tdietrich828

hey, i have a 2002 civic 2dr coupe with a 1.7 v-tec engine with automatic transmission and recently bought the car and when you first start it in the morning or after it has sat for a bit and go to take it will start to sputter and bog down and will clear out if you give it more gas than you usually would but it will not do it after its warm its just the first time you take off and it does it probaly 75% of the time. also the transmission will shift erratically at times and not want to shift it will hang between gears on occasions i have checked the fluid level and its good and doesnt smell burnt also have checked the car for codes and none are present, if anyone can help me with some advice of where to start im suspecting what ever sensor on the motor that controls the transmission to shift is having a fault? thanks

ezone

How many miles on the car?

Maybe you are discovering why the previous owner got rid if it.
Can you give more details on this?
Specific gears it does this in? Does the RPM flare up between shifts?

First thought there is a blown head gasket. Maybe, maybe not, needs further checking.

tdietrich828

thanks for the reply the car has 153,000 miles and it will do it in all gears when it is acting up almost like the shift points are off i would say more when shifting from 3-4th before convertor locks but at other times it will shift perfectly normal. as far as the headgasket have never had any overheating or coolant loss thanks

ezone

Need more data and further investigation.
Maybe a good scanner that can read live sensor data from the computer. Not all problems set fault codes.

Inspect the spark plugs?
Inspect the plugs during a startup/bad running event to see what's going on inside the engine at that moment in time?

Could poor engine running be contributing to the transmission issue, or does the engine run good by the time the trans acts up?
The automatic trans in those wasn't well known for longevity, just so you're aware.

ezone

Does this event happen at about 10-15 seconds after startup, like say you are trying to take off from your parking spot?


Disconnect the primary O2 sensor and drive it a couple days to see if that particular symptom goes away.
Yes it will eventually turn on the check engine light and set a code for the sensor, but this is a diagnostic process.

tdietrich828

I have not checked the plugs yet and the engine is running fine while the transmission is acting up

And yes that is exactly what it does I will start it up and it will run fine I will back out of the driveway and go to take off and it will start to sputter then clear out and run fine from there on out until the next day

ezone

Ok do this next:

Fortune42

My 4 door 02' civic does this also... it starts, then bogs down, sputters & almost dies before snapping out of it & being fine. It also overheats quite often (pretty much every day). --- I've checked and/or replaced every sensor, flushed the radiator & heater core t no avail. ... what are the chances its the catalytic converter?? -- I'm asking cos chunks have made their way to the muffler & its temp is reading 600+ degrees F.
*Also, mine is a standard trans. & also does the catching thing between gears, mostly 3rd.

Colin42

If you have chunks coming out the muffler you definitely need a new cat. But if you've been overheating the car everyday you've probably ruined the engine and should probably get a new car. Congratulations

Fortune42

No. I have not ruined the engine. It dies WAY before it reaches those temps. Thanks. -- the cat is the only thing thats 600+ degrees after running a bit.
I just wanna know if that would cause the other issues or not?

ezone

All within about 30 seconds after starting the engine? Probably front O2 sensor failing. Diagnosis here https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...ml#post4710839

What do you see (symptoms, evidence, temp gauge, leaks, or?) that makes you say it is overheating