“Do they normally tranfser the oil filter across engines and reuse?”
I would hope not!
@texases It shouldn’t be amazing. Honda screwed up. They cast the Civic engine blocks poorly, and they tended to crack. As a result, a recall was issued, and the warranty was extended to 10 years for cars that had not yet developed cracks. So, he’s getting an engine replacement on an in-warranty car due to manufacturer defect. That we consider it amazing that Honda is doing exactly what it should be doing here only speaks to the appalling lack of ethics displayed by many if not most corporations.
Here’s what probably happened: OP brought the car in. They changed the oil. The oil monkey noticed coolant leaking and kicked the car over to a more experienced mechanic to find out why.
The more experienced mechanic found the crack and initiated the warranty replacement. But they had already changed the oil in the original engine. The dealership should not have to eat the cost of changing the oil just because Honda’s block was bad.
Now, if it were my dealership, yeah, I’d probably eat the cost of the oil change just to avoid OP running around the internet talking about what jackasses the brass at my dealership are for charging him for the oil change. But it’s not legally or ethically necessary to do that.
OP is lucky the dealership was on the ball. If I’m ever in the market for a non-Si Civic of this generation, you’d best believe I’m going to want to see that the engine got replaced. I’d much rather a swapped engine with a known good cast than an engine that’s known for breaking but hasn’t busted yet. You try to sell me a car that slipped through the recall cracks and I’m going to want the price of a swap deducted from the price because I’m going to assume I’m gonna have to do a swap sooner or later.
A man offered me a new car for nothing but I had to pay the $200 for the license. I said no way, that’s robbery and told him no. My Grandmother used to say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
The amazing part is being worried about the cost of the oil change. The OP was held whole, he needed the oil change. Well, he had 15% oil life, so maybe he’s due, what, 15% of $50, so $7.50? Go for it!
$7.50… After standard attorney fees that comes to $4.95! There’s gotta be someone who’ll take this case!