Hey guys,

My girlfriend just called me to let me know that her car, a 1999 Honda Civic, with only 72,000 and in very good condition, just shut off on her while she was driving. This is the 5th time it has happened to her in about 3 months. She is getting very frustrated as am I. This a safety concern.

She says the car shuts off for no reason. She coasts to a stop, puts it in park and tries to start it. It takes a few tries, then fires right up.

Other than that, the car always starts and drives great. Purrs like a kitten.

Thoughts??? Thanks in advance. I really appreciate it.

P.S. check engine light is not on.

 

did u ever do a tune up on the car. plugs ,wires, rotor, cap

 

yeah check the distributer cap, plugs and wires

 

This could be many, many things, but I dont' think cap, plugs and wires are among them. It does sound like an electrical problem though. The dizzy might be going out. This is another one of those things that are tough enough to diagnose if I had the car, let alone just reading about it.

 

You guys are all leaving out the fuel system, which could also be a problem. When the car shuts off, spray some carb cleaner into the intake. You said that after the car shuts off, it won't start again for a little bit, so this is when you wanna shoot the carb cleaner through there. The problem that is causing your car to shut off is prolly the same problem that stops it from starting up again. If the car starts with the carb cleaner, you have a fuel problem. If the car doesn't start you have a ignition problem.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I've been recently told by a fellow member that there was a recall on the ignition switch for the problems I described! Off to the stealership I go. I'll start there, then report back and tell you the results.