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Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
Forgive me, but I'm not entirely car savvy and figure you all may have an answer to my issue.
I have an '02 Civic Ex manual transmission with 160K miles, and for the past few years it has been doing this sporadically (but lately with increasing frequency).
The basic issue is:
1) I drive the car a short distance (let's say 15 minutes)
2) I restart the car within 3-4 hours (after an appointment, shopping trip, etc.)
3) The car starts just fine.
4) Idle is fine for about 60 seconds, and then....
5) The tachometers starts to "bounce" and the engine seems like it's not getting enough gas. this goes on for about 30-60 seconds. Note that this happens whether I'm just sitting at idle or whether I've gotten onto the road. Picture me, driving down the road and all of a sudden the gas pedal is unresponsive and the engine just isn't getting any gas. I have to pull over until it "works itself out".
6) Then, all of a sudden, everything is fine. No problems for the rest of the trip.
Note: when I start the car in the morning after it sits for 12 hours, everything is fine.
My mechanic took a look and didn't see anything visually wrong, no CEL, no codes, nothing. it also happens in cold weather and warm.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
Locate the primary Oxygen sensor and unplug its connector (don't do this in wet weather, wait for dry roads)
Drive the car through whatever routine you know will make its problem act up
Does it still act up, or is problem now gone?
If problem is gone, replace the primary Oxygen sensor
If problem is still present, it's not that sensor
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
An update on this issue.
The CEL came on with a P0132 and P1298. I replaced the primary o2 sensor, and voila, the problem described above was fixed. Hooray! However....
Now I'm getting cylinder misfires while driving under load (uphill, low rpms, high gears).
I got the P1298 code again, and I replaced the ELD, but the engine is still misfiring. It's funny, though, as some days it does, and some days it doesn't. I drove to work yesterday morning, and it was fine, but driving home was rough.
Three pending codes are now 0300,0301, and 0302 (for the cylinder misfires).
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
I would concentrate on bad spark plugs (use only OEM NGK - replace at 105K mile intervals), bad coils or a breached head gasket (do a pressure test of the cylinders). A breached head gasket is common for these engines.
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
It was the spark plugs. Did a compression test, which came out fine, but after putting new plugs in, car's running fine.
On a sadder note, I'm getting a whiff of exhaust from the coolant reservoir, though thus far no overflow. Perhaps the indication of a head gasket issue.
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
Perhaps. Keep an eye on the reservoir for overflowing coolant, lack of heat from HVAC system or just do a cylinder compression test to check for a breached HG. Unfortunately, this issue is very common in these engines. I choose to repair my existing HG instead of replacing with a donor engine. Probably same cost but it is the devil you know.
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
Thanks. I've read that my model, 2002 EX, doesn't have an EGR, but I could be mistaken. Any idea on why it drove fine for a tank of gas and then started misfiring again? Would that be the fuel pump/filter (they're one unit, as I've been told)
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
New plugs looked fine. It looks like my car does indeed have an EGR as well.
I took it to a mechanic to help troubleshoot the issue. He did a leakdown test and said everything came out fine. He swapped out the coil on the #2 cylinder thinking that might help out but no joy. He then injected SeaFoam (sp?) in through the brake vaccuum port, let it sit for 20 minutes, and then drove it around burning off the crud. Car drove like new. I mean...really sweet...for about 3 weeks. I've driven it around 300 miles since then over the 3 weeks (I've been stuck at home so not too many opportunities to go out) and had no issues.
Tuesday I drove it backroads for an hour with no issue. Then Friday (today) when I started it up, it had a bit of a rough beginning idle, and shortly thereafter as I was out on the road, the misfires came back with a vengeance. I got a 1/4 mile from the house and turned around. MIL flashing and everything, though it went away right before I got home.
Pending codes 0300, 0302, 0303, 0304.
How could it go from running like a dream for 300-400 miles, and then all of a sudden go to hell?
"Marge, anyone could miss Canada! All tucked away down there."
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 9,639
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From: Barrie, ON Canada
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Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
Remove the intake manifold and clean the EGR passages. Seafoam may have cleared it a bit but loosened up some more stuff which then clogged up the passages again
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
So before I took it to the mechanic this most recent time, I disconnect the EGR connector and drove the car around. The misfire was still happening even with the EGR connector unplugged. It was only a couple of miles that I did this. Would that rule out the EGR as the culprit? Sorry I omitted that in my most recent post.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
The misfire was still happening even with the EGR connector unplugged. It was only a couple of miles that I did this. Would that rule out the EGR as the culprit?
Re: Engine unresponsive after 1 minute, falters for a minute, then fine.
An update:
It's the head gasket...we think. I drove it to my mechanic, bucking like a champ but I made it. Yesterday they got around to working on it and called me on Facetime. As they were doing the leakdown test, as they pressurized and depressurized the cylinder, you can see the fluid at the radiator cap fluctuating in step. Hoping it's not a cracked head and just a failed gasket.
