Civic - Honda :: 2005 - AC Was Not Consistently Cool / Temp Needle Suddenly Went To H
May 6, 2014
A friend has a 2005 Honda Civic with approximately 120,000 miles that she just bought the end of 2013. The car was kept immaculate by the previous owner. This week as she was driving, she said the temperature needle suddenly went all the way to H. Earlier in the day, she had noticed the A/C was not consistently cool but didn't think much of it as there were no other problems with the car. When the temp needle suddenly went to H, she shut off the a/c and before she could pull over the temp needle went back to normal. She checked the coolant level which was very low and she took it to the dealer who ran multiple tests including checking the thermostat, cylinder compression tests, etc but they could find nothing wrong. I keep telling her there is a reason it did that and that coolant doesn't just disappear and that I think she should take it back.
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Well, I'm still driving the same old 1998 Honda Civic DX two-door coupe, and I've got a problem with overheating. The temperature gauge needle doesn't get quite to the red, but it's popping up higher than usual, and I'm concerned to see it getting anywhere near the red. It usually spikes when I get off the highway and stop at a light, but it also does it occasionally in a drive thru, and recently, I discovered that when I give it a little gas in neutral, it brings the temperature gauge needle down to normal.
Here is the history of recent repairs and troubleshooting:
-About 3-4 years ago, I had a leaky radiator replaced, so the one that is in there isn't very old.
-Last year I had a mechanic replace the thermostat, the radiator fan, and the radiator cap when I started having this problem.
-A few months ago, I had the timing belt serviced (the entire kit, not just the belt), but since the water pump looked fine and the car has so much mileage (275,000 miles), I opted not to replace the water pump. (I regret that now. I usually replace the water pump with every other timing belt, but I've learned my lesson.)-I've been to several shops to get a diagnosis, but they have a hard time getting it to overheat at all, so they can't diagnose it.
One guy suggested the water pump might be worn out (inside, without leaking outside). Another guy suggested that "if it was the water pump, you would know it's the water pump." Each mechanic has done a pressure test on the cooling system and a flow test on the radiator, and they all say they are fine. One mechanic theorized that I might have a very small head gasket leak, but nobody else thinks that is the case and there is no sign of coolant and oil mixing. Besides, the temperature gauge has never been in the red.
-One mechanic who tried to diagnose the problem recommended replacing the plugs, plug wires, rotor, and distributor cap. After doing that, it is running better than it was, but that didn't resolve the overheating problem. He also retarded the spark timing, but it is self-adjusting, so it re-advances itself after a couple days of driving. I can hear what sounds like minor knocking, but it's always made that noise since it was new.
-Everyone who has tried to diagnose the problem says the thermostat is opening and closing as it should, and the radiator fan comes on and shuts off when it should.
I'm done getting second and third opinions, and I'm ready to start throwing parts at it. Do you think I should start with the water pump? What are your thoughts? Don't tell me to replace the car. I just bought a new motorcycle.
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I have a Honda civic 2005 LX, 170,000 miles. I love this car as I went through my tough time with it. I don't want to give it up until it dies if possible. Only issue of this care is AC does not work when temperature is hot. It works really good when it's cold/rain. When I turn on the car and AC in the morning, the compressor works fine for 5-10 minutes and it turns off when the engine is normal temp.(below mid line). I went to one local mechanic and I was told Freon level is good.
They spend about an hour to figure out what's going on and they told me that I need to change my entire compressor, I felt they just can't figure out what exactly causes it and want to just scare me with big $, to make me give it up. (because compressor works fine when it's cold. I think something with temperature) I recently changed my Thermostat, filled up coolant, and changed crutch-AC relay fuse but no change in the AC symptoms. I will need AC for sure when I move into Arizona next summer!
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I have had some issues with my 2000 Honda civic. I have had consistent issues with my car getting hot. I have changed the thermostat, temp sender, O2 sensor, spark plugs and wires, fan relay, Air filter, Oil filter and fuel filter. I have also installed a toggle switch all within the last 9-12 months. My heating issues seem to be very random, when I changed some parts out it seems to do good for a bit but then randomly heats up and fast usually when I am idling. I have had 3 mechanics look at my car to work with the replacement of parts yet even they are puzzled with the issue as the car has been very well taken car of for it's age but had so many new parts installed in such a short time. On top of that I have noticed my gas mileage drop again, I noticed this before I had changed the temp sender but it went away for some time. The MPG has had a significant drop the past while and as you can imagine does not good for the pocket book when you are consistently filling the tank and replacing parts.
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I have a 98 Civic with 218,000 miles. It's my around town car (the bigger more expensive car sits in the garage most of the time). The speedometer whacked out about a month ago. The needle will sit and quiver on 20 mph when I start it, when I'm going 60, and at stop lights. Suddenly, with no apparent reason the needle will jump to to the correct speed, work correctly and then as suddenly drop back to 20. I replaced the speed sensor (an easy job) and that didn't fix it. What else might be going on? Wiring harness? What would I do with the wiring? I do a lot of low level maintenance myself; oil, plugs, brakes, struts, but I've never done wiring work.
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After a trip of about an hour to the Fryeburg Fair yesterday I noticed my temperature gauge needle was going way up. I was able to park my car and went to the fair for about 4-5 hours. Before we left I checked the coolant level as the car had cooled off enough to take the cap off. The coolant right to the top and was green. I checked my oil level and that was fine. On the way home my son suggested that I turn the heat on. I did so and the temp gauge went down to normal and stayed that way all the way back home to Lewiston, Maine. I'm thinking it might be the thermostat but thought I would for any other possible reasons my car is doing this. The car has about 216,000 miles and I did have the thermostat replaced a couple of years ago.....???
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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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Looks like I'll be late for work today.. damn it's cold.. the temp needle went up to hot I immediately cut it off. It shouldn't have hurt her right?
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I am at my wits' end with my 98 Honda Civic LX. The problem starts around late summer of last year. It is sporadic, so I didn't quite pay attention until one day the engine died on the highway after I picked up the kids at the school. It didn't make any sound nor giving any warnings, just suddenly died. After that highway episode, it seems like it just taken its own fancy schedule as far as when to die, so to say. In a given day, it could 4 episodes in a day. Then it runs perfectly for some weeks then it starts again and went away again.
It just quietly dies while being driven. I had to turn it completely off, wait for some moment and try to turn it on again. Sometimes it just turns on again without me being frustrated and there were moments when I had to do several attempts. Once I heard clicking sound before the engine died, only once, the rest makes no sound at all. No lights are on.
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My friend was replacing the temp sensor on his 2000 Civic, and twisted too hard and it broke off leaving part of the screw still in the hole. I got him a screw extractor kit, and he tried it this morning, and it too broke off. How to get these things out? I'm including a photo.
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1998 Civic HX ... The air temp sensor is held on by threaded devices that seem to have smooth, rounded heads.
How do you get them out? And, they are at the back of the engine so that there is limited space between the engine and firewall.
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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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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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it's a 2000 honda civic EX. I pulled into a parking spot and slowed down, then decided to speed back up and when I accelerated it was like the car was in neutral. No gear would drive. Turned off the engine and re started and it shifted and did fine then about a 1/4 mile down the road the same thing happened. It just switched into neutral. The transmission fluid is full and clean and the filter has been changed. There was no warning signs at all.
The only caveat I can think of is last week at 15 mph my front passenger wheel fell off after someone replaced a tire. I traveled less than 10 feet on the wheel. But didn't think the transmission would be low enough to hit the ground.
At first I thought transmission clutch but it would be doing it in one direction? Then I thought maybe a pump? Or could it be a sensor or the torque converter.
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I've got a 2004 Honda Civic with the 1.7L engine. I drive for about five miles and the engine stops suddenly but only for a half-second then runs again like normal. At the same time, there is a click - click behind my glove box. Relays I'm almost sure. And the way it happens is :click > engine stopsclick > engine continues running normally. Used to happen only on hot days, now it does when it's cool out once the engine is warmed up.
After it does this over and over about 6 times the Check Engine Light comes on and it doesn't jerk so hard, but stumbles kinda mildly, but all the time - though usually by this time I have gotten off the road and am swearing loudly.The Honda mechanics are running the clock RIGHT NOW and it may cost me a fortune - Also, there is no error code showing. Nothing. And I also replaced some relays, to no avail, because I read about cracked solder problems someplace...
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2005 Honda Accord Growls When Cold/CoolLast winter on real cold days (okay, real cold in Houston, TX, means around freezing to about 40 degrees), a loud growl came from under the hood. The growl stayed until things under the hood warmed up a little. While it was warming, the growling would slowly diminish; however, if the steering wheel was deflected, it would aggravate the growling noise. I checked the fluid in the power steering pump, and it was fine. I did some on-line research, and it appears that the Honda's power steering pump's bearings might be going bad. Is there anything that can be done preemptively to avoid the expense of replacing the power steering pump? (I hear they are expensive to replace.) Last month I was in Kansas City and the growl was barely audible on a 64 degree morning. I fear it is getting worse and will not last long.
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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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05' Civic HX 5 speed with 167K. I picked up the car two years ago with 134K on the OD, and the only service records were regular oil changes.
Did: Timing belt; Valve job; Brake job. Both dealer and tire shop have gone over it / safety checked it twice. About 10K miles ago it developed a racket (rotational noise, as if something was coming apart.) above 1,800RPM. "Can hear from a block away" in 1st gear, to a lesser extent in 2nd, etc (no racket revving, only in gear). CV joints, bearings, anything belt driven, has been checked out.
Figured it was the transmission, but it shifts perfectly - and I've drained the oil twice, perfectly clear, and no shavings on the magnet. I know the clutch is original (doesn't slip, don't want to spend $700 if I don't have to). The car, other then the noise, runs as if it's new, and averages 34MPG, so I'd like to keep it!
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I have honda civic 2005 with 170,000 miles on. My car has been little shaky with cold start in the morning and Engine light finally on. I was told that I need new fuel injectors from local mechanics. I'm a poor student so I decided to fix it myself. I was able to reach down to fuel rail and It was very challenging to take the rail & injectors out. After I finally pop them out with long driver/hammer, It is even harder to put new ones inside, all the way in. I tried put some oil at the end but still did not completely go in. Is there any special tool I need to use to put them in? I tried oils...ect.
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my wife now drives what was originally my 2005 Honda Civic from '05-'10. In the last 3 or so years since she's been driving it, the Civic has developed a tendency to die on her at inopportune times. A quick jump always fixes the problem but I never, ever had this problem myself when I was driving it and I've had the battery tested at AutoZone twice with both techs telling me the battery was in great shape with cranking amps well above its rating. I've offered to just buy a new battery and eliminate the issue but the "it's fine" report from AZ has me puzzled.
I have noticed that corrosion tends to build up on her positive battery terminal very quickly and I suspect she's getting some drain due to that but I'm stymied as to why it happens. The only thing (and its a stretch) that I can think of is she has a habit that her father taught her of cranking the heat, the defroster AND the A/C in her car when it's cold out. Normally I wouldn't think this would make a difference but I wonder if there is somehow condensation developing in that tiny little Civic engine bay as a result?
I've asked her not to do it and see if the situation improves but old habits die hard. The battery does tend to come up dead (of course) more in the winter but it's not an exclusively cold weather situation. Anyway, after jumping her car in single digits this morning before dawn I am ready to admit defeat and just get a new battery but figured I'd throw it out to the many voices here.
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