I have a 1995 Honda Civic LX (auto) with 110k miles. About a month ago, it started to idle rough after a warm start. Would be fine (i.E. Stop rough idling) once I started to drive. About 2 weeks ago, my car starting running hot on the way home from work (toward the end of a 45 minutes commute).I noticed it at a stop light, but don't know when it actually started to run hot. The gauge was almost up to the red zone, so I pulled into a parking lot, waited 20 minutes, then drove the rest of the way home (it had cooled down by that time).
Took it in to be repaired. They replaced the battery (which failed all tests) and drained and refilled the coolant (which I admit to not having done in several years). The computer was not telling them anything else was wrong. It ran fine for a few days, then ran hot again at the end of my commute. It did not get to the red zone and as soon as I was able to get moving on the highway, it cooled back down.
Took it back to the shop. They cleaned the fins (is that right?) On the fans and said both were working properly. Also cleaned out some residue in the radiator/tubing (sorry if I have that part wrong. Obviously I'm not an expert) and tested the upper and lower fluid temperature (going into and out of the radiator, I believe he said). Both were the same.
The car ran hot again on the way home from work yesterday. Same situation (although the gauge only reached about 2/3).
The temperature goes back down when I can get moving on a highway, or when I take my foot off the accelerator (if moving in slower traffic). Accelerating in normal traffic (i.E. Around town) is what really seems to cause it to heat up. And only if the car has been running for 30+ minutes. There's no white smoke coming out of the tail pipe, no smells, no dripping when parked, and the car has been well-maintained, with oil changes every 3-4k miles.
Any ideas?
Monday, December 14th, 2020 AT 9:46 AM
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