$13K for new engine?

dereksbicycles

dereksbicycles

Active Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
6,497
Reaction score
26
My Dad was talking to one of his friend. Apparently, her daughter was trying to drive from NJ to IL with an one year old Honda. The leased Honda was only one years old. Before the trip, the daughter took the car in for an oil change. It was at a Dad/Pop place. They forgot to put cap back on top of the engine. Therefore, oil slowly got out. The engine was eventually locked up. Car stalled in Ohio on way to Illinois. She ended up getting a rented vehicle.

The cost is $13K for new engine. I am not sure if this includes labor. I hope it does. I just don't know how it would end up being that much for engine. I'm hoping it is turbocharged, but I doubt it. No engine is worth $13K. Especially not if it is not turbocharged.

I don't know what I would do if I were them.
 
Perhaps for this small car, 13K may be excessive but I can't be too sure and yes, there are plenty of engines out there that is worth over $13K

dereksbicycles said:
My Dad was talking to one of his friend. Apparently, her daughter was trying to drive from NJ to IL with an one year old Honda. The leased Honda was only one years old. Before the trip, the daughter took the car in for an oil change. It was at a Dad/Pop place. They forgot to put cap back on top of the engine. Therefore, oil slowly got out. The engine was eventually locked up. Car stalled in Ohio on way to Illinois. She ended up getting a rented vehicle.

The cost is $13K for new engine. I am not sure if this includes labor. I hope it does. I just don't know how it would end up being that much for engine. I'm hoping it is turbocharged, but I doubt it. No engine is worth $13K. Especially not if it is not turbocharged.

I don't know what I would do if I were them.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
13 grand for the wee Honda engine IS stupidly excessive...but if this is a 1 year Old MODEL, like very very few are written off yet they salvaged engine for this car is going to be impossible to get...so *they're stuck with an entirely brand new engine" and like if that was the case...then it's quite plausible, even expected...
sheer Bad luck!!
 
Interesting that the engine computer would not shut down to protect the engine from lack of oil and overheating. Having a seized engine is not a good thing.

Is the engine a 4 cylinder? $13k seem to be steep for a engine replacement, I'm not sure if they still require to change the engine harness and other components which could drive the cost up. Ask the mechanic for the estimate break down so you get the idea what is being worked on.
 
She should be contacting the mechanic that forgot to put the cap on. Its not her fault the mechanic didnt do their job correctly
 
dereksbicycles said:
My Dad was talking to one of his friend. Apparently, her daughter was trying to drive from NJ to IL with an one year old Honda. The leased Honda was only one years old. Before the trip, the daughter took the car in for an oil change. It was at a Dad/Pop place. They forgot to put cap back on top of the engine. Therefore, oil slowly got out. The engine was eventually locked up. Car stalled in Ohio on way to Illinois. She ended up getting a rented vehicle.

The cost is $13K for new engine. I am not sure if this includes labor. I hope it does. I just don't know how it would end up being that much for engine. I'm hoping it is turbocharged, but I doubt it. No engine is worth $13K. Especially not if it is not turbocharged.

I don't know what I would do if I were them.
Click to expand...

Honda what?
 
I'll find out what kind of Honda. I hope to know. I'm sure others would be able to learn from this too.
 
And always watch the dashboard lights!
soulchill-albums-public-picture6240-2013-honda-warning-lights.png
 
Yep, she should be going after the person that forgot to put the cap back in.

$13K is probably the retail cost of a new engine at the dealer...of course that price is negotiable, but, the dealer 'has her by the balls' in this case. You say a "one year old Honda". If the engine is of a new design, there are most likely no parts widely available yet, so, yes, you have to pay a lot of $$.

Depending on how much damage has resulted....sometimes you can rebuild the engine, sometimes it is better to replace entirely.

If the engine computer shut down an engine due to low oil pressure, imagine the lawsuits the mfr would get if someone got hurt in the middle of the road...

That's why we have dashboards with warning lights. Many folks out there don't even notice anything other than how fast they are going. My wife is a perfect example of someone with no sense of danger..she has run out of gas several times, even though there is one big orange warning light that comes on right next to the huge fuel gauge that clearly shows 'empty'. Some folks choose to ignore warning signs and convince themselves that nothing is wrong.

Plus....if your oil warning light ever comes on, you have maybe 5-10 seconds to quickly pull over and shut the engine off before serious damage results.
 
What body model? What engine size? I wonder why a driver can't smell oil burnt that come from under hood while driving long trip, can't view back the white cloud out of the rear of the car? WTF.....If oil filler cap is missing, oil will squirt out of the valve cover, spill on the hot exhaust manifold or pipe then you can detect it by smell... Come on. I believe this Honda engine lock up or seizes is NOT cause the oil filler cap lost or missing. If oil drain plug fumble then engine would be seize. $13K for new engine doesn't sounds common to me. Maybe I am wrong. I dunno...
 
Calvin said:
Interesting that the engine computer would not shut down to protect the engine from lack of oil and overheating. Having a seized engine is not a good thing.

Is the engine a 4 cylinder? $13k seem to be steep for a engine replacement, I'm not sure if they still require to change the engine harness and other components which could drive the cost up. Ask the mechanic for the estimate break down so you get the idea what is being worked on.
Click to expand...

If you ignore big red warning lights then PCM will switch to Fail Safe or Limp-In mode to reduce the engine power while driving on the highway even you floor the gas pedal to the floor as the car turtles too slow then you know something wrong with it. Some cars doesn't have same functions.
 
Ausrider said:
She should be contacting the mechanic that forgot to put the cap on. Its not her fault the mechanic didnt do their job correctly
Click to expand...

I would file a complaint to BBB and get the mechanic to put a new engine in for nothing.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I would file a complaint to BBB and get the mechanic to put a new engine in for nothing.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute. I read OP, says Dad/Pop place.... Is this place backyard or repair shop? If the repair shop did oil change on your car, damages the engine, you can sue them but to Dad/Pop? I dunno.
 
I'm surprised the driver took her new Honda to a Dad/Pop (Mom & Pop?) or shade tree mechanic. Even dealers and chain auto service places do oil changes for basically the cost of the oil. I can't see much savings in that. Hubby does our oil changes but I see the ads for oil changes and they seem pretty cheap. Not to mention, new car dealers usually include incentives such as life-time at-cost oil changes.

Anyway, it sure didn't benefit her. I hope she can get some kind of reimbursement.
 
Outrageous price for a small engine. Three years ago I had my Chevy van engine replaced. It is a 5.7 (350) Vortex. My mechanic picked up the new crate engine from Rick Hendrix Chevy for $2,400. Took out the old engine and put in the new and total charge was around $4,000.
Dealer wanted $7,000. $13K???
 
That might make sense to reduce power to a stop to shut off.

Back to the OP:

Dealers usually charge higher than independent garages but dealers usually know the problems those vehicles: Chevy dealers for GM cars, Ford for Ford cars... etc. I take mine to the dealer and get a discounted labor rate for service my vehicles. A service advisor knew me for many years and work together if I have any problems or service.

Since 2012 is new and perhaps there isn't many engines in the stock for replacement. If you change oil and forgot the cap back on... that might void the warranty and pass the cost to you to pay for the engine replacement or you might get lucky to find a wrecked Honda with the same engine for a better deal at ebay if the engine itself is not wrecked. Swap the good engine into your honda and put a bad engine in wrecked Honda and send it to scrap yard to get some money back.. (not much but at least it helps)

Good luck!



deafsmogtech said:
If you ignore big red warning lights then PCM will switch to Fail Safe or Limp-In mode to reduce the engine power while driving on the highway even you floor the gas pedal to the floor as the car turtles too slow then you know something wrong with it. Some cars doesn't have same functions.
Click to expand...
 
I believe this was a local oil change place. It wasn't a backyard mechanic.

I will ask my Dad for more details as I'm curious. I cannot believe something like that would happen to someone.
 
If it came from local oil change place, you'd need to document and proof as they probably deny being at fault to avoid paying for damages.

dereksbicycles said:
I believe this was a local oil change place. It wasn't a backyard mechanic.

I will ask my Dad for more details as I'm curious. I cannot believe something like that would happen to someone.
Click to expand...
 
TinCanSailor said:
Outrageous price for a small engine. Three years ago I had my Chevy van engine replaced. It is a 5.7 (350) Vortex. My mechanic picked up the new crate engine from Rick Hendrix Chevy for $2,400. Took out the old engine and put in the new and total charge was around $4,000.
Dealer wanted $7,000. $13K???
Click to expand...

Just thought of something! What about towing to where they actually want it done?
 
Back
Top