I have a friend with a RSX type S. He just put on about 1200km on it and was driving around town and missed a gear he put it in 4th instead of 6th rmps jumped to 9k Pile of black smoke came out the back.. cya l8r engine.. Acura told him 8k CND for a new engine and about 6 weeks before it arrives. He’s fighting with them now to get it replaced for free.. What I want to know if why the fuel did not cut out? When I get my 98 GSR 1st stick car I did some dumb **** and when I reved the car too much the fuel just cut for a bit and then came back on… I guess he just had back luck. I’ll let you know how things go with Acura on this.

 

Fuel cut off won't save you if you put the car into a lower gear at high speed. At that point the motor is directly connected to the drive wheels and the motor will spin at whatever revs it needs to in order to keep up with the wheels in that gear.

I am glad Honda won't fix it for free. People need to learn to drive or buy slush-o-matics.

 

Wow, he must have been going about 120 if the downshift to 4th put him over 9k rpm. I could see it if he was trying to grab 4th and hit 2nd instead. I nearly did that once and I am extremely careful about it now.

 

Honda/Acura will probably NOT be replacing these for free. I've heard of several instances both locally and across the country (see some of the other threads). People aren't shifting properly with a 6 speed and over revving the engines. I think Honda even issued a statement warning drivers to familiarize themselved with the config of a 6spd gearbox before attempting to push the car to it's limits, or in these cases, beyond it's limits.
At $8000/engine and i've already heard of at least 5 confirmed blown engines in the 2 weeks the car's ben out, this isn't something Honda wants to have to pay for with their warranty.

 

Seriously, how fast was this guy going?!?!?! My 4th gear doesn't run out till 112mph or so, what the hell speed was he traveling??? And why? And his engine couldn't handle 9k for a brief instant? I've had a few mistakes (hehe) with my transmission (i.e. putting car into 2nd instead of 4th, hehe). That shot the tach up to 9k, but if you're quick with your foot, you can shove the clutch in again to save it, which I did. Regardless of anything I've said, I'm sorry to hear of the passing of that engine, but Acura shouldn't have to pay for it, it was entirely your friend's fault. Oh, and an electronic fuel cut off can't defy the laws of motion/physics.

 

I don’t know the speed he was going but he was shifting from 5th to 6th soo he toped out on 5th gear and was going to throw it into 6th but missed and hit 4th let the lutch go and the said that the tech hit 9k and then he pressed the clutch as fast as he could but by that time he said that a pile of black smoke was coming from the back of the car. He pulled over and the car would not start again. I’ll talk to him today to see what Acura will do about this.. I think they will give him the engine for free… We’ll see when I get back from work on what he says about this….

 

Lots of Celica GTS owners did similar things back when that car first came out.

My sorrow and sympathies go out to your friend and his engine. However, my feeling is that Honda/Acura should not be held responsible for his mistake.

I'll just go on and assume that he was topping out 5th gear on a racetrack...

Why does it seem that the repair necessitates a whole new engine? Chances are, he's just crushed the valves and dinged the pistons, blown a few gaskets here and there, bent a crankshaft, scored his camshafts... well, at the very least, some wrencher out there will get his hands on a Type-S engine to rebuild and transplant into his own car...

 

4th gear goes to about 120 +/-. like the other have said, the motor spins with respect to the wheels. At 9K the valves are going to smack against the pistons (keep in mind the TypeS cams are bigger than b16a/b17a cams). I have to admit to puttin it into 2nd a couple times when I got my gsr (I was used to the shifter on my '93) and shot the revs to 9300 (V-afc checked). Luckily I was ok even though I had CTR cams!

 

yes, learn to drive a car correctly cause if you drive the **** out of your car, you dont even deserve to own one, especially if you cant shift.

 

Honda/Acura should not replace stuff like this. People have to learn to take responsibilities for their actions..and not look for the easy way out.

Anyway, i have yet to drive a 6spd in the celica gts or the rsx-s, so i dont see how it's so much more difficult than the 5spd. Maybe when i drive it i'll know.

 

I can see why Honda would not technically be liable. But Honda should replace his tranny or at least cover a percentage of the cost. I don't think it should be that easy to make a mistake shifting and blow an engine and if it is it should be well advertise to the customer. Also there are already a lot of reports of these transmissions belowing up. Even if it is technically an operator error, it is obvious this car is no where near as forgiving as it's predecessor. There is a reason people pay so much for a new car with a new warranty, it is partly to pay for stupid/simple mistakes that might cost you a fortune. I agree modern society in general has some responsibility issues (I bet Sam Walton never saw this coming), but in this case I believe it's in Honda/Acura's best intrest to replace this persons engine. Of course after it is made highly visable to any Type-S owners how a simple mistake can ruin your car's engine/tranny. Honda/Acura would be wise to hold more closely to thier warranty and hold the customer responsible.

It sure is easy to call someone dumb isn't it.

 

I agree on all accounts...

Here's the ultimate solution for all the Type-S transmission misshifts... get the base RSX (5 speed) instead!

 

And many Celica GT-S owners are STILL blowing engines.. head on over to Newcelica.org and you'll see that.. At least Toyota has been gracious enough to replace/fix the people's engines for free in almost every case. They admitted there might be some flaws in their transmission design and have now redesigned it with a 2nd gear lock-out I believe.




[Modified by Modern Angel, 5:54 AM 8/10/2001]

 

I couldn't agree with you more! I have to hand it to Toyota. As many GT-S owners have blown their engines by missing the 4th gear downshift and grabbing second by mistake, Toyota seems to be handling the repairs under warranty. Whenever a manufacturer like Toyota (GT-S), Subara (WRX) or Acura (RSX TypeS) runs commercials showing their flagship sports cars speeding down canyon roads, racing around a skidpad, etc., they need to realize that they're encouraging the average consumer to immitate this aggressive driving behavior. Acura would be well advised to follow Toyota's lead and honor mis-shift warranty claims unless or until it incorporates a 2nd gear lock-out or similar idiot-proof protection into its gearbox. Acura should be ashamed if it doesn't at least rise to Toyota's level of customer service.