Rep Power: 0

I have an US spec 2002 Honda Civic EX with 106k miles on it and a manual transmission. All gaskets are stock, the timing belt and water pump have been changed within 40k miles.


(Quick summary: Intermittent overheating that happens along with my heater blowing cold air and coolant leaking from somewhere under the air intake assembly, read below for more details)

I was driving on the autobahn in Germany doing about 105 mph - 110 mph for about 30 mins then I pulled over to use the bathroom and when I came back out I noticed my car smoking from the engine compartment. I opened the hood and saw that coolant was leaking from somewhere under the air intake assembly. I got back in the car letting it idle and noticed the car overheating.

I turned the engine off and let it sit for a while to let it cool down and then hit the road again keeping it about 85 mph. I kept the heat on full blast to try take some heat off the engine but randomly it would start blowing cold air and the engine temp would start to climb. It would nearly reach the top of the gauge and then would start to drop and the car would blow hot air. It did this process several times until I finally reached my destination.

My best guess is the thermostat and I have to wait until tomorrow for the autoparts store to open. Until then I would welcome any other ideas, I will do further troubleshooting tonight when I remove the air intake assembly.

 
Rep Power: 173

Could be head gasket.

So like hardcore overheating? The light comes on? You could have head warpage.

The first part sounds fun, although Civics aren't really designed for sustained punishment like that. With all that coolant leaking... did you replace it? How full was the reservoir? Did you physically open the radiator cap?

Taking it easy on her, huh? Sounds like you didn't replace the lost coolant.

Changing the thermostat is a start (make sure you get OEM or OEM-spec temperatures), but it's very likely that you have a more expensive problem coming.

 
Rep Power: 517

Did it barf antifreeze out of the plastic reservoir?

Do the radiator fans actually work?

First bad move was not refilling the cooling system (radiator).
That promotes continued overheating and subsequent damage.
Sounds like it's in need of a head gasket job, with the possibility of a warped head.

 
Rep Power: 0

I drive the exact same car and have had the exact same problem. I never leaked coolant like you say, but when my car overheated, the coolant would shoot out of the reservoir and all over my engine.

Anyways, after a lot of bad advice from different mechanics, I ended up replacing the coolant reservoir, radiator cap, radiator, thermostat, etc, and still had overheating problems. It only happened when idling, not when driving at 80+ mph.

It turned out to be the head gasket. Fortunately I never let the car over heat too bad and the head never warped. It set me back about $900 at the stealership. I think you have the same problem.

 
Rep Power: 209

Like shown in the video below?:

 
Rep Power: 173

Here is some cab fare.