Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Hi guyz,

I just bought a civic IMA 2004 100K miles on it, everything seemed ok when I checked and paid the money to the guy but then drove it all the way from London to oxford thats about 85 miles (got 58 mpg thats great) but then I noticed a knocking sound coming from the engine. Anyway I took it to a garage and they told me its the AC pump thats causing the noise. Do you know how much would that cost?

Also when I stop the car on traffic signals it goes into AUTO STOP thats fine but sometimes when that happens the engine stalls and wont start straight away. It happened to me 5 times already. It takes a few seconds and a few tries with the iginition then the engine starts again. Now I keep the fan on auto so that the car doesnt go in AUTO STOP. Does anyone know what might be the problem? I think the car has not had a full service for at least 25000 miles maybe plugs are the problem?

Please help.

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I was quoted a price of about $1100 US dollars from the dealer to replace the AC compressor. I chose not to do it but it wasn't making noises only not blowing cold air.

As for the auto-stop problem I have the manual transmission and I had a similar problem and I discovered by accident it was the clutch switch. If it doesn't start I find if I just mash a little harder on the clutch pedal it starts back up.

Hope it helps...

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Thanks for the answer, thats a lot of money for an old car so I guess I'll just keep on driving it the way it is for now.

As for auto stop, ok i'll try pressing the clutch a bit harder and see if that solves the problem but why would it stall at all? plugs? oil or air filters?

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I should have added that my car doesn't actually stall, it just doesn't restart sometimes from auto stop when I push the clutch back in and put it in gear.

I guess I'm a little confused as to how the car stalls when the engine is already stopped due to the auto-stop. If the engine actually stalls you should have lights other than the green auto stop light lit (oil light, red battery light, etc..)

If it is actually stalling it could be lots of things. I would start with a load test of the 12V battery and don't forget to check the cables. I'd also look at the air filter and then maybe the fuel filter (in tank). I assume the oil filter has been changed at oil changes and I can tell you with over 240,000 miles on my Civic hybrid I have never touched the spark plugs.

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

[quote=mrkcohen;237125]I should have added that my car doesn't actually stall, it just doesn't restart sometimes from auto stop when I push the clutch back in and put it in gear.

I guess I'm a little confused as to how the car stalls when the engine is already stopped due to the auto-stop. If the engine actually stalls you should have lights other than the green auto stop light lit (oil light, red battery light, etc..)

Yes it doesnt start with auto start light on but when this happens, it doesnt start at all unless I take the key out and give it a few tries. I think I should just start with changing the oil and filters...what do you say?

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I would check the coils and spark plugs. H

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Just got it serviced and filters and oil have been changed and now AUTO STOP is working perfectly fine. :)

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

What all did they do? Did you have Honda service it or private? H

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Just private service and they just changed the filters and oil nothing special but it's all working fine now. :)

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Cool.

Did they change the fuel filter? It's in the tank under the back seat. I don't see why changing the oil and oil/air filters would effect the auto-stop but as long as it's working why worry, right?

What about the AC noise? Are you going to live with it? Keep in mind there is a single serpentine belt and if the compressor seizes up you would be forced to do something at that point.

Best of luck, it's a good little car. I'm hoping to hit a least 300,000 miles on mine. Just don't beat it too much...

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I dont think they changed the fuel filter but somehow auto stop is not giving me any issues, maybe it needs more testing to know if its actually working now.

As for AC, I dont know...just don't want to spend anymore money on it at this time, AC works fine its just the noise, when I turn the AC on the noise goes away. I'll have to show it to the dealer and they are going to charge me alot...:(

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

That is weird!!! H

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Today I drove to London and back total about 168 miles including some of local traffic and car didn't start from auto stop 2 times out of let's say 50. Is that normal or should I get it checked?

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

How exactly do you stop and start? Can you explain exactly what you are doing?

For instance when I'm coming to a stop light I will first roll up to the light in gear so as to get as much regen as possible and then push the clutch in and pop the car in neutral. The car auto stops at about 7 MPH (green auto light on solid with clutch in) and after I come to a complete stop I usually let the clutch out with the car auto stopped and in neutral (green auto stop light will flash). The auto stop light should be the only light illuminated.

When I see the light is about to change I push the clutch in and pop the car in first. The car should start and the auto stop light go out. If my car doesn't start it's at this point that I quickly mash the clutch a little harder and sometimes shift to neutral and back to first. The car has always started back up. At some point I will stop being lazy and adjust the clutch switch out a bit. I NEVER have to turn the key off and on.

Can you give a description like this of exactly what you do when stopping and starting? I think it would help.

...

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Yes that's exactly how I do it. When the car is in auto stop with green light then when I push the clutch and put it in first gear sometimes the car doesn't start back. I'll try your technique and push the clutch a bit harder and then see if that solves the issue.

Do I need to show it to a garage to see if clutch is good?

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I went to London today again done about 170 miles and it worked perfectly fine even with ac on.

Also I got 61.9 mpg including some start stop local London traffic wow for an old car that's great.

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

I finally got around to checking the clutch switch. Sure enough I adjusted it a bit and I no longer have to mash the pedal to get it to start.

There are two switches by the clutch pedal. The lower one toggles as soon as the pedal is pushed and the upper one toggles when the pedal is all the way in.

I've noticed the cruise control disengages if I just brush the clutch pedal so I figured that's the lower switch. I adjusted the upper switch and now it engages much sooner than it did before.

The switch body just screws into a bracket above the pedal lever and is locked with a jam nut. I removed the cover to the left of and below the fuse box, loosened the nut (used a small adjustable wrench), turned the body a complete turn and locked it back down. I probably could have gotten away with a half turn but just left it the way it was. I'm kinda disgusted with myself I didn't do this a year ago.

Oh well, just thought I'd follow up on this...

Re: Just bought civic IMA 2004 having problems
 

Is the green light flashing? If it is flashing, it won't come out of auto-stop because the clutch isn't pushed in all the way.

I take advantage of this. I pop it in neutral, have it go to auto-stop, then release the clutch until the green light flashes, and then put it in first gear. Car stays in auto-stop. When light changes, I push clutch all the way in, car starts, and I'm good to go real quick like.