Civic - Honda :: 1997 - Overheats In Traffic / When Stopped
Jul 28, 2011
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 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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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 just received this car as a freebie but it has come with an issue or two. The most pressing is a cooling issue. They gave it to me with the words, "The radiator leaks". Upon some testing this doesn't seem to be the whole picture.
1) If I fill the radiator up, leave the car parked over night, the next morning the radiator is still full. so I assume it is leaking from steam venting or from something else.
2) The car overheats very fast when the AC is on and the vehicle is stopped. Within about 10 minutes it went through every drop in the radiator.
3) When driving with the AC fan on medium speed, it can go a solid 30-45 minutes with no issue.
4) If I turn the AC fan on to high it takes a matter of minutes for it to begin to over heat.
A friend mentioned something about a weeper valve? I know very little about cars. So if there was any insight as to what it may be that would be excellent.
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Honda civic ex 2001 w/ 202k miles.... 1 month ago was driving on highway, the a/c started going, then I began losing power, temp went hot, pulled over steaming hood, wouldn't take much water.
Mechanic did: replace thermostat, therm gasket, new radiator fan temp switch, pressure test.
Ran fine for 2 weeks, then heat began to rise again & overheated. Each time it overheated the top small hose on radiator popped off(like a 1/2 in. hose). Back to mechanic: did pressure test, did a full cooling system test all were great...Only thing he found was a small radiator crack....thought it just took a week to lose coolant. Replaced radiator/ecu temp sending unit/refill and pressure test.
1 week later, temp spikes to hot, so I bring it back....he tested pressure/flow no leaks again...he can't figure it out.One note: for about the past 3months, right after starting, I would come to my first or second stop, then accelerate and hear a squeal that lasts like 5 seconds or so...this happened intermittently for about 3 months, and is still happening(I can drive very short distances now). A friend thought the issue was the belt that controlled the a/c and 2 other things
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when it began overheating, and to be specific it is a 2003 Honda civic ex, automatic. I took it back to them after having to pay towing expenses. They said they didn't know it had issues (bull) they said it was due to a radiator, so they installed a new one. When I got it back it drove fine then it began exhibiting the same symptoms soon after. I decided since I loved the car I wouldn't even bother with the people I bought it from, big mistake and I should have just returned it...I didn't because I was sick of looking for a car and school was about to start. This began the routine of having to fill it with antifreeze every day before and after class, if I didn't it would most certainly overheat and then I'd have to blow hot air all day.
So I took it to another mechanic who figured it must be something wrong with the cooling system and said the fan was acting slow, so he replaced the fan-switch and thermostat and said that it wasn't the water pump. I was hoping this would do it, but it did not. He then tested the head-gasket twice and it came back negative. Then they tested the catalytic converter, came back negative. This mechanic, then proceeds to tell me the people who sold it to me may have put a sealant in which gummed up the engine and is clogging things so it can't function correctly, or put on the head-gasket wrong or any number of things to the engine. Although, wouldn't this still make the head-gasket test fail? He tells me I may need a new engine because to figure out if it truly is an engine problem that would cost as much as a new engine. I don't know what to do or where to go I am at a loss here. Spending my money just to have mechanics tell me there is some mysterious "undiagnosable" problem with my car is the most frustrating thing ever. No one can fix this car it seems.
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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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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 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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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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My 2007 Honda Civic LX car horn suddenly stopped working after I had just used the horn a few minutes earlier. It does not work from the steering wheel and it does not work from the remote when I lock the car. The fuse seems to be OK (the horn seems to be on the same circuit as the brake lights and those are working).
I believe I can hear the relay under the dashboard clicking when I try to use the horn so I suspect that the horns are actually broken. But I was wondering how many horns the 2007 Honda Civic LX has? I have been told different things by different car mechanic/dealers. One said that it has only 1 horn and the other says it has two (one "high" and one "low"). What is correct?
If it has two horns I would be less inclined to think that both horns stopped working at the exact same time so it might just be a bad wiring or something What is reasonable to pay for repairing the horn at a mechanic?
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The radio in my 1991 Honda Civic has been dying a slow death over the past year. First it would stop working if the weather was too hot. Then it would only work sporadically, finally it almost never worked. Whenever the radio stopped working, there would be a loud electrical "pop" sound, so I thought it might have a short. Yesterday my husband fixed the upper rear brake light (cleaned contacts) so it would pass inspection. Now the radio works perfectly! Are the brake lights and radio on the same circuit?
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I am desperately seeking info about my 1998 Honda Civic. My engine keeps quitting on me when I am either stopped at a stop light idling or the rpm's are really low. This seems to happen at random with no warning or check engine light. I keep my tank more than half full with gas so I don't believe this could be it. I have been to my mechanic and they said it could be a multitude of things wrong with it so it doesn't make sense to put money into the car if it won't necessarily fix it. I am desperate to figure something out so it can get fixed because I have to drive to work everyday and I'm sick of feeling anxious while driving all the time!
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We've got a 2006 Civic EX Coupe, and the power windows and power door locks have both stopped working. If I can remember correctly, they kind of faded out over the course of a few weeks, working intermittently then not working at all.
All window and door lock fuses (interior and under the hood) are still good.
What this could be? Is it something DIY fixable? I've removed door panels for random stuff, but haven't really done much with power window electronics.
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I recently had some work done on my 97 Honda Civic (manual), and asked them to adjust the parking brake while they were at it. They tightened it up as they usually do when they work on the car (the other work was not brake-related, although they DID replace my master cylinder just back in February). Two days later, my brakes began to fail (much like they had when I needed the master cylinder replaced). Turns out, something happened with the parking brake such that the cables seized or something and caused the regular brakes to overheat. Once they cooled down, the regular brakes were fine again, so they disconnected one of the cables for the parking brake and ordered replacement cables to be installed next week, for a not inconsequential sum. My question is: did they screw up when they adjusted the parking brake, such that I shouldn't really have to pay the full amount for this subsequent repair? Or was this likely inevitable?
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I have a '97 Honda Civic w/ about 168k miles, am hoping to get at least another year or two out of it before I go looking for a used Honda Fit or something similarly budget-minded to replace it. I just ran the A/C on cold for the first time this season (I realize I was running it all winter when I defrosted the windows), and it was clearly not working, just blowing hot air. Now, the last time I had anything done with the A/C was in 2005, when I was in a minor accident and the very nice mechanic flushed it and replaced the freon (if I have that right) for no extra charge in the course of uncrumpling the front of the car for me.
Which brings up two issues:
1) I no longer have a trustworthy mechanic where I live, and have had much difficulty finding one, and
2) the car already has a salvage title so is worth about $500 max.
Now, obviously it is worth more than that to me, since it will still be cheaper to fix than get anything else, but I have the impression that A/C repair could get quite expensive, and it is enough to make me wonder if I could afford the monthly payment and insurance increase on that used Honda Fit..
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In recent months there is a new noise in my 97 Civic (75,000 miles). In any hard turn and particularly on U-turns there is a grumbling sound which seems to come from the front end. The noise doesn't happen on gentle turns. It grumbles a bit on 90 degree turns and wholeheartedly grumbles on U-turns. I checked the power steering resevoir and it is full so it is between the lines.
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I have a 97 Honda Civic Manual transmission and my Check Engine Light Came On. The error code is P0135 which shows up as needing a O2 sensor. My question is:
1. Do I need to replace it?
2. How long do I have to replace it?
3. Will driving with it as it hurt my car?
The weather is getting colder and I read that could be the cause. I really don't have much extra money but I don't want to kill the car. I have kept up on Oil Changes with MaxLife Full Synthetic, Radiator Flush, etc if that matters. I also went into Valoviline Instant Oil Change and they double checked all of the fluid levels and that was OK.
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Tried to start my car this morning and nothing .(headlight switch was off),checked the battery and it read less than 1 volt (did return to 5 volts after being disconnected for a while). Drove the day before with no apparent problems or lights. Battery is a die hard gold about a year and a half old. checked pos battery cable to ground read 1.8 ohms went up into the high k ohms when I removed the horn/stop fuse(which was good) .Also after market alarm installed. Am I chasing gremlins or did the battery just suddenly die.
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Car is a 97 civic. I had a input shaft bearing replaced since i had the tranny off. I decided to change the flywheel clutch and bearings. After install I have cold not shift into gears with engine running. I fixed the problem by removing almost all of the free play in the pedal. Should i replace the master to get some of the free play back in the pedal?
Second and main problem, when i release the clutch pedal there is a ratchet/grinding noise. It changes with engine revving and the further out the pedal the louder the noise. I think i attached a noise clip. I have dropped my transmission to ensure everything is installed correctly. reinstalled the tranny with the same noise. Bleeding the clutch did not work either. Pedal does seems soft but not getting stuck.
New parts:
Flywheel
Pilot bearing
Clutch disc
Pressure plate throwout bearing
Transmission Synchs
Bearing kit
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