1997 Honda Civic: check engine light

Filed May 17, 2014 · Electrical · 244,000 miles · GA

Engine light came on now car will not start. No fault or cel codes.

Filed Jun 7, 2012 · Transmission · 224,000 miles · GA

Driving at a speed of 40 MPH, then the car went into limp mode and check engine light came on with codes po700 and po715, took to transmission business, could not find the cause of the problem. This problem is still present. Recently found a service bulletin from honda about this defect on the transmission.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Electrical · CA

I have a 97 civic dx and several times while driving the car will turn off and is to hard to control the wheels, when turns off there is no engine lights & the car dies totally and I try to turn the car on but it wont start I need to wait for about 5 minutes then I can turn the car again. I have been doing some research in the internet and it seems that I'm not the only one who have this problem and it seems to possible could be the ignition switch.

Filed May 14, 2007 · Electrical · 112,000 miles · OR

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 honda civic. The failure mileage was 112000 and the current mileage was 113000. The vehicle was having trouble shifting from first to second gear and the engine light turned on. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer replaced the 02 sensor and stated that the transmission needed to be flushed and the linear solenoid needed to be replaced.

Filed Oct 18, 2005 · Engine · 28,220 miles · CT

I brought my 1997 honda civic in for a recurring problem which was covered under an warranty issued by honda for resetting an emissions problem in 1997 civics. This is the seventh time I had to have this light reset. The warranty was for up to 150k miles. This time I had 152k miles. I was told from now on I would have to pay a $85 diagnostic fee plus repair. This is unfair as this is a recurring problem that has not been corrected. As this occurs on average every 12,000 miles I could have to pay this diagnostic fee of $85 plus parts for a recurring problem that has not been fixed. Note that a coworker who has the same car had brought the car in nine times. This dealer replaced the catalytic converter on her car and the light has not come back on. When I brought the car in for the repair above I was told that honda would not repair the car until all the non-honda parts in the area affected were replaced. The total of these parts was $227. This would be in addition to the $85 diagnostic fee. I was told by the service manager that they would not even look at the car until the non-honda parts were replaced. I asked if they could reset the engine light as they had in the past and was told no. I asked for the car back and did not replace the parts. I was charged the $85 diagnostic fee. The light is now off and the car runs fine. I have driven another 6,000 miles since that time and the light has not come back on. The owner's manual states that genuine honda parts are recommended; it does not say they are required. The owner's manual should state explicitly that the use of honda only parts is required or dealer may not service the car. I feel this is a violation of my right to patronize a certified service facility. If extended this type of policy could be ruinous to non-dealer service facilities. I opened a case with american honda and they said that dealers are independently owned and operated and they could do nothing. This whole policy exploits the public.

Filed Oct 15, 2004 · Airbags, Electrical · 68,069 miles · PA · crash · 1 injury

While driving, the vehicle struck a pot hole, and the passenger's side air bag deployed. However, the driver's seat belt did not lock, and passenger struck his face on the steering wheel. *ak the passenger air bag did not open and the check engine and the air bag light remained on.

Filed Aug 12, 2004 · Engine · OK

My engine light came on due to the fact that I needed to replace my o2 sensor. While attempting to replace it we noticed a crack in the exhaust manifold. When we took it to the shop we were told that this was a common problem with honda civics. Apparently they see the manifolds start to crack around 110,000 miles. The cost was nearly $700 to replace it.

Filed Apr 20, 2004 · Transmission · DE

After the r & r main shaft was replaced, the check engine light illuminated again. *ph months after the vehicle was purchased the check engine light illuminated. It was determined by the computer diagnostic test that the r & r main shaft cam sensor needed to be replaced. The sensor failed three more times after it was initially replaced. Upon further inspection the technician found that the oem drum had a crack in it and that was what caused the sensor to fail.

Filed Mar 3, 2004 · Airbags · 62,532 miles · TN

The check engine light illuminated and would not go off. *ph the vehicle was taken tot he dealer who determined that the driver's side air bag had apparently deployed prior to the consumer owning the vehicle. The technician told the consumer to contact the federal safety agency to obtain permission to have the air bags turned off.

Filed Oct 12, 2003 · Transmission · 95,890 miles · CA

I have a 1997 honda civic ex coupe automatic transmission with 95,900 miles when the transmission problem started. One day I noticed my car was hesitating when I pressed the accelerator but did not put a lot of attention to it. Then soon after I noticed the check engine light turn on. So I decided to take my car to my local honda dealer (rock honda). They reset the check engine light, then told me that the problem was the transmission and if it turns on again that I would need to replace the transmission. The light turned on went back to rock honda , they recommended me replace the transmission and mentioned to me there is no recall on the a/t or warranty , the estimate was $2900 for the repair. So I decided to get a second opinion, and they told me the same thing the a/t needs to be repaired! I ended up repairing it costing me $2608.11 ouch. I believe honda should have taken responsibility and notify the millions of customers that own honda civics and tell them about this major repair by issuing a recall. I feel honda should reimburse all their customers who unknowingly have had to fix their automatic transmission just like I have. Now I'm wondering if I should ever buy a honda again! Please help. Thank you.

Filed Mar 27, 2003 · Transmission · 5 miles · CA

When pressing on the gas petal, it feels rough and notchy. It's hard to accelerate smoothly. Started to notice the problem at about 85,000 miles. Then, when I was on the freeway the engine light came on. I took it to scott robinson honda in torrance and they said the problem was probably my diagnostics system. They informed me that is was covered by honda extended warranty. After my car was in the shop all day, the technician informed me that it wasn't my diagnostics system, but my transmission. He said that the computer's diagnosed code was(po715), which means that the mainshaft speed sensor failed. He said that since that part is inside the transmission, they felt I should have it replaced. They wanted me to spend $3,500.00 on a rebuilt one to replace mine. I asked him if my car would be ok to drive around without replacing it, he said he didn't know. It could die on me in a week, or in a year. So far, my car is still running. I have never missed a required service date. My engine light still occasionally comes on, and I have to disconnect the battery each time to reset the computer so it will go off. The gas petal still feels rough when I press on it from a complete stop. I told honda about the recall #99i002000 (vehicle speed control) and asked them if they would replace my throttle cable. Honda informed me that there is no such recall on a 1997 honda civic. I printed out the info from your website and faxed it to them. I am still waiting to hear back.

Filed Feb 18, 2003 · Engine · NC

Since oct '02, I have had my car in and out of the dealership due to the recall for emissions. Each time, the check engine light has come on, I have taken it to the dealership and had the problem fixed. The first time, the computer went bad and was replaced. The second time, the o2 sensor went bad and the car stalled out on a busy interstate in nc where construction is being done and there are no shoulders to pull off on. I believe honda should replace the entire emissions system covered under the warranty instead of costing their consumers time and a lot of aggravation by fixing the problems one at a time. This will absolutely be the last honda I own due to this one situation. I'm sick of spending time in the dealership having to wait for them to tell me what the current problem is. A car that is 6 years old should not have to have the whole emissions system replaced in the first place. This is ridiculous and someone needs to fix it.