1998 Honda Accord: engine overheating

Filed May 20, 2006 · Engine · 63,200 miles · MI

The "check engine" light lit up on a sunday, but the service dealer who looked at the car on monday could not determine why. A diagnostic device indicated a problem around the carburetor so the technician turned off the "check engine" light and I was told to drive around for awhile and see what happened. The vehicle suddenly started to overheat while driving within the city. There had been no problems before this incident and all regular maintenance was done on the vehicle. When the car overheated, it could not even be driven for a mile without stopping to let it cool down. This would've been a serious problem if it had occurred on the highway because there was no warning and the vehicle was immediately incapacitated. The service dealer determined that the engine block had cracked and the only remedy was to replace the engine. The car only had 63,000 miles on it, but the cost of a rebuilt engine (with 120,000 miles on it) was almost as much as the blue book value. Suddenly, our car was worthless when we expected it to last for several more years. The dealership saw no reason to provide any compensation. An employee at the dealership bought the car for $1000 for parts.

Filed Feb 13, 2003 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · PA

The ignition switch overheated, which caused the vehicle to stall.

Filed Sep 23, 2002 · Engine · PA

I provided you the dealer info. Where I purchased the car. Now my car is at 'mckean honda' : 5033 liberty ave. Pittsburgh, pa 15224, (412)683-3800. Radiator suddely blew up after a 10min. Of driving. A mechanic at the dealer says that the engine's got overheated first and then possibly the cylinder head damaged leading to a mixture of engine oil and anti-freeze. No warning light was on at the time of incident. They haven't dissasembled the engine yet but I asked them to do it to find out the actual damage. Honda says it can happen when it's overheated but don't explain why it's overheated. I followed all maint. Schedule and got my car inspected(including oil change) just 2 months ago(july 10 2002) at that dealer. I can't understand how an engine with 37k mileage can fail this easily. They're talking about a possilbilty of a crack on the engine block. The $4k estimation is true when the whole engine needs to be replaced which is the worst case. It can be very dangerous if I was driving on a highway. The radiator exploded with lots of smoke with 4in long split on the top. Fortunately I was at a stop light on a way back home after picking up my wife and kid. The car was immediately towed. I can't believe if any vehicle engine can fail this easy. The 3 year long warranty's been expired and I didn't get any extended warranty. Is the only thing I can do is repenting not having one? Nlm

Filed Oct 10, 2001 · Engine · VA

Vehicle experienced a coolant leak due to a faulty radiator, consumer was charged for labor and feels he should not have been due to service bulletin 98054.

Filed Aug 31, 2001 · Engine · IL

Catlytic converter heat shields deteriorate rapidly under normal use leading to car undercarriage overheating and/or fire. Suggest replace shields with a thicker gauge metal shield.

Filed Mar 29, 2001 · Engine, Fuel system · CA

Engine is overheating. Dealership is unclear as to what is causing defect. This defect occurs randomly regardless of weather conditions. *ak honda stated new head gaskets were needed, after repair check engine light illuminated, dealer then stated #5 cylinder was misfiriing, dealer cleaned plug, engine light illuminated again, all plugs were replaced, computer was reset, and #5 spark plug wire was replaced, engine light still illuminated, consumer had thermostat replaced and examined it finding burrs were evident on the stamping surrounding the movable bellows, a lot of shiny ridges were evident on the bellows, he ran a hot water test to see if the burrs would cause the device to remain closed, however it stuck close, consumer removed the burrs and the thermostat operated properly, on one occasion all lights went out at night due to steam from thermostat, consumer feels the radiator recovery tube was being blown off by the steam also, check engine light still illuminated and code p1399 comes up, which noone knows what the code stands for, engine runs rough.. Vehicle experienced gas gauge problems.