08 civic warm up issues

-35C here this morning.

My daily commute is about 35kms, mostly highway. I started the car
and allowed it to run for about 5 minutes. The block heater was
plugged in, so no excuses for being too cold. After the brief warmup,
its about 100ft to the highway, then highway speeds.

The temp gauge never moved the whole way to the city (20kms). I
finally got it to go to about 1/4 by running in a lower gear at higher
RPM, but it normally runs around 1/2. And when I came to red lights
in the city, the temp gauge would go down to 0 within a minute.

Called the dealer today, and just like every other problem I have
(touchy brakes, rattles), 'its normal operation' and he recommended I
don't run the heater fan at full blast. Problem is, at 1/2, the
heater barely warms up the interior of the car. However, with the
heater fan running slower, I was able to get the car to the normal
spot on the gauge after about 25 minutes.

We got this 2008 civic LX in January 2007. Never noticed any problems
last winter, but it really was never this cold either. The car has
32000kms on it, 2 oil changes.

I have checked the coolant level in the radiator and the resevoir, and
both are perfectly fine. Entertained damming the radiator with
cardboard, however, the outside surface of the rad is not accessible
without removing one of the plastic shrouds on the bumper. At these
temps, its not enjoyable to be outside working on this, and besides,
the plastic clips would just break due to the temperature (already
broke 1).

I have seen some Civic hybrid forums talk about using pipe insulation
from Home Depot to block the openings in the grill. I may try that
yet, but I just have this feeling that something is wrong. I have
owned many Hondas, and have never had a problem with the vehicle
reaching operating temperature.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Anything I am missing here?

Thanks
Terry in Winnipeg

loewent > wrote in news:0fd0771f-d87b-448a-85aa-
:

<snip>

>
> Has anyone else experienced this problem? Anything I am missing here?
>
> Thanks
> Terry in Winnipeg
>



-35C is -31F. That is awfully cold. Still, if you can't get decent heat
after 15 miles of driving, I think you have a defective thermostat.

Rather than fooling with this yourself, your dealer should replace the
thermostat under the warranty that you are still very much within.

You paid for that warranty as part of the purchase price of your car, so
use it.

If the dealer gives you the runaround, call Honda Canada directly. The
phone number is in your warranty manual. In case you can't locate that, the
number is 1-888-946-6329. Their hours are 8 to 7:30 eastern time.

My mama grew up in Winnipeg (West Kildonan), and she has told me horror
stories of the cold out there!
My wife's mother was born in Alberta. It's even COLDER there. She was an
elementary school teacher (retired last year). Yard duty at 40-below is no
fun at all. That's right, the kids were in the schoolyard through recess
even at 40-below.

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

If you car over heats in the summer, it's somtimes recommnded to turn
heater on and the fan on full to help cool the motor in an emergency.

I think the dealer was right about Not running the fan on full, at
least not until the car heats up first.
Keep the fan in the middle till then.
Bg

I've lived in this climate all my life. The first thing you do when
you start your car in the morning is turn the heat and fan to FULL
BLAST because its EFFEN COLD.

I don't drive a Kia, I drive a Honda. I expect they would design the
vehicle to function properly in cold weather, as they are selling cars
in this climate.

t

On Jan 15, 12:14*am, wrote:
> If you car over heats in the summer, it's somtimes recommnded to turn
> heater on and the fan on full to help cool the motor in an emergency.
>
> I think the dealer was right about Not running the fan on full, at
> least not until the car heats up first.
> Keep the fan in the middle till then.
> Bg

loewent > wrote in news:6ff4fbbb-17b7-4d39-9a02-
:

> I've lived in this climate all my life. The first thing you do when
> you start your car in the morning is turn the heat and fan to FULL
> BLAST because its EFFEN COLD.
>
> I don't drive a Kia, I drive a Honda. I expect they would design the
> vehicle to function properly in cold weather, as they are selling cars
> in this climate.



They do, of course.

It is true, though, that turning the interior heater on cools the engine,
and may cool it excessively in very cold weather. However, the thermostat's
job is to keep shut until the engine has reached full operating temerature,
which WILL eventually happen in spite of anything the heater core is doing.

If your dealer is proving to be an idiot and you've made numerous attempts
to have the car looked at, you need to call Honda Canada.

You can also ask the dealer to look and see if there are any TSBs on this
issue. I find it absolutely astounding how often they fail to do this
simple check. I see nothing on my end, but my docs are not complete.




--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

On Jan 14, 9:56*pm, loewent > wrote:
> -35C here this morning.
>
> My daily commute is about 35kms, mostly highway. *I started the car
> and allowed it to run for about 5 minutes. *The block heater was
> plugged in, so no excuses for being too cold. *After the brief warmup,
> its about 100ft to the highway, then highway speeds.
>
> The temp gauge never moved the whole way to the city (20kms). *I
> finally got it to go to about 1/4 by running in a lower gear at higher
> RPM, but it normally runs around 1/2. *And when I came to red lights
> in the city, the temp gauge would go down to 0 within a minute.
>
> Called the dealer today, and just like every other problem I have
> (touchy brakes, rattles), 'its normal operation' and he recommended I
> don't run the heater fan at full blast. *Problem is, at 1/2, the
> heater barely warms up the interior of the car. *However, with the
> heater fan running slower, I was able to get the car to the normal
> spot on the gauge after about 25 minutes.
>
> We got this 2008 civic LX in January 2007. *Never noticed any problems
> last winter, but it really was never this cold either. *The car has
> 32000kms on it, 2 oil changes.
>
> I have checked the coolant level in the radiator and the resevoir, and
> both are perfectly fine. *Entertained damming the radiator with
> cardboard, however, the outside surface of the rad is not accessible
> without removing one of the plastic shrouds on the bumper. *At these
> temps, its not enjoyable to be outside working on this, and besides,
> the plastic clips would just break due to the temperature (already
> broke 1).
>
> I have seen some Civic hybrid forums talk about using pipe insulation
> from Home Depot to block the openings in the grill. *I may try that
> yet, but I just have this feeling that something is wrong. *I have
> owned many Hondas, and have never had a problem with the vehicle
> reaching operating temperature.
>
> Has anyone else experienced this problem? *Anything I am missing here?
>
> Thanks
> Terry in Winnipeg

Hi live in Winnipeg too and my 2001 honda civic is doing exactly the
same thing. Please let me know if you find out what is causing this
to happen.

Tegger wrote:
> loewent > wrote in news:0fd0771f-d87b-448a-85aa-
> :
>
> <snip>
>
>> Has anyone else experienced this problem? Anything I am missing here?
>>
>> Thanks
>> Terry in Winnipeg
>>
>
>
>
> -35C is -31F. That is awfully cold. Still, if you can't get decent heat
> after 15 miles of driving, I think you have a defective thermostat.
>
> Rather than fooling with this yourself, your dealer should replace the
> thermostat under the warranty that you are still very much within.
>
> You paid for that warranty as part of the purchase price of your car, so
> use it.
>
> If the dealer gives you the runaround, call Honda Canada directly. The
> phone number is in your warranty manual. In case you can't locate that, the
> number is 1-888-946-6329. Their hours are 8 to 7:30 eastern time.
>
> My mama grew up in Winnipeg (West Kildonan), and she has told me horror
> stories of the cold out there!
> My wife's mother was born in Alberta. It's even COLDER there. She was an
> elementary school teacher (retired last year). Yard duty at 40-below is no
> fun at all. That's right, the kids were in the schoolyard through recess
> even at 40-below.
>
Hi,
Manitoba winter beats Alberta winter for sure. We have Chinook. Today it
is +5C and +10C tomorrow. I think that Civic has wrong or bad thermostat.
Speaking from Cagary Alberta.

Tegger wrote:
> loewent > wrote in news:0fd0771f-d87b-448a-85aa-
> :
>
> <snip>
>
>> Has anyone else experienced this problem? Anything I am missing here?
>>
>> Thanks
>> Terry in Winnipeg
>>

Wow, what a coincidence. I've had my 06 Civic into my dealership three
times in the past month for the same problem, and they've looked it over
twice, and concluded that everything is dandy. They even kept it
overnight so it would be thoroughly cold. They claim it passes every
test they can think of, but are reluctant to 'throw parts at the problem'.

The car is extremely slow to warm up, rarely reaches its normal temp
(according to the gauge) and, when I put it in park to let it idle for a
few minutes, will actually cool significantly (usually 2 'segments',
down to just a few segments on the gauge). It loses ground by idling in
Park. I fail to see how it passes their 'tests', since it consistently
fails in actual use.

We're now in the coldest weather in 13 years here in the Chicago
suburbs. On the way to work, the gauge never got beyond 4 segments, and
I barely get enough heat to keep the windows defrosted. In park for two
minutes, it cooled back down to two segments. (These show one segment
no matter what...). On the way home, the windshield never did fully
defrost. I get slight warmth from the dash vents when I arrive home
from a 20 minute drive with several minutes of warmup.

I've ordered an OEM thermostat and gasket online, and when it arrives,
I'll be pulling out the tools in an unheated garage to repair a fully
warrantied $20,000 Civic.

If anyone has the number for Honda US, I'd appreciate it. I'll get some
satisfaction eventually, but first I want heat and I sure as hell won't
get any results from my dealer, Honda of Joliet. 20K for a Civic with
**** for heat and **** for a warranty isn't exactly entertaining anymore.

Some day I might buy another Honda. I don't regret buying my current
one. But I sure as hell won't be buying another vehicle from this
dealer. A $20 part (retail) is too much to risk on an essential repair?

On Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:56:22 -0800, loewent wrote:

> -35C here this morning.
>
> My daily commute is about 35kms, mostly highway. I started the car and
> allowed it to run for about 5 minutes. The block heater was plugged in,
> so no excuses for being too cold. After the brief warmup, its about
> 100ft to the highway, then highway speeds.
>
> The temp gauge never moved the whole way to the city (20kms). I finally
> got it to go to about 1/4 by running in a lower gear at higher RPM, but
> it normally runs around 1/2. And when I came to red lights in the city,
> the temp gauge would go down to 0 within a minute.
>
> Called the dealer today, and just like every other problem I have
> (touchy brakes, rattles), 'its normal operation' and he recommended I
> don't run the heater fan at full blast. Problem is, at 1/2, the heater
> barely warms up the interior of the car. However, with the heater fan
> running slower, I was able to get the car to the normal spot on the
> gauge after about 25 minutes.
>
> We got this 2008 civic LX in January 2007. Never noticed any problems
> last winter, but it really was never this cold either. The car has
> 32000kms on it, 2 oil changes.
>
> I have checked the coolant level in the radiator and the resevoir, and
> both are perfectly fine. Entertained damming the radiator with
> cardboard, however, the outside surface of the rad is not accessible
> without removing one of the plastic shrouds on the bumper. At these
> temps, its not enjoyable to be outside working on this, and besides, the
> plastic clips would just break due to the temperature (already broke 1).
>
> I have seen some Civic hybrid forums talk about using pipe insulation
> from Home Depot to block the openings in the grill. I may try that yet,
> but I just have this feeling that something is wrong. I have owned many
> Hondas, and have never had a problem with the vehicle reaching operating
> temperature.
>
> Has anyone else experienced this problem? Anything I am missing here?
>
> Thanks
> Terry in Winnipeg

iirc, there's a recall on certain civic thermostats. replace, and in your
case, under warranty.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote in news:elmop-
:

> In article >,
> Robert Barr > wrote:
>
>> I've ordered an OEM thermostat and gasket online, and when it arrives,
>> I'll be pulling out the tools in an unheated garage to repair a fully
>> warrantied $20,000 Civic.
>
> You'd be better off to call Honda and open a case:
>
> http://www.odyclub.com/customer.html
>
> This isn't rocket science. Something is wrong with your car, and the
> authorized warranty repair center says there isn't and that they won't
> "throw parts at it"--i.e., they won't toss a thermostat at it to watch
> what happens, even though that's the issue.
>
> American Honda will happily help out.
>



He's in Canada. He needs to deal with Honda Canada, which is a separate
company from American Honda. I've already told him this, plus reminded him
that his car's under warranty.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/