I bought a 2007 Honda Civic about 4 weeks ago with 48,000 miles. The engine block cracked about 24 days after i bought it. Lucky for me, this is well known problem and Honda had issued a TSB on it and extended the warranty, so it was replaced and repaired and all I had to pay was $36.00 for a few bolts or something. Here’s my problem: when I got the car back yesterday, I noticed it was misfiring when switching from 2nd to 3rd gear (I think-it’s auto transmission). WHAT’s GOING ON??? I’m beginning to think I bought a clunker and am prepared to tell them to take it back! What could cause this?
Before we start down that road, what exactly is the car doing that is making you think it’s misfiring? Is the check engine light on? What codes is it storing?
Are you sure that it’s “misfiring”?
If it is, the Check Engine Light will be lit up.
Is the CEL lit up?
If not, it is not likely that the engine is misfiring.
If it is misfiring, that problem must be corrected right away in order to avoid destroying the expensive catalytic converter.
I think it is more likely that there is a transmission problem, and–in case you were not aware of it–Honda’s transmissions were problematic for several years during the 2000s. If the transmission has never had its fluid & filter changed, I would suggest that you have that done, as this service is necessary every 3 years or 30k miles (whichever comes first) in order to prevent problems. However, beginning with at least checking the trans dipstick, and verifying that the fluid is up to the “full” mark is a good place to start.
So, this trans should have been serviced twice so far, on the basis of elapsed time. Proper servicing may just do the trick.
Just make sure that ONLY genuine Honda fluid is used, as that make uses a different formulation than other brands, and is famously intolerant of the wrong fluid. Whatever you do, DO NOT take the car to AAMCO, Lee Myles, Cottman, Mr. Transmission, or any other chain operation. Seek an indy shop in your area for this service.
Would either a misfire or a trans problem be the result of the engine block replacement?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
With a 6 year old car whose maintenance record might be an unknown, there is the possibility of this problem merely being coincidental to that repair job.
It seems to have a weird little shudder between 2nd and 3rd gear. Like, it just gets jerky, and stays that way if I ‘hover’ there. If I punch on through it goes away and runs great at higher speeds. My boyfriend said it was a misfire. I just took it to the dealership on my lunch and had it confirmed that it was a misfire, and they are sending it back to the Honda dealership that did the replacement. The car had one owner previously, and they provided me with the service records (it had been well maintained), as well as a record of the work the dealership did on it before they put it on the lot, which included all the fluids and such. I’m really worried that i’ve screwed up in buying this thing.
no lights are on
Even though the CEL isn’t on, there may be a stored code. AutoZone stores will download the codes for free. Stop by and find out.
The other thing you could do is simply take it back and tell the shop that did the warranty work. It may just require a resetting of the computer or something minor, and they’ll probably correct it at no additional charge. Before assuming it’s a major problem, you owe it to yourself to at least try to fin dout.
Well, hopefully we will see soon. If it is just a misfire, is it usually an expensive fix? I paid pretty good money on the down payment for this car, and i’m about tapped out. If I wanted this kind of trouble 30 days into owning a car, I would’ve bought one out of the newspaper for cash. I went to a dealer to avoid this kind of thing.
While you are not happy with the events since buying the car; you really have a lot to be thankful for. The engine repair was a lucky break. If you’d owned the car for 2 years you might have spent a lot more. Hopefully the misfire will be a bad coil or spark plug and should not be a major problem.
Your car is 5-6 years old so you do need to put some money into your budget for repairs.
This could simply be a learning issue for the computer. To put it in simple terms, the computer learns how a specific engine runs and then uses that information as a baseline for further adjustments. As an engine ages, things change, but slowly, so the computer can easily adapt to the changes. You never notice them.
Now you just put in a brand new engine and the computer doesn’t know it very well. In a couple of days it will learn it and adjust its baseline for the new engine. I would not be concerned unless it doesn’t work it out in a week or so.
If the transmission has never been serviced, then that would be a good idea to have it done at the Honda dealership with the new Honda ATF (DW-1), it helps them shift smoother in cold weather or when the vehicle hasn’t fully warmed up.
Thanks, guys…I just got a call from the dealership. They are telling me it was a spark plug and they’ve replaced it and they’re not charging me for it. I guess they used the ones out of my old engine? Oh well. I’m getting it back after work and hopefully I won’t have any more issues for a little while.
It’s been said that 99% of the things we worry about turn out to be nothing. And for those that do turn out to be something, worrying would not have helped anyway.
Congratulations and sincere best.
thanks so much! 
I assume they swapped distributor, wires, and such but old plugs? Now that’s getting cheap for a dealer.
You haven’t met some of our local used car dealers…
That is definitely good news, Leah!
Thank you for getting back to us with the outcome.
To paraphrase what mountainbike said, one of my favorite expressions–which I originated–is that,
“the anticipation is usually worse than the reality of the situation”.
In any event, to return to one of my original recommendations, I really do hope that you get the transmission serviced, as it is now overdue.
Ok, maybe I spoke too soon…I picked up the car, drove it home and the problem is still there. It’s doing the exact same thing. I want to cry 
No need to cry.
First, breath deeply. Now get comfortable in your favorite chair. Now breath again. This is not the end of the world. You got a used vehicle and had the entire engine replaced for the cost of a few bolts. That’s a great start.
Now go back and read Keith’s post. His point about the transmission possibly having a learning curve is legit and real. Another point already made is that of they replaced one sparkplug they all needed replacing.
This is not the end of the world. Best case, it’ll be that learning curve causing the stuttering. Worst case, it’ll take a few more bucks to get it all fixed up, and meanwhile you’ll have a better car than many others you share the road with.
Now, breath deeply again. Give it a few days.
You’re very kind, I appreciate that. So, you think it won’t hurt to drive it like this until I know whether it’s the learning curve or not? My dilemma is that I had a limited 30 day warranty on the tranny and other parts, and my car was in the shop when the 30 days ended. So, I’m thinking they would still honor it if there’s a problem right now, I just don’t know how long that will last. And I’m addicted to google and everything I read scares me to death…I’m thinking i need a whole new transmission at the moment. Ugh…
Did they replace the block then? If so, have they done a compression test?
Any good inde mechanic could drive it for a few miles and most likely tell you straight away whether the problem is the transmission or not. You could rule that in or out at least. It’s not possible to tell from your description. Usually this symptom wouldn’t be a problem with the auto-xmssion though. More likely a fuel/air mixture, ignition, or exhaust problem. My first suspicion on reading your post is the ignition system, specifically the spark plug gap is too wide, most likely caused by the plugs being worn out after not being changed out for new ones on the recommended mileage schedule.
Here’s one test you could do. Drive it up a steep hill. Steep enough so that the engine is working hard. Listen carefully. Turn the radio off. Does the engine ping? If so, that would indicate an ignition problem, most likely that you need replacement spark plugs.
W/a 2007 Civic – and a Civic is a well made and reliable car and usually a good used car choice – syou’ve got to expect some problems. It is a 6 year old car after all. Since there was a spark plug problem found already, my guess is that this car has not had all of it’s scheduled maintenance service done, the stuff suggested in the owner’s manual. If you plan to keep this car, if it were my car anyway, the first thing I’d do is find a good inde mechanic and bring all that routine maintenance up to date. Then, if problems still remain, you can deal with them one at a time.
One caution: While you still have warranty time left, you need to consult with the dealer first, before letting anyone else work on the car, as doing that may invalidate your warranty.
You have a 30 day warrantee, I would give it no more than 10 days to learn the new engine, but it should show some improvement every day. It should be significantly better within three days.
When you have just spent all the money you have and committed to a big loan, it is perfectly normal to be scared every time the vehicle stumbles or hiccups. The 07 Civic is a pretty good car overall, you could have done worse, a lot worse.