Civic - Honda :: 1996 - Downshift / Start Revving And Clicking Sound
Mar 5, 2013
My husband was just returning from a long car trip in our 1996 Honda Civic when the engine seemed to downshift, start revving, there was a clicking sound, and so he put it in neutral and pulled off to the side of the road. As he was pulling off, there was a loud popping sound, clicking continued, and the car died. He could restart it, still clicking, seemed like it was running in a really low gear. Had it towed to a CarTalk recommended auto repair shop which put him about 2.5 hours from home. The garage called us and said that the car had almost no oil in it and it was likely that the engine was starting to seize and pretty much done for.
So regarding the low oil...we got an oil change right before the trip, so we were not quite 1500 miles, and three days into the oil change. The oil light never came on (until the car stalled and ALL the lights came on.) or my husband obviously would have stopped sooner. The garage is now putting the car up and trying to figure out where all the oil went. They put in over three quarts to fill it up.
My question...could the car have gone for 1500 miles with the old oil drained and no new oil added? We're talking pretty intense freeway driving here. Why didn't the oil light go on? Could the oil change place have done or neglected to do something that precipitated the demise of our Civic's engine? I'll update this post when I hear back from the garage.
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'96 civic 180k miles. Just had timing belt replaced but has been clicking when cold so mechanic checked & adjusted valves. Still clicks on startup until warm, less than 5 minutes, as it has for the last year or more. What could be the problem?
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My 1999 Civic (auto trans) idles fast at start up--drives itself until warmed up. Also intermittantly revs on its own at startup after warmed up. Throttle body was cleaned; problems persisted. Idle Air Control Value replaced, problem persists. Car has 173000 miles on it
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I drive a '05 Honda civic hybrid 5-speed with about 60,000 miles. This morning as I pulled into a parking lot shifting into first gear I turn the wheel and heard a squeaky clicking sound that I could slightly feel in the gas pedal. It happened 3 more times when I pulled out of my parking spot and into another lot.
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This is a 2006 Honda Civic LX which it won’t turn over. Last night we replaced the battery because it was old, and that still did not fix the issue.
The lights, stereo, electronics, etc will turn on, but when you turn the key, it’s just a very sad sounding “whirrrr” and nothing. It sounds like the battery is dead, but it obviously isn't. There’s no clicking…it has a full tank of gas…the key is programmed fine and is not new…
Further details: yesterday we were able to turn the car on (though it was slow to start: we thought it was the battery…) and move it to the driveway one time. After that, even jumping it off doesn't work.
Previously for the last week or so I've been experiencing a slowness to the start (I would turn the key and it just took a little longer than it has before to finally turn on) and also my headlights & interior lights were flickering pretty severely during my night driving. We had someone at Advanced Auto check the battery and alternator with one of their gadgets, but the alternator checked out fine. The battery was old and showing that it didn't have much left, so that’s why we replaced it.
We checked a lot of the fuses and didn't find anything blown. The alternator belt looked good, we made sure all the battery connections were tight & secure… We are just so confused as to why it’s not working…!! I'm not sure if the intermittent lights flickering is related or unrelated. I am in a relatively warm place but it's not been all that hot lately... I've never had any other problems with the vehicle...
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Due to the clicking-ratcheting sound my 1997 Civic makes when I make hard turns or U turns, two mechanics (one drove the car) say that I need two new front axles at a cost of $400 ($200 each). I have driven the car like this for maybe a couple thousand miles before I looking into it. How much longer can I drive it like this before it gets dangerous or fails? I now only make gentle turns and so minimize the clicking-ratcheting sounds that happen only on hard or aggressive turns. The car only has 76,000 miles on it. Is it dangerous to keep driving it?
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96 civic 120K miles, stock, automatic.
In March I was running low on fuel, maybe 1 gallon left in the tank. It took a few cranks and on the last try i gave it a little gas and it started, albeit very rocky for about 1 minute of driving, filled up immediately and 2 freeway miles later, no real issues. I live in LA so very low ambient temperature is not a problem.
April through May, starting was a little rocky, it was inconsistently rocky too, sometimes there was no problem. Usually it's weak, stuttering, sometimes just cranking but I seem to get it to start. I stopped giving the pedal gas because I read that's bad (I own a vintage bike, so it's news to me). I don't drive that far and figured I'd try some Seafoam and some freeway miles would clean out any debris. Worked for that tank a bit for the next tank before the problem came back.
Still getting the rough starts, but now when I give the car gas as I pull out sometimes it doesn't accelerate for 15-30 seconds, maybe 25 yards then it drive like normal. No dying at all but getting worse with starting up.
I've tried turning the key (not turning the engine over) 5 times and cranking on the 6th and it seems to work. I thought maybe it's the fuel pump or fuel filter but read it could be an ignition coil/ spark plug/ spark plug wire issue. Two different ball games.
My MPG is not really droppingI had a new fuel filter put in in February as routine maintenance (thing was on so tight had to bring it to a shop so no rookie mistakes there). Timing belt &water pump replaced 6,000 miles ago
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As the title states, I've having a problem with my civic. It makes this clicking/grinding noise during 4 separate occasions:
1) turning to the right
2) going in reverse
3) applying the brakes <30 MPH
4) engine braking- I hear a grinding at higher speeds when I let off the accelerator.
2004 Honda Civic EX, 5 sp MT, 1.7 L, ~172k miles. I'm not a mechanic, but do almost all my maintenance at our hobby shop on base.
I first noticed this noise only when applying brakes approaching a stop sign. I checked my pads and rotors and they looked good. The noise is coming from the front drivers side of the car. Pulled the pads off and they appeared to be wearing differently (only slightly). Regardless, I replaced the pads and rotors. The problem persisted. I checked the wheels for play to see if it was a wheel bearing, but there is no play.
Then, I noticed the sound when going in reverse and turning to the right. All information I found pointed to a faulty CV axle. From the outside, the boots were normal. No tears, no grease. It didn't make any specific noise when turned, but oh well. I replaced both of them today. Replaced the transmission fluid with genuine Honda. Pulled out of the parking lot of the hobby shop and the noise persisted.
Ball joints appear to be fine, wheel bearings appear to be fine. The guys at the shop suggested maybe it was the caliper not engaging correctly; perhaps air in the lines. Tomorrow I'm going to bleed the brake lines and see if that works. Otherwise, when else would cause this noise? Video attached....
There are 3 parts to the video. 1 is the last few seconds of me slowing down from an on ramp. I click the turn signal apply the brakes and you hear the noise. The next section is again slowing down at a stop sign. The last section is backing up out of a parking spot.
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I started having a strange clicking sound when pushing down the clutch pedal. I have 43,000 miles on it and I have driven the clutch well(I really don't believe I already worn it up). It goes away and then it comes back. There is no problem on shifting from gear to gear, it works just fine. It is only when I push the pedal that it starts clicking like it pushing against something. The car dealership was so useless, they said I need a new clutch and that warranty does not cover it because I may have been using the clutch badly. Also do you think that they have the right to tell me it is my fault even though I have the extended warranty for 100, 000 miles.
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I have a 2006 Honda Civic Sedan with 214,000 miles on it. I have a starter that is less than a year old, a new battery and the battery cables have just been cleaned and inspected. My batter and alternator tested fine. Occasionally (always in the morning) my car won't start. There is no noise, cranking or clicking. All the lights are operational with no dimming. However, today I put the car in neutral and it started right up (after not starting for three tries.)
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1996 lincoln towncar wont start intermittently. Started doing this yesterday, was troubleshooting and my friend jumped the starter to check it and he said it was good. I messed with a few fuses wires and it started up fine. Drove today with no problem, parked and it won't start again... same as yesterday... turn key and all u get is a clicking sound from the inside sounds like under the glovebox in the dash...
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I have a 1999 Honda Civic and it won't start. When I turn the key there is no engine sound, all is quiet. We tried the jumper cables but no results. It had been in the garage since my husband passed away, I usually started it on the weekends but have not done so for a month or so. What can be the cause?
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I have a 2002 Honda civic (manual). Lately, when I have pushed in the clutch to start it, the engine makes a bad sound. It sounds similar to the sound an automatic would make when you turn the key while it is already running.
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It was only started once during that time. when I hooked up the jumper cables from a running car to mine, I try and start the car and all I hear is a continuous clicking sound. is that an alternator, starter or spark plug problem?
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Started happening 3 days ago. This only occurs when the car is idle and the A/C is on. It does not kill the engine but makes it bog down during this. The cycle is that it dies this and then runs smooth for 30 seconds before starting again. Does not happen when in gear (that im aware of) When traveling in neighborhoods the air blows cool, main roads cold, highway ice cold. Idle it blows warm. I will be able to test the coolant levels with a friends gauge tomorrow. What is causing this.
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I just bought a 96 civic. The seller said he used the ac last year, after they charged it, with no problems. The ac was not cold now. I have the filling cable that only goes on the low pressure side. We turned the car and the ac on. I noticed that he had been driving the car with the ac turned on even though it was not cold. I connected the hose and it read 0 psi. It began to fill and you could tell it took some Freon nicely, maybe an ounce or 2, then, the compressor behaved like it was working real hard, the engine began working hard, the belt squealed for a minute, then stopped, the compressor began to smoke. The smoke was coming from between the compressor housing and the pulley. It smelled like the “I just burnt up my engine smell”, shortly after I began filling the low pressure read in the yellow range of the gauge. It did take some Freon in the normal range. I would like to mention that last summer I had used the pag 100 oil charge which some had been sitting in the fill hose all winter, don’t know if this makes a difference but I thought I should mention it
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My 96 civic stalls when i put in drive sometimes, problem comes go's, was told tps sensor or trans control solenoid ?
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I have a 96 honda civic that I can't seem to figure out why its overheating. I've changed the water pump, thermostat, radiator cap, and cleaned the system a number of times. It only seems to overheat when I'm on the free way and up to speed. When I get to my destination I see that the water overflow is full of water like to the top of the filler, so the water is being ejected out of the system. It also seems to have a lot of pressure in the system.
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My 1996 honda civic cannot handle the heat. Every time the weather gets warm it freaks out when stuck in traffic for any extended period of time. It generally will start to rev while stopped, sometimes will jerk forward, and once continued to rev in park with my foot completely off the gas, checking the gas and the break pedals numerous times to make sure not stuck, etc., for about 2 minutes. Another time it locked the steering wheel and would not release. This really only happens when it's warm outside. The car does not have air conditioning, if that makes any difference. We've brought it to two mechanics and they both said car looks great. What could be going on?
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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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Now with the new clutch installed, it makes a terrible noise with my foot off of the clutch in neutral. I can't get into any gears; it'll just grind gears.
Here is a video of the noise. Again the noise only occurs with my foot off of the clutch pedal. Quiet with my foot on the clutch. I can't get into any gears.
1996 Honda Civic
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