What is that supposed to mean Poopyhead? I need some real answers.
@wncgirl, I wished that I could be of more help but this entire repair business is sounding more and more like something from a Three Stooges movie. There’s too much stalling, stonewalling, delays, stomach viruses, and now the car is missing?
Going out on a limb here, I might say that the people there are total incompetents. With your being non-mechanically inclined it could be that you are misinterpreting their lame efforts as honest attempts to fix the problem.
As to any additive used to stop a head gasket leak, one would think that someone would notice this during the teardown; not after the fact.
Generally, I give someone a little benefit of the doubt but based on the virus and now a missing car I think you’re being yanked around because there’s a problem for which they don’t know the answer or there’s a fear of letting you know what the next glitch is going to be… 
I do have an independent mechanic in my small town who has been very good over the years in many ways, but some of the check engine light seemed to stump him and his hours and days are limited - in this case, Meineke wasn’t. Actually, the prices they have quoted me so far aren’t that unreasonable. Understand I’ve been between a rock and a hard place with this vehicle. I am going to continue to put undue pressure on them to fix it right away and think I will even go down there and ask to drive the car myself - it is my car and I am the customer. I can then see if the car is really still acting up. If it is, they will be given a deadline to fix it or I will take it elsewhere. If it isn’t, I will pay them for what they’ve done so far and take it and smear their business all over the internet. I don’t know what else to do at this point.
You’re between a rock and a hard place, no doubt about it and I agree with you going down there to personally see what’s going on. Maybe take along a male friend who can remain quiet. This could provide some moral support and cause the shop to think twice about what they may or may not say in front of a witness.
There’s a number of red flags that have gone up in regards to your car; at least in my opinion.
The prices may not seem unreasonable but they could certainly be worse than unreasonable if a botched diagnosis or repair is involved.
Best of luck and keep us informed.
Update everyone - the mechanic was back on duty yesterday - thinks he had food poisoning. I do believe him. The “missing” problem the owner mentioned was really the hesitating/surging that I originally had a little over two months ago and a PO 135 code showed and the sensor replaced. The mechanic believes it may have been recontaminated by the leaking coolant and he got me another one this morning under warranty. I picked up the car right after lunch today - the owner did give me a slight discount for all the inconvenience I have experienced - better than nothing. They said the car seemed to run good and he cleared the check engine codes but said there was always the chance the light would come back on and it could indeed be the cat if the PO 420 shows again. I’ve just driven around town some this afternoon and evening and the car continues to run really well and doesn’t overheat. However, the dang light did come back on after a little bit of driving! Ugh! I will get them to read the code Monday - I really hope it’s not yet another code. The mechanic thinks it is always possible that the leaking coolant could contaminate the cat as well. Does this seem reasonable? I am so tired of the light! He also said he had seen several 2003 Civics that just had bad cats for unknown reasons.
I’m going to say something unpopular here
I believe the light is on again because P0420 is back
I’m going to say something else unpopular
A lot of P0420s get misdiagnosed and/or repaired
Yes I know db4690 - this code has been very, very frustrating. If you look back on my earlier posts, the very first code was PO 135 and a sensor fixed that. Then I got the PO 420 and many mechanics would just say it needed a cat and leave it at that. The Meineke guy at least checked for leaks in my emissions system and didn’t find any. He replaced the rear oxygen sensor and it got the light off for one day. What else could it be but the cat? I generally like the Honda brand (I also have an old CRV) and that is part of why I bought this car. I’ve learned the hard way that the previous owners didn’t take care of it so it’s giving me a fit.
Missing . . . as in misfiring
Poopyhead - funny! The car was literally not missing of course but the mechanic explained that it was really hesitating/surging as it had been two months ago - the owner had used the “missing” term. The first oxygen sensor was replaced on warranty. It’s no longer running badly - just has that light on again. Since it is Sunday, I will take it to Advance Auto for a reading to make sure it’s still the PO 420 and nothing else.
Update everyone - I went to Advance Auto this afternoon and they diagnosed the P0420 again so I at least know I’m not dealing with yet another code. They car had been running fine, but unfortunately, it began to idle roughly as I pulled away from Advance. It started running better all the way to the grocery store, but after that, began hesitating and surging so I had my son come follow me to Meineke where I left the key in an envelope in the drop box! It ran fine to Meineke but may be something different tomorrow. I know some of you don’t think I should go there, but they have been the ones doing the work and the four or five other mechanics (mostly independent) that I have taken it to don’t seem to know much either. I am totally exasperated. Can it be yet another sensor contaminated by the coolant or would the Cat exhibit these symptoms or what?
A bad cat will not cause rough idling or hesitation.
However, whatever causes the hesitation etc. could trigger p0420.
I would get a compression test and check the valve adjustment (forgive me if this has been covered before, it’s a long thread).
The fact of the matter is that Meineke took a LOT of your money, and it seems like they never did resolve your problems
I think it is their responsibility to fix it now . . . and NOT at your cost
That is how you should talk to the service manager at that place
I’ll throw an idea out there, which may be very unpopular with you and some others
In some cases where a shop can’t ever get a problem resolved after numerous attempts, they offer to buy the customer’s car for a very fair price, meaning that the customer is not a financial loser at the end. I’m not sure what that figure would be in your case, though.
This is usually only done in very extreme situations, such as this.
Another option would be if the shop purchased your car from you and gave you another comparable car . . . or perhaps a slightly better or lower mileage car to make you happy
Thanks everyone - yes, I will get after them when they have a chance to open tomorrow! Tired of this nonsense! I think I got ripped off by the owners of this car when I bought it in July - test drove it and saw no problems, took it to a mechanic I’d known for years but there were no symptoms so he didn’t see anything. I will ask about the compression test and valve adjustment. As far as buying the car, I guess anything is possible - I don’t think they are known to do this, but if push comes to shove… sorry this is so long. Just can’t seem to get things resolved.
Update everyone - went to Advance Auto - same P0420 code. At least I know it’s not anything different. It had been running fine, but as I pulled out of Advance, it began to idle roughly. I went onto the grocery store without any problem, but as I pulled out of there, it got to hesitating and surging. Called and had my son follow me back to Meineke where I left key in drop box with a note. On the way down there, it ran fine, but obviously, something still isn’t right. I know some of you think I shouldn’t take it back there, but they are the ones who worked on it and none of the other mechanics in this town that I’ve been to over the past few months seem to know anything either. Very frustrating!
Update - I know it’s been awhile but this situation is very complex and I don’t want to tie up the forum too much. Not only did I unknowingly buy a car with problems but I have now called Meineke’s national customer service line and left my name and number! Meineke believed me when I said it was running badly but at first couldn’t get it to do anything. The mechanic finally noticed a short in an EGR valve he had replaced and did something to fix that. Car still there another week though! It kept overheating, even after fixing head gasket, replacing water pump, radiator and thermostat. Have concluded catalytic convertor is bad. I talked with the owner last week about going ahead and getting some prices on the convertor and ordering it as well as some prices of one of the “new” motors if I indeed have to have it. The owner did say they would donate the labor on the motor. Two issues though - my brothers have done some research and are not convinced the car needs a motor. It continued last week to overheat and wouldn’t do it if they kept the radiator cap off but the minute they put the cap back on, it ran hot. Any thoughts on what this could be, especially after all these things have been replaced? My brother ran across something about a bad cat making a car run hot - any thoughts on that? Other problem is that it’s been 3 days and still no prices from the owner! That’s why I called the national line and hope to hear back! Real quandry!
This car is becoming a can of worms. I have to question if the head gasket was ever the problem or if there is a crack in the head or the block instead. If the head gasket was blown, did the mechanic check the head and the block for warpage. These heads can and often do warp after an overheating incident.
The next thing I would question is if the mechanic followed the correct procedures for torquing the cylinder head bolts. Honda calls for the head bolts to have the threads clean and fresh motor oil applied to the threads prior to installation. Many engines require the head bolts to be installed dry so if the mechanic wasn’t aware of this, then the head bolts may not have been torqued properly.
As for the P0420 code, this is a particularly difficult code to fix. One issue is the rear O2 sensor. On some cars, Toyota’s especially, you have to get the rear sensor from the dealer and it must be based on the VIN number of the car to insure that you get the correct one. The front sensor may need to be replaced as well, but it is less fussy than the rear sensor. An aftermarket Denso or Bosch should be OK for the front, as long as it is a direct fit and not a universal one.
I’m not sure, but if you have been dumping antifreeze into the cat, it may have been damaged. Burned antifreeze does leave a persistent coating on things. If you see this buildup on the sparkplugs, then it could very well be in the cat as well.
Keith, from what the mechanic said, the head was warped - I had an argument with him last week but won’t go into that yet. He says the machine shop tells him that if my car still overheats after fixing all these other things, then there must be a hairline crack in the engine. He did suggest replacing the engine in the beginning but if you read my earlier posts, I didn’t want to because of no warranty. He blamed me for not going with his first idea but the owner has gotten onto him about this. I have no idea about torquing the cylinder heads. If you will read my earlier posts - and I know this is a lengthy thread - you will see that I have had both oxygen sensors replaced and I still get the P0420 code. He supposedly did some kind of probe test to see if the cat was too hot and supposedly it was. My main beef right now is that I asked the Meineke owner for some prices on cats and used motors - didn’t get them. Called back Friday and left message and still no word. How hard is it to get me some prices on these things and once we’ve ordered it, to replace the cat and see if I still get the P0420 code or the overheating for that matter? This is why I have called Meineke’s national # and hope to get a response. The way they are treating me is unacceptable and I need to resolve the P0402 code as well as the continued overheating! If they don’t want to deal with this, they need to tell me!
Sorry @wncgirl I commented on the needing a new cat and maybe Cataclean helping. The coolant will kill O2 sensors and cats. As far as a used engine or repair, the used engine would have 1/3 of the miles yours does.
knfenimore - thanks for your comments - I actually think they have replaced one of my sensors a second time due to the coolant and I’m not putting any Cataclean stuff in it! The fools that owned this car before put that StopLeak stuff in it and damaged the radiator and no telling what else as well! If I had known, I wouldn’t have bought the car. Anyway, none of this answers my question about the overheating - what other causes of overheating would there be after a head gasket, water pump, radiator and thermostat have been replaced? Would the bad cat cause it? It overheats more after the engine has warmed up and after putting the radiator cap back on - if it’s left off it doesn’t run hot. Any explanation about this? And if I can ever get my car in decent running order again, I’ll never go to Meineke again!
It sounds as if you replaced everything in the cooling system. The system must be bled of any air. Also, I would replace the radiator cap. They are set to vent at the proper pressure to the overflow. Are the fans coming on when the car is idling. You should have 2 fans. The second fan comes on when the AC is running. Has the temp sensor been replaced? Is it really boiling over? I would take it to a GOOD mechanic located in the “Mechanic Files”.