Rep Power: 0

Hey everyone.

I think my 2001 civic lx finally about to die.

A couple of weeks ago, I had overheating problem all of sudden. And when I turned off the car, it would make searing noise under the hood. I didn't think much of it at first. then it wouldn't start immediately like it always does, so I had to top up the oil and cooIant, and the overheating and starting difficulty problem went away.

over the course of past few moths, the check engine light would turn on and go off on its own. And last week it came back on.
Today, I as coming back from running errands, and it wouldn't start immediately, and then it wouldn't shift into higher gears. And it won't let me shift into 2 without depressing the side button on the transmission handle. Between D and D3 it will let me change without pressing the button in.

I checked the transmission fluid levels, and there weren't any. But I waited for a while before checking maybe 10-15 min after car was turned off. I guess i'm only supposed to check it after car runs for a minute or so? Confusing... I went and got 2 qts of dexron III compatible fluids, in case it can be helpful because the manual said it's ok as a temporary fix. .

I haven't put them in yet, but does any of this sound like a death knell for my 2001 civic lx?

What should I do I have maybe $5K budget range for a used car, which will be used to run errands once every couple of days. I live in California but I don't know if they still have that program where if you junk your car, they give you money from the state. (like $1K)

Any thoughts are welcome

 
Rep Power: 222

Trans needs fluid. The check is with the car off but warmed up, on level ground.
the dexron stuff is fine for now, check for leaks, sounds like you have a few.
And start looking for a new car.

 
Rep Power: 0

ok put in the 2 qts of the trans fluid, and the car shifts fine just as it did before. the level seems to be above minimal line. I guess i have more time to consider the alternatives.

thanks for the reply

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edit to add my paranoid ideas. these issues with overheating, low coolant level, low oil level and then low transmission fluid level began after i didn't use my car in about 10 days or so. in that period i made some complaints about my neighbor's noise with the office. and i was wondering some kind of sabotage that could underlie all these car issues? maybe psycho neighbor did something to my car? is that possible?

 
Rep Power: 222

Extremely unlikely but you could always set up a camera

 
Rep Power: 0

I was thinking that also. Anyway, thanks for the replies.