1996 Honda Accord: engine failure

Filed Apr 16, 2003 · Engine · 120,000 miles · AR

An internal oil leak caused engine failure (refer to tsb 618908).

Filed Oct 28, 2002 · Fuel system · DE

Consumer states because she has been unable to satisfy her recall notice , all of her oil leaked out of her auto, and her engine seized up. It stopped on the highway, and she had it towed to the nearest honda dealer. No injuries. The auto was able to roll off to the side of the highway. Consumer states she has been to more that 2 places and has been told that the part is on back order. Ts

Filed Aug 15, 2002 · Engine, Transmission · CA

Defective balancer shaft seal broke loose, causing an engine replacement because of immediate oil loss w/no warning indicators. Just had oil change and transmission oil flush a month ago. Honda needs to reimburse costs of total repair due to defective item. Never received recall notice either.

Filed Dec 6, 2001 · Engine · FL

While driving balance shaft seal broke off, and the enigne leaked oil. Oil leaked out and engine blew. Please provide more information.

Filed Jan 31, 2001 · Engine · OH

While driving, the oil light started flashing. I checked the oil level and found that it took almost 4 quarts of oil to fill it back up. I then started the car to see why and where the oil was coming from and it was gushing out of the timing belt cover. I had the car towed to my dealer and they told me it was a blown balancer shaft seal. After everything was added up, it cost $653.80 to repair. We complained about it to the dealer when the car was being repaired, but were told it was a wearable part that we were unlucky enough to have go. My father recently told me he read in a local newspaper automotive column that a woman had the same problem. I looked up the federal safety agency website to see if there were any others who may have had the same complaint, and was very surprised to find out there were quite a few. Had my wife been driving the car on the highway with my 15 month old son, and the engine failed due to loss of oil, it could have been a very dangerous situation. If enough people complain of this problem hopefully honda will issue a recall; however, we are still out $653.80.

Filed Jan 18, 2001 · Engine · TX

Balncer oil shaft gave out and car leaked all oil out immediately and engine seized and we had to replce engine at the cost of $2,860 (used engine) - honda has been extremely uncooperative - received recall notice and have tried to work with them to obtain reimbursement and have been waiting since november.

Filed Dec 12, 2000 · Engine · SC

Was traveling 70mph when suddenly engine seized up, vehicle had stopped, lost all power, and oil was shooting out every where. Had vehicle towed to garage. Mechanic indicated that engine had blewn up, and that was reason for oil leaking. Would replace blown engine with a used engine. Received a product recall letter in mail regarding engine recall. Do not have old engine.

Filed Sep 30, 2000 · Engine · MD

Same exact incident happened to another car I owned, honda accord lx 97, at the same mileage range (59k-60k). Only with accord 1996, I was fortunate enough to stop on time, and was able to save the engine. Whereas, in the accord 97 situation, I was too late, all of the oil came out, and engine was irreparably damaged. The cost of repairs for accord 97 was $2,000, it required a whole new engine + oil pump, change of seals and belts. According to the honda accord manuals, maintenance (change of timing belts, etc.) on the car should be done at around 90k miles, excluding the regular oil changes. Therefore, both incidents were not related to a delayed maintenance, but to an irregular failure of the oil pump and the oil seal. Both cases are identical on similar cars and deserve to be investigated.

Filed Feb 7, 2000 · Engine · TX

A few minutes after leaving a retail business, the businessman called me on my cell phone to advise me there was a large amount of fresh oil where I had parked. I immediately pulled over on the freeway only to find oil gushing out of my engine. I immediately exited the freeway and went to the 7-11 at the top of the exit ramp. I added 4 quarts of oil and drove straight to the honda dealership approximately 5 miles away. By the time I arrived at the dealership all the oil had gushed out again. The dealership said the seal on the front balancer shaft had become dislodged. They said it would cost $750 to repair. The timing belt was full of oil so it too had to be replaced. If it wasn't for the alert businessman and the fluke that I had given him my phone number, I never would have been aware of the problem until either the engine seized up and/or caught on fire. The dealership and the manufacturer seemed unfazed by the potential disaster that I narrowly averted simply by a fluke of chance. This problem should result in a recall to prevent others from getting killed if the car catches on fire and seizes up while driving at highway speeds!!

Filed Aug 24, 1999 · Engine · VA

Oil pump seal blew while the car was in motion causing all the oil to immediately drain from the car causing damage to the car's timing belts and and requiring replacement of the time belt. If the car hadn't been immediately stopped the engine would've seized. Honda is aware of the problem as they have issued an upgrade kit to fix the problem. But they have not notified car owners. This is a major problem and owners should be notified so they can get it fixed before it blows and causes additional damage.

Filed Aug 6, 1999 · Engine · AZ

My mother passed away and gave the car to her grandson. He was driving to work when the engine light began to blink. He proceeded to pull off the road when the engine stopped. The speed at engine stop was approximately 35 MPH. He had to push the car off the road. There is a service bulletin 961001b, the federal safety agency id #sb049981, issued 1096, listed in the federal safety agency database on the balance shaft seal which appears to have failed. The car is now at jack ellena honda in lawrence, ks (785) 843-0550 with a blown engine. American honda doest not believe that they should cover the burden of a new replacement engine, though they have agreed to a 50% replacement cost of a remanufactured engine. The car is just 2000 miles over the warranty period.