Please excuse duplication of post. Sent it wrong place initially. I recently purchased a 2003 Acura TL-S. Beautiful car, "BUT" with approximately 100 miles on it, I became aware of an engine knock. I immediately returned the car to my dealership whose mechanics ultimately determined the culprit to be excessive clearance between the connecting rod bearing and the "floating" piston pin of the #1 cylinder; a sloppy fit causing an engine knock. Also, the cylinder incurred some scratches, apparently because of this defect. The Acura dealer wants to repair this by replacing the piston, connectig rod, and piston pin. I feel I should have a new engine if I have to accept this car. I really would prefer a trade in for a new car since I purchase this one with a factory defect . If I am forced to accept this car with the repair Acrua wants to do , how will this effect the selling of the car a year or so later as this record is looked at? What is the likelyhood this will cause me problems in the future? I had done a lot of research before purching a new car and Acura came up as top choice. I don't know now. I am a female and don't need a problem automobile. Would appreciate any experienced advice you could give me. Thanks

 

What kind of mileage do you have on it now? I don't know how the lemon law works where you are but you might want to look into it. Generally you can't force a dealer to buy back the car if you've only had one problem...even if it does mean taking the motor apart to fix it. As far as the repair goes, did they mention anything about honing the cylinder? If the lining is scored that leads me to believe they'll have to resurface it. Theoretically the motor will be just fine, but the fact that it's been cracked open to fix something will be a deterrent to someone a prospective buyer down the road.

Once again I'm not well accquainted with warranty issues (what with working on/driving older cars) so well, I'm not much use.

 

If the cylinder scratches can be fixed by honing alone, then everything is good.

Typically, dealerships do not do any of their own machine work. If the engine requires more than just a hone, they'll send off the engine to a local machine shop. If that happens, I would get in contact with the involved machine shop, get their opinion on the motor, and ensure that they aren't just overboring 1 cylinder or some garbage.