Car overheating but blowing cold air

80

Asked by Guru9XC54 Jun 20, 2017 at 06:59 PM about the 2002 Honda Civic EX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My car starts to overheat (normally in traffic) while
idling and overheating the heat goes cold. Once the
car begins to move (at a decent pace) engine cools
back down to normal and the heat is one again hot.
The thermostat was replaced 6 months ago so not
quiete sure what else is could be. Anyone have
suggestions

9 Answers

41,875

Do you always turn the heater on (if so why) when driving the car? #1 Suspect the water pump...but without an inspection all you get here is a guess at best.

4 people found this helpful.
80

The only reason I turn on the heat on now is to help cool the car down when overheating otherwise during the winter is the only time I use it

5 people found this helpful.
80

Is there a way to check the water pump before replacing it. I know it's in a tough spot to get to

3 people found this helpful.
2,585

These 2001 - 2005 civics are all the same....except the hybrids but when it comes to overheating, not having sufficient cabin heating unless the car is moving and other coolant related issues they are all similar and it usually happens at a certain mileage range. There's really no way if physically checking the functionality level of a water pump but changing these pumps in a Civic isn't as straightforward as you would expect. My 02' EX sedan has a suspected head gasket leaking between cylinders. I'm getting oil in the coolant but not the other way around. This causes so many other issues it is unbelievable. I've heard nightmare stories of people who pay a machanic/machine shop to replace the gasket and machine the head surface, change the water pump, thermostat and even the radiator and still have overheating issues. My theory is that the coolant ports that circulate coolant throughout the engine block are blocked or not functioning 100% and this might be related to a tired water pump as well. I also drive with the heat on when I see the temp gauge approaching above the midway point. The radiator fans work properly as well. I strongly believe that Honda knows about this "defect" and because the engines have more than 100k miles they won't replace or repair whatever is going on because they know people will most likely just purchase another vehicle. Good luck throwing parts into it though.

8 people found this helpful.
80

I’ve got a 2004 Honda Civic with overheating problem just changed the water pump 50 miles later still over heating.... anything else I can change..? Lmao

8 people found this helpful.
70

Mine will overheat while sitting and then when I rev the engine up it goes back down to the right temperature

7 people found this helpful.
270

Are you still having the problem? I have some similar symptoms and replaced my thermostat and it still happens (only occasionally). The other symptom is that when it is over heating (at least that is what the temperature gauge says) the fans don't turn on! But when the A/C is on the fans do turn on so they work. It really has me stumped.

17 people found this helpful.
270

I turned out that I had a leak in my head gasket that was causing the problems. I had it fixed ($1000) and not problems since.

10 people found this helpful.
10

Did you sell the car or live anywhere around Delaware or Maryland. Because I feel like I bought that same car lol

1 people found this helpful.

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