE WHEN THE CAR HIS HURTING IS BEYOND ME
(3) The oil light comes on in theory when there is under 11psi of oil pressure. In my own testing, I could get the light to stay off at 6psi...
(4) Honda motors are high pressure oil systems, unlike domestics which tend to use significantly less pressure

(3) + (4) -> You lost pressure, and spun a rod bearing. It happens to the best of us

It can happen to others, because the k-series does not use a baffled oil pan, and if you get decent tires and suspension, you will notie in a sharp sharp turn, the oil light will come on.... its because the pickup is in the center of the pan, and without any oil, the pressure drops and the light comes on.

This should be a lesson to everyone: CHECK YOUR OIL FREQUENTLY. The K-series BURNS OIL NORMALLY!!!! I tend to overfill by 1/2 a quart, and check EVERY TIME I GET GAS. I lost an unbelievable k20a2 supercharged to oil, and it will never happen again.

Now, back to the OP: your head gasket is fine (I bet $15). Moreover, the oil life has nothing to do with oil quantity, that has nothing to do with the actual oil light.

What happened: Here is my best guess: You were at 30% oil life, which means no one checked it in a while. You were low on oil because these motors burn as much as a quart every 3k. You took a hard turn, starved the motor of oil for a bit too long, and spun a bearing... your crank is probably dead. That, or you are forgetting to tell us that you misshifted and overrevved the motor to the point that a valve made love to a piston.

Acura has been known to GOODWILL cover misshifts and freak incidents like this. I suspect Honda will do the same for you.

[Civicsalesman]

As the name says. I sell honda's in canada. The oil life is what honda dealerships go by to change the oil. A regular civic, depending on driving habbits will last 8000 to 10000 kilometers before recomended oil changes. If purchased from honda dealer, the reason they didnt get a oil change before you bought is because honda recommends that you dont get it done before 10 to 15% on the first oil change. Additive from factory added to seat the internals. You "should " change you oil between 5 to 10 % oil life left. Aslong as you dont have any mods there is absolutly no reason they wont warrenty it. Think about it they are charging Honda the bill. If not take it to a different Dealership.

[RylandSI]

Thanks to those whove helped so far and Im starting to understand more about the problem
after debating with the dealership (Honda dealership and it was a certified car) and despite only putting 800 miles on the car.. They will not be covering it
any ideas on where I could get a K series new? or perhaps a low mile used?
Its been tough finding one since theyre relatively new

[CaliGuy]

Originally Posted by RylandSI

Thanks to those whove helped so far and Im starting to understand more about the problem
after debating with the dealership (Honda dealership and it was a certified car) and despite only putting 800 miles on the car.. They will not be covering it
any ideas on where I could get a K series new? or perhaps a low mile used?
Its been tough finding one since theyre relatively new

OK dude...I'm gettin' the sneakin' suspision that your not telling us something...

No one in their right mind would let the dealer say "were not covering your $8k engine, sorry" and walk away unless they are A: incredibly lame, B: Did something like misshift or some other user error.

If you didn't cause this demand arbitration with Honda...If that doesn't work get an attorney. Dude! This is $8k!!! Not a $25 sun visor!!!

BTW: you said that you understand the problem better now. What was the problem?

[udumkid]

Originally Posted by sf-si-02

(3) The oil light comes on in theory when there is under 11psi of oil pressure. In my own testing, I could get the light to stay off at 6psi...

isnt the oil at 10psi at idle and 44psi at 3k rpm on the k's????and doesnt the oil warning light come on at 8psi or lower???

[udumkid]

OK dude...I'm gettin' the sneakin' suspision that your not telling us something...

No one in their right mind would let the dealer say "were not covering your $8k engine, sorry" and walk away unless they are A: incredibly lame, B: Did something like misshift or some other user error.

If you didn't cause this demand arbitration with Honda...If that doesn't work get an attorney. Dude! This is $8k!!! Not a $25 sun visor!!!

BIG 2ND^^^^^^^^

[sf-si-02]

Originally Posted by udumkid

isnt the oil at 10psi at idle and 44psi at 3k rpm on the k's????and doesnt the oil warning light come on at 8psi or lower???

per the manual. However, I have never seen it below 11 at idle when my turbo rsx buddies had a guage...if all was normal it was more like 15psi. On my car, I had a raised idle (due to motor mounts) with 1150rpm idle, it never dropped below 30psi, even after being warmed up.

I can't find in the manual the specs for the oil pressure switch, you may be right though, I remember it being biassed downward, i.e. if you ever had that low a pressure (to illuminate it for a minute straight), the motor was toast. On crsx there are a few guys that spun bearings from oil starvation, and never had the idiot light go on!

[fraga]

Okay admit it...were you driving in reverse down the street when this happened...

[bizzybearfigiblue]

Originally Posted by CaliGuy

OK dude...I'm gettin' the sneakin' suspision that your not telling us something...

No one in their right mind would let the dealer say "were not covering your $8k engine, sorry" and walk away unless they are A: incredibly lame, B: Did something like misshift or some other user error.

If you didn't cause this demand arbitration with Honda...If that doesn't work get an attorney. Dude! This is $8k!!! Not a $25 sun visor!!!

BTW: you said that you understand the problem better now. What was the problem?

+1 i don't think anyone would walk away and say "ok, i have to buy a new motor for my new/used car that is still (should be) covered under warranty." see that's just not gonna happen unless u did something wrong....and if that's the case i've seen whole motors w/tranny on ebay for about $4500....

[P4rD0nM3]

I don't think he'll be posting here in the near future.

1 3 5
2 4 6 R

Hmm?

[Kidekat]

Unless he forgot to check the oil level for a while...