2006 Honda Civic Hybrid engine and engine cooling problems

“The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic. The contact stated that upon checking the fluids in the vehicle, she noticed that coolant had leaked onto the ground. Upon inspecting under the hood of the vehicle, the contact then noticed that coolant was located at the bottom of the engine and a small crack in the coolant reservoir. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 208,000.”

“The accessory serpentine belt produced by gates triggers misfires faults. The part is available for inspection. The misfires escalated to a point where the MIL lamp flashed and the vehicle derated while operating on a roadway. Had to emergency stop. After key off/on the vehicle acted normally. I was able to be confirm the misfire with datalogging. Gates has not responded to my communication effort. The vehicle had no issue previous to the belt change. It was running the OEM belt and was only replaced due to maintenance interval. After the misfire was confirmed with data monitoring a new OEM belt was installed and the misfire was confirmed to be gone.”

“2006 HONDA CIVIC. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO UNSATISFACTORY CUSTOMER SERVICE AT DEALERSHIP WITH ISSUES IN REPLACEMENT OF AUTO TENSIONER PIVOT BOLT SERVICE BULLETIN 09-007. *M THE CONSUMER DID NOT BELIEVE THE TSB WAS COMPLETED AS INDICATED BY THE DEALERSHIP. THE CONSUMER STATED THE OVERSIGHT, HAS LED TO A CATASTROPHIC MALFUNCTION OF THE VEHICLE.”

“2006 HONDA CIVIC. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO COOLANT LEAKS COMING FROM ENGINE BLOCK AND TRANSMISSION. *SMD THE HONDA DEALER VERIFIED THE ENGINE BLOCK WAS CRACKED. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH THE VIN WAS THE CORRECT YEAR TO BE COVERED. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED IT WOULD COST 5,000 OUT OF POCKET. *JB”

“WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 20 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGED FROM THE ENGINE. WHEN ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED, THE ENGINE WOULD FREELY REV TO THE REDLINE BUT THERE WAS NO MOVEMENT OF THE CAR. THE CAR WAS GOING UP A HILL WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE CAR WAS ROLLED BACKWARD, ALMOST INTO TRAFFIC AT A BUSY INTERSECTION. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. AT THE DEALER BIG ISLAND HONDA, THEY DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE MALFUNCTION AND COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. WE DROVE THE CAR HOME. THE NEXT DAY WE DROVE IT AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM FLARED UP AGAIN. THIS TIME WE MANAGED TO GET IT TO THE DEALER IN TIME WHILE RISKING OUR LIVES TO GET IT THERE. HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED AND THE CAR WASN'T RELEASED TO US WHEN THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THE ISSUE COULD INDEED CONTRIBUTE TO CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE SHUTTING DOWN ALL ENGINE OPERATION WHILE DRIVING! I WAS SHOCKED SINCE I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER WHO UNDERSTANDS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN MACHINES. THEY TOOK TWO WEEKS TO DIAGNOSE ISSUE AND REPLACE COMPUTER CHIP. IS THIS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, DESIGN FAILURE, OR LIFE ENDANGERING MALFUNCTION? *TR”

“THE ENGINE BLOCK LEAKS COOLANT, THE MOTOR OVERHEATS TO A DEGREE THAT IS AUDIBLE, YOU CAN HEAR THE STEAM ESCAPING FROM THE COOLANT CONTAINER, THE HEAT DAMAGES THE THERMOSTAT AND BURNS THE GASKETS AND IT BECOMES A SELF-DESTRUCTING CYCLE BECAUSE THE MOTOR IS INCAPABLE OF COOLING ITSELF WITHOUT THE THERMOSTAT AND, THE COOLANT. IN SOME CASES THE CRACK IN THE BLOCK THAT LEAKS IS APPARENT; IN MY CASE THE CRACK IS NOT VISIBLE OR EASY TO SEE AND THE DEALERS TECHNICIAN IS REFUSING TO HONOR THE RECALL THAT HONDA HAS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR THIS PARTICULAR MODEL. THE SERVICE MANAGER EXPLAINED TO THE CONSUMER, THAT EVEN THOUGH ALL THE SYMPTOMS OF THE VEHICLE INDICATED THAT THERE WAS A COOLING FLUID EVAPORATING, THE MOTOR WAS OVERHEATING, THE HEAT WAS BURNING THE GASKETS AND THE THERMOSTAT, HE HAD TO RELY ON THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSIS TELLING HIM THAT HIS PARTICULAR MOTOR WAS NOT CRACKED EXACTLY WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. THE HOSE TO THE RADIATOR, GASKET WERE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER RESET THE LIGHT. UPDATED 10/31/13”