susan649•28d agoTop Commenter

Had a 2006 Honda Accord throw a rod right on I-75 yesterday afternoon

I was heading home from a job in Flint around 4pm and heard this loud knock coming from under the hood. Pulled over at the next exit and by the time I got to a gas station the engine was making a sound like someone banging on a trash can. Oil was all over the bottom of the bay when I popped the hood. Turns out the previous owner must have run it low on oil for a while and the bearing finally gave out. I ended up having to tow it 30 miles to my buddy's shop and now I'm looking at a $2,800 rebuild job. Has anyone else dealt with these J-series motors having oil starvation issues?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_young5928d ago

Man that sucks, I feel for you. I had a similar thing happen with a 2004 Civic a few years back, same deal where I thought I was keeping up on oil but didn't realize it was burning through a quart every couple weeks until the bearings started knocking. The J-series motors are pretty solid overall but they can get picky about oil level, especially when they get some miles on them and seals start leaking. I bet the previous owner was one of those people who just looked at the oil light on the dash instead of actually checking the dipstick, and by the time it lit up, the damage was already done. 2800 bucks stings but at least your buddy's doing the work so you know it'll be done right. Hope you can get it back on the road without too much headache.

bell.felix28d ago

I mean it's wild how many people treat oil changes like they're optional these days, and then act surprised when a motor grenades itself. Every time I hear someone brag about going 10k miles between changes I just cringe, cause bearings don't care about your schedule. Maybe it's just me but it feels like folks forget engines are basically just metal parts spinning against each other and they need that oil film to survive.

craig.john28d ago

Actually 10k is fine for modern synthetic oil in most new cars. The old 3,000 mile rule was for conventional oil and older engine designs. My last truck went 12,000 miles between changes with Mobil 1 and the lab analysis came back showing plenty of remaining life. The real issue is people who use cheap conventional oil and then try to stretch it that far. Or folks who never check their oil level at all and let it run low. A low oil level will kill bearings way faster than slightly degraded oil will. So yeah, extended intervals work, but only if you're using the right oil and keeping it topped off.