Problems with 2006 Honda Civic ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Last year i had to have the catalytic converter replaced due to failure and at that time i informed the honda dealer service technician hat the rpm's on the car were staying high even when the car was idle. the service tech said they checked the vehicle and could not replicate the issue and said they found nothing wrong with it. now here we are 16000 miles later and i have a transmission failure. the car makes a clicking noise while in gear no other symptoms at this point. i have taken it to the dealer and they are aware of the failure, but are only willing to help me with 25% of the bill because i performed my own transmission fluid change and the warranty is up. this is the third problem i have had with the car in the three years i have had it. *tr

My 2006 honda civic has a cracked engine block after only 84,000 highway miles on the car. the only indication i had of a problem was when my car overheated suddenly. when i checked the coolant level, there was nothing there--despite the fact that i'd had an oil change within the past 4 weeks and all fluids had been topped off then. my mechanic then discovered that coolant was leaking from a crack in the engine block. this is a serious safety issue. the problem comes on with virtually no warning, and i was lucky that the car did not break down in the middle of the highway. my mechanic could not think of any reason for this happening other than a manufacturer's defect. i am now in the process of getting the vehicle serviced by honda and applying for after-warranty assistance. i have read online that this has happened to numerous other 2006 honda owners. i also found that honda has issued a technical service bulletin (08-044) for this exact problem. if this is enough of a problem that the company has issued a bulletin to its service departments, why hasn't a recall or even an owner notification been issued? *tr

Car sounds like a baseball card stuck in a spoke. *tr

I have a 2006 honda civic and my air conditioner stopped working. im not sure quite when, as i didn't use my a/c all winter. at some point on a hot day in march of this year i went to turn it on and it simply did not work. i took it to south bay honda (where i purchased the car) and was told that a pebble hit the condenser, rendering my a/c useless. (wow. must have been some pebble)... i was told it is not covered by warranty. estimated cost: $1214.00 i did some online research and found hundreds of cases of honda vehicles with the exact same complaint about the a/c. this is an absolute design flaw!! the fragile condenser is not properly protected against debris like it should be. did honda, a supposedly "trustworthy" and "reputable" company, overlook the fact that road debris is unavoidable? seems that a simple protective screen would have solved the problem. this is going to continue to happen over and over again unless honda has a recall to fix the problem... or at the very least repair the problem on cars that are still under warranty. even if i was willing to pay for the repair, if left unprotected, the unit would be vulnerable to damage as soon as i drove away from the dealership! that is ridiculous! if a mere pebble can ruin the condenser, it should [xxx] well be protected! i want my a/c repaired - at no cost. my car is still under warranty (in fact i have an extended warranty). i would like them to repair or replace the condenser unit as well as install a protective device that should have been part of the vehicle design in the first place. the temperature is rising where i live, being in the 90's this past week. it can be torture to drive under these conditions! please help me resolve this!!!! *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

2006 honda civic lx with 78,000 miles began leaking coolant. had vehicle looked at honda service dept and informed it was due to a cracked block and would require a new engine. i have read multiple complaints about this same issue with honda civics 2006-2007 with mileage from anywhere between 13,000-120,000. it is reported to be a problem with the casting on this model. honda has a service bulletin (08-044) posted. no assistance offered from honda for repairs even though this is a known problem. *tr

I have a 2006 honda civic and the a/c went out because a rock hit the condenser. this is a product design flaw. *tr

I bought my 2006 honda civic in 2008 with 61000 miles on it. at 81000 miles the engine block has cracked. i went online and found numerous complaints about this problem and a service bulletin at honda recognizing this problem. i took my car to honda and am now being told it is my problem and they will not help to repair it. the cost is over 4000.00. *tr

I was driving my 2006 honda civic when i realize from steam engine and said that the indicator of engine temperature are in h (hot). call for road assistance to drag the car to honda de san juan and they(dealership) told me that the engine broke failure. this has happened twice and still in the honda dealership called honda de san juan in puerto rico and i spend 2 weeks and the car still in the same place waiting for a short block. *tr

My wife was driving to work one morning and as she was pulling into the parking lot she noticed that the temperature gauge was pegged on hot. the car was towed to our repair facility (specialists in honda/acura automobiles). the diagnosis was a cracked engine block which was corroborated by the local honda dealer where we had the car towed in order for honda to access the situation. the independent repair station that we originally took the car had looked up bulletins and found honda tsb 08-044, that was issued 7/25/08. we talked to honda and the repair amounts to $3,300. they have offered us to pay for the parts ($2,000) and us the labor ($1300). i have looked up this tsb on the internet and found many people (there's a posting of an '08 civic that had the same thing happen with 7,000 miles on it) . there were others at various mileages under the 60k, several over and one at 96k where that owner felt honda should pay for it. the offer honda made to us is unacceptable to both my wife and i and we think your organization should be made aware of the problem in case you haven't already. as far as i can find on the internet, there are many people unhappy with the way honda has handled this issue. we have had several honda vehicles and been very pleased with them up until now. we are awaiting a response from the escalation committee but i have my doubts as to what their response is going to be, so i decided to contact you now. *tr

I drive a 2006 honda civic, without warning, other than a burning smell a single day before, the remaining coolant sprayed out of the internal side of the engine block. recognized as a porous block, manufacturing defect in the aluminum casting of the block. this was played off as not common but investigations online proof this is an issue not addressed by honda. if i was in the desert on my way to la with my family, like we had planned a week after, it would have been a catastrophic failure the engine and disabled the car. i had to have the entire block and related parts replaced at a significant cost. this should be a recall for the initial model year for the civic in 2005-2006. i should be compensated for the expense and this should be investigated. *tr

While driving engine serpentine belt tensioner bolt broke. tensioner failed and belt locked up, causing loss of power steering and engine shut off causing a dangerous situation. car was towed to dealership. dealership replaced tensioner bolts. *tr

I backed up my car and liquid was leaking out at a fast rate. i immediately took my car to breakaway honda. they called and said my engine block was cracked. this is a 2006 car! i researched and found that this has happened to a large number of this make and model. i had to pay $881 and do not feel i should have had to pay anything. the car should have been recalled. *tr

Engine cracked in 2006 honda civic. honda admits that it is a defect but won't issue a recall. *tr

During warmer times of the year (60-90 f), my 2006 honda civic hybrid will suddenly lose 75-100% of the charge in the high-voltage hybrid ima battery without warning. the ima hybrid system then fails to function and leaves the vehicle dependent upon the internal combustion engine entirely for propulsion. while the battery does have safeguards built in to protect it during extremely high temperatures, in my personal experience, i have had the high voltage battery temporarily fail at temperatures as low as 60 degrees f, while garaged at my home or parked in a shaded, lower space in a parking deck. during colder periods, the problem appears intermittently at most. the vehicle must then recharge the high voltage battery, which can take varying amounts of time from several minutes to over a half hour. the ima hybrid system will function on a limited level when the hybrid battery is partially charged, though obtaining full function of the ima system following a "crash" can be a prolonged experience. this is a safety concern because the civic hybrid is markedly slower without the assistance of the electric motor, creating a hazard in adverse traffic conditions, such as when attempting to turn left across traffic. i have experienced at least 1 near miss when the electric assist failed without warning while attempting such a turn. currently, honda has not issued any tsbs or recalls regarding the issue. *tr

I have owned a 2006 honda civic ex for a little over 2 and a 1/2 years now. less than 6 months ago, i noticed that my vehicle was leaking engine coolant. i spoke with a technician at my dealership who told me to bring it in. when i did, they informed me that there was a "hair-line fracture" in the engine block that was causing engine coolant to leak and also to mix with the oil in the engine. my vehicle at the time had only 26,731 miles on it, so the dealership was able to repair my vehicle at no charge. on top of the engine trouble, i have also had to get the windshield wiper fluid pump replaced and also two sun visors inside the vehicle that fell apart replaced as well. all replacements, luckily, were provided at no cost by the dealership. *tr

Honda civic 2006 purchased in the fall of 2007, attempted to use the air in the summer of 2008 and nothing. took it back to the dealer who told me there was a pin hole in the condenser, probably caused by a small pebble, which in-turn caused all of the freon to leak out. they charged me $135.00 to fill it with freon only to watch it leak out again. the condenser, with the hole in it, is still on my car. full time student who cannot afford to fix it and of coarse it is not covered by the warranty. surprised? i was. *tr

I was driving on the freeway when i heard a squealing noise, then the smell of rubber burning, and then loss of power from the engine. when i pulled over, there was smoke coming out from the sides of the hood and i did not open it. i called aaa and they towed me to a dealership for the car to be repaired. when the dealer added engine coolant to the car, it ran right through and onto the ground. the dealer sent it out to a machine shop to see if the cylinder head could be saved. due to the extreme heat caused by lack of coolant, the dip stick melted as well as the spark plugs and other components of the engine. the dealer had to install a brand new engine block, cylinder head, new spark plugs, new timing chain and other parts. the cost was over $6000! it had only 80,000 miles on it and was 27 months old. i average 100 miles per day to get to and from work via the freeway, 3000 miles per month, 36,000 miles per year. i had the intermediate service done at 47000 miles and another one at 70000. i don't believe that after only 80000 miles an engine would give out like that. the "check engine" light and the maintenance minder on the dash never said anything about the engine overheating or no coolant. when i got home after the incident, i found a pool of bright blue fluid on the garage floor. i thought it was window washer fluid, but it was the engine coolant! dealer said it may have been a bad seal at the base of the coolant reservoir. the car took a little over a week to fix and it's running fine now. *tr

My 2006 honda civic has 55,000 miles on it. i went to drop my daughter off at karate when steam came out from under the hood. i brought it down the street to a certified mechanic, he looked at the car and found it had a cracked block. in his opinion it was the case of a defective casting. i contacted my dealer , and after fighting over who would pay for towing they towed it to the dealer they also confirmed that the block was cracked. they tried to make me pay for the defect and when their mechanic found out the car has a 5 year 60,000 mile warranty they turned around and will replace the engine for free. my concern is if this happens when driving there was so much steam that i probably would not see where i was driving. *tr

After about 50,000 driving miles, beginning in august 2008, the ima (integrated motor assist) electric assist motor in my 2006 honda civic hybrid has been acting erratically. since that time, the ima battery that powers the assist motor has been unpredictable. it sometimes would fully discharge, and the car would run only on the underpowered 1.3 l gas engine. the car is very sluggish, causing safety issues when acceleration is needed in city or interstate driving. i have spoken to both dealerships in town whom both ?duplicated? my issue but were unaware of how to fix it. i have stayed in contact with american honda directly since august and today was reinforced the idea that my car has absolutely no problems whatsoever and is working within normal circumstances and my battery tests fine. i explained to him that a battery can test sporadically based on various reasons. he refused to give me any other explanation, contact information, supervisor information, etc. i am very concerned that the problem will cause an accident when acceleration is needed and the ima will not work properly. the car when unassisted properly by the electric power motor only produces sub-100 horsepower and does not properly accelerate when needed, especially in situations such a merging onto a highway or making right hand turns. *tr

While backing up at approximately 2mph the engine revved up to about 3,000rpms for 2-3 seconds. my foot was firmly on the brake pedal when this occurred. i shifted into park and the revving stopped. *tr

2006 honda civic hybrid during hot weather the air conditioning was operated on the coldest setting, this caused the high voltage battery to loose charge .when i went to accelerate into traffic the car lost power and had trouble getting up to speed (i was almost hit by another car coming up in the lane) the car was taken into the dealer on 7/17, 8/14, 8/18, 8/27, 9/9 through 9/30/08 during which time no problems were found with the car. on 9/30/08 i took a test drive with the technician and within 5 minutes he was able to duplicate the failure. upon returning to the dealer his manager told him not to document his findings because honda, although aware of the problem, did not know how to fix it. because they would not fix the problem and because i could not sell the car with this problem to someone else i traded the car in. i later found the car on the used car lot for sale. *tr

1. according to the mechanic, a random road pebble put a hole in our car's air conditioner condenser unit. 2. the air conditioning unit does not work; 3. the dealer says the damage is not covered under warranty and will cost $800 to replace the condenser. we have not replaced the unit as we feel this is a design flaw that should be covered by the car manufacturer. based on our research, this is a widespread problem among honda vehicles. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact spent three hours at the dealer before he was informed that they did not have the parts to repair his vehicle for nhtsa campaign id number 07v034000 (engine and engine cooling). there had been no failure to date. the vin, engine size, number of cylinders, and powertrain were unknown. the current mileage was 11,193.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. while at the dealer for a routine inspection and oil change, the vehicle was found to be normal. later that same night, while stopping at a traffic light, the engine shut off and the vehicle stalled. the vehicle restarted minutes later, but would stall every time she came to a complete stop. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and the engine's air filter was cleaned. the failure was due to the filter being extremely dirty. the old filter was placed back in the vehicle and there had been no further occurrences. a local mechanic stated that the failure possibly derived from a defective brake light switch that sends signals to the vehicle's computer regulating the engine speed. the manufacturer stated that the failure would have to be duplicated before they could offer a solution. the powertrain was unknown. the failure mileage was 29,880 and current mileage was 29,914.

After about 16 months of owning the car, beginning in october 2007, the ima (integrated motor assist) electric assist motor in my 2006 honda civic hybrid has been acting erratically. an warning light came on due to ima problems, and some components of the ima computer and control system were replaced (i am not sure if any of the old parts are still available). since that time, the ima battery that powers the assist motor has been unpredictable. it sometimes would fully discharge, and the car would run only on the underpowered 1.3 l gas engine. the car is very sluggish, causing safety issues when acceleration is needed in city or interstate driving. the problem is worse in warmer weather, 85 degrees or higher. since the problem first was observed in early october 2007, some parts and components have been replaced by the dealership. on october 29, 2007 they replaced the mcm relay and the battery control unit. around july 9, 2008 the original ima battery was replaced with a new experimental ima battery. on september 5, 2008 the oxygen sensor was replaced at the suggestion of another civic hybrid owner who thought that replacing the sensor on his civic had helped some of the erratic behavior. however the service manager of the dealership admitted to me that american honda cannot fix the problems that my car has. he tells me that the problems are due to a change in programming of the software that controls the ima, a problem that started with the software updates installed on my car in october, 2007. he says that honda is working on a new software update to address the problems, but no one has an idea of when it will be available. the only suggestion that was given to me was "when you run the air conditioning, direct the vents upwards toward the ceiling to send the cold air back toward the ima battery". i am very concerned that the problem will cause an accident when acceleration is needed and the ima will not work properly. *tr

I own a 2006 honda civic. while driving i noticed the a/c was not throwing cool air. i took the car to the dealer in brandon fl. the dealer stated that the condenser to the a/c was damaged due to a road hazard, something striking it through the grill. my car was still under warranty. i was told this was not covered under warranty. the repair bill that i paid was over $400.00. my concern was addressed to a district manager, he stated that due to a road hazard honda would not pay. i believe that a poor design feature by the manufacturer should not cost me. *tr

1)air conditioning stops working 2)dealer reports a hole in the a/c condenser caused by rock 3)can't afford correction. *tr

On 8/24/07 my 2006 honda civic ex with only 12,107 miles on it began making a squealing noise. two minutes later there was a noise, power steering was lost and car stalled. dealer said the water pump and pulley broke, and they were both replaced. parts were back ordered, however, and i was without my car for over a week. the dealer said they hadn't seen much of this problem, but the fact that the parts were back ordered indicated to them that this type of repair was a problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda civic. the contact experienced failure with the motor in her vehicle. when she started the vehicle and put on the seat belt, she noticed that the motor would pull really fast as if it would move forward. while at a stop light, the motor revved extremely fast and the vehicle jerked forward. the contact turned off the motor. on one occasion, the motor even caused the vehicle to accelerate backwards. she took the vehicle to the dealer three times, but they could not find the source of the failure. the current mileage was 20,965 and failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

While going home the car jerked lost all power and started smoking. i called the so called honda roadside assistance and they told me its late on sunday what do you want me to do. leave the car where its at and we will try to pick it up tomorrow i paid the tow. it turned out the belt tensioner bolt broke taking out the water pump , tensioner, crank shaft pulley, and the belt car had 17,000 miles and i had to pay the tow. *tr

The mileage at the time was 26,368. we went on a trip with the car and on the way we noticed it was leaking antifreeze so we took it to the closest dealership on 5/26/7. they replaced the small engine block and told us that it was a defect from the manufacturer. we received the car back on 6/11/7. then on 7/2/7 we went to visit a relative about 60 miles away and the car started making a loud noise when you turned and the car kept trying to stall. mileage at time 27,785. we had it towed to the dealership and the dealership had to replace the serpentine belt, replaced the water pump pulley and removed broken portion of the tensioner bolt from the engine block and retapped hole. we received the car back on 7/9/7. on 1/5/8 the car started making a loud noise and once again was towed to the dealership, mileage at time 38,897. the same thing happened again. the tensioner bolt broke and then it made the tensioner hit the water pump pulley and grinded both of them to each other. they replaced the belt tensioner/pulley. *tr

Lower water-pump-belt-tensioner bolt broke off in block. stopping car in heavy traffic causing a rear-end accident. *jb

2006 honda civic at the time of incident had 36,929 miles on it. vehicle lost all power. dealership found water pump broke,causing the serpentine belt to snap and the tension rod to break. there were no signs of problems before the vehicle broke down. vehicle started to smoke. honda dealership had to replace water pump, serpentine belt and tension rod. dealership felt water pump should not have broken at this mileage. i was advised later by another dealership that honda had casting problem with engine block. same thing happened to the boss, engine block cracked and had to be replaced. the honda was the same year and approximately the same mileage. *ak

Within the last year i have noticed a leak on the back side of the engine while changing oil in my wife's 2006 civic. first time, the dealer told me it was a leaky oil pan gasket bolt which they tightened. this time i am told the power steering pump is leaking and will need to be replaced. the car is 18 months old with 51,000 miles on it. the honda dealer is currently repairing the car for $470 by replacing the power steering pump. this should not be happening on a year this old! *tr

While driving at highway speeds, my cars instrument panel went blank, all gauges went out. this is an electronic panel. in addition, the cars engine lost all power. i had to coast to the side of the road. there was no indication that the car was running. it is a hybrid and it felt like it was in the auto stop mode when you are at a light, the engine was not running (at least you could not tell it was running). i turned the cars ignition off and then restarted the car. it started up again and the gauges were working and i was able to continue driving. i brought the car to the dealer and explained the symptoms. they checked the computer for error codes and found none. they were not able to find anything wrong. this is a safety hazard since the car is not drivable when this occurs. i expressed my concerned to the service manager and he stated that there were to many computers and wires for then to check them all and we would have to wait until it happened again. this occurred one other time while the car was in the drive way during the winter idling. when we got in the car after a few minutes, we noticed that all gauges were out. again, turning the ignition off and restarting the car cleared the problem. *tr

In the past you did a recall for the 2006 honda civic hybrid regarding a battery connector which you state may cause the motor to fail and cause a crash. at the moment i am uploading a video to you tube under user 10p6 regarding a problem which causes not only the ima motor to fail, but the regenerative braking, brakes, abs steering, and even the airbags. even then it can cause the lights to fail and vehicle to roll when in park. i have provided honda (corporate and south tacoma honda) with videos in the past but they refuse to do anything stating the vehicle is fine. it is not! it is deadly! please investigate urgently. i am posting this on the net so people can see the dangers which honda hides; soon i will tell them the one simple problem which may kill them. *tr

Tl* - the contact called regarding the 2006 honda civic hybrid. the contact received recall 07v034000 for an integrated motor assist cable. the contact had been placed on a waiting list to receive the part. the failure mileage was 19000. the contact had not experienced any failures with the vehicle to date. the current mileage was 19000.*ak

1. intermittent problem with the autostop feature. when slowing to a stop, autostop engages as designed but when the car comes to a complete stop, the car shutters and the autostop disengages. 2. when driving 20 mph and below, car will frequently jerk and/or rpms will jump to 2000 and remain there until acceleration or braking. *tr

I just found out 10/23/2009 that my 2006 honda civic has a crack in the short block. mind you i take very very good care of my vehicle and i take it to honda for routine maintance. i have read over 100 post on different websites that have the same problem. i was so amazed and speechless. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated when going up a steep hill, the vehicle lost power. the contact put the vehicle into reverse in order to get enough speed to make it back up the hill. if the vehicle went less than 20 mph, the vehicle lost power. this happened intermittently. the dealership could not duplicate the problem.

Three times while i have been driving my car my auto tensioner has broken due to a poor design by honda. they only cover fixing it under warrenty. when it happens i lose all functioning of my belt including power steering, alternater, and water pump. luckily in each instance i was not doing a turn or had a steep turning comming up but i would not have been able to if there was one and it would result in a crash or the car overturning possibly. there was no warning and each of the 3 times it happened suddenly where i hear a sound and my battery light turns on. i took it to midas to repair it and in each case it happened again in a week or less. honda knew about the issue but did not even warn me or warn midas about the part needing to be replaced until the 3rd incident. *tr

At about 11,000 miles when the vehicle was 6 months old, the engine light came on for no apparent reason. from that point forward, the problems began to escalate. the vehicle engine began to reduce the speed of the vehicle from 75 to 50, 50 to 35 and on another occasion, 45 to 25 while merging into traffic on the interstate. on all occasions, the vehicle was being driven on the interstate at high speeds. the vehicle is a manual transmission. the service department at the dealership where the vehicle was purchased on 2/2006 finally conceded that they could not fix the vehicle. the vehicle was referred to american honda corporation for mediation and a buy back price. at this point in time, the vehicle meets all test requirements for the north carolina lemon law. american honda wants to trade in the vehicle and replace the engine, then resell.. honda civic sedan with navigation. this vehicle should be destroyed and not resold on the marketplace. *jb

Vehicle temperature rose and learned all coolant had leaked out. turns out after honda looked at engine casing cracked. engine has 80,000 miles but there are people experiencing the same issue at 30,000. *tr

While driving engine serpentine belt tensioner bolt broke in engine block. tensioner failed and belt came off of pulleys, causing loss of power steering and engine shut off. car was towed to dealership. dealership replaced tensioner bolts, pulleys, and serpentine belt. same failure occurred on september 4, 2006 while driving. car again towed to dealership. dealership diagnosed same failure with tensioner bolts. manufacturer has updated bolts to fix failure, but new parts on backorder for unspecified period of time. *nm

2006 honda civic engine died while driving. customer states that the engine stalled and it was the dealers fault for when she had an oil change and they forgot to put oil in it. *kb the consumer stated there were two more incidents where the engine slowed and was very sluggish and the vehicle had to be towed back to the dealer. the consumer stated the driver's side window was not closing properly, the rear passenger door seal was coming apart, the brakes, rear door weather strip, and tail light were all replaced. *tr

The vehicle idled in my driveway for 1-2 minutes. i backed the vehicle down the driveway. i put my foot on the brake and shifted into drive. the vehicle unexpectedly revved up to 3-4000 rpm without pressing the accelerator. as my foot was firmly on the brake, the vehicle did not move. i took the vehicle to a dealership. the dealership checked the vehicle and test drove it. they could not find a problem or replicate the incident. no repairs were made to the vehicle. *nm

About 2 months ago, the air conditioning on my 2006 honda civic stopped working. i called the dealer closest to my home garden state honda in clifton and brought the car in for service. i spoke with sardi, a customer service representative and was told by the mechanic there was a rock embedded in the condenser and for $780 dollars they could replace it. there was no warranty protection for this year-old part! i then spoke to the service manager at the dealership. reluctantly, the dealer admitted that this was not the only 2006 civic that had seen this kind of damage. a little investigation on google revealed that this is a fairly common problem: honda's design puts the fragile aluminum ac condenser in a location that can easily receive damage. there is no rock shield or any other guard to prevent this from happening. this is a clear and obvious design flaw, one that must be protected under warranty. the dealer informed me that even if he made the repair, another rock would inevitably hit the condenser without a shield and i'd end up paying $780 all over again. the car is under warranty; honda has a major design flaw and should protect its customers. the dealer should fix the problem. i called the honda corporate office to file a complaint. i was told after waiting 2 weeks that honda would not fix the condenser. 8tr