My mechanic tells me I need the intake manifold gasket replaced (check engine light on, engine surging, running very rough). How much damage can I do to the car by doing this repair myself and screwing it up? I've done lots of repairs on my car before -- brake pads, rotors, replace oil pan. I also have a copy of the manufacturer's shop manual.
View 2 RepliesThe problem only occurs on a cold start. I put the key in and start the motor. It starts fine. It runs fine for about three(3) seconds and then the RPM's start to dive (I have to give it gas to keep it from dying). The exhaust begins to put out quite a bit of smoke and the engine runs really really really rough,... kinda like it has a heavy cam in it.
After a few minutes of this exhaust smoke and rough running, the engine of course is warming up. The RPM's start to come up on its own, the exhaust smoke disappears and the really really really rough idle (not really an idle because I have to give it gas to prevent the motor from dying) disappears and the car idles perfectly.This cold start problem also uses up a noticeable amount of gasoline.
I started the car the other day and it was running really rough and engine light was on. I started pulling the spark plug wires and pulling #3 didn't make any difference in terms of decreasing performance where the others all did.
I've replaced the plug, and distributor cap. I've also confirmed with the plug out of the block that it is firing.
I'm not sure at this point what to look at next. This happened overnight, not gradually over time, and apart from running rough the engine isn't making any noises which based on sound, and how fast it happened doesn't make me think its a scoring/compression issue.
My question: was there some some OBD code or light I should have expected (that didn't show)? What did the flashing Check Engine Light mean?
At 10:30pm last night, I picked my wife and bro-in-law up from the Logan airport, and on the way to drop BIL at his house, I saw a brief whisp of steam/smoke rise from the passenger side hood/wheel-well when idling at a top-light. I exclaimed that the car was smoking, but BOTH my wife and BIL insisted that we had been stopped over a steam grate. (In 70 degree weather? I puzzled, but since BOTH said that had been the case...).
A few minutes later, the check-engine light flashed (three times, I think) and then went off. I drive with an OBD ScanTool attached on the dash, so I immediately switched it to scan the codes, but it reported "clear" / no codes! Either immediately before or immediately after, the car lost accelerating power for 1 or 2 seconds (at most), but then resumed normal driving. No other dash lights were on, though I did not look at the temp gauge.
I am a former chef and professional cook, and have a VERY sensitive sense of smell-- there was NONE; I watched attentively, and the absence of further smoke/steam seemed to support the unseasonal steam-grate hypothesis. I had also picked up the car within the last 24 hours from THE HONDA DEALERSHIP, who I had asked to look everything over to ensure another 6 months of problem-free driving. (I rejected their offer of a $249.00 "triple flush" of transmission, brakes, and pwr steering.) We have otherwise had zero problems with the transmission or cooling-- the car is old, but maintained reasonably well and driven less that 5000 mi / year. Boston driving, but not aggressive or 19 years old!
No further thought, as all seemed okay except for the brief "blip", and pregnant wife, brother-in-law, two dogs, and I all wanted to get home.Drove the 2ish miles to our apartment, with no further blips. At a stoplight about 3 blocks from home, a LOT of smoke/steam started coming out from the hood. Still no lights or OBD codes! At that point, I pulled over within 5 seconds, and noticed that the temp was pinned or nearly so (If there is supposed to be a light on the gauges, I had it all the way dimmed). Looking under the hood, the spray pattern on the hood insulator made it easy to find the split in one of the hoses connected just under the distributor (about 1.25in OD; I'm guessing coolant or transmission, based on the symptoms??).
While waiting for a tow-truck (since I wasn't even sure if it would do any damage to drive the remaining blocks to my driveway), and after things had a chance to cool a bit, my wife restarted the engine for a second so I could check if any additional fluid came out of that split, but none did. Once the temp was back down towards the low end in 20ish minutes, I drove the car about one block so I could stop blocking traffic-- it drove fine, and the temp didn't visibly rise in that 200 yards. Still, the CEL was not on (or flashing) during startup or while running, and there were NO OBD CODES.
I have a 2000 Honda Accord V6 sedan (under 100k miles). For two years now I have had a check engine light.
Originally I was told it was a CO sensor that was broke. But now when I get the car inspected, the inspector says I have a catalytic error.
So off to the mechanic. They replace the catalytic converter, claiming it was just an empty shell.
Check engine light comes back on the next day after all that money spent. Back to the mechanic. He says now that the intakes into the catalytic system there are all clogged, so that needs to be scrubbed. Many hundred dollars later, and the problem persists. Still a check engine light.
What could be causing this check engine light nightmare? I cannot get the car inspected so I have that added head ache.
The check engine light stays on. The hood of my car was not securely locked when I purchased it, I'm sure it's due to an accident because it's damaged. Can the hood be a reason the check engine light stays on..it does not blink.
View 7 RepliesI have a 2007 Honda Accord, automatic transmission. Engine light of the car turns on while i am driving the car. When the light is on the car slows down and it does not give me the same speed when I press on the gas as if the gear is not shifting. When I stop the can and turn the ignition off and turn it again, the light disappears and he car runs fine. However, this may repeat itself after driving for a few mile and sometimes disappears for days.
View 4 RepliesOut of nowhere my check engine light came on bought some oil thought it was low, and i just recently got an oil change. Checked my sparks and it was okay. Couple hours later my car began over heating With engine light still on, and my temperature gauges increased knew something was wrong, filled it with anti freeze to cool it down, continued driving and the issue continued. Bought me a knew sensor, I noticed it worked but did not fix the issue, my car continues to over heat, couple days later without driving it, this morning on my way to work it was really cold so my car did not overheat, but my check engine light began blinking and my vehicle began rattling from my house all the way to work, for about 9 miles. Whats wrong with it? Is it safe to drive back home after work.??
View 19 RepliesMy 2003 Honda Accord with 101,000 miles started hesitating on acceleration, and a day later my check engine light came on. I went to the auto parts store to borrow one of their diagnostic computers. The code I received for the engine light was from my O2 sensor. What can cause the hesitation and the O2 sensor to read faulty? I have had several O2 sensors go out on other vehicles, but that hasn’t caused any other symptoms before. I would like it to be that simple, seeing as how easy they are to replace, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. Anyway, the car is parked now and I am taking the bus because I can’t afford to take it to a mechanic. I don’t want to waste any money by starting to replace things without having better direction.
View 11 RepliesI have a 2005 honda accord. When I was driving today it started to rain, so I turned on my wipers, at first they were ok, but later I noticed the wipers speed went down, and then the check engine light came on, I was still able to use the wipers and everything looked fine. I just had someone changed my oil on Tuesday. I got a new car and I only drove less than one hour per week using this old car. Is it possible the battery or alternator is bad? I will read the code tomorrow.
View 3 Replies I am a grad student hoping my car will hang in there till graduation next year. I have about 227,000 miles on my Honda Accord Wagon and recently the odometer stopped working, S light started flashing, and the check engine light came on. This only happens sometimes, and the check engine light does not always come on when the S light flashes and odometer stops working. I've continued driving the car to see what happens and so far, no problems have come up. I have driven another 1000 miles and am hoping I can just ignore the problem and continue driving the vehicle since I am not in a position to fix it or get a new car.
Recently I passed my California emissions test and she seems to be running smooth. Any thoughts or warnings as to why sometimes these signals happen?
I have to drive with GPS on all the time to know my speed, but other than that I feel OK.
My honda accord 2003, 4 cylinder (101000 miles) has constantly check engine light on, also transmission has been rough (it started right after a trip to mountains). The transmission sometimes becomes smooth as normal but still check engine light on and most of times transmission is jerky. I took it to mechanic, he did testing and there was no code.
View 7 RepliesI have a Honda Accord that has a very strange kind of failure. I've taken it to two mechanics - both fixed "something" - but I'm still without a car.
99 Honda Accord LX202,019 Miles
My check engine light is on and one time while driving down the road my car turns off. I need to make a road trip so I go see Mechanic 1.
Mechanic 1 - Check engine light had been on and his machine tells him the O2 sensors need to be replaced. We replace both. Light goes off. When asked about the 'spontaneous shutoff' - said it was a fluke and probably no big deal. He can't see anything other than what the computer tells him to replace.
Instrument panel currently shows no lights on. Everything works normally. I drive 1500 miles back to Wi and right as I get there....
Case 1 - I am driving down the street (residential, freeway, whatever) going any speed and the instrument panel suddenly loses all power. Speedometer drops to 0. Odometer drops to 0. The cabin (radio, clock) remain on and undisturbed. Engine is completely unresponsive to depressing the pedal and seems to be completely disengaged. The car is hard to steer but can be angled off the road. (but you can still hear your music....hooray...as you try to not get killed dodging off the side of the road)
Case 2 - On the side of the road/parking lot and the car will not turn on. Seems like it is about to start, but then dies before completing turning over. You wait 15 minutes. Then the car will actually turn over a bit more, but still not complete a start.
Case 3 - As I start the car I press the gas and rev the engine up to 4K RPMs for 4 seconds. The car then remains on. I drive for as long as it will go before Case 1 happens again.
While in WI I take it to a mechanic 2.
Mechanic 2 - Runs a test and believes there is a failure in the ignition assembly. Replaces 1 part that spans 3 different parts because he believes its cheaper to do that than to have him go all the way in there to get the 1 that he thinks is bad.
I drive the car 1400 back to AZ and Case 2 happens when we stop to get supplies. I perform case 3, the car starts and we make it back to California alive.
I try to drive the car around locally after getting back but cases 1-3 happen every other time I drive it.
Case X - The car sat idle for a few weeks as I thought it was "not safe to drive." Power locks on the car start to fail. No longer can get into the car without putting a key in a door and only that door will open. Car now has no power.
My check engine light is flashing and motor skips like a fouled plug. When I tried to change plugs the last plug to the right was pulled down so I couldn't get a wrench on it and covered in oil. How bad is this? Head or engine?
View 6 RepliesI have a Honda Accord 2004 Hybrid with 85,000 miles on it. My IMA and check engine light went on less than 2 months ago, and the dealer replaced the starter battery and it was "fixed". Less than 2 months later the same thing happened and the dealer claims that the hybrid battery is failing, need to replace it, and they can't do this anyhow because the part is backordered "indefinitely". Honda extended the hybrid battery to 80,000 miles but you are over the limit. So here's my question:
1. Can the car be driven without the hybrid battery, just using gas engine, without risk of getting stuck somewhere?
2. Is there any other remedy that would be less costly?
3. Was this a known problem that I should have been warned about when I bought the car.
The check engine light will pop on an off rapid fire and the car will shake violently when you put it into drive or reverse for a minute, then the light goes off and its fine. then you'll be driving fine, and the light blinks on and off rapid fire again, and even if you have your foot to the floor, you cant get much power, then it kicks in and lurches into being fine again. I tried "tune up in a bottle" and it seems worse. I'm scared its transmission or something.. I took it and had it put on the diagnostic machine at autozone and they said there were no codes, which I find hard to believe since my check engine light is blinking on and off so much now. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when it happens and when its fine. it will be fine for hours of driving, then in a small period of time, it will go through a whole bunch of spells of this happening.also: when this happens, the light that shows what gear you are in on the dash board goes black, then goes back on again when the check engine light goes off. What is going on with my car????!!!!!!
View 10 RepliesBeen told my EGR valve is ok on my 96 accord . But I may have carbon build up in my suction side . I used deep creep for week to loosen up the build up. What else can I do?
View 5 RepliesOur R32 has 2428 miles- and today the check engine light came on and it started to run pretty rough, babied it home and the the light was blinking when I turned into the driveway.. I know that booklet 3.2 in the owners manual is diagnosing catalytic converter issues...I have always used super unleaded, it hasn't even reached the halfway point of the first service.
View 10 RepliesFilled tank with 8 gallons of 91 octane to top off. One hour later noticed car running rough at idle then check engine light comes on. Could it be the coil pack? Car has been running very well until now, and this Gremlin appears. I don't think it's the gas.
2004 -V8 Treg
52,000 on the odometer
I recently replaced the head gaskets in my 2003 Malibu. First time and all seems other than it runs rough at stop lights. The check engine came back on and so I had it read and there is an air flow issue. Is there anywhere that I can get a schematic for the vacum lines? I have all over and cannot seem to find a loose or broken one.
View 3 RepliesMy check engine light came on in my 06 toyota avalon. i had the code read at pepboys and they said it was something like 0300 misfire. i took it a few days later to my personal mechanic and he said nothing popped up when he tested the code. i notice the car (engine) is running a little rough though. What is the firing pattern as i want to try and fix by putting new plugs and coils.
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