Malfunction Indicator Light

Hi all. New to this group, I guess 'cause I'm a new Honda owner. I hope
someone here can help me with this problem.

This is a new to me 2000 Civic. I picked it up on Thursday and it's been
running fine since. Just last night the Malfunction Indicator Light came on
and stayed on though. I'm supposed to go out of town for a 2 hour trip today
and wonder if I should postpone the trip.

I've check in the manual and it doesn't say much except to check out the gas
cap to make sure it's on tight, which it is.

The manual says that the problem is likely emissions related and that I
could damage the vehicle and void the warranty if I continue to drive it.

Any ideas?

tia

Peter H

 

Peter, it's kinda of tough to think of anything if all you say is that the
indicator came on... are there any other symptoms, anything strange with the
car? any noises?
Is your exaust a bit blue-ish?

There are some very knowledgeable people (I'm not one of them in this
forum, but you need to be more specific.

Yuri

 

Ok Yuri. The car seems to be running fine. It starts fine and runs well. I
can't say anything about the mileage, because the problem just started and
I've also just bought it and don't have a handle on what the mileage should
be anyway. I've only fueled the car once. I haven't noticed anything unusual
about the exhaust. The manual says that it could be a loose fuel cap or
emissions related. It says that I could void the warranty if I continue to
drive it, but then says that if it was the fuel cap that I would have to
drive it 3 times for the light to reset.....

I've called the dealership and am waiting for a call back, but meanwhile I'm
supposed to be going out of town.

Peter H

 

====================

Peter,

It could be that the previous owner (or one of the people who test-drove
it) had the gas cap too loose. I wouldn't worry about it except, for
your own peace of mind, do all the usual DIY checks (although most have
nothing to do with the MIL indication) Pop out the air filter and smack
it on something to see if it's plugged, check coolant in the rad and
expansion tank, tranny fluid (if auto), listen under the hood for any
vacuum leaks. If somebody has knocked a hose off while poking around, it
could trip the MIL. It would sound like a service station air hose makes
when it leaks at the nozzle.

You should also do the 'lamp check' for the dash indicators to be sure
that all the warning lights are working, since the car is new-to-you.

Congrats, welcome to the big family.

'Curly'

================

 

In that case, I would recommend not driving it - it's very unlikely that the
problem is the fuel cap. The fuel cap can only trigger the indicator if it's
tightened to less than 3 clicks (I'm sure you've given it plenty more just
in case), at least that's how it is on my 98' civic.

Yuri

 

If you have a honda / odb II code reader, you can always check by yourself
what's wrong, to get it off your mind

go to http://www.troublecodes.net/honda/, all the instructions are there....

the reader is a usefull thing to have, even if you dont want to do any
repairs by yourself - once your warranty is over, it may help you avoid
getting scammed into replacing components that dont need servicing

 

Thanks for the useful info Curly. I'll check all that out. I had poked
around under the hood a bit and checked the oil and anti-freeze levels.I'll
check the air filter and tranny fluid and listen for vacuum leaks. The
dealer finally called back and I'm taking it in on Monday. I do have to
drive it for about an hour and a half tomorrow though. We'll see how that
goes.

Peter H

 

Thanks Yuri

 

The only way to determine the problem is to read the code. Some auto parts
stores will read it for you for free, AutoZone. By driving it you take a
chance. If it is a bad O2 sensor it could damage the Catalytic converter.
You can get code readers from the autoparts store also.

 

Are you sure its the MIL light? Hondas also have a "Maintenance required"
light that simply means its time for an oil change. This is usually a
source of short term frustration to new Honda owners.

 

Yeah, it's the MIL light.

Peter H

 

Bummer. You're going to have to read out codes.