03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

Hi Guys, long time lurker here, finally made an account for some advice on my 03 civic EX (ODO 99000 mi) that had trouble starting today for the first time.

The symptom is as follows: I started the car as normal, car started fine, lasted for 3 seconds and died. During this time,a noticeable amount of white smoke came out of the exhaust pipe (not a whole lot, but I haven't seen this before on my car), and when I try to crank the ignition again, it was just repeats of the "zew zew! zew zew!" sounds that you normally only hear once or twice before a good start, and the car never starts.

The dashboard lights didn't look anything out of the ordinary (green key light, engine, battery, oil lights all normal), I scanned it and no codes. So I gave it another try, and cranked it for a full 5 seconds, and the car eventually stuttered to a start, no more white smoke this time, and after maybe 20 seconds of rough idling and some clicking noises from the engine bay, the car feels normal.

I took it for a slow drive (didn't hit the throttle at all) and the car does not stall. everything works like normal. I waited a few hours for the car to cool, and tried to start again, and it starts fine.... I looked around but I haven't found the exact same problem from others, and my car feels "normal" right now. :_please:

I got a brand new battery not even a month ago so it should'be be that, so a few things I'm worried about, could this be a bad timing belt? I don't know if the previous owner did it before I bought this car 2 years ago but I was planning on paying a shop to do it for me in a few weeks.... Is coolant leaking into the engine? I can do stuff like oil changes but diagnosing engine problems are beyond my knowledge... :confused:

I live in Texas and it had been raining for a couple of days, and the car had been sitting for about 2 weeks (I drove it ~300 miles weekly up until 2 weeks ago, then it sat outside for 2 weeks with gas tank at 25% full). Can it be water vapor got recirculated by the EGR valve and killing the ignition? my car is on pretty high grounds and it wasn't flooded or anything...

What should I do? are there any suspect areas I should look into, or should I just let the professionals do it? :(:(:(

My car has also been burning quite a lot of oil this year, ate more than a quart in the past 8000 miles (it used to never burn oil at all for that mileage). I checked the oil cap and the radiator cap, both looks clean today. No leaking under the car either, but I did find some strange specks of engine oil splashed over the engine cover and intake manifold... very small droplets and very spread out.... Not sure how it happened at all :(... I read that the PCV valve replacement may help with this... anyone has any ideas what I could do?

Thank you for any feedback and advice! :_bow::)

Re: 03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

If it continues to start normally, keep on driving it and ignore the event.

Crap happens once in a while. Kinda sounds like it may have flooded itself, which might not mean anything (unless this becomes a frequent occurrence).

Some people contribute to the problem by starting the engine and only running it briefly, not giving it time to come to operating temperature before shut off.
(Start it up, move around in the driveway to make room for another car, shut it off.)

Cold running and short run times lead to spark plug fouling which can lead to flooding during the next start attempt.
(this specific type of spark plug fouling will burn away once the spark plugs reach operating temperature again)

Read your owners manual about hard starting in various unusual situations and pressing the gas pedal while cranking.

Sometimes you have to use the gas pedal. If it's sputtering after a startup, using the gas pedal (rev it up a little) can help clear it out and make it stable.



Engines will consume more oil as they accumulate miles and age....usually due to oil control rings sticking. Typical, even if it isn't desirable. Check oil level frequently and refill it when necessary.

Re: 03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

Ezone! I read your post growing up! Lol just kidding, but thanks for your reply!

Actually, I think during the 2 weeks the car was sitting, it was moved a few yards off a drive way just like you described. Your explanation seems very likely.
Should I be checking the plugs and cleaning the electrodes?

For the oil consumption, I understand it may be normal for the age of my car, but my last oil change (after ~8000 miles of driving) burned next to no oil at all, and this time it burned 1 quart. Can driving habits change oil consumption? I drive a 120 mile trip twice a week after my previous oil change, and I've never done that before when I had no oil consumption.

Another question, I've started to notice some occasional clunk and rough transitioning in my transmission when it downshifts from 3rd to 2nd gear, such as when I'm getting off the highway and coasting. There is sometimes an especially noticeable jerk when I'm coasting at about 25 mph and need to tap the throttle. Doesn't happen every time, but given the reputation of the transmission in this gen, should I be worried? I am planning on doing a ATF change. Do you think a flush (3 ATF changes) would be a good idea?

Thanks again

Re: 03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

DAFUQ? Is that supposed to mean I'm elderly or something?
I will beat you with my skateboard!
(Speak up boy, my hearing aid is broken!)

If it will run, just drive it through until the engine is fully warmed up so the spark plugs can reach their self-cleaning temperature and burn off any excess soot. Aggressive driving makes it happen quicker.


Yes. For example high RPM will increase oil usage.

Also....was the oil checked at the time it was last changed? Could it have been low from the beginning?
Could the previous oil changes have been overfilled? (all engines get 5 quarts whether it needs it or not!) That could mask some consumption.
Different oil weight/brand/type/spec got installed?
There can always be variables.

I can't say from here. Is it typical downshifting?
Could it be suspension related clunks instead?

Fluid is cheap and a good place to start....especially if it has been neglected.
How many times is up to you....Consider your history of ATF services?

Our shop still suggests ATF be changed every 30k or more frequently. ATF is cheap, a transmission is not.

Re: 03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

I keep pretty close tabs on the oil and change it myself. Every oil change (i've done like 5 since I got this car) I put 3.75 quarts of premium mobil1 5w20 full synthetic in, and I'd drain out like 3.5 or so. This past 8000 miles I have been driving 120 mile trips a lot (speed limit out here is 75 so the RPM stays in the 3's) for an hour or two... and I've noticed I'm missing half a quart every like 3000 miles. I did top it off. Going forward I'm going to change oil and filter more frequently (and with OEM A01 filters too, I've been using purolators but their quality doesn't seem that great anymore), hopefully that helps..

I know the transmission fluid was replaced, not flushed, around 30k miles ago at a dealer. Fluid still bright pink tho, and I baby the car... but I'll swap it once and see how it holds. The old fluid level is pretty high, much higher than the max mark, would that cause problems?

The noises are definitely during downshifting from 3rd to 2nd. It is more a thud/clunk with a slight jerk, but again it doesn't happen very often, only when coasting down while I slightly press the gas pedal still and the car slows to around 25 mph. Don't think it's suspension noises, I just swapped all 4 struts and it still occurs occasionally, and the dealer that did the alignment should've said something if that were the case?

Thanks again for the reply.

Re: 03 Civic EX start issues and questions
 

If these trips are a recent change in driving that coincides with you noticing increased consumption, I'd say that sounds like a cause....or at least an influence.
Are you checking level within 90 seconds of turning the engine off?
Did the last person check it the same way?

Did the last person just dump in 3 full quarts instead of 2.5? (it happens a lot)

High level could make a difference if it is high enough to contact the rotating items and be whipped into a froth.
Change fluid, set to the correct level (hot) and see what happens?

I was thinking bad LCA compliance bushings could be a suspension noise
I wouldn't count on that kind of thoroughness from half the people in any shop anywhere.