Hello everyone,

I have tried a number of times to figure this out and I am at the end of my short rope on it. I have a 1997 Honda Civic HX (that’s the v-tec-e engine) shortly after I got it, it I changed the oil, plugs, filters (fuel, air and oil) and checked everything else. I was given a set of plugs for a EX, which didn’t seem to work right. When I was driving along at a constant speed, say 60, it would feel like the engine would mis-fire. It would feel like a hiccup. So after I found that NAPA gave me the wrong plugs I got the right ones and everything seemed to be fine.

Now, I received a notice a few months back, stating that my car was recalled for an emissions update, they would change the oil, plugs, wires, and filter for free. I set it aside until I got a “check engine” light about a month ago. The error code was a mis-fire, so I called a dealer and they said they would fix it for free (under warranty) and change all the things in the recall too. While there they gave me a HUGE list of things that are “wrong” with my car. They said that they also got an EGR valve error, so they cleaned that all out. I was already planning to fix a couple of them. I had an appointment to change the timing belts, water pump and the front end seals. The dealer said the water pump was leaking badly (later found to not be true). After getting the car back from all the repairs, the hiccup is back. I pulled the plugs and they had put the right ones in, but they were very black, so I threw in some new ones, and that is where I am now.

I have to wonder, if the plugs were right, then what the hell is going on. Remember that with it as a HX the O2 sensors (thought to be the issue) are like $400+ (the infamous 5 wire ones). I was thinking that EGR valve may be bad, or timing off (had belts changed). If anyone has ideas please throw them around, car runs now, but the hiccups are annoying.

 

Does the Check Engine Light again stay ON? If so, retrieve the code as detailed at this website:

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1901557

 

I HAVE A 94 HATCH VX VTEC-E AND I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM IF IM IN A HIGH GEAR IN LOW RPM'S IT HICCUPS BAD I FIGURE IT COULD BE THE CAT CLOGGED. SO I AM GOIN TO CHANGE MY EXHAUST MANI BECAUSE THE CAT IS BUILT INTO THE MANI. BUT IF YOU FIND OUT WHAT IS CAUSING IT LET ME KNOW OR IF I FIGURE IT OUT ILL LET YOU KNOW

 

The light is not on any more, they told me that it is covered under warranty, and they "repaired" the issue.

The light error reading was "misfire on 2 and 4" and "EGR - exhaust gas recirculation lift valve"

 

As you mentioned, it might be a good idea to check that the timing is set correctly. You also might want to replace the distributor cap and rotor.

 

yeah, I guess I will start replacing things until I find it, likely do wires last since they are the most money.

 

on my 94 hatch cap,plugs,wires,rotor,fuel filter, have all been replaced i have no cel on vtec works
it just hiccups.my 91 hf hatch did the exact same thing before and 1 day i pulled engine out and put into a new shell. i used the exhaust mani from the new shell and and it s ecu after swap never hiccuped again. i think its in the hf,vx,hx exhaust manifold.

 

Ok, so after trying the plugs, testing the wires, and checking the roter and cap, I tried something I should have thought of first. I checked the timing. It was WAY off, like 7-8 degrees. I adjusted as best I could, and now it runs just fine.

Tip: check your ignition timing too, but do it by the book, (by-pass the service check, turn off all power, warm up car first) and see where that is. Easy proceedure.

Funny thing, called Beaverton Honda, talked to their tech guy, he had no idea where the service check plug was.... no wonder my car ran like crap after I got it back.

Thanks for the tips guys