NSX Maintenance costs

[mlambert890]

Exactly SFNSX!

Not going to rehash this again (there are 12,000 threads on it)

It's your car so of course do what you want. That said, 99% of the time these threads net out to "do what the manual says"

You can talk about temps/conditions/whatever until the cows come home. Meanwhile, manual says what it says. Ferrari and Lambo folks dont ignore manuals. They get the major when it says to get the major. NSX folks often want to ignore the manual. Not sure why as the car is similar to a Ferrari or Lambo (mid-engine, high rev, exotic). You cant tell when a TB is going to go and when it goes, its sayonara engine since its an interference engine.

Personally... A car that has gone 10,11,12 years without TB/WP? I would consider it neglected as would the majority of NSX owners/buyers and would immediately knock off whatever $ it would take for me to locally get it done were I buying.

And BTW, its not "my advice", its the advice of the forum. Try searching "TB/WP" and see what you find. If SOS is saying "you're great, no need" then thats great! If the TB does go, I wonder will SOS absorb the cost of repair though? Prob not. If you check those threads you'll see I used to make the same argument (this expert said ok, seems it should be longer, etc). In the end, after owning these cars for almost a decade now (3 NSX's since 2001), Ive decided Im convinced. TB/WP when the manual says to.

I'm not giving *you* advice, Im suggesting to the *OP* that he not view NSX ownership as "buy car, then forget maintenance". Lots of NSXs get ruined this way as folks buy them without being willing/able to afford owning them then sell them before doing any major work. The work gets deferred forever and the cars trade cheap. Eventually, the cars *will* grenade and then everyone will wonder what happened.

TO THE OP: start a new thread - a poll if you want - asking the question "when should TB/WP be done" and see if the majority agree "when the manual says it should" or choose "whenever you want" or "it depends". The answer will be that first one.

 

[davidf]

Ok FWIW, so I don't have to search all those threads. My TB/WP was changed at 48,467 on 8-22-06. I just hit 68,000 last week. When should I be concerned? Thank you.

 

[tbromley]

Ok FWIW, so I don't have to search all those threads. My TB/WP was changed at 48,467 on 8-22-06. I just hit 68,000 last week. When should I be concerned? Thank you.

Manual says for NA1 - its 90k miles or 6 years - NA2 says 105k miles or 7 years. That's the recommended interval.

Do people exceed that - well, yes they do - is it advised no. In Europe I've heard the manual says 60k miles regardless of time. I haven't seen a Euro manual. I don't know. If you go 6 years and one day is it going to blow - absolutely not. What's a safe "grace period" - no one has tested this to failure. There have been many that have exceeded the time and not the miles. May be some examples of miles exceeding and not time I don't know - what's safe - doing what the manual says. With few miles and light ones too - going past 6 year to 7 on an NA1 - will it blow - very doubtful.

It's up to you - do you feel lucky? If it breaks - engine damage as in pistons and valves - well not good and very expensive.

 

[clr1024]

Manual says for NA1 - its 90k miles or 6 years - NA2 says 105k miles or 7 years. That's the recommended interval.

Do people exceed that - well, yes they do - is it advised no. In Europe I've heard the manual says 60k miles regardless of time. I haven't seen a Euro manual. I don't know. If you go 6 years and one day is it going to blow - absolutely not. What's a safe "grace period" - no one has tested this to failure. There have been many that have exceeded the time and not the miles. May be some examples of miles exceeding and not time I don't know - what's safe - doing what the manual says. With few miles and light ones too - going past 6 year to 7 on an NA1 - will it blow - very doubtful.

It's up to you - do you feel lucky? If it breaks - engine damage as in pistons and valves - well not good and very expensive.

I am thinking Honda extended the servical intervals on all cars from the 6 years 90K to 7 years 105K. Until someone tells me otherwise I assume the latter as the tb/wp is essentially the same.

 

[nsxtasy]

Hmmm....I live five miles from SOS and they do the work on my car. They say TB and that other stuff isn't due on my car becuase of the condition, way I drive it, etc.

Sorry, but I don't believe it. I don't believe that they told you not to replace an 11-year-old timing belt.

Rubber ages and dries out, even for cars stored indoors. And if your 11-year-old timing belt breaks, you will need to replace your engine. Want to know how much that will cost? I can tell you! You can expect to pay $8-10K for a used 3.2-liter engine (which will almost certainly have more miles than the one you have now), and thousands more for the installation labor. So that's how much you will pay if your guess is wrong. And what do you have to gain by taking that risk? You'll be putting off a $1500-1800 service that Honda says is needed every 7 years, so you're stretching out a service that would normally cost you about $250 a year, spread out over time. You're already FOUR YEARS over the interval that Honda recommended. So let's see, you're trying to avoid a cost of a few hundred dollars a year, and you're willing to risk a repair that's well into five figures. Hey, it's your car, and your risk, and if you're wrong, YOU'LL be the one to pay that bill - not anyone who gave you the advice to take the risk!

Personally... A car that has gone 10,11,12 years without TB/WP? I would consider it neglected as would the majority of NSX owners/buyers and would immediately knock off whatever $ it would take for me to locally get it done were I buying.

Ok FWIW, so I don't have to search all those threads. My TB/WP was changed at 48,467 on 8-22-06. I just hit 68,000 last week. When should I be concerned? Thank you.

Based on Honda's recommended interval in the owner's manual and service manual, if you have a '91-96 NSX, it should be changed when you reach 138,467 miles or on 8/22/2012, whichever comes first; if you have a '97-05 NSX, then at 153,467 miles or 8/22/2013, whichever comes first.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Hmmm....I live five miles from SOS and they do the work on my car. They say TB and that other stuff isn't due on my car becuase of the condition, way I drive it, etc. I think I will stick with their recommendations rather than yours; one I never asked for!

Hi Rob --

Just so there's no confusion, we definitely recommend following the factory recommended interval. I think our discussion ~ 6 months ago when you asked for a quote was to the effect that you didn't want to do the service right away however I suggested doing the work before the summer. The belt is something that degrades with time as much if not more than miles. Being the NSX is an interference fit engine, it is important to change before this could be an issue.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Huck]

What to buy, what to buy---. To me, it's more a consideration of condition, condition, condition--price--price--price---and then how are you going to use it? I personally like ever year of the NSX. I prefer the coupe for rigidity. I don't care what you buy--year or condition, be prepared to spend money on the beast. Other then making sure the basic maintenance is up to date--there are LOTS of little crap that will make you crazy---door window lift issues, bose radio speaker amplifiers failing, door handle failures, etc. Then of course there are neat little things like radiator or condensor shields, floor mats, hatch lifts, modern radio upgrades to include gps---. So, if your want a high end garage queen, spend the big bucks for the latest model. If you are happy with the NSX WOW factor, a 91 that is super clean will get that and unless your really know the car, most people wouldn't know the difference between the 91 and the 2005 other then the bug eye headlights. The $5,000. expense is right on the money for bringing the basic maintenance up to date--ask me how I know that ----(a 92 owner since January 2011) hehehehehe
Huck:biggrin: