My 2008 Honda Civic reaches its end of life a couple weeks ago when the block cracked. I noticed that the temp gauge was pegged on H so I pulled off the highway and had it towed to a Honda dealer. This is a known problem with 2008 and other Civics of that era. Honda put a 10 year warranty on these blocks with no mileage limit. However, my car was 11 and a half years old. My dealer asked Honda if they would fix my engine in view of my long term loyalty to the brand but they said no. I pursued my own customer service complaint through Honda of America but was also ultimately turned down. I’m mad. A block should never crack unless mistreated or defective. My block suffered from a known manufacturing defect which I believe was termed porosity. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to get some satisfaction from Honda?
Driving a car until you noticed the temperature gauge was pegged is abuse and what cracked your block. There are warning signs before the overheating gets that bad.\
You should have smelled a hot (burnt metal) smell or heard or smelled steam hissing or a hot coolant smell.
You could have noticed the gauge going up. Does your car have a warning light for coolant temp?
Cracked blocks also cause overheating. That era of non-Si Civic had a flawed casting in the block, and they tended to crack even without first overheating, which is why Honda extended the warranty on them to 10 years.
Unfortunately for OP, that warranty really is only for 10 years. People have come in less than a month past that warranty with cracked blocks and been turned away. Honda is most likely not going to help here (which I personally think is a mistake, especially with Hyundai nipping at their heels - foolish to act like GM in situations like this).
OP, you’re gonna have to decide if you want to put a different engine in the car (later years of your engine had the porosity problem corrected) or just get another vehicle. Personally I would lean toward the latter, because even if you re-engine it, when you do go to sell it you’ll have trouble because people are avoiding that year Civic like the plague because of the block issue.
Are you original owner?
You already got your satisfaction from Honda in the form of 11 1/2 satisfying years of use.
What??? We’re not talking about a car that’s 20+ years old with over 200,000 miles on it. We’re talking about an 11-year old car, with probably less than 120,000 miles on it. The idea that an owner should be satisfied with such a dismal lifespan is so absurd it’s comical.
In any case, the OP needs to evaluate the overall condition of the car, and decide whether to sell the car as it sits, or pay to have the engine replaced. Depending on mileage and overall condition, it may make sense to sell it as a “mechanic special” for $500-600, or it may make sense to repair and keep driving it.
oldtimer_11, There was no advance warning of the overheating. No smell, no cloud of steam or vapor. By the way, there is no red or yellow warning light, just the subtle gauge with C and H. The block cracked due the the known manufacturing defect in this model, not my misuse of the car.
You would not have sold it if it had no issues. Yes. Unfortunate.
Exactly. This car would still be running strong if not for Honda’s manufacturing defect with this block. They are definitely not acting like an upstanding reputable company in handling this. Fortunately my Honda service adviser fixed me up with a mechanic at the shop who has already bought the Civic from me for $1100. Too good to pass up, a real “mechanic special” I guess. I still think I should be compensated by Honda however.
You sold the vehicle so your dealings with the Honda Corp . is done.
Well then there’s your answer. You should have kept the car and fixed it. I agree that your dealings with Honda are done. Forget about this car, and never buy a Honda ever again.
No way was I going to pay around $5,000 for the job for a new or used or surplus or junkyard engine to be put into my Civic. The mechanic I sold it to said he’ll get one somewhere and do the job at his leisure and will have a decent car for a decent price. Meanwhile I’m car shopping and will probably forever view Hondas with this episode in mind.
Yes, I was the original owner.
Get serious , the only way that would make sense is to be able to do it yourself and apparently the Op would have to pay some shop to do that.
The temp gauge was placed into the instrument cluster for a reason; not to take up space.
When the needle goes up it’s time to pull over; not when the needle pegs out at H.
Honda’s warranty extension to 10 years was very generous. OP exceeded that by 1.5 years then sold the car. Why would Honda now be responsible for anything? Shaking my head…
Wow, thanks a lot. Kind of harsh, huh? That’s exactly what I did.
Not very generous if you ask me. A block is a piece of metal that should never crack unless mistreated or being defective. Honda acknowledges that this was a known metallurgical/casting problem. The block is not a moving part subject to wear and tear, it is not a battery subject to chemical degradation, it is just not something that should fail in this manner. It was defective and they should have stood behind it for the life of the car. Especially for the original owner. Yes, I sold it. After I was denied help from the Honda chain of command in Torrance, CA.
I think they DID stand behind it for the life of the car. You car’s life happened to end at 11 1/2 years.
It looks like I owe you an apology. I am sorry. I was unaware of the Civic issue. I wish I could think of something helpful but I can’t. If it is any consolation, cars where I live didn’t last 11’1/2 years 120000 miles until the last 20years, they died from rust. For most of my life, it wqs so unlikely for an engine to last over 100000 mile that cars came with 5 digit odometers.