I have a high mileage Civic EX (112k) that with a cracked block.
Sunday I smelled coolant and checked it out to find a puddle under the car.
The next day I took it to the dealer service department and they said it was an "O" ring in the coolant pipe, no mention of a cracked block, how could they miss that ? I drove off after 400 dollars departed my bank only to have the engine light come on immediately. I took it back to the dealer and they reexamined and found that the block was cracked.
Here is the history: 112k mostly highway miles in the last 2.5 years (11/05 purchased) all maintenance on time and at same dealer.
I hear rumors of a casting problem with these engine blocks anyone know anything. This could be big problem.
You are NOT F'd. I have a 06 Civic EX. I have 80k on the clock. I discovered this problem with my car as well this past week. As we are high mileage drivers we are probably the first to encounter this issue first.
After getting mine serviced with a tranny fluid change and oil change on 5/6/08 I discovered a coolant burning smell coming from under my hood on 5/8/08. I noticed blue fluid leaking from somewhere but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.
I knew it was between the radiator and the front side of the engine block. I couldn't really pinpoint where it was at first. I immediately got paranoid because i knew the smell of burning coolant as I've had problems before when i had a 94 Rx7. I then bought antifreeze from walmart to fill up from the radiator but it seemed full. and the reserve tank was empty. I didn't fill the reserve. I kind of shrugged it off maybe thinking it was a fluke like the service guys accidentally spilled some coolant or some fluid on my engine when it got serviced.
but then I parked inside my garage yesterday and pulled out about 15 mins later and discovered a blue fluid on my garage floor. I smelled it and couldnt really smell the sweet smell of coolant. It also felt oily. I thought it was transmission fliud and maybe the service guys didnt cap off my tranny after filling it up, but I soon discovered that tranny fluid is red for our civic.
I called my dealership service manager up and left a voice mail this morning that I was concerned about what happened to my car and with the prior service I had. I thought maybe it was a mistake they made and such.
I showed up at my dealerships service dept. and showed them my receipt and my problem I discovered over the past few days. The service manager soon arrived, introduced himself and personally lifted the car and took a look at it. He immediately pulled me into the garage and showed me it was probably a hose leak.
After doing a pressure test on the coolant system they discovered a hairline fracture on the front side of the engine block. Just to the right of the exhaust manifold.
He told me it was a manufacture defect when Honda molded the casing and they will replace it at American Honda's cost.
I love my dealership.
So as we high mileage drivers are the first to encounter this I'm sure more are to follow in the next years coming up. PM me.