Hey Accord drivers, I am new here and just getting accustomed to the forum, so bear with me if I am posting an already discussed topic. I just got a used 2014 Honda Accord Sport in May 2021 with 72,000miles. I checked the oil level and the usage level was at 75%. By mid-July, I changed the oil with Mobil 1 0-20w full synthetic when it was 5% remaining. My son drives the car to work 5 days a week with no issue. One day he left work and was on his way to the gym when he called me that the car suddenly shuts down and 3 error lights came on namely- CEL, Battery light and Oil light simultaneously.
I towed the car home when all efforts to start it failed. The battery works, alarm and horn works but when you turn the key, there was no click but a whine. I towed the car to my home and had 2 separate mechanics check it out. 1st mechanic said the engine seem to have been locked and I may need a new engine. He said the oil pump seemed to have failed to supply oil to lubricate the engine and thus caused the engine failure.
The second mechanic came and tried to start the car and said it was a kick starter. He bought a new kick starter, installed it and asked me to start the car, but it was the same sound like whining. He went to the passenger side under the car inside the wheel area and tried to turn the engine and he also concluded that the engine was locked.
My question now is , how can an engine stall with no prior warning light and the oil was just changed a week earlier and there was no oil leak anywhere. Has anyone experienced oil pump failure such as this where the engine failed at a very low mileage with no warning light.

 

Oil pump failures are highly HIGHLY unlikely. Typically when an engine suffers from oil starvation the rod and/or main bearings fail first and start knocking, quite loudly.

As for a frozen/locked engine, in a relatively young engine, the only way this seems to happen with any regularity is when someone has put an aftermarket cold air intake on the engine and then driven it through a deep puddle; in this instance, the CAI ingests water and "hydro-locks" the engine. If your car has a factory intake on it, then hydro-lock is also highly unlikely, and it will be time for a third opinion.

 

Thanks so much for your input @Shipo. I am actually at a fix over this issue. To start with, there is no aftermarket intake and any modification on the car except for the remote starter. I have a little knowledge about cars and during all my research, no one has said anything about oil pump. As a matter of fact, as I mentioned in my original post, I just changed the oil a week prior to this problem and when each of the mechanics checked the oil with the dip stick, the oil is gauged and clean and I did not see any leak anywhere whatsoever or any drip anywhere on the car or on the floor. The most intriguing part of it is that when a diagnostic machine was connected by the 2 mechanics and with my own amateur tool, no code came up whatsoever, even though there was a CEL, oil and battery light that stays on when the ignition is turned to on position. Since they couldn't turn the engine when they put a tool through it, they both concluded that the engine has locked. I tried not to tell the second mechanic that I have invited a mechanic prior just to be able to compare and consider the outcome of both assessments. As of now, I have purchased another used engine with lower mileage which is being installed between today and tomorrow. I hope the cars starts and hopefully it is not an electrical issue. I will keep the forum informed.

 

Hmmm, quite honestly, something is missing from the story; I don't know what it is, and you probably don't either, but the whole new engine thing just doesn't make any sense.

 

Yep. I am also not in the know as to what could have gone wrong. But what the 2 mechanics concluded was that the engine was lock and cannot be manually turned either. As much as I cannot pin point what went wrong, I believe the 2 mechanics who separately concluded that the engine cannot be turned manually which indicated the engine is locked and cannot be turned by the kick starter nor manually. I'll put my feedback here once the engine replacement work is completed and the car is back on the road. For now, fingers crossed!

 

Hello fellow accord owners, here is the latest on my thread above regarding my 2014 accord with locked engine. I had a used engine with 54k miles installed last weekend and the car started right up with no engine light on whatsoever. Drained the transmission fluid and engine oil in the engine, replaced with both tranny and engine oil directly from Honda dealership. Upon further probing, I was made to understand the possibility that when the oil pump failed, the metals inside the engine were grinding and when they became hot, they either heated up and messed up the piston and valves or the timing chain broke as a result of lack of lubrication which could have also led to the engine being locked or stalled. But the bottom line here is that the engine locked after the oil pump failed and there was no lubrication in the engine, with metal grinding on one another. Since my son is the one driving this car to work regularly and I only drive it occasionally, I can only reference what he told me that the car slowed down and cut off while he was driving back from the gym. But thanks everyone especially @ Shipo who provided some insight into what could have gone wrong. The car is back on the road and drives like before, smooth and sleek. I changed all 4 tires with new OEM rims and I have just purchased new front rotors and brakes ready to be put on.