Ok I have seen a lot of similar problems like mine posted but not exactly the same thing so I figured I would just ask. I have a 2005 Civic that had front end damage and was completely repaired. Shortly after this my temperature gauge started reading hot and the engine has shown no signs of overheating. This always seems to happen when stopping in traffic and such. Sometimes it won’t do it for a week and others it will do it everyday. I seem to be able to get the gauge back down by turning the car on and off while driving and the gauge usually just drops almost instantly to normal. Also my heat is only working while the car is moving. The last problem is that sometimes when driving in the city the car seems to shudder a bit when shifting into first and second gear. Any help would be great; I have ignored it long enough.

 

Because occasionally your heater doesn't work and the temperature gauge reads high, I think that your engine may actually intermittently overheat due to a stuck-closed thermostat. Therefore, your problem may be solved by replacing the thermostat (see picture).

 

First check the coolant level. If you don't have enough one of the first signs is the engine tends to overhea and the heater doesn't always work. With the engine cold take the cap off the radiator itself and make sure it is full. Don't just look at the plastic bottle and assume the radiator is full, check both.

If you have to keep putting coolant in the radiator and it doesn't move in and out of the bottle like it should, replace the radiator cap and also inspect the hose between the two. A very small hole in the hose will cause coolant to migrate to the bottle and stay there, the radiator becoming empty.

 

Thanks for all the recommindations. The fans are kicking on intermittently however they isn't one of them suppose to kick on when I turn the air on? They turn on a for short burst it seems here and there but niether of them kick on when I turn the air on. Also I put some more fluid it in but it wasn't that low, less then a 1/4 of a gallon was used in my bottle and maybe even less. The heat did seem to work a little better for a bit on the ride home and stayed on longer when I was stopped but as soon as I got home it pretty much faded when I stopped. I will keep an eye on the radiator to make sure it stays full. Thanks and any other help would be great. I would like to avoid replacing the thermostat if possible but if that is what needs to done then I will do.

 

Replacing the thermostat is easy and its cheap. Since you had an accident, make sure your radiator is in good shape. Also, you may have to bleed the air out your cooling system. I would think this is your problem because the hesitation and the heating problems that you are experiencing. I usually warm up my engine with rad cap off to bleed any air out.

 

I have a 2004 with the 1.7 liter engine. The car does OK on short trips, but begins to warm up after about a half an hour of driving. The radiator cooling fan wasn't working, so I replaced that. Also the cooling fan switch, the thermostat and the radiator cap. The water pump has maybe 40,000 miles on it.

This seems to be consistent with air pockets in the cooling system, but I am unable to find the bleed screw. I have searched all around where the hoses attach to the block, but can't seem to find it.

It has also been suggested that I change the radiator. I tried flushing it, but no help there. It appears that I need to remove part of the grill assembly, but can't figure out how to get it off. Any ideas?

I am new to this forum, and can't seem to find out how you post a new message. This thread seemed closest to what I am experiencing, so I hopped onto this one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I just registered with this forum because my problem is EXACTLY the same as the original post. I have had the thermostat changed, I've filled the radiator with coolant and allowed all the bubbles to escape through the radiator funnel. It hasnt had a problem in awhile and now its happening again. My mechanic is considering that I might have bent the axle when I hit the mother of all pot holes. Is there maybe some vent that could have been damaged?

Civic was perfect before this pot hole, impact blew the tire and bet the rim. I got a nice wheel as well. Please help.