2000 Honda Civic engine and engine cooling problems

“WHILE DRIVING I SMELLED THEN SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE GEAR SHIFT AREA. I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF AND EXITED MY CAR. I OPENED THE HOOD AND WITHIN MINUTES MY CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD TO COME PUT IT OUT. *TR”

“I HAD A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT INDICATING A BAD CATALYTIC CONVERTER ON MY 2000 HONDA CIVIC. THE CAT WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY BY THE DEALER IN MARCH '08 ONLY TO HAVE THE EXACT SAME SCENARIO REPEATED IN JULY '08. NOW I'M FACING THE SAME SITUATION AGAIN. SO IN SUMMARY, THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER HAS NOW BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES IN A 20 MONTH PERIOD. FROM ALL MY RESEARCH THIS IS VERY RARE. MY SUSPICIONS ARE THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM) IS DEFECTIVE AND TRULY THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, I BELIEVE THAT THE DEALER HAS PURPOSELY AVOIDED REVEALING THE ECM AS POSSIBLE CAUSE AS IT WOULD BE A COSTLY REPAIR FOR THEM AS THE ECM FALLS UNDER EPA EMISSIONS WARRANTY.. *TR”

“2000 HONDA CIVIC DX-VP O2 SENSOR FAILED AT 125,000 MILES DUE TO A CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD AT THE SENSOR - NO INFORMATION AS TO HOW MUCH EARLIER THE CRACK MIGHT HAVE OCCURRED BEFORE THE SENSOR WAS DAMAGED. THE SENSOR FAILURE GENERATES AN ERROR CODE AND CAUSES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON, AND CREATES ROUGH IDLING AND STALLING IN TRAFFIC, CREATING SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT PASS THE STATE EMISSIONS INSPECTION IN THAT CONDITION. THE ONLY WAY TO CORRECT THE ISSUE IS TO REPLACE THE CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER ASSEMBLY ALONG WITH THE O2 SENSOR. HONDA WAS CONTACTED AND DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF ANY SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH CRACKED MANIFOLDS AND SENSOR FAILURES ON 2000 HONDA CIVICS AND REFUSES TO PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE WITH REPAIRS. IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED THAT THE CRACKED MANIFOLD IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM ON CIVICS ON ALL MODEL YEARS FROM 1996 TO 2003. HONDA ISSUED EXTENDED WARRANTIES ON MANY OF THESE MODEL YEARS THAT FAILS TO PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE TO MOST OWNERS, SINCE THE DEFECT COMMONLY APPEARS OUTSIDE OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY PERIOD. HONDA AND IT'S DEALERS ARE ALSO BEING ALLOWED TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL REVENUES FROM THE SALE OF…”

“TOOK MY CAR IN FOR REGULAR SERVICE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER PICKING IT UP, CAR KEPT RATTLING & SPUTTERING. CAME BACK IN AND THEY STATED "SUDDENLY" THE MANIFOLD WAS CRACKED & THE BOLT FOR THE HEAT SHIELD WAS BROKEN OFF. LOOKED ONLINE & SAW THAT THERE ARE MANY MANY ISSUES WITH CRACKED MANIFOLDS WITH CIVICS, SO MUCH THAT A HANDFUL OF MODEL YEARS (BUT NOT MINE) WAS RECALLED. MINE IS JUST CONSIDERED OUT OF WARRANTY, & IS NOW A SAFETY (FUMES CAN CAUSE SICKNESS) & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE. GIVEN HOW I BABIED THIS CAR, THE ONLY REASON THIS WOULD HAVE CRACKED IS EITHER A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW/WEAKNESS (OR THE MECHANICS REALLY MESSED UP MY CAR). SINCE IT'S SUCH A MAJOR REPORTED (IGNORED) ISSUE, IT'S CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW.”

“CAR HAS BEEN RUNNING FINE SINCE I HAD PURCHASED IT AS A SECONDHAND VEHICLE. AT 130,XXX MILES, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, UPON USING A OBD2 SCANNER, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE PRIMARY OXYGEN SENSOR HEATER HAS MALFUNCTIONED. WHEN THE HEAT SHIELD TO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD WAS REMOVED, A HUGE CRACK ABOUT 2 INCHES WAS FOUND IN THE CENTER OF THE MANIFOLD ABOVE THE OXYGEN SENSOR. *TR”

“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT SMELLED FUMES WHENEVER THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN. SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. APPROXIMATELY THREE MONTHS LATER, THE OXYGEN SENSOR FAILED AND THE CONTACT DISCOVERED A CRACK IN THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 114,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000. UPDATED 09/10/08 *BF UPDATED 09/17/08. *JB”