I am so disappointed and I'm looking for help. I have an issue with American Honda and I'm trying to find a logical answer verses the bull**** I am getting from them. I'm not a mechanic but I'm hoping one of you could give me some insight on what possibly went wrong. Last Spring I bought a new 2006 Civic DX. The car has ran fine and the dealership (up until now has been a pleasure to work with. Other than some highway driving commuting back & forth to work I have babied this car. Sine ownership in Feb I've put 26, 450 miles (I commute 90 miles to work daily) and I've had 6 oil changes. The car is clean and well maintaned. Everything is stock... no modifications...etc.

Last month I was running extremely late to work. I admit I was speeding... pretty fast over 85 mph on average... sometimes as high as 95 mph... other times in traffic as low as 65. This is just an estimate. I admit I was riding the car pretty hard. I made an 1 hr 40min trip (on average) into an 1 hr 25 min trip. Just out side of Sacramento my car broke down... the engine completely failed and over heated. At the time I was pretty distracted on the road and traffic ... if an indicator was displayed I certainly didn't notice. I remember checking my speed about 10 minutes before the failure (a cop was on the side of the road ) and I was doing about 78.... the water temperature gauge didn't seem over the limit. When the car died, my dashboard lit up like a Xmas tree. At first I thought it was some auto shut down or a governor. When I pulled over to the side if the road I realized that I had overheated. My worst fears were realized when the dealership called and told me the news... my engine was fried due to excess heat and my claim was denied from American Honda. The reason for the denials is becuase they claim that an indicator was tripped during my drive (although they won't state when specifically) and the damage was due to driver negligence. I claim that if an idicator did go off it happened shortly before the engine failed. I had no warning prior to the failure. My car was performing fine with plenty of power and no noise. When my engine cooled I lifted the hood and the entire inside hood and engine was covered in anti-freeze.

I'm trying to understand what I did personally to damage this engine. I admit that within 10 minutes of the failure that I did not witness and rise in water temp or an engine light light lit. My last oil change was over a month ago and the dealership upon inspection of my engine (for the claim) did not witness and leaks. My guess (and many of my friends) is that a thermostat failed and cooked the engine. All I know is that I have a car less than a year old with 9,000 miles left on the warranty and my engine is toast. I've owned a Doge Neon and Volkswagon Beetle and honestly this car wasn't ridden any harder than either vehicle. Can anyone help explain what may have happened?

 

I really cannot explain but I can reason. First off, most Honda drivers beat the living crap out of their cars on a daily basis. As for I did the same thing with my last Honda and it never screwed up on me. Now, Im amazed that Honda is denying warrenty on the motor failure. Especially since its under warrenty it should be fixed without question.

 

This is my first new car ever.

At first I thought the high speed for the long distance (85 mph 60-70 mins) might have had something to do with it.... then I had a friend that told me he made Boston to Albany (3hrs usually ) in a 1 hr and 50 min trip with his 87 CRX Si that had 117,000 mph on it.

This car isn't even broken in yet. I can see if the oild hadn't been changed or this was street raced... but this is just a commuter car. [:@] I'm gonna fight them.... I just hope I have a leg to stand on.

 

No, there was definetly a problem NOT youre driving. That is not beating on the car. Trust me. I would call the boss of the boss and so on until you get what you want. Do not settle for anything other than free repair. Its under warentee......They should honor it.