Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

[kaptag]

Purchased: 2013 Honda BF20 LS Tiller Manual start on 04/xx/13.
Ran it for the 1st time: 05/xx/13 Idled for less than 3 minutes and OB froze up.
Took to the dealer and they called Honda Marine.
Honda Marine gave the procedure to tear apart OB to find cause of problem (cause not found), even removed pistons and rods.
Honda Marine tells them to put a new power head on
I want a replacement, not an OB that died after 3 min. run time.
Requested a replacement or a refund, told NO by the dealer and a Honda Marine CSR.
What do I do now? Contact lawyer, offer to trade motor in on electric start (both cost me money), contact my Honda car dealer (I've bought my last 4 cars from them) and ask if they can intervene. Any advice appreciated. Note: I changed this post to shorten it.

 

[pvanv]

Re: Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

A new power head IS a new motor... aside from the cowl and leg, etc. Lawyers help no one, except their own wallets.

 

[MattFL]

Re: Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

Ditto, aside from the gearbox a new powerhead will be almost all of the moving parts.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

The warranty on your engine is a repair warranty, not a replace warranty. I know it doesn't feel right, but all of the manufacturer's have the same policy. Also, the dealer can only do what Honda authorizes them to do so they shouldn't be in your crosshairs.

 

[kaptag]

Re: Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

A new power head IS a new motor... aside from the cowl and leg, etc. Lawyers help no one, except their own wallets.

Well, now they've changed their mind on the powerhead also and are replacing ALL the internal parts of the engine. They are also telling me it was a defective crankshaft that had burs on it from the milling process. Tell you what, I think I just bought $3500 worth of vaseline! I now know the true meaning of the 3 Joys of Honda. Yea, like I'm going to trust this OB out on Lake Ontario To make matters worse, I own 4 Honda Automobiles... and a Honda 75HP OB and this is how I get treated, nice.

 

[pvanv]

Re: Help, what do I do now? Honda BF20

Again, the power head IS the engine. If you had a bad crank, and it (and any associated parts) are replaced, you should be fine. If your Honda car had a bad motor, you wouldn't expect them to replace the whole car, so why an outboard?

It will cost the dealer and the manufacturer a lot of time and money to fix your motor, but that's what they do -- fix any defects. That's what the warranty is all about.