2006 Honda Civic EX Help!!

[brownsvilleloser]

I need some help! I just bought a used Honda Civic EX coupe automatic. I bought it 11/12. It has 45,000 miles on it. I have gotten the oil changed, ATF changed, brake fluid changed, and had to get the front driver side strut cap replaced. It was making an awful rattle sound over uneven pavement. It sounded similar to what members on this site are saying is the motor mount. But, Honda replaced the strut cap and I have not heard it since. Well, it has gotten very cold here in PA, down to about 10-15 degrees at night, and I am hearing the same exact sound from the passenger’s side now!! I can't believe all of these suspension problems in an 06! I have to wonder how the previous owner drove it. So, I am going to make an appt. at Honda again. The sound is awful and it does not even sound safe because it is such a loud rattle/metallic sound when going over some bumps! The previous one was replaced under warranty; hopefully this one will be too. Do you think it is a strut cap again? I have never even heard of a strut cap.

Now my next issue is with the car not warming up right. I have been noticing how long the car takes to warm up. My other car is a 2008 Ford Fusion and it heats up in half the time this one does with a larger engine. I usually come home from work, about a 3 mile drive, and it is not even fully warmed up. So the other night I decided to drive around before I got home and it only had one bar before I started a hill near my house. I drove up the hill, by the time I got to the top it was fully warmed up. I did a U turn at the top, and drove back down. I never touched the gas pedal and I watched as the car slowly lost its heat. The temp. gauge went all the way back down to only two bars by the bottom and all my heat blowing from the vents was gone. So I came back up the hill and it was fully warmed up once again. When I stopped at a red light, it slowly lost the bars again. Once I got home, I shut the car off and got someone to drive with me to watch. When I went back down the hill again, it did not lose any bars and stayed fully warmed up. I never seem to be able to replicate my problems to others with my cars. I did make a video though, lol. The next day, it started losing the bars again. I got to work and when I was sitting at the light before I turn in, it lost one. By the time I parked, it had lost four bars. That night, I took it on the highway and got it fully warmed up. If I let off the gas for a downhill section, it would instantly lose 4-5 bars the moment I let off the gas. After so long of this constant losing and gaining of bars, the car will eventually quit and remain fully heated up. What would cause this...a bad thermostat? I don't get this....my Fusion had this problem last winter and I got the thermostat replaced three times and it never was fixed. It is no where near as bad as this Honda, as it would only lose a little. This car completely loses all the bars and I lose all the heat coming out of the vents. Just need some advice on what it could possibly be.

My final question is not all that important; I just want to know it is normal. Sometimes when the car idles in gear, the engine makes this strange rattle/gurgle sound. Just a differed sound than the usual idle sound it makes. It is a little louder too. I noticed it is much more common to happen when placed in reverse but I have yet to figure out how to duplicate it or what causes it. Any ideas? As long as it is not a danger to the engine, I do not mind the sound at all.

Thank you!!

[halocore]

Hmm, that definitely doe not sound normal. I too have a 2006 EX, and here in Edmonton (Canada) we've been getting about -25C (-13F) lately! Certainly takes a little while for the engine to get warm, but once it's there it holds strong right at the middle even when sitting in grid lock traffic idling for long periods of time.

Just a wild hunch, have you noticed the engine's rpm when you're coasting or idling at a light, or when you first start the car? I believe the ECU has a preprogrammed warmup cycle when you first start the car in cold weather. Mine seems to start at about 1500 to 1800 rpm in the warmup, but then idles just below 1000 rpm in traffic / coasting.

It's just a wild thought, but I can recall from a few of Honda's tech sheets for some of the Honda accessories I have installed in my car, that if the battery get disconnected the ECU needs to be "retaught" how to idle correctly or something. Here's the procedure from one of the sheets I had:

"Do the ECU idle learn procedure.
• Make sure all electrical items are turned off.
• Start the engine. Hold the engine speed at 3,000 rpm with no load (in Park or neutral) until the radiator fan comes on.
• Let the engine idle for about 5 minutes with the throttle fully closed and with all electrical items off.
NOTE: If the radiator fan comes on during this step, the time when it is operating must not be included in the 5 minutes."


This is just a passing thought. My incline would be you have bigger problems though, like a faulty thermo, etc. I do not know if the ECU idle program would effect an engine like you describe, but thought I would throw it out there for you.

[yuning83]

Honda has a service out for the water pump on the 06. I got my pump replaced awhile ago when I got a engine light on it. Temp around here are in the 10s but I have yet to see the temp bar decrease like what you described. My gas gauge would occationally regain one bar after restarting now and then, but my temp gauge stays in the middle once it gets there. If you drive right away in the morning for 3 miles, then the gauge might not be fully warmed i can tell you that much.

[08civlx]

i know that in extreme cold temps my 2008 civic will gain lets say 3 bars, and if i have to come to a stop and sit at a light for a minute, ill lose a bar or two....but once its at full operating temps, its stable. but thats only in -25 or -30 degrees celsius temps.