Civic - Honda :: 1996 - Freaks Out When Stuck In Traffic In Hot Weather
Jun 1, 2013
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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I have a 2003 Civic EX with 160K miles. The car runs great but it will sometimes over heat in traffic. It does not always overheat so it so the two mechanics I have taken it too have been unable to duplicate. I have had he thermostat changed and the relay to the cooling fan. I also changed the radiator cap. Other facts.
The heater has been very slow to heat up even when letting the car run for 15 minutes in the winter. It will heat up only once on the highway. This started at about the same time as the overheating.
It has never overheated on the highway even with 100 degree weather and the AC blasting.
Turning on the air will most of the time lower the temp.
Today after traveling 30 minutes I came to a stop and it overheated(temp gage on H). I tried to turn on the heater to attempt to cool it down and it blew cold air for about 3 minutes and never warmed. I then pulled into a lot andneither cooling fan was running. I did not have the ac on as I am thinking the fact that the heater is so slow might be a clue to the problem.
It would appear it could be something with the cooling fan but neither mechanic thought it was that as they couldn't duplicate the problem.
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This has been happening intermittently for a little over a year now. When sitting in traffic, my car begins to overheat. I've had two different mechanics look at it - the first swapped out the radiator cap.
The second said my coolant levels were low, but he pressure tested the system and found no leaks. He recommended I check my levels before taking long trips - so this weekend, before driving 380 miles to Phoenix, I checked my levels. They were a bit low, so I topped everything off with coolant and everything was fine on the drive out.
On the drive home, however, stuck in traffic, the car began to overheat. I pulled over and checked the reservoir and it was mostly full of coolant, but I added a little more, let it sit for a while, and then made my way through the traffic and home.
Also, I tested the fan, and it comes on.
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I have a 1997 Honda Civic with 275,000 miles on it. After driving for an hour or so, it starts getting hot when stopped or nearly stopped. It goes back to normal temperature when I start driving. It does cool down if I turn on the heater. I just changed the timing belt/water pump and put it a new radiator and changed the thermostat hoping it would solve the problem, but it hasn't. I checked and the fan does come on when stopped. Could it be a cooling system clog that a flush might be able to solve or might it be the head gasket?
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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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1991 Honda Civic, automatic transmission, the car/steering wheel shake badly when the car stops at the red light. It only happens when brake pedal is pressed AND in D gear. If shift from D to N, the shake disappears. As soon as the traffic light turns green and the car starts to accelerate, the shake disappears. Four spark plugs were replaced, no effect at all.
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My wife drives a 2002 civic (mostly around town). when the car is at running temp.with the heater on and she gets top a stop sign or red traffic light, the heater starts to blow out cold/colder air. We took the car to a dealer and asked them to flush/fill the radiator and fix the problem. Well they flushed/filled the radiator and said "Yup, it still does it. Would you like us to diagnose the problem more for a minimum of 1 hour labor cost?" What could be the problem with the reduction in heat?
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I'm convinced my 02 honda civic does not like traffic nor hot weather. Whenever i'm in traffic for more than 20 minutes (which is about everyday) it starts to make this loud buzzing noise. Seems to be the way my car is telling me that it does not want to be in traffic. I can sure relate. Me neither. When the weather gets hot, my car does the same thing. Can you relate to my car as well?
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Whenever my 2004 Honda Pilot gets stuck in traffic, I have to switch it into a lower gear in order to resume forward. Automatic transmission. It's a rebuilt trans that has 60K on it. Transmission fluids at right levels and recently flushed. The car mileage is 198K. I don't have the issue with normal highway and local driving. It is only when I am stuck in traffic.
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Honda Civic LX 1999 - Engine shuts down in hot weather when the sun has been beating down on it for a while>it can happen as I am backing out of the parkway or as I am driving in the first 1-10 minutes ?
I went to the dealer and the vin number of the car shows to recalls have not diagnosed it yet but thinking about it...
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I have a manual transmission 2002 Honda Civic. Recently when the nights started getting cooler 20's and 30's, my car will not start. The starter will not grind or even click like it's trying to start. All the other electronic devices seem to operate normally, dome lights, head lights, dash lights, radio. Replaced the battery thinking it was the problem. No difference. If I turn the headlights on for a few seconds, the car starts fine. If the temperature is in the 40's the car starts without any problems. The car can sit for days without activities, as long as the temperature seems to be above about 40 degrees there is no problem. As soon as the temperature goes down, the car doesn't want to start again. I was thinking it may be the alternator not recharging the battery enough to give me my cold cranking amps, but before I dig into that mess, Are there places I can take my alternator to and have it tested to see if it is the problem?
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My 2002 Honda Civic (160k+ miles, manual transmission) has twice failed to start this winter. This happened when the temperature is cold (<32 Deg. F). The car came with me from CA to the East coast (mid Atlantic) about 5 years ago. It occasionally has been difficult to start it in cold weather since moving East but otherwise it starts first attempt without issues.
This morning it barely started. This evening, it didn't start using the ignition. Turning the key, the engine attempted to turn over once perhaps twice. After several attempts the engine did not turn over at all - no detectable sound from the starter motor, instrument lights will flash and clicking noises come from the dash. Attempting to jump the battery with another vehicle had no effect - the engine would not turn over at all, the instrument lights flash, clicking from the dash. The battery health indicator is green.
I did get the car started by coasting down a grade, putting the car in gear to turn the engine over, and then using the ignition (I must depress the clutch to use the ignition but getting the engine turning worked first attempt without issue).
After arriving home and shutting off the engine, the car will start on the first attempt without issue (even after letting it sit at 25 Deg. F for 3+ hours). This seems like a mechanical issue and the starter motor is an obvious place to start. I can double check the battery connections and do some basic electrical testing, how to verify the electrical grounding (I'm handy with a multi meter).
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My 2011 Honda Civic makes a grinding / squeaking sort of noise when I start it after it has been sitting out in the rain - either for several hours or overnight. The noise seems a bit like the noise when you crank the car but the engine doesn't start. It happens after rain or a snow, so it would seem that moisture is getting into a place it shouldn't. The dealership checked it out and couldn't find anything wrong or anything that would prevent it from starting. They also told me that this noise might well go away after the first oil change - that the additives in the oil now are suppose to seal things.
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2002 Honda Civic LX
Around 1 or 2 years ago, cruise control has started acting strangely. If weather or the engine are cold, and the road is smooth, then it works fine. However, in hot weather, or if the engine is hot, cruise control disengages and the car just slows down as if someone turned CC off. Sometimes this happens randomly, other times by a nudge from a bump in the road.
If I try to re-engage CC, it doesn't work. I have to reach to the CC master switch, turn that off, then back on, and then CC starts working again for a while - until I hit the next bump or something.
The problem seems to be getting slowly worse as time goes by. At first I had this problem in the middle of summer. Now CC is affected even in winter (or what passes for winter in California).
What could possibly cause this? If it's something that could be fixed by just replacing some component, I'd rather do it myself. But I don't know what part might be the culprit.
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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 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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'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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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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