My 03 TL-S recently started making a bad thumping sound. The dealer told me that I threw a rod. I was then told that the acura representative declined to cover this under warranty because I had recently done an oil change with Amsoil synthetic. They claimed that the oil was new, meaning that it was my oil change which caused the engine to be ruined. The dealer said that there was nothing they could do because the rep had declined it. If anyone has dealt with anything like this, please let me know what I should do or who to contact. Thanks for any help... Ben

 

What... the fuck? They are blaming a thrown rod on Amsoil?

Wow, I don't even know what to say to that. You might want to lawyer up, and demand the representative to prove how an oil change with Amsoil oil led to a thrown rod.

 

Word and maybe take what the rep said to Amsoil and make them pay for your engine. Never heard nothing like that.

 

Go to another dealer. Cars with thrown rods dont run because they seize within a few turns and usually the rod flies out the side of the crankcase and leave a big hole and lots of oil on the ground. They have no way of knowing thats the problem without looking inside.

Noise could be from anything and could just be a broken valve spring, bad lifter, etc. Oil will not cause catastrophic engine damage unless you put canola oil in it and then it may still take a few thousand miles.

If it was the oil it would normally be becuase of oil starvation (bad pump, forgot to put oil back in after oil change) and they could check for premature wear, heat damage, scoring etc which would be evident throughout the engine not just confined to the one rod or any one part. Thrown rods are generally caused by overheating from improper lubrication (insufficient oil pressure), severe overrevving, or a manufacturing defect. Less common are failures due to stuck valves or swallowing a valve.

 

I would contact a laywer. Thats BS!

 

what flydog said!

good words.

 

Did anyone think to answer that the TL doesn't HAVE any rods?! When people say thrown a rod, I've typically (an from experience) understood that to mean a pushrod, not a connecting rod. Since the TL is an OHC engine, it doesn't HAVE pushrods.

 

Mmm, I don't know, but to me, it's always meant a con rod.

But yeah, you're right. It's an overhead cam engine, so it doesn't have pushrods. But I'm sure the dealership isn't THAT stupid. They might as well have told him that the carburetor is going bad, or that the distributor cap is broken.

 

i started putting amsoil in my car when it had 112k on the clock, no issues for 10k so far. any type of oil as long as it meets the min of car oil and weight will do, so brand is that far superior or crappy to cause it to throw a rod like that.

 

Ditto. I've heard the same phrase used on NHRA drag racing shows and the context has always been connecting rod, usually followed by a picture of a block with a hole in the side. In fact, the first time I've ever heard the reference be to a pushrod is in this thread. No offense to anyone.

 

http://www.automotiveforums.com/t144106.html
And I quote:
"03-14-2004, 03:09 PM
OK.... Listen dude. I race my SW2 1.9 DOHC. I just did the same thing you did to yours. What happened is you did not "throw a rod" You cant. You dont have the kind of rods you can "throw" When someone say "threw a rod" its from the old school. It means you put a pushrod somewhere past a rocker or cam lobe. Since this is an overhead cam engine, you have no pushrods. What you did was slip a main bearing (or several!). It makes a clocking-clacking sound that goes with the RPM's. You can fix it yourself if you dont want it done right.
..snip.."

This is what I was referring to. Same thing that happend to my 78 Camaro.

So there's a little confusion about the "thrown rod" phrase. I can't be the only one, eh?

 

Nope, no confustion. Two posts past the one you quoted, the guy was corrected.

 

Throw a rod or blew a rod usually refer to the same thing. When that phrase is used its being used in refrence to the con rod and not a push rod.

 

Understood. I was just pointing out that I wasn't the only person under that impression that it could also mean a pushrod.

 

Ive never heard it refrenced to a pushrod. I dont even think its possible to throw a pushrod is it?

 

Oh, but it is possible. What I'm seeing is the same phrase referring to two separate problems: a pushrod (from an OHV engine) bending or someing off its lifters, and the other, obviously more prevalent breakage of a connecting rod and that rod being forced through the engine block. In my old Camaro it was the former. Since the TL is a OHC engine, it doesn't have pushrods at all, so the phrase could only mean one thing in this case.

 

keep us posted,i recently switched to amsoil.........i hope this is not another thing to worry about

 

Oil changes do not void a warranty.

 

Right - connecting rod (or con rod). Because we have overhead cams we don't have pushrods. That's reserved for "technologically challenged" American V6's and V8's.

 

Yeah - it's the LACK of oil changes that will void your warranty.

This is the first Honda engine I've ever heard of having a problem on this forum. I'm actually kind'a chocked it could happen. I mean - how many people do we know who have supercharged, turbocharged, or nitroused their cars - and they run without issue.

There's got to be a latent nabufacturing defect in that engine - or it's not really a thrown rod.

 

What im saying is that even the old cars, ive never heard that phrase coined for a push rod problem. Even back then threw a rod was used for the conecting rod. There were always other things said for when you bet a push rod. Usually you never did any thing to the pushrods, sure they bent, but that was usually caused by other problems which you said and when you got down to whats wrong is it was "bent" valves. Guess different parts of the country use different terms like soda and pop

 

Dude, ITS NOT SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

 

That is BS man. How many miles do you have on the engine? I would take it to another dealer for sure.

 

I would also tell them its up to them to prove that it was the oils fault!

 

what mods do you have done to your tl? and ive also heard that amsoil even states on the bottle that it does not comply with some certification. afpi i think. they are sayin that you used an un approved oil in the car. another one i think is rotella.

 

my questions is how do they know its even amsoil,coundn't they think its Mobil 1..............I guess, unless he keeps that oil reminder on the windshield and the tech say it......

 

Would have been nice if he posted again and gave us some details.

Was there oil present in the engine when he had Acura look at it?
Maybe someone forgot to tighten the drain plug?

How/when did the engine failure occur?
Give some details - cold start, high revving?
Maybe the oil didn't have a chance to get out of the pan and circulate.

 

Using Amsoil has absolutely nothing to do with it. I run Amsoil and I am certainly not gentle with my car.

 

The engine needs to be torn down to determine what went wrong with it. I talked to the service reps where I work and they said Acura has no list of "unapproved" modern motor oils, conventional or synthetic. Obviously you can't use a racing oil that isn't approved for normal engines and using the wrong weight oil could have some validity.

 

Ya thats stupid. Thats like say "your master cylinder failed because you used valvoline DOT 3&4 brake fluid instead of STP." I think there's more to this story then we can see.

 

Don't get me wrong... I love amsoil products and I know that their oil had nothing to do with my dilemma... My problem is that the dealer and rep are telling me that my engine is more or less ruined based on an assumption... I'm told that I can trade out for a used engine and pay a couple thousand, but I know that my engine will simply be fixed by the dealer and resold to someone else like me... I'm scheduling a meeting with the local acura rep and the service manager to see what I get told in person... If they want to blow me off I'll hire a lawyer because the law is real clear about voiding the warranty

 

Hey bjo3030,

Answer my questions.

 

how many type-s motors have blown? i havent been a type-s owner for long but this is the first ive heard of throwin a rod.

 

Was there oil present in the engine when he had Acura look at it?
- I was told that the oil was low and that it looked new... I'm not arguing with that, I did an oil change a few days before... The engine didn't go haywire until about 3 days later though...

How/when did the engine failure occur?
- I started the car in the morning, it was making noise, I drove it about a hundred yards before it sounded bad and I stopped... There was no evidence of oil loss where the car was parked...

The service manager gave me the number of the local acura representative so that I could "make a case against Acura," whatever that means?
Thanks for any more advice anyone can give...

 

total BS. If you can't get through that Acura reps head, call Acura.

 

Here is how you want to handle this. I have worked for Honda for 17 years. You call the dealer and ask for the number to Acura Customer Relations. If you call up screaming and yelling the odds are pretty good that they will not help you. But if you call up and tell them exactly what is going on (calmly) and how much you like your Acura product and how this is going to influence future purchases they very well might listen. I do know that if the engine area has mods done to it they assume that the car is being raced or used improperly and that might make them bounce a claim. Call them and see what happens. Dealers hate when a customer files a relations claim because it effects there ever important TSI ratings. Even if they do not cover all of it maybe they will split the costs or something like that. Tell them that this is not what I expect from an Acura, they like that one. Good Luck !!!!

 

I'm going to contact acura and see how things go... All the advice has been really helpful... I'll keep updating when I get some new info...

 

go to a different acura dealership..

i took mine to crown acura (clearwater) they said they wouldnt change my tranny, (which was prolly still good but i was moving to the uk and honda would not honor the warranty) anyways, i took it to ferman acura in tampa and they replaced it with out barley seeing it. i even told them that crown said there was nothing wrong.

 

Ferman rocks! I was on a business trip and they treated my with 1st class service for a rear main oil leak.

Excellent dealership.

 

I had my car towed to a second dealership but they told me that nothing could be done since the acura rep and other dealer already made their decision on it. I'm pretty clueless on what to do next, call acura, a lawyer, or what?