What is it with Hondas and cold weather?

I drive a 99 Civic in upstate NY where it gets substantially below 0 F
(-20 or below in Celsius) regularly in the winter. At these
temperatures: (1) The car's MAP sensor blows religiously once every
winter - I'm sure this is what caused my muffler to be so worn it had
to be replaced at 18K miles. (2) The ECM too blew recently. (3) The
cruise control doesnt work... you set it on and the car decelerates
just as if you'd stepped off the pedal (4) The cassette player doesnt
work... it's a head problem (actually this happens at both extremes of
heat and cold). (5) The automatic transmission doesnt engage until the
car is warmed up for several minutes. I am surprised Honda hasnt fixed
their new MAP sensors to work right yet... coz the problem happens
every year -- I've heard this from some of my friends too... let alone
having a recall. I also think cold weather Honda owners live in a
state of denial. Me too for quite some time, but now I'll say it:
beyond the engine, handling and decent interiors, the car is quite a
piece of junk.

Khan

 

What is it with Hondas and cold weather?

Nothing. It was -30 C here lately and, other that everything being stiff, I
noticed no difference with my Honda.
My parent's Civic original battery gave up with this cold weather. But I'm
actually impressed as it is a 96.

So the question would rather be: what's wrong with your Honda and cold
weather?

 

(Chengiz Khan) spake unto the masses in

Do you have a K&N air filter?

Really. Please detail what sort of modifications have been done to this
car:
_) Stereo
_) Remote starter
_) Alarm
_) Fog lights
-) Engine mods
_) Other intrusions into OEM systems

Or else there's nothing wrong. Up here in my neck of the woods it gets down
to -20F regularly. There are numerous Hondas in my neighborhood, including
mine. No problems. They all start and run just fine.

 

Khan!!!!

I'm with Off-The-Wall-Paul. It must be something with YOUR Civic.

My '95 DX Coupe was great ESPECIALLY in cold weather down to -25F.
Never failed to start ... even with a 6 year old battery. Sometimes it
wouldn't even turn over 1 full time before it would fire.

Only thing that went on this car in the first 100,000 miles was the
heater switch (replaced under warranty) and the exhaust (rotted out
due to over-salting the roads).

--- Bror Jace

 

One minor cold-weather story: Last weekend, during the cold snap in the
Northeast, a colleague and I had to make a road trip from Long Island up
to the Boston area in his new Pilot. A couple of times, the windshield
washer nozzles froze up at highway speeds (with road salt gradually
obscuring the forward view) and would not unfreeze unless we pulled over
and idled for a few minutes. Annoying, though more than outweighed by
the 4WD.

 

In Chicago it often drops below (sometimes a lot below) 0F in
January/February. Never heard of anyone replacing a MAP sensor. I
have heard reports of Honda ECUs failing (not specifically related to
temperature), but no one I know. Not sure how a failing MAP sensor
would damage the muffler.

 

The 2001 Civic I used to own had the nozzles on the hood too.
They were sometimes stuck in the snow but it never happened that they would
freeze while driving.
In my CR-V, the nozzles are not on the hood, they just under the edge of the
hood so they are protected while driving.

 

====================
Mike,

That's just about the only feature that VW has that I think is cool...
Some models have heated washer nozzles. Way superior to the blue L.E.D.
nozzles we see on Hondas. Stay warm.

'Curly

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

 

Did he have the anti-freeze type of washer fluid in the reservoir, or
just the plain type without antifreeze? I almost had a wreck on I-25
in Denver because the idiot at the lube shop put water in the
reservoir.

Dick

 

Thus spake Gordon McGrew on 1/21/2004 11:59 PM:

Granted, today wasn't below 0, but single digits is still freakin' cold
no matter what side of the thermometer you're on.

My '91 Accord fired right up this morning though.

Incidentally, which side of Chicago are you on, or are you actually *in*
Chicago? I'm one of the west suburb snobs.

-moitz-

 

North shore burb, walking distance from the lake.

 

Yep, I'd blame the windshield fluid. It might be diluted and that blue
stuff isn't good enough for the really cold weather we get up here
from time to time.

I use the Prestone yellow stuff (rated for -37F) which is better and I
give a shot (2-3 ounces) of rubbing alcohol to boost all windshield
fluids a bit. Not too much as this stuff can stain paint if strong
enough.

If you get snow or ice on your hood/windshield, water can wick its way
into the nozzles and freeze them solid even when using the correct
fluid. Only after the car has reached full operating temp will they
unfreeze.

--- Bror Jace

 

I wasn't going to mention anything VW-related, this being a Honda forum,
and being aware of the frothing blood-feud flame wars that seem to pop
up between "VW people" and "Honda people".

But... yes, I have an '03 Passat GLX and have never had any problem with
freezing washer nozzles. And I can think of a number of other VW
features that I think are cool... ;-)

 

No, anti-freeze, of course.

 

I went through 4 winter with my K&N Filer without any problems.

Pars
98 Civic Hatch (location: Canada)