Civic - Honda :: 2002 - Temperature Gauge Climbed Without A/C Running
Aug 11, 2012
I drive a 2002 Honda Civic EX with about 105,000 glorious miles on it. I decided to hit the road and made a weekend road trip to pick up a stranded family member. I live in Ohio and drove Lou Dobbs, my car, to Florida. It was about 950 miles one way. All was well until I got to Florida. I hit my first traffic jam and was sitting with the windows down enjoying the Florida air. Suddenly, the temperature gauge started to climb! It got pretty close to the red but traffic began to flow at that point. As soon as I reached 40-50MPH the temp began to fall again. I picked up my cargo and headed back. Each time I would hit traffic or a red light the temp would climb without hesitation. This is without the A/C running. After I got back to Ohio, i asked a friend who knows about cars. Over the phone, he had me remove the radiator cap and reservoir cap to take a look at the fluid levels. After this though, the car has never overheated! I don't understand. Can air get into the system and I let it out by removing the caps? I can sit in rush hour traffic for a half an hour with the AC running and the needle stays right in the middle. Should I still take it in to be looked at?
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I have a terrible car. Honda Civic 2002 that runs alright but quakes and shudders after I start it. It also revs up for no reason at all whilst I drive around. Anyway two machanics have told me I have a headgasket leak that will cost a lot of money to fix. Two others have told me I don't or that it is so minor it needs not be messed with. The last one I saw decided I had a bad Coolant Sensor for the Computer.
I guess there is one for the computer and one, um, not for the computer. I bought both sensors and he changed them Friday. Today I took the car out and three times while I was out, my temp gauge shot up into the red hovered for a few minutes and sank back down. It has never done this before. Why this might be happening now? I am really sick of taking my car in and getting a thousand different stories, paying to fix things that are not wrong with it and watching it die a slow death.
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I have a 2004 Honda Civic that has about 183,000 miles.The problem is that when I start my car in the morning, the car never totally warms up when it's cold outside (I live in VA), until I press the gas pedal and rev the engine. Until I press the gas pedal, the temperature gauge stays at cold, and the heater blows cool air. I've taken it to the dealer 12 times for the same issue, but they can never find the real problem.
They flushed the A/C hoses and radiator, replaced the radiator cap, installed an upper hose, installed head gasket, water pump, and while there, the timing belt. They've also "burped" it numerous times. Also, when I have the heater on and fan on high, the temperature gauge drops as I'm going down a mountain and not pressing the gas pedal. After driving, and I stop, it also slowly drops while idling for about 5 - 10 min.
When it's warmer outside, I don't have any problems, because I don't have the heater on. This has been going on for about 1 1/2 years now, and it's starting to get cooler again, so I need to get it fixed or sell it.
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I have had my 1998 Honda Civic for about 5 years now... I bought it used. Occasionally I have noticed my oil levels have been low every 2 months or so. Oil is not being burned and doesn't leak. It hasn't affected performance from what I can tell. I have basically monitored the levels and everything has been fine. There was also an electrical issue since I have had it.
About 8 or 9 months ago, I noticed the temperature gauge was basically in the red while driving. I pulled over and noticed the oil was reading empty. I put oil in it and took it to the shop the next day. They told me the head gasket was bad and that the oil and coolant were mixing and recommended I replace the engine. I asked them how long I could manage before the car quit entirely and he said maybe a month, two if I kept doing oil changes.
I put the heat on while driving it, and the temp was normal. I took it to another shop the same week. They couldn't get it to overheat for a couple hours. The guy told me it was probably the fan but wouldn't know unless he could see it overheat. He said the fan would cause it to overheat at stoplights when there wasn't air on the engine. When the car gets hot, it doesn't get worse at stoplights and is only after I've been driving like 20 minutes that it heats up. I asked that he call me as soon as he knew what it was and I would decide whether I wanted it fixed that day or not. Then I didn't get a call for awhile, and when I called them, they said the guy was out getting the part. I felt like they were rushing so I would replace the fan. I asked if it was the head gasket because I didn't want to fix a fan if the engine needed to be replaced. They said it was not. I didn't replace the fan. They also told my husband that we could save wear and tear on the engine by putting the air conditioning on instead of the heater. When we do this, it overheats. Its only when the heater is on that the temp stays normal.
I have been driving the car for 8 or 9 months now with the heater on with no performance issues. It doesn't overheat and even when I forget to put the heat on it goes up to the red, but doesn't "overheat" with the steam and whatnot. It doesn't seem to do anything to affect the performance of the car. We have replaced the radiator cap, which had pieces falling off, and it didn't work. The check engine light came on yesterday and the code indicated something to do with the transmission.
We took it to a third mechanic today and he said I needed a new thermostat... I do not see any sort of film in the oil. We just flushed the coolant today and there was no sign of oil. I'm totally lost on what to do. I feel like the mechanics have lied to me about what was going on. They contradict each other and the little things they told me don't seem to be the case or don't work.
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This weekend I was one a trip in my '98 Civic, and I noticed some movement in my temperature gauge. It didn't really overheat; the needle never got near the red, but it did go a little higher than usual.
Normally, once the engine heats up, the needle on the temperature gauge doesn't move, not even a little. It sits right under the squiggly lines on the temperature gauge icon. However, on Friday, when I got off the highway, the needle rose into the upper part of the icon, to the part with the thermometer.
As soon as the car started moving, the needle on the temperature gauge went back to its normal spot, so I assumed it was a problem with the radiator fan and I kept on driving, prepared to turn on the heat if the needle on the temperature gauge started going up.
Saturday morning I took the car to a local shop in Jacksonville, and it turns out the engine needed a new fan and a new thermostat.
The first lesson that comes to mind is that keeping an eye on my temp gauge might have saved me an engine. It certainly saved me a head gasket. Since a head gasket or new engine would have been worth more than the car, catching this before it became a problem saved me from having to buy another car.
The next lesson is that my Civic had two things wrong with the cooling system, and yet it barely showed any symptoms. The air conditioner doesn't work I guess since a working A/C would probably have made it overheat. In any case, I've probably been driving without a working radiator fan for some time.
The final lesson is that if I had tried to diagnose this myself, I'd probably be driving around with a new radiator fan and a bad thermostat. I paid about $435 for a new fan, thermostat, and fresh coolant (I declined the cooling system flush) and it was worth every penny.
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The car I drive is a 1997 Civic EX, and if I drive it for about five minutes, the temperature gauge starts creeping up real fast. It'll go to the red if I let it, and the only thing that brings it down is turning on the heater and fan, at full blast. which is pretty miserable in summer.
I looked under the hood and found the radiator fan isn't starting up, no matter how hot it gets. So I checked the fuse - it looked good. Replaced it anyway just to be sure. No change. Then I replaced the relay switch. that didn't change anything. And I also replaced the fan motor. Still nothing.
I have read elsewhere that I should check my thermostat, but I can't see what it has to do with the fan motor not starting? also that the Engine Coolant Temperature sensor might be faulty but it is my understanding that that controls fuel-air mixtures and I just don't know.
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I Have a 2003 Honda Civic EX that is running rough and the windows stopped working and the temp gauge doesn't rise. Would this be do to a bad/failing alternator or something else?
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I recently replaced the transmission in my car. I put new oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket and plugs in it. Got everything back together and now it won't stay running. It starts but will not stay running . I pulled the plugs out to find they were the wring ones that a was sold So They gave me the correct ones. Still doing the same thing. I've checked every connection. All are plugged in all lines are hooked up.
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I just changed the engine in my 96 Honda civic, 1.6 base model. The change over went well and had no problems. When I have the car idle and it gets up to temp, the RPM's go from 2000 down to 500 then jumps to 2000 then down 500 again. When I put it into gear, drive or reverse, it stops jumping. What did I do wrong?
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I have a 98 honda civic ex with the d16y8, have replaced the map sensor and iacv and still have a fluctuating idle only when car is warm or at operating temperature. it has dc sports racing headers into a straight pipe then exhaust tip. does not have any o2 seniors on it(wasn't my choice was like that when i got it) will idle up and down between 1700 and 2200 rpm also after replacing iacv the car jerk when going at low speeds or letting off then getting back on accelerator.
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Tempature gauge on my 2001 sierra (4.8) has been running low for awhile. The highest it will reach is round 160. It's currently running rough/rich and bad mpg. I replaced the ECT sensor but didn't work. I'm not sure if there are two ECT sensors on this model. I don't think it's the cluster. Is there a second sensor I'm overlooking?
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My 2005 Honda Civic has just started doling out heat when it feels like it regardless of where I set the dial. It seem that when I am accelerating or applying gas, heat is available but when I am stopped at a light or coasting downhill, cold air is all that is available. Is this a thermostat issue or something more dire?
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Have a 2001 Subaru Legacy GT, 5 speed manual, 194,000 miles.
A few months ago, I started noticing that my cooling fans are running more often. Even when it is cold out and the temperature gauge was at normal temperature. The fans would turn on, and just keep running. Obviously, they would turn off when I shut the car off, but if the car is on, they will stay on. However, I found a trick to get them to turn off. If I am in neutral, and I race the engine up to around 3000 RPM's or so for about 10 seconds, and let it come back down to idle speed, the fans are now off. Works almost every time, not just a coincidence.
I know my car, and this has never done this before. I know it is not normal. I have replaced the following- thermostat, coolant temperature sensor, flushed the system, changed the fan relays, and most recently, I put a brand new Subaru radiator in. All of this, and the issue is still there. I am beginning to wonder if it is the water pump. Coolant not circulating fast enough, so the fans come on to cool down, but when I race the engine, the water pump works harder circulating coolant faster? Also recently, the temp gauge starts to climb going up long steep grades. If I pull over and race the engine, the temp gauge drops almost immediately back to normal. The pump is not leaking or making any noise, so I'm not sure if it could go bad any other way.
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I have noticed that my temperature gauge is indicating that usually my truck is running very cool. It seems that it is also somewhat erratic. At times it indicates what I would expect a reading in the middle of the gauge. Other times after running a while it will drop to the lower end (cool) of the gauge and stay there.
I am guessing that the thermostat is sticking open. Is there a way to test the sensors to see if they maybe bad? I have a 99 ranger with a 4cyl. It looks like I have two sensors. If one is bad, how can I determine which it is?
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I have a 1997 Ford Explorer with 5.0, I have replaced the thermostat and the radiator cap, I drive the truck to work in the mornings (12miles) and it is fine. We live on a mountain and on the way home after getting to the top of the mountain the temperature gauge goes past middle and nears the red but does not overheat completely. Once home I open the hood and the overflow is steaming or sometimes boiling, and I have checked thermostat again to make sure and it is operating normal, I have been told fan clutch, water pump, and I don't want to just throw money at guesses.
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1998 Honda Civic EX. This has been a great car and have got a ton of good miles on it. The problem that I am having now is with the temperature gauge. The measurement is completely all over the place while driving. While moving around town, the gauge shows the temperature VERY hot. As soon as I reach a consistent speed, the temperature drops back to normal (moves very erratically!). The gauge seems to get even hotter while idling. Another issue (may or may not be related) is the heat coming out of the vents is only working while the car is in motion. While stopped, it pumps out cold air. The temperature immediately changes when I get going again. Both problems seem to be getting worse. The car has coolant, and all other levels of fluids are normal.
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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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My girlfriend has a 2004 Toyota Camry SE, 2.4, 4 cly, with 198k miles. All maintenance has been done per book guidance since she has owned the car. The other day the car began running really rough on her way home. as soon as she put it into park and lowered rpm the car stalled out. temperature gauge did not read hot, but noticed white steam comes from hood when i seen she pulled up, Opened hood let cool down and coolant looked nasty as heck. So I did coolant flush and replaced the thermostat as per advised from parts store. Did not make a difference because during test drive, half mile down the road, car temperature gauge was reading hot. Shut the car down waited 10 to 15 minutes and drove back home.
Altogether drove roughly 10 miles max in hot condition is stop and cool down and go again mode. Also note, this is the first time using a forum of this sort. Along with, I'm not a mechanic as some are, but I know my way around a tool box no problems. I'm on the verge of just ordering new water pump, belts, fans, fan relays switches, radiator and all since I'm going to be in there to fix it anyways.
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Why, after so many repairs and $$$$ with a AAA Certified Repair shop, the temp gauge that sooner or later shows the needle HOT? Everything accounted for - thermostat 5x, radiator 3x, computer, maintenance, etc etc etc. " It's fixed !!" and then it's starts all over again. It's got 186,000 on it, couple of minor wrecks, all maintenance kept up, still driving it but the needle goes back up again and again. Funny thing, water levels remain the same, no smoke, no red engine light, slight smell of a hot engine but nothing else so far. Still, that needle!! This has been going on a couple of years. Want to figure it out before I get rid of the car. 2003 Civic Coupe DX ....
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i have a 2002 Honda Civic EX, 155,000 miles. I've been having this problem for quite some time and the mechanic has not been able to figure out what the problem is. He has changed the thermostat, pressure tested the coolant (or something along those lines) but the problem persists. The mechanic also pressure tested the radiator system and said there was no leak. He also told me the tank was overfilled with water, apparently I didn't need to be waiting for the car to cool down so I could add more water, so I've stopped doing that. I have NOT had the scheduled 150,000 maintenance done yet. The mechanic said it wasn't 'urgent' and if I wanted to wait I could. I was hoping to spend the money repairing this problem before doing that, which he said sounded OK to him. The timing belt was replaced in 2007 right before I moved across the country.
I'll try to be succinct, but the explanation is long. Overall: when driving the car to run errands around town the temp gauge used to quickly go all the way to HOT & the A/C starts blowing hot/humid air. When this happened I was pulling over, turning off A/C & radio & putting the car in neutral until the gauge goes back down, used to take only a few minutes but if driving in town (stop lights/traffic) i have to keep doing this b/c the needle returns to the top quickly. I also started trying putting the car in neutral while stopped at lights or in traffic & if i pushed on the gas pedal & kept the engine at 3K RPM the needle would go back down & A/C would start blowing cold when I started driving again.
The other part of this is if i change the A/C vent diverter from all vents blowing at upper body to vents blowing at face & feet or all vents blowing at feet the green 'recycled air' light goes out & the air starts blowing hot & humid, this persists even if I push the 'recycle' air button again.
Until yesterday this temp gauge & A/C issue has not been nearly as much of a problem when driving on the highway at a consistent speed, in other words when the car doesn't have to idle the problem didn't occur very often, the temp gauge may have moved towards 'HOT' but never got all the way up there. Until yesterday. I had to drive thru town with quite a bit of construction & resulting traffic as well as a few stop lights which sent the gauge go to HOT quickly. When I got on the highway I was expecting the gauge to go back down & the A/C to start blowing cold air.... alas, it did not. the gauge stayed very near HOT the whole time & the A/C never blew cold air. It was 106*F yesterday?
And yet another part of this problem, which the mechanics have told me is NOT related to this problem: in the winter time the heater took an extraordinarily long time to heat up and then would only blow warm air while the car was moving at a pretty high speed, under around 30 MPH and there was no heat, and definitely no heat when idling. I do not remember the temp gauge hanging out at HOT all the time but I do think it would go higher than the middle range.
The car has yet to actually overheat. Apparently the mechanic can't diagnose/repair the problem until the engine DOES overheat, at least this is what he has told me. I'm not feeling very confident in this mechanic, as clearly the problem is getting worse over time. And I don't believe it is OK to continue driving a car when the temp gauge is at HOT all the time, that doesn't seem smart at all. Sadly, the mechanic that used to work on my car & was able to diagnose & repair problems quickly & competently has gone to work somewhere else & is no longer working on cars. So, I have decided I cannot continue to use the current mechanic and am now faced with having to take it to the dealership, something I REALLY hate to do. I just don't know of any other reputable Honda repair folks in the area & am tired of being w/o my car for days at a time and still have to deal with the problem.
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I have a Civic that is overheating after even short drives (ca. 30 mins). Today the heat gauge went up to 3/4 after 20 minutes, and was still rising when I stopped. The radiator fluid is topped up, oil was just changed and is full and not cloudy. No white smoke has been seen out of the tailpipe. The following repairs have already been attempted. New thermostat (replaced 2X), new radiator, timing kit, coolant temp sensors (both), water pump, AC condenser, AC refrigerant. It is still overheating after all that. Why?
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