2006 Civic Coupe/Cracked Engine/Magnetic Coils BIG PROBLEM
Greetings!
I've been reading this blog for a couple of weeks now and have noticed it grow with many 06 and 07 Civic owners. I can identify with most of these entries.
Sorry to say, but my 2006 Civic Coupe with 33,000 miles on it joins the ranks of this blog! Get this, I've been towed three times in the last three weeks! Story follows:
On Sat, July 5, while driving home from Ventura to Palm Springs, lost all power while on the I10 freeway. AAA towed me late Sat PM 40 miles to dealer (Honda of the Desert of Cathedral City is great!). Tow truck driver said my dipstick melted in the engine. Left my car at the dealer over weekend. I thought it was an oll leak, turned out to be something much worse!
On Monday, July 7 service dept at dealer said it was a cracked engine block and it would need to be replaced (THANK GOD MY CAR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTEE!) It took 10 days to replace (they gave me a loaner), and I rx'd my car on Tues, July 15 with new engine.
Drove my car to Phoenix on Thurs, July 17 when, in the middle of rush hour traffic, and in the left hand lane, my car lost almost all power! Managed to fight my way off to a sidestreet in a shady neighborhood with engine sputtering and parked at a convience store (two locals wanted to know if I wanted to buy any drugs!). Two and a half hours later, AAA towed me to local dealer in Chandler, AZ (Santan Honda was great too, but.....!).
On Sat, July 18 they replaced one of the four magnetic coils that fire the spark plugs (I was under the impression that one magnetic coil fired all four plugs, WRONG! There is one coil for each plug! I think that they should have replaced all four coils and knowing what I know now, I would have demanded it). I asked dealer if my orignal engine overheating could have had anything to do with the coil malfunctioning. He said that he's replaced these kind of coils before, but because the engine was hot enough to melt the dipstick, it could have contributed to their failure. Car drove fine for ten days when.....
On Weds, July 30, after leaving work, my car began sputtering and lost almost all power again. I needed, yet again, to be towed to the dealer.
Today, Friday, Aug 1, I rx'd my car back from the dealer. They replaced all four magnetic coils. Car seems to be driving fine at this time, however........
I have lost all confidence in my car and, for example, would never loan my car to somebody I know or love. I feel I could be putting them in danger if the car broke down on either the freeway or in a bad neighborhood. Sad to say, but I've placed the Honda dealer and AAA into the speed dial on my cell phone! Who would ever think of having to do that?
Based on my experiences, I have a couple of very, very important items of interest that all 06 and 07 Civic owners should know about : PLEASE PASS THE WORD AROUND!
Check with your dealer. Is your engine block in danger of cracking? How do they know that for sure? Get it verified! You do not want to put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation or the BS i've went through!!
If you do not have an extended warrantee, GET ONE! I checked with my Honda dealer, they told me they can get me a 6 year, 100,000 mile warrantee for $1595, but I have to do it before the car reaches 36,000 miles! (There goes my summer vacation!)
I've checked into the California Lemon Law. I've also called Honda North American customer service (but as of today, been playing phone tag). I want to know what Honda plans to do about my situation. Would they give me my money back? Would they replace the car with an 08 Civic? Can I at least get a written guarantee that the car will never break down again? Can I get at least an extended warrantee for free?
I've paid my car off two and a half years early. I feel they owe me something. I'm just a regular guy (high school history teacher) who wanted a reliable car with no car payments so I can have more money buy a house.
Anixoulsy looking forward to your comments! Thanks!