Problems started when I ran out of gas once. I got a gallon from a tow company and the car started fine but was giving problems within 100ft. The tow guy was gone :-).
The problem is basically where the car losses power even when I press down the gas pedal - it becomes worse when I rev up the engine. The check engine light came on, of course. I switched off the engine and restarted - and it seemed fine for another 100 ft and then the problem happened again. Somehow, I got home and took it to the dealership later.
The mechanic said that there was nothing wrong and it was just because I ran out of gas. He claimed the other issues would not be there if I did not run out of gas. The car drove fine for a few days but the check engine light came back up and the car was powering down. By this time I had been analyzing the problem a little more. The car seems to power down when it went beyond 2500 rpm or after about 10min (when I kept it below 2500 rpm). It seemed to get better when I stopped the engine and restarted.
I took it back to the shop and this time they said the ignition coil had failed. I was still allowed to drive out with the car since the coil was not in stock. They put the coil in later and the car drove fine for a few days. Then the check engine light came back and the symptoms were the same.
This time, they said that I was using bad gas since one of the codes was “lean/contaminated fuel”. I said I was going to Amoco and using Premium. They claimed I had put E85 and that Honda’s were not supposed to have that. I never used E85 but the mechanic was insistent. The mechanic thought he should drain the engine - total cost $800. Friend of mine thought it could be water in the tank and that I should use Heet.
I took the car back without draining the engine. They cleared the check engine light. I put Heet and filled it with premimum gas. I kept putting premium gas for 3 weeks - without even using the 10% alcohol type.
This car has the same problems. Check engine light, loss of power when above 2500 rpm or after 10 min or sooner when going up a hill. Gets better when I restart the engine but same problems return.
I think something fundamentally is wrong and everything else reported at the shop is just a symptom of a root cause which is not getting fixed.
Please help… What would you recommend!
fuel filter?
add “dry gas”?