4k mileage and new clutch?

[OPCX]

I have an 04 nsx with 4k miles and all of a sudden no matter what gear im in the clutch never fully engages. So, if i drive the car I basically get no accellaration at all and hiting the throttle is pretty much like being in neautral. I have in no way beat on the car and I first noticed the problem just in second gear.

I read the faq's and warranty issues. The car is fully stock and it seems very odd that after so few miles to have this problem.

Is this even the clutch?

The car is going over to acura on thursday and would appreciate any feedback.

thank you.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Well, from your description something sure sounds wrong with your clutch. The funny thing is it sounds from the description like it is worn out.

I know you say you do not beat on it, but can you describe your clutching process, please do not be offended, just trying to help you diagnose it. Do you have a steep driveway, or any reason you would slip the clutch regularly?? What is engine rpm when you let the clutch out??

HTH,
LarryB

 

[nsxtasy]

Which dealer are you taking it to?

 

[OPCX]

morton grove acura, where it was purchased.

The only reasonable explanation I have is engine breaking, which I have done quite a bit.


Aside from the slipping problem, the car runs fine, no weird noises or anything like that. Just won't fully get into gear.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

When you engine brake do you match revs on the downshift? If not, you are causing additional wear, so you really need to, if the engine braking technique is used regularly.

Good Luck,
LarryB

 

[OPCX]

thanks for the reply. Ive downshifted pretty bad a few times. Never gave it much thought and was usually because someone was tailgaiting me on the highway. (drives me nuts)

Next question is how do I get Acura to pay for it

 

[vintagecarman]

What were the miles on the odo when you puchased it?

 

[OPCX]

What were the miles on the odo when you puchased it?

50. I guess this is standard for new models is what they told me. I also waited as they instructed to put 2k miles on the car before opening it up.

 

[vintagecarman]

50. I guess this is standard for new models is what they told me.

My thought was "if" it had more than a few hundred miles a salesman or potential customer could have abused it.

Once at a 1/4 mile track in California I was witness to a few unscrupulous salesmen hammering on a Sliver supercharged NSX off the showroom floor. Scary!

Best of luck in getting the problem resolved.

 

[OPCX]

last 2 questions...........

Should I drive this thing the 20 or so miles to the dealership. I think it will make it, taking side roads. Or should I have them come with a flatbed?

Is there any way they could try and void my warranty over this?

thanks for all the help

 

[vintagecarman]

last 2 questions...........

Should I drive this thing the 20 or so miles to the dealership. I think it will make it, taking side roads. Or should I have them come with a flatbed?

Is there any way they could try and void my warranty over this?

thanks for all the help

Have you called Acura? Having it transported over on a flatbed might be the best idea.

No way have done you done any thing to void your BUMPER to BUMPER warranty. Hopefully it will be an adjustment and nothing major.

Good luck!

 

[nsxtasy]

I would leave it up to them to make a determination about the warranty. What they will probably do is open up the clutch and see what the problem is. If the clutch material is actually wearing out, they may very well deny a claim under the warranty, which might actually be appropriate (there are exclusions for abuse as well as for wear items, and if the material is worn, this could fall under either one). If the clutch material is still mostly there, then there is some other reason that is causing it to slip, and this WOULD be covered under warranty. I would not jump to conclusions or worry about it just yet; let them sort it out.

There are also some dealers (HINT: AoB*) that are better than others about getting repairs covered under warranty. The dealership that sold you the car will sometimes, but not always, "go to bat" on your behalf to get it covered through Acura. You are not required to get your car serviced at the dealership who sold you the car; any Acura dealer in the country will honor the warranty.

McGrath Acura (the dealer in Morton Grove) services some NSXs, but nowhere near as much as certain other dealerships in the area: Pauly Acura in Highland Park, Woodfield Acura in Hoffman Estates, and, in particular, Acura of Brookfield (*AoB) just west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Except where there may be a warranty issue where you might hope McGrath will go to bat for you, I would take it to one of these other three dealers whenever you have any major services to be performed, like 30K/60K/90K service, clutch replacements, timing belt replacements, etc.

 

[OPCX]

I would leave it up to them to make a determination about the warranty. What they will probably do is open up the clutch and see what the problem is. If the clutch material is actually wearing out, they may very well deny a claim under the warranty, which might actually be appropriate (there are exclusions for abuse as well as for wear items, and if the material is worn, this could fall under either one). If the clutch material is still mostly there, then there is some other reason that is causing it to slip, and this WOULD be covered under warranty. I would not jump to conclusions or worry about it just yet; let them sort it out.

There are also some dealers (HINT: AoB*) that are better than others about getting repairs covered under warranty. The dealership that sold you the car will sometimes, but not always, "go to bat" on your behalf to get it covered through Acura. You are not required to get your car serviced at the dealership who sold you the car; any Acura dealer in the country will honor the warranty.

McGrath Acura (the dealer in Morton Grove) services some NSXs, but nowhere near as much as certain other dealerships in the area: Pauly Acura in Highland Park, Woodfield Acura in Hoffman Estates, and, in particular, Acura of Brookfield (*AoB) just west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Except where there may be a warranty issue where you might hope McGrath will go to bat for you, I would take it to one of these other three dealers whenever you have any major services to be performed, like 30K/60K/90K service, clutch replacements, timing belt replacements, etc.

thanks for the info. Ive bought 2 cars from mcgrath. The first was an absolute nightmare due to the finance guy at the old countryside location basically selling me the car without actually securing the financing (I was 22 and self-employed). He was later fired due to that type of behavior adding up.

Anyways, on the NSX Mcgrath went way beyond my expectations and gave me a sweet deal on the car. Im confident they'll do their best to cover it, my main concern was it somehow voiding my entire warranty, or worse, that there was more extensive damage done to the car.

Thanks a bunch for the dealership info. I will keep that in mind in the future if morton grove doesn't meet my expectations.

The flatbed is indeed covered under warranty so at least im off to a good start.

 

[DRZZZ]

steep driveway?

A few posts ago had a comment about a "steep driveway". I am asking this because my driveway is somewhat steep and narrow (with concrete on BOTH sides) and kind of long (100 ft.), so I have to slip the clutch sometimes when backing out of the garage. I have smelled the rotten stench of burnt clutch many times.....Is this going to burn out the clutch prematurely, or is it merely glazing it?

My clutch is the original one, 18,000 miles, '95 NX-T.

Is there any way to check the life of the clutch without a costly tear-down? I'm asking because I need the timing belt changed and thought they could check it then.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

DRZZZ,

Unfortunately slipping the clutch and smelling it on a regular basis is a sure sign of needing a clutch early. I too have a steep driveway I must back out of. I get the clutch pedal up and the clutch fully engaged as early as possible to avoid the wear.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[OPCX]

well, heres the deal.

Mcgrath acura just called me and I had to authorize them for 5 hours to take a look at the clutch. They said if they find it to be defective it will be covered under warranty, if not and I need a total clutch replacement it will be $3500 for the parts alone?

Is this right? Seems a bit more than whats listed in the faq's for clutch replacement.

So, If the determine its my fault Im looking at $4500.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

They are quoting your for the clutch including the flywheel. Depending on the clutch, the flywheel may not be required. The dual mass flywheel design of your car (1997+) is more complicated than the early cars and is fairly costly. The Spec Single has been a popular alternative to the expensive later model clutch and flywheel. It is a direct bolt-on for your year of car.

Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.scienceofspeed.com/produ...nce_products/NSX/Spec/single_disc/default.asp

Cheers,
-- Chris

 

[Nsxdemon81]

honestly, i've found a dealer will always try to have you pay for it, especially if your young they'll say you were beating on the car and you didn't break it in and it is only messed up because of your driving habits. So be ready to pay, but at the same time you could fight and argue with them and sometimes they'll just make u pay half or comp the whole thing if your lucky. Don't know if i've skipped over it but how long have you had the car? If they make you pay and they don't want to hear anything about the warrenty, call honda/acura corporate directly, and make them understand your not happy. Hope it works out though

 

[nsxtasy]

if they find it to be defective it will be covered under warranty, if not and I need a total clutch replacement it will be $3500 for the parts alone?

Is this right? Seems a bit more than whats listed in the faq's for clutch replacement.

The price of the clutch replacement on the '97-04 is considerably higher than on the '91-96. That's why their price is higher than the one in the FAQ.

My suggestion: Get a second opinion. Call John Vasos, the Service/Parts Director at Acura of Brookfield, at 800-383-3936. Explain the situation, and ask his advice. You will probably get the same response - they have to open it up, and if it's not defective, you will have to pay - except (a) if you have to pay for it, you will probably pay less there than at McGrath (John should be able to give you a price over the phone - and the difference will almost certainly make it worth driving a hundred miles to get there); (b) if you want a Spec clutch or any other clutch, John can get it for you and put it in; and (c) John may be able to help get it covered under warranty.

 

[newby]

I cannot believe all these comments about how it could be the owners fault if his clutch failed at 4K. What the hell, these cars are sports cars meaning the clutch is made to be worked harder then a ford excort. The car is obviously under warranty, so regardless of the problem, it should be repaired "free of charge".

I would contact Honda directly if they want to charge you that much for the labor and parts. It's not like the dealership is footing the bill, they"ll bill Honda.

I've got 38K on my 1997. The clutch is still stock and it's holding strong. Also, a clutch does not just "go out", it slowly gets worse, starting with the lowest gear (1st). OPCX's symptoms tell me it's not just a warn out clutch.

Good luck. And like another owner said "get a second opinion and even a 3rd" It'll be worth your time.

 

[nsxtasy]

I cannot believe all these comments about how it could be the owners fault if his clutch failed at 4K. What the hell, these cars are sports cars meaning the clutch is made to be worked harder then a ford excort. The car is obviously under warranty, so regardless of the problem, it should be repaired "free of charge".

That depends on what the problem is. The warranty has some exclusions in it. One of them is for "abuse" and another is for clutch wear. Maybe that's not the cause of the problem - in which case, yes, they should repair it under warranty - but it will be easy for them to tell by opening up the transmission and seeing whether or not the clutch material is excessively worn. And none of us here can be sure what they will find inside the transmission until they DO open it up.

The simple fact is, though, that you can't just do ANYTHING to a car and expect it to be repaired under warranty. Heck, on my NSX, I wore through my first set of front brake pads in less than 4K miles. I did it by driving it on a racetrack. And there was no reason for me to expect them to replace my brake pads under warranty.

 

[vintagecarman]

Heck, on my NSX, I wore through my first set of front brake pads in less than 4K miles. I did it by driving it on a racetrack. And there was no reason for me to expect them to replace my brake pads under warranty.

From reading OPCD posts is does not sound as though he abused his NSX so, I agree with Newby that it should be covered under the warranty.

Nsxtasy: Taking your NSX to the track and running it hard can not be compared to OPCX clutch failing with in 4K with or with out tracking it. I wouldn't pay a penny to have the NSX looked at or repaired. It has to be a Malfunction and Acura will be responsible for the repair.

Unless OPCD is not telling us the whole story, which I doubt, Acura will be 100% responsible for the repair. If they are not willing to fix the problem and attempt to charge you, I would suggest giving them your lawyers phone number.

 

[nsxtasy]

From reading OPCD posts is does not sound as though he abused his NSX

The following post sounds as though he indeed may have abused his NSX:

Unless OPCD is not telling us the whole story, which I doubt, Acura will be 100% responsible for the repair.

That's baloney, pure and simple. You cannot predict whether or not they will cover it. You don't even know what the problem is yet. Until the transmission is opened, none of us do!

It amazes me how some people want to jump to conclusions (and even start talking about lawyers!) before we even know all the facts...

 

[newby]

I don't think anyone is saying "this is the problem" or "that is the problem". We are discussing that if "this is the problem" then this is what should be done. Yeah, nobody knows until it's looked into... but that was the whole idea of this post. If we all just waited until he had it looked at then why even discuss things at the nsxprime forum?

OPCX's question was, "Is this even the clutch?" after he gave us his syptoms. Some said it was from an abused clutch, some thought it was something else.

I don't believe it's a worn clutch, but I don't know forsure. Unless OPCX races the car daily I believe it's a mistake on Acura's part. That is where the discussion of what to do if Acura won't fix it came up......

As far as I'm concerned, there should be nothing "NOT COVERED" by a manufactures warranty on a 2004 vehicle with 4,000 miles. (Unless it's raced)

We will all wait anxiously to hear what the dealer says....

 

[nsxtasy]

As far as I'm concerned, there should be nothing "NOT COVERED" by a manufactures warranty on a 2004 vehicle with 4,000 miles. (Unless it's raced)

So if a driver does a "money shift", and the engine revs to 12,000 RPM and blows up, they should fix it under warranty?