Civic - Honda :: 1993 - Sporadically Not Starting At Random Times
Feb 27, 2013
Over the past 3 years or so, my 1993 Honda Civic began not starting at very random times. Everything would appear to be working but the engine wouldn't fire up, until after a few tries or minutes. I got the fuel pump relay replaced last March and that worked for a bit but then my car acted up again in June and an electrical connector to the fuel pump was replaced. My car had been starting every time since, until last week. This is the worst it has ever been; my engine took about 3 hours (re-trying it here and there) to decide to turn over and start on its own, worked great for 3 days and then again just would not start. On a whim, I jumped it that time and it worked. This seems strange to me because all the electricity in the car was working when it wouldn't start, and my battery checked out fine when it was tested recently.
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I have a 1990 honda civic dx. with only 115,000 miles. For the most part it runs great, but for the past year it has given me problems when I try to start it. What happens is that at random times, it just cranks, but it doesn't start. Sometimes, if I try it several times (as much as 20 attempts) it will eventually start. Sometimes I have to leave the car for some time (10 minutes up to a few hours) and then it will start. I checked the spark, when it doesn't start, and it has a good spark. This seems to happen mostly when it is hot, never at night. My mechanic changed the distributor and that did not solve the problem. The ECM gave 16 flashes. My mechanic is frustrated in dealing with this because often it starts right up.
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My 2005 Civic is overheating at random times. My mechanic couldn't find the problem so I took it to the dealer and they replaced the thermostat and a fan switch. That didn't work so now they tell me I have a blown head gasket ($1,458)... but there's no water in the oil and no gray smoke. They say the coolant leaks into the block until there's not enough circulating and it overheats. Then, when it cools, the coolant goes back into the reservoir and that's why it never seems to be low on coolant. I've seen other Civic overheating letters (including a 2005 that sounded like my exact problem) but I never saw an update about what fixed the problem.
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A little background information: 2007 Honda Civic EX, 62000 miles, never been in an accident other than a couple bumper breakers, I'm the second owner and bought the car Certified Pre-Owned in 2008. I take pretty decent care of the car -- regular tune ups and oil changes. The check engine light comes on sporadically. It'll be on for a full day, and then it'll disappear, and won't reappear for a week, sometimes more.
Last summer, I got into one of those bumper breakers I mentioned before. I rolled into a car in front of me at about 7 mph when I took my eyes off the road for a moment because a woman swung open her car door next to me as I passed, and it grabbed my attention. Cracked my bumper, knocked off the Honda "H" logo, and otherwise caused cosmetic damage, but no mechanical damage from what I could tell. I didn't have anybody look at it, but since then I have had 2 oil changes, 2 tune ups and an inspection, and nobody noticed any problems. It turns out that my radiator had the slightest ding in it and was causing me to very slowly leak coolant. There were never any signs -- no corrosion, no pools under the car, nothing like that. It wasn't until this week when my car began overheating and my check engine light came on that I realized there was a problem. I had the radiator replaced and the transmission fluid changed because it was pretty well burnt up.
At the mechanic, they hooked up my car to their computer and the on-board computer gave them this error message: "P0848 3rd Clutch Transmission Fluid Pressure SW (Open or Stuck)". The mechanic tells me that I need a whole new transmission. I am completely in disbelief. At only 62000 miles? Only a year or so removed from when my CPO Powertrain Warranty expired? It's a big pill to swallow. Especially since I'm a relatively poor 30 year old who is getting married in November and don't have a penny to spare.
So, here are my questions for you:
(1) What does this error message mean?
(2) Does it really mean that I need a whole new transmission? If not, what is the recommended procedure to fix the problem...
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So I have a 2000 Buick, and it generally starts. However, twice now at random times the car hasn't started. It doesn't turn over, but makes a buzzing sound. The strange thing is, that usually after leaving it alone for a few hours, it will start as though there are no problems. I assume it's some kind of electrical issue, but I would love some input on the possible problems with my car.
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The factory 'Security System' aka alarm, in my 2000 Honda Accord EX goes off randomly. When this happens the horn sounds and lights flash for several minutes at a time. This can happen several times in one day and then not happen again for days or weeks. The owner's manual says that the security system is activated when the doors are locked and will sound an alarm if a passenger door, trunk lid or hood are opened while the system is activated. The system is deactivated by using either a key or the remote transmitter to unlock the doors. My mechanic tried to disable the hood latch switch, but this caused the alarm to sound continuously. How to fix the problem or disable the security system?
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car stalls out while driving, seems like the whole system shuts down lights stay on. Put diagnostics on it.Took to garage, couldn't find the problem. New plugs, checked distributer, all ok.
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540,000 kms Canadian climate. It happened once last year at -30 C. Recently, it was very cold again and the car ran ok but no heat and the gauge was going up to hot - it never gets that high, even in hot summers. One thing - I used the block heater on both occasions and I never used other than those times. Without using the block heater it does blow warm air (-20C currently). I did note today that the coolant was a bit low perhaps from overheating the other day? Would my block heater affect the thermostat? No coolant leaks noted under the car.
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I have a Honda Civic EX 1993. The mechanic said that this is not due to a sensor and checked all the wires and said all of that is fine. And said only a new speedometer would fix it but I wonder if something else couldn't fix it. Quite expensive to get a new speedometer, especially if it doesn't work.
For about 2 years I have had a problem with the speedometer. It does not come on right away. In the summer it takes maybe 5-10 minutes to come on. In the winter it rarely comes on before I get where I am going (I live in a small town so about 20 minutes). Tapping on it does nothing. Once it comes on it works fine.
I rarely go on the highway unless going out of town. When I do go on the highway (high speeds) after anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on the weather, it first flips over to about about 100 mph, and then if I hit the front of the face of the speedometer it goes to the correct speed and works fine from there on. If I only stop for a short time, it comes back on fine. If I am stopped for a long time it goes through the same thing.
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I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX and it is doing something I can't explain. Randomly the car will not even try to turn over. The ignition switch will click, the dash lights come on... but not even the slightest peep from the starter motor. If I put the vehicle in fifth gear and roll it, turning the engine over even half a rotation, the engine will fire right up.
It started on a road trip and happened very sparsely, but has since become more common. What used to be 1 out of 20 is now maybe 1 out of 4 chance it doesn't start. Every now and then it will go days without any problems, then seemingly randomly the ignition fails again for spurts. I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, and rotor about 2 months ago. The ignition switch appears to be fine....
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I drive a 2004 Honda Civic. About a month ago, my car started to overheat. The next day, I took it into the shop,and they said the thermostat was sticking,and I had a small leak in the radiator. I got a new thermostat, radiator (they did not have anyone to repair), and flushed the system.
A few days later, the car started to overheat again, and quickly went down. We thought it was a fluke. A few days later, it did the same thing and we took it back to the shop. They said nothing was wrong and let the car run with the radiator cap off for a while in case there was a bubble. Since then, it has has started to overheat a few more times. So the, problem is not all the time, just every so often. Several parts have already been replaced, as noted.
What we have found in common is that each time it starts to overheat, we are in stop and go traffic. It has always been hot outside too (but it is summer). When we begin to move at a regular pace, the car temp goes down. I live in a city, so it is impossible not to get in stop and go traffic on a regular basis. Not everytime we are in stop and go traffic it does this, but since the repairs, it has never overheated while moving at a regular pace.
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The parking lights, instrument panel, and climate control lights are on the same circuit it seems, and they don't want to come on right away when I turn the switch. I've checked all the fuses, and wires that I can see, I cant seem to come up with anything other than replacing the switch in the steering column.
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My daily commute to work is only 1.5 miles. Due to one-way streets along the way, I take different routes going from and to home in my 1993 Honda Civic EX. So only when coming home, I frequently encounter 2-3 red lights with long wait times. To save gas, I would turn off the engine, restarting a few seconds before the lights turned green. I recently had my battery die that was only a little over a year old. Could this could be the result of the frequent restarts over a short distance?
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'93 Civic 1.5 manual starts first crank when cold but has trouble starting if you shut it off within 5-10 minutes of initial start. Just cranks and cranks, no start. Wait a half hour, starts right up. Warm start no problem, just that first 5 minutes after initial start. Gonna check it out today . . . first chance I've had to look at it. No other problems, drives and runs well, no stumble, good idle, mpg hasn't changed, just this annoying issue.
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I had plugs and wires changed to try clear code. Car seemed to do some better but while trying to go up a steep hill car started stuttering and jerking. Power went out of car and check engine light started blinking fast. After let the car sit for bout 45mins car started running fine again and light stopped flashing but remained on. Code read cylinder2 misfire again.
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It's a 95 honda civic with about 140,000 miles on it aka a really old box of metal.
I was driving up to see my friend in ojai when I noticed a random ribbon of smoke (as if someone had left a cigarette burning for a second) wafting in the car. I freaked out, called my boyfriend, and he told me he didn't know anything about cars and to call my dad. I was only 6 miles away from my destination and I didn't see any more smoke and so I kept driving.
I should have called my dad or just stopped driving in retrospect, but the point is that when i got to my destination I noticed that the car was overheating and that there was smoke coming out of the front of the car.
I popped the hood to let the heat escape and got towed home shortly after. Today my dad is telling me that the engine is fried and the car is no longer drivable.
So my question is - how much of this is my fault//would this have happened to this old car anyway? I ask because I never drive, live in NYC, and didn't really notice any real sign of smoke but also because I want to know if i should pay whatever kelly blue book thinks that piece of junk is worth to replace or just chalk it up as a loss since it was such an old car anyway and was bound to die at some point. I also ask because I feel like i have terrible luck with cars and maybe I should never drive again...
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My manual 98 Honda civic hatchback has 435,000 miles. But for the past 5 months, it has had a reoccurring problem: it loses power at unpredictable times while I'm driving. The gas stops responding and the check engine and battery lights come on. Have to pull over, turn the car off and usually have to wait on the side of the road 5 minutes before it will start again. Lately, it can take as long as 15 minutes. Sometimes, it will restart immediately or after only two minutes.
So far, trying to get at this problem, the car has gotten: new battery, new alternator, new spark plugs, new coil, new distributer, new ignition switch, diagnostic testing (that indicated the coil [replaced] and the catalytic converter). There does not seem to be any consistent environment that goes along with the car turning off while driving. It happens regardless of how full the gas tank is and regardless of the weather.It's pretty bad to be going 70 on the highway and suddenly have to throw on the flashers and pull over... especially when there is no shoulder because of winter weather. What this is? Or is the car just old and tired?
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My 93 Honda Civic (manual T) is starting to be difficult to shift into gear. I mainly notice it when the car is idle and in neutral. I go to put into 1st or reverse and it won't go. I try all gears at that point, and it's the same. When it finally does go, it's a loud thud-like noise. People around look over at me! It doesn't happen every time, but I am noticing it more and more. And it's a bit scary when I have been at an intersection or something and I can't get moving. It has 189k. I have also noticed that the car is loud, too, when I am in reverse up our driveway and the clutch is slightly depressed.
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My daughter has a 1993 Honda Civic, which was running perfectly until yesterday. Until she mistakenly filled the engine with too much oil. She then drove it until a large amount of white smoke started belching from her tailpipe. All seals and gasket seem to be intact. I drained the oil and fill it to proper levels, but still have a large amount of smoke coming out of the pipe. I check the radiator to ensure that no oil/water mixture, but it was a huge cloud of smoke.....is this the end for this car or is there still hope.
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My 2002 Honda CRV has had occasional problems starting over the years i.e. takes 2 times to start engine. But lately it is struggling more to start i.e., engine turns over but you can hear it struggling to start i.e. sounds like dead battery but in fact battery is brand new. Now it can take 3 turns to start and this morning it took 5 tries. The problem is no mechanic can find out what is wrong i.e. starter, fuel line, electrical or what? because it always starts when in the shop. I have even taken it to the Honda dealer and they could not find the problem. This is a random problem but seems to be getting worse and happening more often. I am worried I will be stuck somewhere when the car does not start AT ALL one day.
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Honda Civic ( not a hybrid) with 137k miles has had inconsistent starting issues since last Spring. I had a new battery installed in March of 2014, and it still had inconsistent starting issues. It acted as if it wanted to turn over, and then finally would after 2 or 3 turns of the key. Some days it started just fine, too. The mechanics that replaced the battery said that they battery was fine and then they could not find any issues.
It still continued and I brought it to a different mechanic after a jump 6 weeks after the new battery was installed. They put a new starter in, and said that the seams or seals were worn and drawing too much power from the battery. That starter was replaced in May. Once again, and over the last couple of days the car is not wanting to start. It is cranking, but takes 2 or 3 turns of the key. Sometimes it has started just fine, and it started for the mechanics just fine this morning.
Simple things I've ruled out: regular oil changes, a full tank of gas, not sitting outside in cold weather, and not sitting for long periods of time. An idea is that something might be drawing a current from the battery while the car is off.
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