I recently had a fuel pump die right on the moment when I stopped in the garage, after a lengthy drive in the freezing rain, at night. I thanked it for choosing a convenient time to die.
My son's 96 Accord died on me the other day after hitting a bump in a parking lot. I had spark, and compression. So it must be fuel, I tried whacking the tank a couple times and it would start for a second on the prime shot then die. I waited about 5 min then it restarted. It had an aftermarket main relay in it that wasn't that old. But it died on me a few more times. So I bought a used Mitsuba one for 15 bucks on eBay. Installed it, and it's been fine ever since. Thanks for all your hard work Ericthecarguy !
some years ago I had a 1996 Honda Accord , it developed an intermittent mis-fire , then one day the check engine came on , and she drifted to a halt , I tried to start her up to no avail , I phoned road side assist , the guy who came out said , " I bet you it's the ignition coil " , he was 100% correct
commodore665 I have a 95 accord that has an intermittent start problem and had also drifted to a halt after a check engine. Sometimes it starts, sometimes it doesn't. Fortunately I have another car as well. Anyway, I wonder if I'm having an ignition coil problem since the last problem I had was a leaky distributor.
commodore665 I happen to have a 96 accord also with a CEL for intermittent/cylinder 3 and 4 misfires but only seems to affect the car at low idle when cold (winter). I've thought it was something with the ignition system but didn't want to start guessing with a bunch of new parts. I'm willing to bet now it is the ignition coil too and that's where I'll probably start.
Break down it's alright... IT'S ALRIGHT... it's alright.~Tom Petty Broke down in my tractor trailer on I-80 in Joliet, IL on the bridge while it was under construction. Traffic was backed up for miles & miles! Traffic copters hovering. Made the news! People were not happy with me at all. They were throwing bottles n junk at me. That was a nightmare.
If it wasn't for the flying debris id have been waving at the helicopters. But yeah I can see it not being a fun time for you or the people behind the truck.
I read through most of the comments on the first page, and one thing that is pretty consistent throughout - cars from the early 90's. I am in the same boat with a 1990 Jeep, so it doesn't matter where it was made. The one thing I wish we all had was a full list of part lifetimes so we could head off all the breakdowns - I've had my share. I would guess most of us that have a car from the early 90's don't really realize how old our cars actually are.
Eric, I have watched your videos for years, and indeed have come to you seeking info on a specific repair on more than one occasion. I have learned so much watching you over the years and I continue to enjoy just watching for fun. Thank you for providing awesome high quality enjoyable content. I had the relay issue with my 90 b21a1 prelude, re soldered the cracked solder joints and it worked like a champ.
In 13 years of ownership my 1990 VW Caddy pick up has only let me down once, a coolant pipe (from the agents) I had replaced 2 days before decided it had had enough and split- could've maybe made it home but called my Dad to tow me back. New pipe on the next day and it's been there for the last 10 years! Thanks for the vid Eric!
I started watching you some years back when I was having battery problems. You taught me how to do a parasitic amp draw test and other tests showed me that I did in fact have a defective battery from the parts store. They told me they had a bad run of batteries and gave me a new one. No problems after that. But thanks to you I didn't have to pay some one to do this test for me and saved me money. Thanks!!!!!
I've only had 2 breakdowns in the 10 years that I've been driving. 1st one I blew the head gasket on my Punto as the heater matrix had a hole in it and I managed to overheat the engine through lack of coolant. I had that fixed and then gave it to my sister, who blew it up because it ran out of oil. 2nd one, my exhaust fell off my A5 - 45 minutes wait for a truck to pick me up as the exhaust was dragging on the road and it was a few too many miles to the garage to drive it there. Once there, the guys put it on a lift and replaced a rusty bracket - free of charge, only cost me a thank you and a handshake. I get breakdown cover with my bank for £10 a month with other benefits included, but I think it's worth it for the peace of mind. I can't afford to run 2 cars, unfortunately.
tie rod ends are the bane of my existence. Twice i had replaced them on the side of the road. I try to keep spares in my trucks. I broke one while snow plowing and hopped out of my truck and had it replaced in 10 min. Another time i used a piece of rope and tied the joint together to get me home.
pretty common to be on the side of the road for me, however a solid 80% I can get her home without a tow truck and without a ride, I keep all of the common problem causing parts and tools to replace them with me at all times, when you daily drive a 40 year old pickup, you gotta be prepared for the problems that come with it
My most recent breakdown is what brought me to your channel. My 1985 LTD overheated on a road trip. The original 3.8 cracked it's block, so I decided the best repair for it was a 302.
Accident story. Was on my way to game 6 of 1993 World Series. Got into a five car pile up on the freeway. I was so pissed off I didn't want to bother with the game. The policeman on scene convinced me to get the tow truck driver to drop me off at the game. We showed up in the fifth inning. in the bottom of the ninth Joe Carter hit a three run homer to win the World Series for Toronto. It was amazing! Days later I went back to thank the policeman for talking me into going to the game. It was a red Integra.
Yes!!! I finally get a birthday wish. You don't know how long I have been waiting to see a ETCG1 episode wishing me a happy birthday! Just made my day. Thank you, Eric! Love the videos!
I started workong on my own car when i purchased a 92 accord. found your channel and am now at a point that im building an F22b DOHC swap in my 96 accord. nothing crazy but your info and videos helped tremendously so thanks Eric!
Holy crap! I was checking out my list of liked videos and my very first like was Eric's video on diagnosing starter problems. Just wanted to thank you Eric for making videos for so long. I have learned a lot and saved a lot of money by watching your videos.
No matter how well you take care of your car and try to keep it running well; it happens to us all eventually. I lost a coil on my Pontiac and hour away from home on my way to work at a brand new job. I hated to do it, but I paid for the tow to a local garage and ended up paying a little over $200 to have them replace the coil.
Years ago I got into the habit of replacing parts BEFORE they broke down, especially ignition parts. And kept them in storage. Having the knowledge of common failures makes it easier to know (or suspect) what the problem is and what needs replacement. More than once I have called my wife or one of the kids to go pickup a part (which was labeled) and my tools to bring to me. Ignition modules inside the distributor cap are the most common problems. I miss the days of replacing an ignition module from inside an HEI distributor in a Walmart parking lot. NOT! JD
I have a 1997 Accord . I was driving making a turn and it died . I tried to start it and could tell it was the timing belt that had broke. I towed it home put on a new belt and water pump ,it fired right up I drove it for about 20 minutes and the transmission went out.
At least it seems like it was something easy to fix, and didn't involve tearing out half the engine. Those are the better kind of breakdown problems to have in an older car.
My dads 99 Chrysler lhs got stuck in a Home Depot parking lot with seized shift linkage, my father in aware tried to force it which bent the frame of the gear selector out of spec. So now no shifter by pass to release the gear selector and no gears equals no start lol. What I had to do was disassemble the shifter bypass the shift lock with a screw driver, remove he linkage from a tranny and tie a rope to the transmission gear selector. So by pulling on the string I was able to get the car into drive and take it home. Talk about a nightmare
Hey Eric. Thank you for all your videos. You saved me a ton of money when money was tight and I was able to get back on the road a whole lot faster than the local repair shops could get me in. I have a love/hate relationship with a2008 suburban. Lots of problems especially with the fuel management system on it. It's been fun wrenching under the hood. Thanks for the information.
It was probably about ten years, or close, since I first stumbled onto the EtCG channel...after my own breakdown. That said, I haven't had one since (as he dares the Fates). Quarterly and annual maintenance have more or less taken care of me. I felt like a good student in class listening to your habits and suggestions - have spare parts, have spare cars, do easy/likely things first. My take-away is that far too many preventable things get dubbed "accidents" or eventualities...but it isn't entirely luck that you haven't broken down in years, it is a series of good habits. Those habits are learnable and achievable by everyone, I have inherited the majority of mine from you... so as always - Thank you! Glad it was an easy fix :).
I sold my winter car about 3 months ago and I went the day before delivery to start it up and make sure it was all good. it wouldn't start :( But, like you Eric, I had a bunch of spare parts for it and threw in an ignition coil and a crank sensor and it was good to go :) by the way, love the channel been watching for years, keep it up!
My 83 f-150 decided to dump a few mechanical clutch parts on the off ramp of the freeway when I was in high school. I just so happened to be taking a beautiful girl on a date and I was really nervous. And now embarrassed. I was able to coast to a stop light and I got out to push and she got out too despite my pleas for her to steer while I pushed. We both pushed the truck into a near by parking lot, called my Dad and he pulled us back to town with a tow strap we had to buy from a homeless man at the truck stop. That day sucked. But that was my first reason to wrench on a vehicle and was just the beginning of my venture in to vehicle self repair. Things didn't work out with the girl though.
I am glad you posted this. I really want to discuss how one should handle driving a 200K+ Honda without having to worry that it will leave you stranded. I know list of parts which could die but my experience tells me that replacement part never ever lasts the same as the original part that my Honda came with even if I purchased OEM or equivalent part. So even though proactive replacement might sound like a good idea, it does not make much sense because part which came with the car might last 100K, 200K, 300K but the replacement might die in 10K or 20K or 30K. If it is your daily driver, some of the components might give little bit of warning before stranding you on the road but as you just discovered some could give up out of nowhere and won't even allow you to limp home.
After a few breakdowns...I learned to have spare parts with my car essential parts such as wires,main relay, starter, even a alternator and belts and of course tools. Not new parts but salvage parts are worth purchasing to get you out of a jam.
I experienced the same loss of power in a 98 Metro a while back and I initially thought it was the ignition coil. In my situation it actually turned out that the wire leading from the ignition to the ignition coil had a short due to corrosion. I almost lost hope, but luckily I managed to find the source of the short easily.
I had a 1990 Honda Accord that had it's transmission/torque converter fail on me going 60mph at 4am on Thanksgiving one year. Paying for roadside assistance is so worth it in those moments, got her towed home and replaced all that good stuff and got her working again. That same car also had the blinking S light problem that wouldn't allow it to start, which was always very convenient, pretty sure there's an ETC video on how to fix that.
I helped a guy in a chevy 1500 who thought he lost his trans. It lost all gears. I said hey, pull the trans fuse, he pulled one of them and gained 2nd and reverse. He was able to get home. I was proud.
One of plenty of stories: first car as a teenager was a '69 Pontiac. Like most teen boys, ran over enough stuff, that when it counted... I changed a busted tire in ten minutes [trunk up to trunk down]! Motivated by a driving rain storm and assisted by those ever-safe bumper jacks and a 4-way lug wrench!
you da man Eric . schooling is important but nothing beats experience. I agree with everything you said about what the common failures are. kinda nice havin extra cars around. my wife use to complain why we have extra cars until she had a problem. it's a nice feeling to know your still have transportation after a breakdown..cheers mate
Glad I came across your integra videos. I have a 94 integra ls myself. She's had a few issues but none have ever left me on the side of the road. Clutch went out, rpm match till I got home. Severe misfiring under acceleration, new distributor. Starter went out, push! Lol. Cv axle going bad, she made it to autozone and then home. Clutch slave cylinder died, more rpm matching.
Blew the end off my starter on our old Bronco II a few years ago. Seriously.... Had to get it towed to a shop as I didn't have access to my tools or anything. The mechanic brought me out and said "Easy to diagnose- The end of your starter housing isn't quite where it belongs." Never saw anything like that LOL. Just glad it happened in a parking lot. (Got hosed on the repair bill. Full list price for a reman starter is obscene)
worst ever was knowing my Crx was loosing compression... get a head gasket kit, head home to do said work... and the car just started bogging down on the freeway. loosing power. so I downshift lower and lower as the car just continues to loose power... got to 1st and it died. rolled on the shoulder and pretty much knew my car had figured out what was going on and gave up on me. now I'm in phoenix and this was July. lucky I had a friend close and we towed the Crx the final 5 miles and I did said head gasket... only thing was my rims got stolen while it was immobile for one day... so I ended up selling it. 😒 but that was like 9 years ago. still love my Honda's! have an 04 civic lx, and an 89 crx si with a d16y7 running obd2. 362k on the trans and shell. 120k in motor. they both run great. even though my daily (04) 210k is about to shit out its 2nd transmission. 😔 first one went out at 195k. so soon enough I will be in the boat again where my car leaves me stranded. but I know what's wrong! lol
JOEL LEE mine has been the main bearing in the transmission. at 195k and now again at 195ish on the used trans. I'm just going to save up for a k24a2 swap and make my 04, not slow anymore! lol
I've also experienced coil breakdown on my old 02 Ford focus. Pretty common on that model to. When it happened it went down on 3 cylinders. Great video Eric. :-)
I know the feeling, Eric. Back in March, i was on my way home on the freeway when my car just lost power. I had an idea of what it was, but was hoping it wae'nt. Sadly, it was. The timing belt on my 04 Neon R/T broke about 2000 miles early. I had been saving up and getting ready to do the belt and water pump, but the belt decided to commit suicide. Wound up with bent valves. Not fun sitting on the side of a freeway at night waiting for a tow truck. Especially when traffic is cruising by at 80+ mph. Got the head rebuilt, new timing belt, tensioner, and waterpump. It broke down at 198,000 miles, and i was planning to do the job at 200,000 miles. Today, it runs better than it did before.
Awesome thanks for the info and which were the likely culprits. My 93 Toyota 4x4 truck was running rough, misfiring, backfiring, etc. Used the troubleshooting guide in the FSM and ended up replacing the ECU and now it runs fine. I went that route because I wanted to learn about the system e.g., EGR, IAC, TPS, MAF, etc. But great, ignition coil, main relay, ignitor!
Shit be breakin!! I have a 96 Ford Ranger, a 98 Chevy Tahoe, and a 98 Dodge camper van. One of them always seems to be in need of attention, but I have 2 others to keep me going. It drives my wife friggin crazy. She has a new Mazda van, and the one time it broke a rear shock mount, and she had to borrow one of my units, I was of course the first to remind her of the value of my fleet of spares!!
Not a Honda but a Chevy story. I had a 1990 Camaro with the V6 that died intermittently. It didn't matter whether it was hot or cold so replaced the HEI coil with a new part from the local parts store and it continued randomly. Replaced it a second time and problem continued so I did some research and found out that there were a bunch of bad "brand X" parts. Replaced it a third time with a genuine GM part and it never failed again.
Yeah man - Ignition switch went on my 92 Accord and I came right to your channel for the fix! I did ignore your recommendation for Factory Honda replacement though - I just couldn't beat Amazon prime 2 day for cheap...Watched the fix for ignition coil the other day too so I'm now even more prepared! Thanks! :)
Hi Eric, Good to see a repair video again. The faremont project is interesting but as you say slow to build. In hindsight, perhaps it would be better if you had a team of mechanics working on this project... people get bored too quickly otherwise. Looking forward to the day the farmont is finnished, and you can take it out on the road.
Only time my Integra GSR broke down was when it snapped a connecting rod lol. Of course the rods were stock and it was turbocharged so it was bound to happen one day. She's still waiting on me to finish building her a new engine so she can grace the roads once more lol. Glad you got your GSR back on the road Eric!
I've only had one break down. It was with my '99 Corolla CE, had about 285k on the odo when it died. Traveled about two hours north, went over a hill, filled up the tank, and went back over the hill. I started hearing a tapping noise and initially thought it was the A/C because the blower motor had some stuff lodged in it. Turn off the A/C and the tapping is still there. Intermittent. Pulled off to check the oil, looking fine. Thought maybe it was the infamous 1ZZ-FE tapping issue, and kept going, albeit cautiously. Got onto the freeway and the sound turned to a full on knock and the engine sounded like a machine gun going off. Started losing power as well, but managed to get to safety and awaited a tow. Got it to my parents' house (stepdad is a mechanic), started diagnosing, and when we pulled off the valve cover and started the car (to see if it was anything in the valves), it started spewing what looked like chocolate milk, and, well, that was the last of that car. Taken out by a head gasket failure. Thankfully my friend was with me when it broke down and he had AAA to get it towed off the freeway.
I have a 1998 Accord. Fuel pump is common to go bad for these models so I already knew before it went out that the fuel pump is bad. Car bogged then died while driving. Replaced it days later and that's it. Runs great now
Oh hell yeah, I love having a second car especially if the primary is not working. The old explorer that refuses to die is my secondary and my mule to haul junks and crap. Love the video!
It's funny you say some of us probably found your channel after a breakdown. Back when I had my EG it developed a leaking caliper. Luckily I carry my tools with me (mostly because I was too lazy to take them up to my apartment.) But it occurred when I was driving to the airport to pick someone up. I had to stop 3 times and bleed the caliper on the side of the road when too much air got in lol.
The ignitor in a brand new distributor I installed in a 91 Accord quit right as I pulled out of the parking lot after installing it. Engine could turn over but wouldn't start and I could smell unburnt fuel (perks of an exhaust leak right at the flex pipe). While still on the side of the road, I threw the old distributor back on, but kept the new cap, and it fired right back up. Took it home, measured and found that the new ignition coil measured and meggered better than the old one and decided to swap the ignitor from the old distributor into the new one just so that it's a mostly new part. No kidding about the distributor parts being notoriously prone to failure.
One breakdown I had I was driving a 73 Pontiac Catalina. I was parked just right in during a moderate snowfall. With the car still running a points ignition, water made it's way in to a inspection cover on the distributor cap. Had to call my stepdad to help get the car started. Once we did, got the car home as quick as we could. With a quick stop for a new cap. Threw it on that night. Didn't have any more problems with the car. Until it was parked, then sold to be used as a demo car. The original reason the car was bought.
Yep, first thing that came to mind was definitely the main relay. Then I thought of the timing belt, but then I remembered it's ETCG. You know he's not rolling around in a classic GSR that has a cracked or over-miled T-belt lol. Honestly it really is the only few things that can go wrong with these Japanese time pieces.
I ran into the exact same issue on my 1995 Civic EX. At the time, I was generally ignorant about cars, and sought the help of my father, who hasn't worked on cars in over fifteen years. He tried to diagnose it with a distributor rotor problem. Luckily the neighbor across the street saw us having issues, and came to our rescue. He used to race hondas, and without him, neither my father nor I would have ever guessed that it was the ignition coil. Bought a new one at auto zone, turned her over, and she started right up.
The only breakdown I've had so far was caused by a head gasket finally telling me it was time to stop. Learned my lesson from that one and have made sure to fix anything as soon as it comes up rather than not worrying about it.
Hi! I always find your videos informative and entertaining. And watch episode after episode for the information I get. Just a few days ago, the car I was driving died on me while on a busy street. It was early in the evening but it already dark. My first thought was the timing belt. But after checking, it was fine. Checked the fan belts and they where also fine. To make the story short, the alternator seized.
My accord has only let me down once, and it was because I had replaced the alternator the day before and hadn't realized it was just a glorified paper weight. Lesson learned, always make sure new alternators are actually charging.
The first car I ever owned, a 1987 Accord LXi hatchback, purchased used in 1991, completely stranded me on 3 separate occasions with 2 other significant failures. The first time, a failed igniter. The second time, an exploded water pump roller bearing - blew up on a very hot summer day in Las Vegas while sitting in the fast food drive-thru - threw shrapnel (roller bearings) everywhere accompanied by a terrifying noise. The third time, one of the clutch disk springs fragmented and a piece of the spring got jammed between the disc and pressure plate. The 2 honorable mentions? The A/C compressor clutch coil failed on a 110 degree summer day leaving me with no A/C. The plastic top cap of the radiator cracked open on the way home from a trip to So Cal. Lost a lot of coolant and engine started to overheat less than 5 miles from home. Funny enough, I still have only fond memories of that car all these years later. It was so fun to drive. Surprisingly decent amount of power and yet still good fuel economy (28 city/32+ hwy). In hindsight, pretty sure that car was heavily abused before I got it (which explains the low sales price) and suffered from a serious lack of maintenance on my part - being a starving college student at the time.
I love that you know the Honda so very well, that you already know what the problem is without having to run any diagnostic tests. I bet you could have done that swap, quickly, even while blindfolded!! ;-)
video idea for ETCG1: chat about the spare parts worth keeping around the garage for known problems on particular cars (Hondas,. etc) from your experiences, noting which parts are even worth replacing before you get stranded (like timing belts, coils,etc). mention even parts you can't easily replace but worth keeping an eye on ('00-'03 TL tranny's) example: '99-'01 Integra - ignition coils, igniters inside the distributors, main relays '00-'03 TL - transmissions, worse ever by Honda '94-'97 Accord - door actuators etc etc your wealth of experience in this field and topic would captivate even the most experienced DIYer, imho. as always, even a simple 6 min video from you keeps our cerebral gears turning with greasy thoughts, stay dirty and thanks.
I drove my old porsche 996 100k miles and it never stranded me once ever. Lots of road trips as well as stop n go traffic. Those things just dont break. Most reliable car i ever owned. Of course i did a lot of work to it (suspension, clutch, plugs, fixed oil leaks and diagnosed fuel vapor issues) but it never actually broke down. I sold it before it got to the point where the engine was showing wear.
Eric I'd like to see you do a video over on the main channel that goes over (ok you've just broken down on the road...now what?) Just go over the steps you should take like calling for help, if possible moving the vehicle to a safe location off the roadway BEFORE attempting to diagnose/repair, supplies you should always keep in your vehicle like jumper cables, spare fuses, a few hand tools etc.
Just had one of the sparkplugs of my 2005 F150 blow out, I have had it happen before and always just repaired, now I'm going to preventively put inserts in all of the sparkplugholes I haven't gotten too. But you know how it is when you are a mechanic. I'll get to it...
I've had a few breakdowns in my 1993 Dakota, some of which resulted from poor quality replacement parts. I try to take very good care of it, but because of its age and mileage (about 220,000) I can usually expect to require a tow about once per year. I have to say, though, that it often chooses convenient times and places to break.
2002 Ford Ranger 4.0L left me at a rest area 300 miles from home on a Saturday afternoon. I had a scan tool OBDI ll and my phone with the scan app. Crank no start, a little bit of fire but no run. It was the MAF sensor AGAIN. Got a tow, first time in my life for that. While waiting for the truck to arrive I called around. The closest town was 6 miles away and they had TWO auto parts places. Tow guy waited while I popped the MAF in and she fired right up. Of course I had to buy a anti tamper Torx bit set to get the screws out... 3 hours later I was back on the road of my 1000 mile journey
My daughter had a 93 Del Sol with a vtec. It kept dying. Had fuel and compression, no ignition. I replaced the coil and the igniter looked brand new so I did not replace it. The engine ran for awhile then dyed. This car has been in several Honda Dealerships for this same problem and comes out of the shop for a few days and has the same problem. So I searched the internet for Honda ignition problems. I eventually ran across someone who had a similar problem. He noticed a discolored spot, very small, on the case of his igniter and replaced it. I looked at the igniter on this engine and it had the same spot, I replace it and it became a reliable engine again. That was my only experience with a vtec ignition problem.
I had this happen to my 93 Honda accord not too long ago. Thank goodness yet again for etcg vids. It basically ended up being my igniter. Got covered in oil up in the distributor cap. Too lazy and not enough time to rebuild with new seals so I just replaced the whole thing. I've also had like 4 other Honda's in my life. 2 accords 1 first gen acura legend and 1 second gen legend. 2 out of those 4 had main relay issues. Fun stuff! But like Eric says when you know the common stuff like that and you have extra parts laying aground like my dad also did, it makes it a breeze to get up and running again. 👍
Thank you Eric, nobody is prone to break downs. I have a few on the list as well. 89 civic, ripped the linkage to the automatic trans luckily pulling right in front of my house. 93 civic hb main relay , radiator . 94 civic loose harmonic balancer bolts that ripped the alt belt and have to drive with no light on the highway that was pain in the ass because had to replace the t belt, water pump, glue the bolt and state that as the last engine repair before leave at the junkyard. 2000 celica blown gts automatic trans (kind a rare) after 3200 miles trip east to west coast. Got lucky again to brake down 15 miles before my final destination. Honda’s are awesome cars but feel like the new model are not that good built any more 😱
My 97 accord, seen many a days, 276,000 miles had an issue with the crankshaft pulley falling off. Always knew it was happening as soon as I lost power steering. Quite stressful when work is 70 miles away from home and that's main transportation.
I have three cars and agree that it pays to have additional working vehicles. I have 3 (one of them recently inherited.) My winter car just had a brake line go (in spring) so luckily I have until winter to worry about fixing it. XD. I only ever have 2 cars insured at once, but can change it over the phone pretty quickly if needed.
i knew thats what it was. dizzy is the first thing to pop up in my head. The ICM or the Coil is usually the problem. Thats where Hondata Coil on plugs are nice. No more dizzy problems. Oem distributors are very expensive thats why rebuilding em is the way to go.
Reminds me of when my 944 decided to melt the ignition driver in the ECU (DME if you feel fancy). I was stumped for two days, haha. Just had to solder it back together. Fired right up!
Love your channels Eric the Car Guy!! Your definately my go to mechanic, ALWAYS! You're awesome. I also own an Integra GSR but mines a 96 4dr :) I love to get a s2000 next though.
only breakdown I've had (knock on wood) was my 1993 Bonneville-- the starter was bad and the solenoid would overheat so I couldn't drive it very far. I got stuck in Houston construction traffic and the engine shutoff to prevent overheating. Let the car sit for a minute, started it and got it off the freeway and called a tow truck. Got the problem fixed the next weekend
last breakdown that I had that wasn't in my own driveway... Starter. It wouldn't throw out and engage the flexplate. Now it had been having issues for about 2 weeks, so it was my own fault for not fixing it when it started having issues. AAA called, towed back to the house. Grab other car and go to work. Changed the starter on the weekend and it was good to go.
Found your channel when I didn't find my lock for the bolts on my wheels. Biggest breakdown has to be a oil feed line to the turbo that cracked 2h from home.
Last year I was driving up two hours to school in 97 Acura CL (basically an Accord) car died in the middle of nowhere Maryland. Had some tools in my trunk so I checked for fuel at the rail by cracking the banjo bolt and priming the pump. Wanted to tow it to the nearest Autozone that had the full distributor in stock because I really just wanted to get on the road. My passenger at the time was reluctant to do that so we got it towed to a nearby shop. Guy diagnosed it, boom bad ignition coils. Replaced the whole distributor because the car had 274k miles on it and that may have been the OEM distributor. Fun day turned a 2 hour drive into 9 hours.
ive had my cars break but thankfully, so far, theyve never left me stranded. Ive had 1 explorer for 20 years now, another explorer for 15 and a few camrys mixed in that time period as well, theyve all broken but None of em have ever broken to the point where i was stuck somewhere. both explorers have well over 200k miles and when i got rid of the 2 camrys, one had 199k and the other had 168. the camry with 168 i got with 30k and never had to touch anything but front brakes and tires. that car was ridiculously invincible
In my younger days my friend was doing a burnout in his RSX, the bar connecting the two joints on the drivers side cv axle twisted and broke in half. We replaced a CV axle on the side of the road, fun times.
My GSR has only broken down on the road 2 times in 16 years, first time because of a crappy alarm starter kill wiring job (done by Circuit City back in 2001), and the second because of that pesky distributor. Lucky for me it was an easy fix, unlucky for me was that I had already spent bucks on a fuel pump, battery and new plug wires (all of which had previously tested bad anyway). And I also didn't have a spare car to use. Not so much a big deal nowadays since I cycle so much and now have an e-bike that I just about use more than the car now. and it was almost the same circumstances, coming out of Target parking lot, stopped at traffic light, started to go and BAM just died. I also have repaired/resoldered my main relay, so hopefully no issues from those in the future!
Patrick94GSR - After their "stellar customer service" several times over several visits, they'd earned my wrath, too! From then on, they were known as "Shirk-Ass Sh*tty". Don't let the door hit you on the way to bankruptcy, Circuit City!
I drove my '90 Legacy to Toronto for a job interview and hoped to see some sights. The alternator died when I was in the suburbs, so I had it towed to a Canadian Tire. I did the interview, replaced the alternator in my suit and drove straight back to the U.S.
I had a 1999 Hyundai accent. I didn't have a break down on road, but I came out of school went to start the car lots of cranking no start. I had my obd II scanner in the car so I said hell I don't know if it has any codes, but worth a shot. Scanned the ECU P0335 OBD-II Trouble Code: Crankshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit Malfunction. Overnighted the part left the car in the lot overnight. Changed it right in the lot had to pull bunch shit out to get to it. Put it back together bam started up. I'm glad I keep a scanner in the car.
Early 90's I had an CRX si that wouldn't start after work. I called the Honda dealer. The dealer had the CRX towed to the dealer and replaced the ignitor under recall. I'd be shocked if that sort of thing happens today. That sort of thing goes along way toward brand loyalty which is fading today.
The dramatic reenactment was riveting.
alphabobcat lol. It was indeed a nice touch.
Should have had a graphic over it, been in black & white, with a shaky cam like they do on the cheezy news shows. ;)
Award winning.
alphabobcat oscar winning performance
Oscar nomination is a gimme....
I recently had a fuel pump die right on the moment when I stopped in the garage, after a lengthy drive in the freezing rain, at night. I thanked it for choosing a convenient time to die.
+adventureoflinkmk2 Correct!!
Godfrey Poon fuel pumps generally don't die while running. They will usually die as you park it. Sometimes you can beat them to life to get you home.
do you look after your car?
My dad was driving down the road in his truck when the fuel pump died. and yes, full tank of gas
I done the opposite, I ran out of petrol and rolled 200 yards into a petrol station.
My son's 96 Accord died on me the other day after hitting a bump in a parking lot. I had spark, and compression. So it must be fuel, I tried whacking the tank a couple times and it would start for a second on the prime shot then die. I waited about 5 min then it restarted. It had an aftermarket main relay in it that wasn't that old. But it died on me a few more times. So I bought a used Mitsuba one for 15 bucks on eBay. Installed it, and it's been fine ever since. Thanks for all your hard work Ericthecarguy !
I'm really impressed with how high your hood opens...
Once Upon a Dashcam ...that's that JDM 2nd notch...classic...
I'm slightly jealous, but not jealous enough to go JDM lol.
That's what SHE said!!!!!
XX
Mercedes has this too
some years ago I had a 1996 Honda Accord , it developed an intermittent mis-fire , then one day the check engine came on , and she drifted to a halt , I tried to start her up to no avail , I phoned road side assist , the guy who came out said , " I bet you it's the ignition coil " , he was 100% correct
commodore665 do they still sell Honda accord in sa
commodore665 I have a 95 accord that has an intermittent start problem and had also drifted to a halt after a check engine. Sometimes it starts, sometimes it doesn't.
Fortunately I have another car as well. Anyway, I wonder if I'm having an ignition coil problem since the last problem I had was a leaky distributor.
commodore665 I happen to have a 96 accord also with a CEL for intermittent/cylinder 3 and 4 misfires but only seems to affect the car at low idle when cold (winter). I've thought it was something with the ignition system but didn't want to start guessing with a bunch of new parts. I'm willing to bet now it is the ignition coil too and that's where I'll probably start.
Thank goodness for wives
NOW you tell me...
Break down it's alright... IT'S ALRIGHT... it's alright.~Tom Petty
Broke down in my tractor trailer on I-80 in Joliet, IL on the bridge while it was under construction. Traffic was backed up for miles & miles! Traffic copters hovering. Made the news! People were not happy with me at all. They were throwing bottles n junk at me. That was a nightmare.
If it wasn't for the flying debris id have been waving at the helicopters. But yeah I can see it not being a fun time for you or the people behind the truck.
Tistricky8 I live over there, the bridge is cursed six ways to Sunday, no doubt about it!!!
I’ve never understood that. Like yeah, that’s exactly what you wanted. To breakdown on the middle of a busy bridge, just to inconvenience them 😐
I read through most of the comments on the first page, and one thing that is pretty consistent throughout - cars from the early 90's. I am in the same boat with a 1990 Jeep, so it doesn't matter where it was made. The one thing I wish we all had was a full list of part lifetimes so we could head off all the breakdowns - I've had my share. I would guess most of us that have a car from the early 90's don't really realize how old our cars actually are.
Eric, I have watched your videos for years, and indeed have come to you seeking info on a specific repair on more than one occasion. I have learned so much watching you over the years and I continue to enjoy just watching for fun. Thank you for providing awesome high quality enjoyable content. I had the relay issue with my 90 b21a1 prelude, re soldered the cracked solder joints and it worked like a champ.
I'm happy to help. Thanks very much for the comment.
It's simple. Fuel, compression, and spark. Everything else is extra.
Timing is extra?
Yes. Timing is extra. :)
well technically if the (mechanical) timing is off, then you would have low compression. lol
T Swag Yeah brakes are extra😂
very true, for lawnmower engines.
In 13 years of ownership my 1990 VW Caddy pick up has only let me down once, a coolant pipe (from the agents) I had replaced 2 days before decided it had had enough and split- could've maybe made it home but called my Dad to tow me back. New pipe on the next day and it's been there for the last 10 years! Thanks for the vid Eric!
I started watching you some years back when I was having battery problems. You taught me how to do a parasitic amp draw test and other tests showed me that I did in fact have a defective battery from the parts store. They told me they had a bad run of batteries and gave me a new one. No problems after that. But thanks to you I didn't have to pay some one to do this test for me and saved me money. Thanks!!!!!
I never get tired of hearing how my work helps people. Thanks so much for your comment. I really appreciate it.
I've only had 2 breakdowns in the 10 years that I've been driving.
1st one I blew the head gasket on my Punto as the heater matrix had a hole in it and I managed to overheat the engine through lack of coolant. I had that fixed and then gave it to my sister, who blew it up because it ran out of oil.
2nd one, my exhaust fell off my A5 - 45 minutes wait for a truck to pick me up as the exhaust was dragging on the road and it was a few too many miles to the garage to drive it there. Once there, the guys put it on a lift and replaced a rusty bracket - free of charge, only cost me a thank you and a handshake.
I get breakdown cover with my bank for £10 a month with other benefits included, but I think it's worth it for the peace of mind. I can't afford to run 2 cars, unfortunately.
tie rod ends are the bane of my existence. Twice i had replaced them on the side of the road. I try to keep spares in my trucks. I broke one while snow plowing and hopped out of my truck and had it replaced in 10 min. Another time i used a piece of rope and tied the joint together to get me home.
JCLawn51 rope?! 0.o
parteibonza it got me home lol just had to keep the tie rod in it's socket.
pretty common to be on the side of the road for me, however a solid 80% I can get her home without a tow truck and without a ride, I keep all of the common problem causing parts and tools to replace them with me at all times, when you daily drive a 40 year old pickup, you gotta be prepared for the problems that come with it
That is why I try to keep at least 2 vehicles it sux when you got to go to work or somewhere else and you don't have aback up.
My most recent breakdown is what brought me to your channel. My 1985 LTD overheated on a road trip. The original 3.8 cracked it's block, so I decided the best repair for it was a 302.
Five years subscribed to you Eric, and for the first time, it IS my birthday! Thanks!
Happy birthday!
Keyword "REGISTERED"!!
Lol, yeah you got to say that because some people think registered is taking a plate from anywhere.
Accident story. Was on my way to game 6 of 1993 World Series. Got into a five car pile up on the freeway. I was so pissed off I didn't want to bother with the game. The policeman on scene convinced me to get the tow truck driver to drop me off at the game. We showed up in the fifth inning. in the bottom of the ninth Joe Carter hit a three run homer to win the World Series for Toronto. It was amazing! Days later I went back to thank the policeman for talking me into going to the game. It was a red Integra.
Yes!!! I finally get a birthday wish. You don't know how long I have been waiting to see a ETCG1 episode wishing me a happy birthday! Just made my day. Thank you, Eric! Love the videos!
I started workong on my own car when i purchased a 92 accord. found your channel and am now at a point that im building an F22b DOHC swap in my 96 accord. nothing crazy but your info and videos helped tremendously so thanks Eric!
I'm happy to help. Thanks for the comment.
Holy crap! I was checking out my list of liked videos and my very first like was Eric's video on diagnosing starter problems. Just wanted to thank you Eric for making videos for so long. I have learned a lot and saved a lot of money by watching your videos.
I'm happy to help. Thanks for your comment.
ETCG1 No problem. I just wanted to show my appreciation. Stay dirty my friend!!!
No matter how well you take care of your car and try to keep it running well; it happens to us all eventually. I lost a coil on my Pontiac and hour away from home on my way to work at a brand new job. I hated to do it, but I paid for the tow to a local garage and ended up paying a little over $200 to have them replace the coil.
Your humbleness and information are much appreciated. And yes, having a spare actually can save money!
LoL great reenactment. If it wasn't for my radiator crapping the bed about 5 years back I'd never know of this channel. Thanks again man!
Years ago I got into the habit of replacing parts BEFORE they broke down, especially ignition parts. And kept them in storage. Having the knowledge of common failures makes it easier to know (or suspect) what the problem is and what needs replacement. More than once I have called my wife or one of the kids to go pickup a part (which was labeled) and my tools to bring to me. Ignition modules inside the distributor cap are the most common problems. I miss the days of replacing an ignition module from inside an HEI distributor in a Walmart parking lot. NOT!
JD
I have a 1997 Accord . I was driving making a turn and it died . I tried to start it and could tell it was the timing belt that had broke. I towed it home put on a new belt and water pump ,it fired right up I drove it for about 20 minutes and the transmission went out.
Are you kidding 😂😂
At least it seems like it was something easy to fix, and didn't involve tearing out half the engine. Those are the better kind of breakdown problems to have in an older car.
My dads 99 Chrysler lhs got stuck in a Home Depot parking lot with seized shift linkage, my father in aware tried to force it which bent the frame of the gear selector out of spec. So now no shifter by pass to release the gear selector and no gears equals no start lol. What I had to do was disassemble the shifter bypass the shift lock with a screw driver, remove he linkage from a tranny and tie a rope to the transmission gear selector. So by pulling on the string I was able to get the car into drive and take it home. Talk about a nightmare
Hey Eric. Thank you for all your videos. You saved me a ton of money when money was tight and I was able to get back on the road a whole lot faster than the local repair shops could get me in. I have a love/hate relationship with a2008 suburban. Lots of problems especially with the fuel management system on it. It's been fun wrenching under the hood. Thanks for the information.
It was probably about ten years, or close, since I first stumbled onto the EtCG channel...after my own breakdown. That said, I haven't had one since (as he dares the Fates). Quarterly and annual maintenance have more or less taken care of me.
I felt like a good student in class listening to your habits and suggestions - have spare parts, have spare cars, do easy/likely things first.
My take-away is that far too many preventable things get dubbed "accidents" or eventualities...but it isn't entirely luck that you haven't broken down in years, it is a series of good habits. Those habits are learnable and achievable by everyone, I have inherited the majority of mine from you... so as always - Thank you! Glad it was an easy fix :).
I sold my winter car about 3 months ago and I went the day before delivery to start it up and make sure it was all good. it wouldn't start :( But, like you Eric, I had a bunch of spare parts for it and threw in an ignition coil and a crank sensor and it was good to go :)
by the way, love the channel been watching for years, keep it up!
My 83 f-150 decided to dump a few mechanical clutch parts on the off ramp of the freeway when I was in high school. I just so happened to be taking a beautiful girl on a date and I was really nervous. And now embarrassed. I was able to coast to a stop light and I got out to push and she got out too despite my pleas for her to steer while I pushed. We both pushed the truck into a near by parking lot, called my Dad and he pulled us back to town with a tow strap we had to buy from a homeless man at the truck stop. That day sucked. But that was my first reason to wrench on a vehicle and was just the beginning of my venture in to vehicle self repair. Things didn't work out with the girl though.
I am glad you posted this. I really want to discuss how one should handle driving a 200K+ Honda without having to worry that it will leave you stranded. I know list of parts which could die but my experience tells me that replacement part never ever lasts the same as the original part that my Honda came with even if I purchased OEM or equivalent part. So even though proactive replacement might sound like a good idea, it does not make much sense because part which came with the car might last 100K, 200K, 300K but the replacement might die in 10K or 20K or 30K. If it is your daily driver, some of the components might give little bit of warning before stranding you on the road but as you just discovered some could give up out of nowhere and won't even allow you to limp home.
your story made me smile Eric. There is no replacement for experience sometimes. 😀
After a few breakdowns...I learned to have spare parts with my car essential parts such as wires,main relay, starter, even a alternator and belts and of course tools. Not new parts but salvage parts are worth purchasing to get you out of a jam.
I experienced the same loss of power in a 98 Metro a while back and I initially thought it was the ignition coil. In my situation it actually turned out that the wire leading from the ignition to the ignition coil had a short due to corrosion. I almost lost hope, but luckily I managed to find the source of the short easily.
I had a 1990 Honda Accord that had it's transmission/torque converter fail on me going 60mph at 4am on Thanksgiving one year. Paying for roadside assistance is so worth it in those moments, got her towed home and replaced all that good stuff and got her working again. That same car also had the blinking S light problem that wouldn't allow it to start, which was always very convenient, pretty sure there's an ETC video on how to fix that.
Should have put this one out before the ignition coil replacement. Oscar for that dramatic reenactment.
I would have liked that, but it just didn't work out that way.
I helped a guy in a chevy 1500 who thought he lost his trans. It lost all gears. I said hey, pull the trans fuse, he pulled one of them and gained 2nd and reverse. He was able to get home. I was proud.
One of plenty of stories: first car as a teenager was a '69 Pontiac. Like most teen boys, ran over enough stuff, that when it counted... I changed a busted tire in ten minutes [trunk up to trunk down]! Motivated by a driving rain storm and assisted by those ever-safe bumper jacks and a 4-way lug wrench!
Nothing beats knowledge and experience. Its nice to hear that it was an easy fix. Keep up the awesome videos!
you da man Eric . schooling is important but nothing beats experience. I agree with everything you said about what the common failures are. kinda nice havin extra cars around. my wife use to complain why we have extra cars until she had a problem. it's a nice feeling to know your still have transportation after a breakdown..cheers mate
Glad I came across your integra videos. I have a 94 integra ls myself. She's had a few issues but none have ever left me on the side of the road. Clutch went out, rpm match till I got home. Severe misfiring under acceleration, new distributor. Starter went out, push! Lol. Cv axle going bad, she made it to autozone and then home. Clutch slave cylinder died, more rpm matching.
Blew the end off my starter on our old Bronco II a few years ago. Seriously.... Had to get it towed to a shop as I didn't have access to my tools or anything. The mechanic brought me out and said "Easy to diagnose- The end of your starter housing isn't quite where it belongs." Never saw anything like that LOL. Just glad it happened in a parking lot. (Got hosed on the repair bill. Full list price for a reman starter is obscene)
worst ever was knowing my Crx was loosing compression... get a head gasket kit, head home to do said work... and the car just started bogging down on the freeway. loosing power. so I downshift lower and lower as the car just continues to loose power... got to 1st and it died. rolled on the shoulder and pretty much knew my car had figured out what was going on and gave up on me. now I'm in phoenix and this was July. lucky I had a friend close and we towed the Crx the final 5 miles and I did said head gasket... only thing was my rims got stolen while it was immobile for one day... so I ended up selling it. 😒 but that was like 9 years ago. still love my Honda's! have an 04 civic lx, and an 89 crx si with a d16y7 running obd2. 362k on the trans and shell. 120k in motor. they both run great. even though my daily (04) 210k is about to shit out its 2nd transmission. 😔 first one went out at 195k. so soon enough I will be in the boat again where my car leaves me stranded. but I know what's wrong! lol
Patrick Candler as much as people hate 7th gen civics they are not bad. Other than headgasket issues and he early models had 5th gear issues
JOEL LEE mine has been the main bearing in the transmission. at 195k and now again at 195ish on the used trans. I'm just going to save up for a k24a2 swap and make my 04, not slow anymore! lol
I've also experienced coil breakdown on my old 02 Ford focus. Pretty common on that model to. When it happened it went down on 3 cylinders. Great video Eric. :-)
I know the feeling, Eric. Back in March, i was on my way home on the freeway when my car just lost power. I had an idea of what it was, but was hoping it wae'nt. Sadly, it was. The timing belt on my 04 Neon R/T broke about 2000 miles early. I had been saving up and getting ready to do the belt and water pump, but the belt decided to commit suicide. Wound up with bent valves. Not fun sitting on the side of a freeway at night waiting for a tow truck. Especially when traffic is cruising by at 80+ mph. Got the head rebuilt, new timing belt, tensioner, and waterpump. It broke down at 198,000 miles, and i was planning to do the job at 200,000 miles. Today, it runs better than it did before.
Awesome thanks for the info and which were the likely culprits. My 93 Toyota 4x4 truck was running rough, misfiring, backfiring, etc. Used the troubleshooting guide in the FSM and ended up replacing the ECU and now it runs fine. I went that route because I wanted to learn about the system e.g., EGR, IAC, TPS, MAF, etc. But great, ignition coil, main relay, ignitor!
Shit be breakin!! I have a 96 Ford Ranger, a 98 Chevy Tahoe, and a 98 Dodge camper van. One of them always seems to be in need of attention, but I have 2 others to keep me going. It drives my wife friggin crazy. She has a new Mazda van, and the one time it broke a rear shock mount, and she had to borrow one of my units, I was of course the first to remind her of the value of my fleet of spares!!
same happened to my B16A2. your channel help troubleshoot alot on my other issues.
Not a Honda but a Chevy story. I had a 1990 Camaro with the V6 that died intermittently. It didn't matter whether it was hot or cold so replaced the HEI coil with a new part from the local parts store and it continued randomly. Replaced it a second time and problem continued so I did some research and found out that there were a bunch of bad "brand X" parts. Replaced it a third time with a genuine GM part and it never failed again.
Yeah man - Ignition switch went on my 92 Accord and I came right to your channel for the fix! I did ignore your recommendation for Factory Honda replacement though - I just couldn't beat Amazon prime 2 day for cheap...Watched the fix for ignition coil the other day too so I'm now even more prepared! Thanks! :)
Hi Eric, Good to see a repair video again. The faremont project is interesting but as you say slow to build. In hindsight, perhaps it would be better if you had a team of mechanics working on this project... people get bored too quickly otherwise.
Looking forward to the day the farmont is finnished, and you can take it out on the road.
Only time my Integra GSR broke down was when it snapped a connecting rod lol. Of course the rods were stock and it was turbocharged so it was bound to happen one day. She's still waiting on me to finish building her a new engine so she can grace the roads once more lol. Glad you got your GSR back on the road Eric!
I've only had one break down. It was with my '99 Corolla CE, had about 285k on the odo when it died.
Traveled about two hours north, went over a hill, filled up the tank, and went back over the hill. I started hearing a tapping noise and initially thought it was the A/C because the blower motor had some stuff lodged in it. Turn off the A/C and the tapping is still there. Intermittent.
Pulled off to check the oil, looking fine. Thought maybe it was the infamous 1ZZ-FE tapping issue, and kept going, albeit cautiously. Got onto the freeway and the sound turned to a full on knock and the engine sounded like a machine gun going off. Started losing power as well, but managed to get to safety and awaited a tow.
Got it to my parents' house (stepdad is a mechanic), started diagnosing, and when we pulled off the valve cover and started the car (to see if it was anything in the valves), it started spewing what looked like chocolate milk, and, well, that was the last of that car. Taken out by a head gasket failure.
Thankfully my friend was with me when it broke down and he had AAA to get it towed off the freeway.
I have a 1998 Accord. Fuel pump is common to go bad for these models so I already knew before it went out that the fuel pump is bad. Car bogged then died while driving. Replaced it days later and that's it. Runs great now
Oh hell yeah, I love having a second car especially if the primary is not working. The old explorer that refuses to die is my secondary and my mule to haul junks and crap. Love the video!
It's funny you say some of us probably found your channel after a breakdown. Back when I had my EG it developed a leaking caliper. Luckily I carry my tools with me (mostly because I was too lazy to take them up to my apartment.) But it occurred when I was driving to the airport to pick someone up. I had to stop 3 times and bleed the caliper on the side of the road when too much air got in lol.
Eric, I think it's cool that you are an Integra fan. I have owned 4 DA9 Integras and 2 DC4 Integras.
The ignitor in a brand new distributor I installed in a 91 Accord quit right as I pulled out of the parking lot after installing it. Engine could turn over but wouldn't start and I could smell unburnt fuel (perks of an exhaust leak right at the flex pipe). While still on the side of the road, I threw the old distributor back on, but kept the new cap, and it fired right back up.
Took it home, measured and found that the new ignition coil measured and meggered better than the old one and decided to swap the ignitor from the old distributor into the new one just so that it's a mostly new part.
No kidding about the distributor parts being notoriously prone to failure.
It happens to the best of us. :) But it's still a pain because you had to fix it. But your right, we had a good story to listen to.
One breakdown I had I was driving a 73 Pontiac Catalina. I was parked just right in during a moderate snowfall. With the car still running a points ignition, water made it's way in to a inspection cover on the distributor cap. Had to call my stepdad to help get the car started. Once we did, got the car home as quick as we could. With a quick stop for a new cap. Threw it on that night. Didn't have any more problems with the car. Until it was parked, then sold to be used as a demo car. The original reason the car was bought.
Yep, first thing that came to mind was definitely the main relay. Then I thought of the timing belt, but then I remembered it's ETCG. You know he's not rolling around in a classic GSR that has a cracked or over-miled T-belt lol. Honestly it really is the only few things that can go wrong with these Japanese time pieces.
I ran into the exact same issue on my 1995 Civic EX. At the time, I was generally ignorant about cars, and sought the help of my father, who hasn't worked on cars in over fifteen years. He tried to diagnose it with a distributor rotor problem. Luckily the neighbor across the street saw us having issues, and came to our rescue. He used to race hondas, and without him, neither my father nor I would have ever guessed that it was the ignition coil. Bought a new one at auto zone, turned her over, and she started right up.
The only breakdown I've had so far was caused by a head gasket finally telling me it was time to stop. Learned my lesson from that one and have made sure to fix anything as soon as it comes up rather than not worrying about it.
Hi! I always find your videos informative and entertaining. And watch episode after episode for the information I get. Just a few days ago, the car I was driving died on me while on a busy street. It was early in the evening but it already dark. My first thought was the timing belt. But after checking, it was fine. Checked the fan belts and they where also fine. To make the story short, the alternator seized.
My accord has only let me down once, and it was because I had replaced the alternator the day before and hadn't realized it was just a glorified paper weight. Lesson learned, always make sure new alternators are actually charging.
The first car I ever owned, a 1987 Accord LXi hatchback, purchased used in 1991, completely stranded me on 3 separate occasions with 2 other significant failures. The first time, a failed igniter. The second time, an exploded water pump roller bearing - blew up on a very hot summer day in Las Vegas while sitting in the fast food drive-thru - threw shrapnel (roller bearings) everywhere accompanied by a terrifying noise. The third time, one of the clutch disk springs fragmented and a piece of the spring got jammed between the disc and pressure plate. The 2 honorable mentions? The A/C compressor clutch coil failed on a 110 degree summer day leaving me with no A/C. The plastic top cap of the radiator cracked open on the way home from a trip to So Cal. Lost a lot of coolant and engine started to overheat less than 5 miles from home.
Funny enough, I still have only fond memories of that car all these years later. It was so fun to drive. Surprisingly decent amount of power and yet still good fuel economy (28 city/32+ hwy). In hindsight, pretty sure that car was heavily abused before I got it (which explains the low sales price) and suffered from a serious lack of maintenance on my part - being a starving college student at the time.
I love that you know the Honda so very well, that you already know what the problem is without having to run any diagnostic tests.
I bet you could have done that swap, quickly, even while blindfolded!! ;-)
Well done, Eric! My "Slambo nearly died on the way to Indy" video should be out soon … still chasing those gremlins …
Hope you find them. Good luck!
video idea for ETCG1:
chat about the spare parts worth keeping around the garage for known problems on particular cars (Hondas,. etc) from your experiences, noting which parts are even worth replacing before you get stranded (like timing belts, coils,etc). mention even parts you can't easily replace but worth keeping an eye on ('00-'03 TL tranny's) example:
'99-'01 Integra - ignition coils, igniters inside the distributors, main relays
'00-'03 TL - transmissions, worse ever by Honda
'94-'97 Accord - door actuators
etc etc
your wealth of experience in this field and topic would captivate even the most experienced DIYer, imho.
as always, even a simple 6 min video from you keeps our cerebral gears turning with greasy thoughts, stay dirty and thanks.
I found you when Troy to fix the Mitsuba main relay under the dashboard with cracked solder joints. I did the repair and never again had an issue.
I drove my old porsche 996 100k miles and it never stranded me once ever. Lots of road trips as well as stop n go traffic. Those things just dont break. Most reliable car i ever owned. Of course i did a lot of work to it (suspension, clutch, plugs, fixed oil leaks and diagnosed fuel vapor issues) but it never actually broke down. I sold it before it got to the point where the engine was showing wear.
Eric I'd like to see you do a video over on the main channel that goes over (ok you've just broken down on the road...now what?) Just go over the steps you should take like calling for help, if possible moving the vehicle to a safe location off the roadway BEFORE attempting to diagnose/repair, supplies you should always keep in your vehicle like jumper cables, spare fuses, a few hand tools etc.
I'm actually thinking of that very thing. I want to finish the Fairmont first though. I have a few more weeks on that yet.
Just had one of the sparkplugs of my 2005 F150 blow out, I have had it happen before and always just repaired, now I'm going to preventively put inserts in all of the sparkplugholes I haven't gotten too. But you know how it is when you are a mechanic. I'll get to it...
I've had a few breakdowns in my 1993 Dakota, some of which resulted from poor quality replacement parts. I try to take very good care of it, but because of its age and mileage (about 220,000) I can usually expect to require a tow about once per year. I have to say, though, that it often chooses convenient times and places to break.
2002 Ford Ranger 4.0L left me at a rest area 300 miles from home on a Saturday afternoon. I had a scan tool OBDI ll and my phone with the scan app. Crank no start, a little bit of fire but no run. It was the MAF sensor AGAIN. Got a tow, first time in my life for that. While waiting for the truck to arrive I called around. The closest town was 6 miles away and they had TWO auto parts places. Tow guy waited while I popped the MAF in and she fired right up. Of course I had to buy a anti tamper Torx bit set to get the screws out... 3 hours later I was back on the road of my 1000 mile journey
good old breakdowns. always unexpected fun
My daughter had a 93 Del Sol with a vtec. It kept dying. Had fuel and compression, no ignition. I replaced the coil and the igniter looked brand new so I did not replace it. The engine ran for awhile then dyed. This car has been in several Honda Dealerships for this same problem and comes out of the shop for a few days and has the same problem. So I searched the internet for Honda ignition problems. I eventually ran across someone who had a similar problem. He noticed a discolored spot, very small, on the case of his igniter and replaced it. I looked at the igniter on this engine and it had the same spot, I replace it and it became a reliable engine again. That was my only experience with a vtec ignition problem.
I had this happen to my 93 Honda accord not too long ago. Thank goodness yet again for etcg vids. It basically ended up being my igniter. Got covered in oil up in the distributor cap. Too lazy and not enough time to rebuild with new seals so I just replaced the whole thing. I've also had like 4 other Honda's in my life. 2 accords 1 first gen acura legend and 1 second gen legend. 2 out of those 4 had main relay issues. Fun stuff! But like Eric says when you know the common stuff like that and you have extra parts laying aground like my dad also did, it makes it a breeze to get up and running again. 👍
Thank you Eric, nobody is prone to break downs. I have a few on the list as well. 89 civic, ripped the linkage to the automatic trans luckily pulling right in front of my house. 93 civic hb main relay , radiator . 94 civic loose harmonic balancer bolts that ripped the alt belt and have to drive with no light on the highway that was pain in the ass because had to replace the t belt, water pump, glue the bolt and state that as the last engine repair before leave at the junkyard. 2000 celica blown gts automatic trans (kind a rare) after 3200 miles trip east to west coast. Got lucky again to brake down 15 miles before my final destination. Honda’s are awesome cars but feel like the new model are not that good built any more 😱
My 97 accord, seen many a days, 276,000 miles had an issue with the crankshaft pulley falling off. Always knew it was happening as soon as I lost power steering. Quite stressful when work is 70 miles away from home and that's main transportation.
I have three cars and agree that it pays to have additional working vehicles. I have 3 (one of them recently inherited.) My winter car just had a brake line go (in spring) so luckily I have until winter to worry about fixing it. XD. I only ever have 2 cars insured at once, but can change it over the phone pretty quickly if needed.
i knew thats what it was. dizzy is the first thing to pop up in my head. The ICM or the Coil is usually the problem. Thats where Hondata Coil on plugs are nice. No more dizzy problems. Oem distributors are very expensive thats why rebuilding em is the way to go.
Reminds me of when my 944 decided to melt the ignition driver in the ECU (DME if you feel fancy). I was stumped for two days, haha. Just had to solder it back together. Fired right up!
Love your channels Eric the Car Guy!! Your definately my go to mechanic, ALWAYS! You're awesome. I also own an Integra GSR but mines a 96 4dr :) I love to get a s2000 next though.
only breakdown I've had (knock on wood) was my 1993 Bonneville-- the starter was bad and the solenoid would overheat so I couldn't drive it very far. I got stuck in Houston construction traffic and the engine shutoff to prevent overheating. Let the car sit for a minute, started it and got it off the freeway and called a tow truck. Got the problem fixed the next weekend
last breakdown that I had that wasn't in my own driveway... Starter. It wouldn't throw out and engage the flexplate. Now it had been having issues for about 2 weeks, so it was my own fault for not fixing it when it started having issues. AAA called, towed back to the house. Grab other car and go to work. Changed the starter on the weekend and it was good to go.
Found your channel when I didn't find my lock for the bolts on my wheels. Biggest breakdown has to be a oil feed line to the turbo that cracked 2h from home.
Last year I was driving up two hours to school in 97 Acura CL (basically an Accord) car died in the middle of nowhere Maryland. Had some tools in my trunk so I checked for fuel at the rail by cracking the banjo bolt and priming the pump. Wanted to tow it to the nearest Autozone that had the full distributor in stock because I really just wanted to get on the road. My passenger at the time was reluctant to do that so we got it towed to a nearby shop. Guy diagnosed it, boom bad ignition coils. Replaced the whole distributor because the car had 274k miles on it and that may have been the OEM distributor. Fun day turned a 2 hour drive into 9 hours.
ive had my cars break but thankfully, so far, theyve never left me stranded. Ive had 1 explorer for 20 years now, another explorer for 15 and a few camrys mixed in that time period as well, theyve all broken but None of em have ever broken to the point where i was stuck somewhere. both explorers have well over 200k miles and when i got rid of the 2 camrys, one had 199k and the other had 168. the camry with 168 i got with 30k and never had to touch anything but front brakes and tires. that car was ridiculously invincible
In my younger days my friend was doing a burnout in his RSX, the bar connecting the two joints on the drivers side cv axle twisted and broke in half. We replaced a CV axle on the side of the road, fun times.
My GSR has only broken down on the road 2 times in 16 years, first time because of a crappy alarm starter kill wiring job (done by Circuit City back in 2001), and the second because of that pesky distributor. Lucky for me it was an easy fix, unlucky for me was that I had already spent bucks on a fuel pump, battery and new plug wires (all of which had previously tested bad anyway). And I also didn't have a spare car to use. Not so much a big deal nowadays since I cycle so much and now have an e-bike that I just about use more than the car now.
and it was almost the same circumstances, coming out of Target parking lot, stopped at traffic light, started to go and BAM just died. I also have repaired/resoldered my main relay, so hopefully no issues from those in the future!
Patrick94GSR - After their "stellar customer service" several times over several visits, they'd earned my wrath, too! From then on, they were known as "Shirk-Ass Sh*tty". Don't let the door hit you on the way to bankruptcy, Circuit City!
I drove my '90 Legacy to Toronto for a job interview and hoped to see some sights. The alternator died when I was in the suburbs, so I had it towed to a Canadian Tire. I did the interview, replaced the alternator in my suit and drove straight back to the U.S.
DID YOU GET HOME SAFE ERIC? I'm sorry to hear. That sucks.
I had a 1999 Hyundai accent. I didn't have a break down on road, but I came out of school went to start the car lots of cranking no start. I had my obd II scanner in the car so I said hell I don't know if it has any codes, but worth a shot. Scanned the ECU P0335 OBD-II Trouble Code: Crankshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit Malfunction. Overnighted the part left the car in the lot overnight. Changed it right in the lot had to pull bunch shit out to get to it. Put it back together bam started up. I'm glad I keep a scanner in the car.
it happens Eric. its Mechanical parts do wear out in time and with the Ignition coil when you showed that one spot it seems like it happens.
Early 90's I had an CRX si that wouldn't start after work. I called the Honda dealer. The dealer had the CRX towed to the dealer and replaced the ignitor under recall. I'd be shocked if that sort of thing happens today. That sort of thing goes along way toward brand loyalty which is fading today.