Is my Honda angry because I didn't wear my seatbelt or is it the crack in my radiator?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I always, I mean always wear a seatbelt, no matter how short a distance I am driving. My 1999, well maintained Honda Accord did the following things in the this order today.
Started, but died twice before keeping the start
ABS light came on and stayed on until I turned the car off and started it again
Temperature gauge dropped to C dramatically, while I was parked
Made a loud noise that sounded like lots of things clunking around in my trunk

After stopping the car, waiting about 20 minutes and starting the car,
the ABS light did not come on again
the temp gauge acted normally
the car took three tries to start, on the third and final, I “gunned” the engine
the trunk noise started and lasted about 5 minutes

The travels of my car today. I live on the foothills of the Wasatch mountains in Salt Lake. The temperature was about 20 degrees or below. I didn’t start my car until 1:00pm. The sun was out and the car started normally. I descended, all of 5 minutes, stopped and turned off the car and picked up a friend. Drove about 20 minutes on the freeway, made one stop with the car running. Stopped and had lunch, the car was off for a good 45 minutes. After lunch, it started and behaved normally. I dropped off my friend, went inside and visited for about 15 minutes, returned to my car, which again started and functioned normally. I needed to stop at the post office, directly across the street from my friend’s home. I did not put on my seatbelt (I never do that, ever. I have been very sick all week and will blame my brain function or lack thereof on the illness), put the car in reverse, pulled out, did a u-turn and pulled into the post office parking lot. I turned the car off and was inside for about 10 minutes. When I came back out to my car, the items listed above all happened.

I think my car may have been sending me a strong message to never leave my seatbelt off again.
Of course, it may also be related to the crack in the top of my radiator that has not caused me any trouble since my mechanic noticed it 3 months ago. My mechanic and I were discussing whether I should repair it right away, given the $400 it is going to cost. A couple of other notes, I rarely drive on the freeway, I commute a short distance to work and take city streets. The temperatures have been below freezing for about 2 weeks now.

Any insight is welcome!
My car will be at the mechanic on Monday and I will be replacing the radiator.

2

All of this has nothing to do with your wearing a seat belt or not wearing a seat belt. It’s nice to attribute “human” traits to a car, but sadly a car is simply a mechanical contraption. No soul, no morals, no judgment, your car is just telling you it is sick and needs to see a mechanic.

3

@slcslc I don’t understand why your mechanic didn’t recommend a new radiator the instant he saw the crack.
Your radiator is on borrowed time.
Find that $400 and replace it immediately.
A damaged engine is going to cost more than $400 to fix.

4

Along with the other thoughts, consider not replacing that radiator for a hot minute:
The engine will stop working, the car will need to be junked and that seatbelt issue will go away.

5

As long as the weather stays cold, you are driving fast enough to keep radiator temp below 200F, you probably be OK. Duct Tape will help seal the crack until the spring.

6

Also, when doing the radiator replacement, Change water pump, hoses, thermostat, tensioner (?).

7

It’s due for a timing belt, is it still running good?

I’m pretty sure your radiator is not cracked, most likely it the rubber seal between the tank and the core. Its cheaper to replace the radiator than it is to put in new seals. Consider replacing the hoses and the thermostat at the same time. The timing belt runs the water pump so you won’t replace that until you do the timing belt service.

8

@keith I’ve owned a number of cars over the years and all of them have eventually had cracked plastic radiator tanks. That usually happened when the cars were over 10 years old. I always replaced the radiators as soon as I saw the cracks. I check my oil level every few weeks, so I never let the problems get out of hand.
I agree with you about the rubber seals, though. I’ve seen plenty of radiators where those rubber seals were leaking.