I'm having a problem that my mechanic can't resolve (not for lack of trying but because the problem only occurs intermittently for him). I have a 2002 Honda Civic. I have a long commute each day (approx. 35 miles). Recently, during the hottest part of the day, my engine will stutter (the car jerks as if total loss of power), the lights in my dash from the shift indicator to the left which includes the tachometer and temp gauge will blink out, and the engine light will come on. Initially the problem only occurred over a 2-3 second time period and then the engine light goes out and the dashboard comes back on. When I took it in to my mechanic the problem would not occur for him. I got the spark plugs replaced and the engine flushed. But there was no code in the computer! Flash forward 2 weeks and the problem occurred again, but this time instead of 2-3 seconds, it was 30-35 minutes with the engine light on and serious underpower of the accelerator. I almost pulled over but realized that I might be stuck in the middle of nowhere. I limped home at approx 10-15 miles under the speed limit and when I came to hills the car would give little surges and power was lost. When I got home (after hours for the mechanic), I stopped, turned the engine off, waited for about a minute and then restarted. No problems - the engine light was off, the dashboard was working and plenty of power. I took the car to the mechanic and again, no code in the computer. He's had it 2 days and only got to experience "the problem" for the 2-3 second occurrence. However, even then, no code. He's worked on it going over various wires and noticed that if he thumped on the dashboard, the tach would jump. He thinks it's the cluster (?) but doesn't want to replace it if that's not causing the problem. I'm going to plan on leaving work timely to drive to the mechanic's garage if the problem re-occurs so that he can scan the computer for problems. Has anybody had this problem?

 

Did he check the battery and alternator? Sometimes an intermittent bad cell will cause all kinds of weird electrical issues. Bad or intermittant ground connections can do the same.