2002 Honda Civic engine and engine cooling problems

“WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 60 MPH, MY CAR RAPIDLY SLOWED DOWN TO 15MPH. I WAS ALMOST SERIOUSLY INJURED DUE TO THE NATURE THAT THERE WAS CARS BEHIND ME. ON THE ROAD THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE OVER 20 MPH. THERE WAS PLENTY OF REVVING ONCE IT HIT 20MPH. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS TO LET ME KNOW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. THE CAR ALWAYS DROVE IN GREAT CONDITION AND ALL OF A SUDDEN A MAJOR FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. AND HONDA SEEMS NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM. *TR”

“ONE DAY WHEN I WAS GETTING BACK FROM SCHOOL, THE CAR MAD AN ABNORMAL SOUND WHILE SHIFTING. BUT THEN IT WAS FINE I GOT HOME NO PROBLEM AND THE NEXT TIME I GOT IN THE CAR TO DRIVE (2 DAYS LATER), THE CAR STARTED BUT WHEN I PUT IT INTO DRIVE IT DIDN'T MOVE. MY CAR IS AT 110,000 MILES AND IT HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED. I HAVE HAD ALL MY OIL CHANGES DONE ONE TIME AND I CAN PROVE THAT. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE AMONG THESE MODELS. *TR”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 60 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED BUT THE RESULTS WERE UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000.”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 30 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ABNORMALLY AT A RAPID PACE. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND SHIFTED INTO PARK IN ORDER TO STOP THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP UNTIL CRASHING INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE POLICE ARRIVED TO THE SCENE AND ADVISED THAT THE ACCELERATOR WAS STUCK. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO A LOCAL DEALER WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE OR DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER INSPECTED BY A PERSONAL FRIEND WHO DISCOVERED AN ALUMINUM NAME PLATE FROM THE SPECTRE AIR FILTER (MODEL NUMBER: 888911) (NA) WAS LODGED BETWEEN THE HOUSING AND THE BUTTERFLY, CAUSING THE THROTTLE TO BECOME STUCK OPEN AND THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000. THE NAME PLATE WAS GLUED ONTO THE AIR FILTER. SAFETY PROBLEM IS WITH THE AIR FILTER NOT THE CAR. UPDATED 11/16/2011 *LN *TR”

“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND WAS TOLD THAT THE AIR CLEANER ASSEMBLY COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH THE THROTTLE BODY AND PREVENT THE VEHICLE FROM SLOWING DOWN. THE DEALER STATED NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 01V329000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE), WHICH WAS RELATED TO THE FAILURE, BUT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN, BUT THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 135,000. UPDATED 06/03/11 *B UPDATED 07/08/11”

“I OWN A 2002 HONDA CIVIC SI AND WAS CHECKING ON THE VALVE ADJUSTMENT IN MY ENGINE TODAY. I NOTICED ONE OF THE CAM LOBES (CYLINDER #3 ON THE EXHAUST SIDE) HAD SOME SEVERE GALLING AND PITTING. ALL OF THE OTHER CAM LOBES WERE IN PERFECT CONDITION. AFTER DOING SOME SEARCHING ON THE INTERNET (SEARCH FOR "CAM GALLING" OR "HONDA GALLING" OR SOMETHING SIMILAR) I HAVE FOUND THIS SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE TO MANY WHO OWN THIS YEAR CIVIC SI. I ALSO FOUND SOME SITES STATING IT IS ALSO A PROBLEM IN OTHER K SERIES ENGINES (MY CAR HAS A K20A3 ENGINE) AND POSSIBLY A PROBLEM IN OTHER HONDA CARS/SUVS. MY FEAR IS THAT THE LOBE COULD DISINTEGRATE WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS AND CAUSE TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE AND POSSIBLY INJURY OR AN ACCIDENT. I PLAN ON TAKING PICTURES TOMORROW AND SEEING WHAT HONDA RECOMMENDS. SINCE THE MAINTENANCE INTERVAL ON ADJUSTING VALVES IS 110,000 MILES ON MY HONDA, IT'S DIFFICULT TO CATCH A PROBLEM LIKE THIS BEFORE THE WARRANTY IS UP SINCE REMOVING A VALVE COVER IS NOT A STANDARD PROCEDURE...ALTHOUGH I WOULD VENTURE TO GUESS THE PROBLEM HAD BEGUN DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD. AND, LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF POSTS ON THE ISSUE, SOMETHING HONDA SHOULD BE RECALLING OR HELPING WITH. *TR”