Problems with 2006 Honda Civic ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

2006 honda civic. consumer writes in regards to unsatisfactory customer service at dealership with issues in replacement of auto tensioner pivot bolt service bulletin 09-007. *m the consumer did not believe the tsb was completed as indicated by the dealership. the consumer stated the oversight, has led to a catastrophic malfunction of the vehicle.

2006 honda civic. consumer writes in regards to coolant leaks coming from engine block and transmission. *smd the honda dealer verified the engine block was cracked. the consumer was informed the vehicle was not covered under warranty even though the vin was the correct year to be covered. the consumer was informed it would cost 5,000 out of pocket. *jb

Damaged and faulty engine mounts cause excessive rattling to motor/car. appears this is a very common issues which can lead to further issues. *tr

The engine block leaks coolant, the motor overheats to a degree that is audible, you can hear the steam escaping from the coolant container, the heat damages the thermostat and burns the gaskets and it becomes a self-destructing cycle because the motor is incapable of cooling itself without the thermostat and, the coolant. in some cases the crack in the block that leaks is apparent; in my case the crack is not visible or easy to see and the dealers technician is refusing to honor the recall that honda has already in place for this particular model. the service manager explained to the consumer, that even though all the symptoms of the vehicle indicated that there was a cooling fluid evaporating, the motor was overheating, the heat was burning the gaskets and the thermostat, he had to rely on the technician diagnosis telling him that his particular motor was not cracked exactly where it was supposed to be. the hose to the radiator, gasket were replaced. however, the engine light illuminated. the dealer reset the light. updated 10/31/13

The rpm down to 0 while stopped at a red light. tried restarting the car, the rpm would go up for a few seconds while a lot of metallic noise of loose parts flying around under the hood. took it to two mechanics, turned out the drive belt tensioner bolt snapped in half, half went into the block. *tr

A couple months back i took my car to the honda dealer to fix my a/c. so when my a/c was not throwing any cold air out again this week i took it back to honda and they told me my condenser had a whole in it probably from a pebble. there is nothing covering that area on the car so after i pay almost $700 it can possibly happen again. there is no warranty for this. i feel it is a defect of the way the car was built. i feel honda should fix this problem. or atleast reimburse the customers. *tr

Uneven tire wear and vibrations when traveling on highway. honda had a recall to repair control arm. had repair done 6 years ago. it was a factory/manufacturing problem. it is happening again. called dealer who said honda only honors one repair. any subsequent repairs are at my expense. dealer will not do permanent fix. tires wear unevenly due to problem. have bought several tires. have had premature brake wear and strut replacement due to manufacturing issues. also, catalytic converter now going out prematurely. nothing covered by honda. many complaints on the internet. class action lawsuit forming. why does honda not stand behind its product and permanently repair manufacturing defects/problems? *tr

Pulling out into traffic very loud squealing noise...pulled off road and noticed the pulley holding the serpentine belt was wobbling ...got it towed to the dealership and they said the bolt holding the pulley was broken....got it fix and now 13 months later it has happened again if the pulley breaks off or the belt comes off in traffic i could be in serious trouble. *tr

Coolant leak. engine block cracked, confirmed by mechanic. *tr

Two days ago i was pulling into a parking space in a grocery store parking lot. i was slowing the car down using the brakes. as i turned into the parking space i applied pressure on the brakes, the brakes became soft and suddenly the engines rpms increased and began jumping between 3000 rpms to 4000 rpms. the car began to move forward even though i had the brakes fully depressed and i was in danger of hitting other cars or people. i immediately put the car in neutral and the rpms jumped even higher. i turned the engine off and after a few seconds the engine stopped. i re-started it and drove to the honda dealership. they have had the car for two days and can not find the problem (or so they say). this is the second time in 8 weeks this has happened in this car (see complaint number 10435619). this was not pedal error. my foot was only on the brake. after doing a google search i see hundreds of similar complaints. honda is not admitting that there is a problem with the software in their cars but there is. please look into this before too many people get killed. i could have easily run over the 2-3 people walking in front of me if i hadn't been through this before and knew to put the car in neutral right away. both times when i put my foot on the brake i felt the brakes soften and the engine suddenly revved. it appears to me that there is some glitch in their software that tells the engine to downshift when braking. instead of downshifting the engine accelerates. something is clearly wrong with this car. unfortunately the check engine light does not come on so honda can not find the error. clearly if you do a google search there is a serious problem out there with these hondas. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that steam emitted from under the hood abnormally while sitting at a traffic stop. the contact discovered coolant was leaking from the engine and that the engine was cracked. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 35,000.

My 2006 honda civic ex completely stalled out without any warning, leaving me stranded in the middle of a busy intersection. it had been driving perfectly without issue before the stall, and has received all necessary maintenance in a timely fashion up until that time. my car was inoperable and towed to a nearby mechanic. i was informed that the tensioner bolt had broken off in my engine; however, part of the bolt was still stuck inside of my engine. due to the bolt breaking, my alternator was subsequently damaged and caused the car to stall. after consulting with a separate independent mechanic, it was determined that due to the location and angle of the bolt, the engine would have to be completely dropped out to remove and replace this bolt and to prevent further damage to the engine. this problem is covered under tsb 09-007 (jan 09 campaign - engine drive belt tensioner bolt replacement); however, even though my vin falls within the range of affected vehicles, it is not an exact match. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle stalled. the contact was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to cool and adding water to the radiator. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine block was cracked. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. the failure mileage was 120,000.

Yesterday i experienced sudden acceleration when applying the brakes. i was approaching a red light going downhill at about 40 mph. i applied the brakes and the engine accelerated with the rpms jumping to 3,000. i applied full brakes and the car kept moving towards the intersection. to avoid an accident, i put the car into neutral. rpms went up to about 4,500. the car slowly stopped. when the light turned green i put it back in drive and the car stalled. i put the car in neutral and re-started it and the rpms were normal. i took it to the dealership today and they could not find the problem. surveying the internet i can see lots of other acceleration issues with the 2006 civics. the dealership was unaware of any problems. this could have caused a serious accident. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact heard a loud squeaking noise inside the vehicle. the dealer stated the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who informed the contact that the tension belt failed and needed to be replaced. she took the vehicle to a different mechanic to have the work performed due to the cost. the manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, did not offer any assistance. the current mileage was 80,000. the approximate failure mileage was 79,700.

Premature catastrophic failure of water pump pulley caused by pulley bolts falling out of pulley, pulley detaching and than causing failure of serpentine accessory belt. honda will not cover this under tsb 08-039. this is a saefty issue as well - loss of power steering, cooling, engine could blow. i have to bring into dealer contacted honda asked them to cover 100% of cost they only cover 40%. replaced with upgraded parts not same flawed design. honda must cover 100% of this. case number: no12011-09-2700942 car always dealer serviced and oil changes purchased new. *kb

I was driving about 25mph on a residential street when i smelled rubber burning and then my car suddenly stopped working. we had it towed to a trusted friend's shop to see what the problem was and then to fix it. we found that the tensioner bolt was broken. our mechanic has done lots of research on this problem and have found that other owners of 2006 honda civics are also having the same problem. he is in the process of trying to replace this bolt. i only have 75,000 miles on this honda and am very disappointed with this fairly new car. i hope it can be fixed. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for repairs under a manufacturer's engine block failure warranty in march 2012. the local mechanic replaced the engine coil and the engine sensor, but the failure was not corrected. the vehicle developed an engine coolant leak. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer inspected the vehicle and located the failure as the engine block being cracked due to defective aluminum. the dealer replaced the engine block, the timing chains and the spark plugs. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and denied assistance with the repairs. the failure mileage was 61,000 and the current mileage was 63,000. updated 04/25/12 *bf the consumer stated she experienced several problems related to the crck engine block, which wasn't located until march 2012. updated 06/25/12

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while driving 10 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled on the road. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer, whom denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable and the current mileage was 15,445. updated 09/21/11*lj the consumer was informed the spring tensioner was broke, which caused the alternator, water pump and serpentine belt to fail. updated 10/05/11. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. initially the vehicle had not come to a complete, when the contact applied pressure to the brakes; the vehicle continued to accelerate causing him to use the emergency brake since the steering wheel became very difficult to control. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that there was a cracked engine block and the anti freeze leaked out which caused the vehicle to stall. the manufacturer was aware of the failure. no repairs were performed. the current and failure mileages were 72,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact stated that while reversing, he noticed that the vehicle was smoking under the hood. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who performed a diagnostic and located the failure at the engine block. the dealer advised that the engine block material was defective. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 80,000.

My '06 honda civic has had the same air conditioning problem twice already. the 1st time this happened (summer of '09) the dealership said that a pebble hit the (apparently extremely fragile) condenser unit, causing a leak. they said it was caused by road debris, so they would not cover it under warranty. they wanted to charge me over $1300 to fix this problem (the first time). i did some research and found tons of these cases with honda vehicles. apparently the condenser is not properly protected against debris like it should be. this is going to continue to happen over and over again unless honda has a recall to fix the problem. when i spoke to honda america, they likened the failure to a chipped windshield. during common, everyday, freeway driving, the damage should not be considered in the same category as a chipped windshield. the windshield is a protective device, and therefore deflecting pebbles and other road hazards is exactly what it's designed for. this is a design flaw, plain and simple. imagine, pebbles actually hitting a moving vehicle a few inches off the ground--as if that's avoidable! my question is, did honda forget that people tend to use their cars on roads?? or did they simply forget what roads are made of? i could go to honda's service dept tomorrow and have the [xxx] thing fixed, drive away and the same problem could happen at any time. as for my current problem, i noticed sometime in late march of 2011 that my a/c, yet again, no longer works for the same reason previously stated. i've been out of work for almost 2 years and i can't afford to fix this on my own. i already paid out of pocket for the repair the 1st time. i cannot do it again. i live in california and the temperature is on the rise, and with summer around the corner it will only get worse. i can't go to interviews drenched in sweat. no one is gonna hire the sweaty chick with windblown hair! please help!! *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Engine stopped unexpectedly with no prior signs of trouble while driving about 25 mph on residential street. car towed to repair shop. found bolt which holds engine accessory belt tensioner in place had failed. replaced tensioner and bolt with new honda parts. five months later same bolt again unexpectedly broke resulting in engine stoppage again fortunately at 25 mph in light traffic. car was towed and repaired. both repairs used honda replacement parts. i have both bolts. bolts are not suppose to break under these conditions. fortunately failure did not happen in heavy traffic or high speed but they could have. *tr

Yesterday 01/03/11 i was told by a repair specialist from the mission valley honda dealership in san diego ca that my 2006 honda civic ex with approximately 50,000 miles has a cracked engine block. i've done internet research and it appears there are thousands of others that have had this same exact issue with their honda civics years 2006 thru 2008. this is a major issue and safety concern! my wife drives this car around with our 4 month year old daughter. now, i'll be driving it as i'm not feeling safe about her driving it. the dealership is replacing the engine for free but they are not giving me a rental car as they state they don't have any. what a bunch of crap honda is giving us consumers with these defective cars. where's the quality we've come to expect and admired! i doubt i'll buy honda again after this horrible experience. *tr

The bolt that holds the serpentine belt tension idler pulley has failed twice on my vehicle. it's a fatigue failure from bolt bending load; a design failure. i have been fortunate that both failures occurred at low speeds on side streets. if this occurred at speed where i could not pull over immediately, i could have been in severe danger with loss of power, engine seizing and a possible fire. *tr

I have a honda civic 4dr sedan 2006 purchased in nov 2005, it currently has around 43800 miles. when i turn on the heater, i can smell strong burning antifreeze/coolant and smoke coming from the engine. finally i took it to the dealer after living with the problem for 3 days and he said i had a engine leaking coolant with a cracked engine block and honda is ready to replace the engine block as the vehicle is under warranty. i am worried it might happen again. please ask honda to issue a official recall notice so that my engine is covered for atleast that particular problem, so that i don't have to pay if the same problem happens again once my warranty is done. *tr

Smelled burning antifreeze yet no evidence of leak initially. later significant leak. took car to dealer said it is extended warranty issue and they are going to replace the short block. this is a known issue to honda. *tr

Car stopped at stop sign at the top of a very steep hill. car would not accelerate and car behind me almost hit me. this is the third time it happened, both times were after the august 2010 ima recall by honda. honda dealer said that there is no solution from honda ever since the first incident. i hope that you can urge honda to fix this problem before an accident occurs. this is a very dangerous situation in san francisco with its many steep hills and impatient drivers.

The car loses power upon acceleration and going up a hill from a complete standstill. the car at times can not climb up a hill. this causes a safety issue. i have discussed this honda and i was told that "given that there was not a computer record in the memory there was not a problem. on the freeway the engine revs upon acceleration without any increase in speed. i think the battery electrical assist system is defective and needs to be replaced, honda added a computer patch to the car that slowed down the electric engine assist and comprimised the power and acceleration.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while driving approximately 30 mph, the contact heard a knocking noise intermittently. the engine stalled and would not restart. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who replaced a broken auto tensioner pivot bolt; however, the bolt did not hold the pivot arm and the mechanic determined that the thread within the bolts was damaged. a private mechanic installed heli-col in order to repair the threads in the engine block; however, the bolt slipped again. both the dealer and manufacturer stated that since the heli-col was installed by a private mechanic it voided any warranty coverage. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was approximately 80,100. the failure mileage was approximately 80,050.

I have a honda civic hybrid 2006, last days i have my ima light and check engine light come up, i went o the dealer o'hare honda and they refused me to do the a recall update to the software and fix my check engine light and ima light that is related to the electric engine with battery. i will mention that the warranty book says that they need to fix these issues under a federal law 8/80k but they treat me bad and not even open to discuss. when i asked to talk with somebody else they old that no manager was friday at 12 pm. i mention that my warranty was canceled and car mileage is 78.000, i don't feel comfortable to drive this car is losses power and is dangerous when you try to pass another car or an intersection with these issues. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. while traveling 40 mph the contact noticed that the vehicle had suddenly shut off without and could not be restarted. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact had the eps circuit replaced, however the contact is still experiencing the failure. there were no prior warnings. the current and failure mileages were 81000.

Since i have gotten the ima battery upgrade the car battery completely discharges randomly several times a day. when the battery discharges the car looses a significant amount of its acceleration. i have had three incidents since this upgrade where i have nearly had accidents due to this problem. once while turning onto a busy street on a hill the battery discharged and i lost the acceleration and the oncoming car almost hit me. i had a similar experience on the highway when i pulled into the fast lane to pass a car and i lost pick up and the car far behind quickly caught up and had to slam on their breaks. the third episode is when i came to a complete stop on a very steep hill. when i went to drive forward again the battery discharged and despite being in the drive gear and despite pushing the gas pedal to the floor i kept rolling backwards. i ended up rolling backwards downhill and turned into someone's driveway and turned around. i drove around until the battery recharged and then was eventually able to drive up the hill. when i brought these concerns up with my local honda dealership they agreed this did not sound normal. after they test drove it and ran tests they did not find a problem so they called honda central. they were told that it is normal for the battery to discharge randomly through out the day since the upgrade. when i asked how do i drive safely they said i should be careful about the battery discharging and subsequent loss of acceleration. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while driving approximately 50 mph, the contact heard a rattling noise from the engine compartment. he then saw smoke emitting from the engine. he pulled over and turned the vehicle off. the vehicle sat for one day and while the contact was driving approximately 15 mph, it stalled. the contact poured water into the coolant system which allowed the vehicle to function properly. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. the current and failure mileages were 51,793.

My honda civic ex 2006 model suddenly started overheating problem, i realized this after my recent oil change at honda round rock texas. i believe this is a serious safety issue to myself and my family. there was small bit of blue fluid leak that i could see but at times ignored, this i saw after recent oil change. *tr

I have on '06 civic hybrid and the battery is getting progressively worse. it crashes often where one second it shows more than 1/2 charge, and the next the acceleration and power is significantly reduce and the charge level drops to zero. not good when you are attempting to accelerate into traffic. honda has issued a notice to update the software that basically compromise safety, power and fuel economy so honda can get you through the warranty period without having to replace your battery. i fear that the unexpected loss of acceleration and power is unsafe, and that the software update that claims to fix the problem is simply an attempt by honda to extend the life of a faulty battery beyond the warranty period. *tr

Cracked engine block in the 2006 honda civic, 83,000 miles. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact stated that the integrated motor assist battery software was upgraded. after the upgrade, the vehicle began to lose power. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated that the manufacturer would not allow them to reinstall the old software. the contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint but offered no further assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 41,000 and the current mileage was 46,000

Honda civic hybrid--2006. ima assist abnormalities following most recent honda repair campaign. my 2006 civic hybrid was given a software update by honda on 8/5/2010 following a campaign initiated by honda to address loss of power and performance due to ima hybrid battery deterioration and failure. prior to the update the vehicle would often lose battery charge suddenly, resulting in a significant loss of power and at one point stranding me in an intersection while turning left in front of oncoming traffic in july, 2010. the most recent update (i have had several from honda in over the 4.25 yrs of ownership) has not fixed the issue of sudden loss of power from transient battery failures that occur without warning, often when accelerating up steep inclines or attempting to merge into traffic. in addition to the ongoing issues, the hybrid battery now fails to provide adequate assistance when accelerating, merging into high-speed traffic, etc. and experiences wide fluctuations in charge, jumping from 1/3 charge to completely full with sudden drops of a similar fashion. these fluctuations continue to occur regardless of driving conditions, ambient temperature, accessory or a/c use or other extenuating factors and occur multiple times per week, and multiple times per day on occasion (6 battery failures in the last week alone since the update). i have experienced at least 1 near-miss accident in the last 30 days due to sudden loss of power and honda's multiple attempts to address the failures from a software perspective have been unsuccessful. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while the vehicle was parked she smelled an unusual odor coming from the engine. a passenger informed her that it smelled like anti freeze. upon examining the vehicle she noticed green liquid under the front end. she opened the hood and noticed a leak was coming in the engine. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where she was informed the engine block was cracked. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 61,000. the vin was unavailable.

Air conditioning condenser is prone to damage because of location under vehicle. this leads to an expensive repair bill not covered under warranty. small road debris from front tires hit condenser and it has subsequently stopped working. *tr

Daughter was driving home from work when she noticed smoke coming out of the engine; luckily she was near the dealership where the car was purchased from and drove to it. the dealership called my husband to inform him that the engine block was cracked. this 2006 honda civic was purchased on july 25, 2009 and has this type of problem a little over a year later (8/3/10) at 50,140 miles!! ironically my husband bought this car because he wanted to provide our teenage daughter with a safe car to drive! we are awaiting to hear if dealership will be able to get honda to pay for this. after reading so many complaints on this 1 website, they better or i will be contacting every media outlet until we get satisfaction! *tr

Cracked engine blockn !!!!!!!!!!!! 2006 honda civic ..........shame on you american honda for not issuing a recall yet !!!!!!!!!! shame on you !!!!!!!!! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while drive approximately 45-50 mph with the air conditioner activated, the blower would only blow hot air. the contact stated the vehicle began to hesitate as if it were attempting to stall but did not. the vehicle was examined by her personal mechanic who advised that the engine was fractured. the vehicle was not repaired and the contact stated the vehicle was no longer drivable. the vin was not available. the approximate failure and current mileages were 64,000.

Engine light consistently stays on dealer told me 1st time it needed a computer software up date 2nd time it overheated dealer told me it needed new thermostat. both times i had to pay for a diagnostic test plus parts & labor. the same day i picked it up the light came on again and stayed. after reading all the complaints on this year and model my vehicle has the same issues (engine & rear suspension) but honda always has an answer that never fixes the problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns 2006 honda civic ex. the contact was driving approximately 70 mph when the vehicle began to overheat. the contact pulled over and then took the vehicle to a repair shop where she was informed that the engine block had cracked. the contact had not spoken with the manufacturer or the dealer at the time of the complaint. the vehicle was not repaired. the current and failure mileages were approximately 118,000.

With out any warning my 2006 honda civic overheated i let it cool down added the 1 gallon it was down on coolant and drove it to the dealership {honda of the deseret in palm springs ca (i live in phoenixl,az) i was told it wasn't i hose but a pin hole size crack in my cylinder block that it was a manufacture casting defect and that it would be $ 4500 to replace the engine as i looked into this online i found hundreds of the same complaints honda is well aware of the flaw yet no recall but they did agree to pay for 90% of the repair still why should i pay $450 +tax $225 for a rental and an 8hr drive back and forth to palm springs please help us owners of 2006 honda civics. *tr

2006 honda civic hybrid with 58,000 miles and the electric assist motor is not working as designed. i have taken the car to the dealer 3 times and they have told me it is a software problem. the car is difficult to drive without the assist motor. i think a recall is in order. *tr

2006 honda civic hybrid -- this vehicle relies on battery assistance for an additional 20+ horsepower but is now severely compromised by battery degradation that honda is trying to cover up with a "software update" that only decreases vehicle's dependence on the battery thus ensures less horsepower than advertised. the car has become very dangerous due to the inability to rely on it responding appropriately when the accelerator is pressed, sudden losses of power, dying battery, and more. *tr

Vehicle overheated. engine cracked as a result after putting coolant back into radiator. vehicle has 56,000 miles on it. vehicle stopped directly in the middle of a highway! *tr