Rep Power: 0

i purchased a used 1999 honda civic lx a couple of months ago and now it has almost 163,000 miles on it. i have had an oil change since ive had it and i want to perform a minor tune up on it. what all should i get done on this? the maintenance required light is red. service engine light is not on. also when i have my a/c on the car looses alot of hp. when im at a red light or in park with a/c on, it jerks on me like its going to quit. what can i do to get this baby running like new. its a great car.

 
Rep Power: 218

The maintenance req. tab is an oil change reminder. There should be a tab around where the trip reset button is at. A tune up usually consists of spark plug wires, spark plugs, a new distributor cap, the rotor(which is encased by the distributor cap), and a fuel filter. It's next to the battery. The rotor I mentioned earlier has a special screw which I got off with a pair of wire cutters. I think Honda has the screwdriver to actually take it off. I didn't realize this. You need to crank the motor a few times so the screw actually lines up for access if you plan on doing it yourself. Hope that helps.

 
Rep Power: 0

thanks for the advice. do you have any advice on why the a/c acts like that? i was thinking it does that because its a 4 cylinder and it doesnt have that much horsepower to begin with.

 
Rep Power: 218

I think that's why. I've never used my A/C on purpose. And by that I mean it comes on when the fan is set to the windshield. The car bogs a little when it turns on.

 
Rep Power: 368

do the tune-up, engine power should improve. If still weak, come back again here.

 
Rep Power: 206

What? How do you set it so it comes on automatically? That's what you're implying right?

 
Rep Power: 218

Lol, yes. I didn't set it though. My friend's '01 does the same exact thing. If it's on the windshield defrost, or feet and defrost setting, the A/C comes on on it's own. There are other cars that have that feature, but I really don't like it.

 
Rep Power: 206

WTF?

My other vehicle ($40K) doesn't even do that. WTF man...that's an awesome feature. Eh, maybe not.



To the OP you have the same yr/model as mine. Check this out:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ility-mpg.html

 
Rep Power: 368

mine does the same.
even when the A/C is turned off, when i select the airflow to the windshield or to feet, it turns the A/C on. Pretty annoying, if it is cold during morning but hot during the day. A/C is set to cold, but widnshield is fogged, so turn the windshield and i get the cold air during the morning cold...

 
Rep Power: 206

Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, my vehicles does the same thing when you switch the direction to the windshield.

Duh on me! LOL!

 
Rep Power: 368

no prob, buddy!
it confused me at first too.