Civic - Honda :: 1995 - Random Ribbon Of Smoke / Overheated To Death
Dec 25, 2013
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 knucklehead brother, re-living the past, borrowed my '96 Civic and sped off to a heavy metal concert - Mega-Death (may be prophetic here). His head was in a blissful dungeon. It was a 55 F day, near sundown, he'd gone 20 miles. He was going up a fairly steep hill and the engine started pinging loudly (something it's never done before), then he noticed the temp. gauge pegged. Instead of stopping immediately and looking under the hood where he would have found no water in the radiator, he "fixed" the problem on the fly by turning on the heater. The car continued to ping and run poorly. He continued to drive another mile up hill (about 2 minutes more) whence he stopped the car and shut off the engine, opened the hood, found ZERO water in the radiator (no steam). I have not tried to start the car since - had it towed. What should I do before trying to start it (besides adding coolant)? What should I do to find out if lasting engine damage was done? The engine ran like new prior to this - has 180k miles. Stevie1959 P.S: How much is he to blame for this - he's a 50 year old, experienced driver, amateur mechanic? - he tells me I gave him a car with no coolant in it (Not true!, I drove it that very day, no puddles of coolant anywhere).
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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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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 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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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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So my honda 95 civic 1.5 engine is stalling out I think that it is my transmission so Im going to check that out in the morning my question is how much do I put in I watched a video on how to do it, do I need to put 3 quarts of the fluid in it or can I sneak by with just 2 quarts.
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I drove it a week and made a 150 mile trip and in the last ten miles going down the highway at 70MPH, same thing. All of the sudden with no warning engine light comes on, it looses power no matter how much gas I gave it, I pull over and I'm stranded. I thought maybe it was the alternator after all, so I turned the lights and radio and wipers off (night and raining) and tried to crank it. It cranked up slowly after flooring it a few times, which really didn't seem to do that much like it would if it was flooded. Anyway, the car cranks, I drive a little further and again.. same thing. I pull over as I'm dying, repeat. Again, pull over, repeat. I tried several times to crank the car by popping the clutch like if the battery died, but that wouldn't crank it. I literally had to turn off the ignition switch, turn it back on and crank the car, then it would run another mile or so. After the fifth time pulling off the road I decided to put it in neutral, turn off the switch, turn it back on and crank it without even stopping and it worked until it shut off again with the same pattern as the first time. I finally made it home and got it to a service station today. I did notice that if I drove under 40MPH it would make it a short distance, but it did almost shut off twice while going to the service station.
I haven't heard back from them yet, I'm just wondering how scared I should be before I call them and i would like to have some knowledge since they told me once after diagnostics that it was the battery.
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My 1995 Honda civic dx jumped time and won't even crank and have no clue what I got to do to fix it?
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I have a 1995 Honda civic. It blew the PGM-fi fuse after installing a working horn. Then the car wouldn't turn off. It was In Park I removed the key and the engine and brake lights were still on. When I completely disconnect the gauge assembly the car will then shut off with the key. When the gauge assembly is connected engine won't shut off, brake lights stay on and speedometer won't work. I read a few tips in an online form- I tried unplugging the alternator while the car was in off position (engine still running) this had no effect.
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One day as I was driving I heard a pop noise in the center dashboard a lot of smoke came out and now my dashboard lights stay on even wen key is out and the lights are off as well my a/c works fine at level 1-3 but when I put it a level 4 it turns off I took it to get scaned but the scanner won't connect with the car. What might be the issue? Honda Civic 96ex...
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1995 Honda Civic appears battery is dead, takes 20 turns to start up, then has trouble with RPM's while driving. Even the clock and radio reset I thought the battery was so dead, but the car still starts up every time. And sometimes when I accelerate it has trouble keeping up and chokes a bit. Is this one problem or two? It seems electrical to me.
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'95 Civic 220k 1.5 auto runs great, 40 mpg. I call her "LUKA". Recently noticed a slight loss of coolant, about 1/2 cup per 200 miles. No drips or puddles, no coolant in oil, just changed 500 miles ago and still golden and clean. I may have noticed a little more exhaust, maybe my imagination, certainly not a cloud of steam. I intend to slip a piece of cardboard under her this weekend and let her sit and alternatively run the engine to check for small leaks, can't do it right now as it rains every other day . . .
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I just bought a 95 honda civic si vtec automatic. I've had it almost two weeks I haven't had any problems with it until the other night my dashboard lights went out, I looked at the fuse it was bad so I replaced it but then I turned the car on and I can't shift out of park. Yes brake lights work and all the other fuses are just fine. I also have my gear shifter lights out and my stereo is suppose to turn on when I start the car but will no longer turn on at all. People say it's fuses, my transmissions locked....
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95 Honda Civic. Manual Trans and Steering. CV joints have 40K since rebuild, 50K on tires. Tire Press and Tq is good. Steering does not pull either way, suspension feels tight. Happens with/without brakes. I noticed that the steering wheel has developed an occasional left right shake that is proportional to the speed of the car. Seems to be most pronouced about 45 mph, however it continues until the car comes to a stop sometimes, well below the speed an unbalanced tire might be an issue. I noticed the problem when it started getting cold and can not figure out if it a road issue (in IL = bad roads), or a car issue.
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Car does not have to get wet, just be in humid air. Problem going on 2 years now, mechanics tried disconnecting a (?) ground/sensor from computer, major tune up, new fuel pump. Until recently, it just took keeping it in crank position for a long time for it to finally start. Recently, in crank position for 30 seconds does nothing and has me worried I'm doing damage. In dry weather, it starts first time every time.
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1995 Honda EX with 150,000 miles. Its been running rough ie rough idle, stalling at low rpms etc Additionally for awhile now when humidy reached north of 85% the car wont start. It cranks but rarely runs.
Took it to a mechanic last week for a tuneup. They replaced the Distributor cap, spark plug and wires and fuel filter. Car ran great for a day. Then progressively got worse. Was undriveable the other day stalling misfiring while at speed. Took it back today. They determined that it was still not getting spark and replaced the distributor. They did so, test drove it, declared it good and I came to pick it up. Paid the bill, walked out to the car and the damn thing would not start. Humidity was high.
Mechanic pulled a spark plug and put a tester in and didn't get a spark when cranking. He is assuming the distributor he just put in is bad. So they are keeping the car overnight to be fixed in the morning with a new distributor.
However I'm not convinced the dizzy is bad, I believe, as I've read that the Honda's ECU is probably bad and shorting out in the high humidity. Can a bad ECU would prevent spark?
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