Good question...I am investigating it because when the car was taken to the dealer, after they had an initial inspection, they said that the engine failed due to driver error (that an inappropriate gear change had been made at a high speed). I know this was not the case, so this raised my suspicions. As the cambelt was replaced by the dealer less than 6 months ago, I am investigating whether cambelt failure could have been the cause and if there is any recourse.

To follow up Simon's comment - unless you have an extended warranty then there's no claim for an 8-year old car that's long out of original warranty.

Servicing inspections are a good idea but don't impose any warranty conditions on the dealer.

If you've an extended warranty, claim on it's provider - otherwise this is just one of the risks of owning a car out of warranty - on average it's a cheap way to run a car but if you're the unlucky one with a failure then it becomes expensive.

thanks for getting back to me. It is a 1.7L diesel. As the belt was replaced less than 6 months it is surprising that it should fail so soon, or perhpas it hadnt been fitted properly. That is why I am looking into it.

The 1.7 litre unit in the 7th generation civic is an Isuzu 4EE2 CDTi - 101hp, 220Nm, DOHC

This engine is a modified version of the Isuzu 4EE1 and is part of the Circle L family of engines. The 4EE2 was originally produced as a Di or DTi unit for Vauxhall/ Opel and was eventually modified to a common rail unit first used in the Honda Civic and later in the Vauxhall Corsa B (not to be confused with Isuzu Z series units!).

Parts can be ordered from Honda, Vauxhall and I dare say Isuzu however there seems to be little difference in price if any so I'd just save the hassle and stick to official channels.

The 2.2 Ctdi Honda manufactured unit was not fitted until the 8th generation which car production started 2006.

The 2.2 Cdti is not known to break timing chains unless oil change intervals are neglected or oil quality is compromised.