2013Civic

Howdy,

I bought a 2013 Civic EX back in July and proceeded to drive it coast to coast from California to New York twice, putting on 21,000 miles. For the past two months, I've been getting an increasingly worse carbon monoxide-type feeling while driving after about 15 minutes or so. There is also a strong fuel-type smell in the trunk after driving around for a bit, and the exhaust fumes that enter the cabin absorb into anything in the car, including the clothing you wear. It gives a metal-type taste in the mouth.

I took it to a Honda service place and they said that nothing was wrong, especially since none of the dashboard lights had lit up, indicating that something was off. And yet, the awful sick feeling in the car persisted, so I took it to an independent mechanic next who said that he, too, felt similar sensations after a little bit inside.

After a California standard emissions test, foam test, and visual inspection, the only thing the independent mechanic could find that could possibly be causing it was a loose hose that connects to the gas tank in the back pf the car, just below the trunk area. He secured the hose and added a new clamp to it.

Driving it away, I still got some of old familiar CO-type feelings while driving it, so I think there's still an exhaust leak somewhere, unless the leftover gas/fuel that had leaked in before maybe absorbed into the upholstery and into my A/C unit? Seems worse on recycle setting, so I'm thinking maybe it came in through the trunk and into my AC units? Not sure...

My question: Has anyone ever come across any type of fuel/exhaust leak that can exist without dashboard warning lights coming on and that can also pass an emissions test? I know something's off because I get sick in the car after just a short time in it (and so do others who ride in it), but it's proving tough to find and fix the problem. I owe a lot on the car, but can't drive it. It's really frustrating.

What gives?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge on the subject. I don't know much about cars beyond what I can Google, and I need to be able to be specific with the next mechanic about what to check--thinking it's the engine, maybe?

Edit:

I just dropped off the car for an internal detailing (shampooing, etc.), in the hopes that today's CO-like sensation after driving off from the second mechanic's is simply old gas fumes in the car/stuck in my AC unit and blowing back into the cabin. I'm thinking about also stopping by Honda to drop in a new cabin filter, in case the existing one is chock-full of exhaust fumes from the past two months or so.

integra15

Yeah I know that feel. But it was on an 89 benz that had little to no OBD or emissions monitoring. Did your mechanic check all the exhaust gaskets?

Modern emission control systems are super sensitive to leaks. Could it be something else like the "new car" smell that is making you sick? My friend had a Volvo that I hated riding in for the first couple years because the sealer wax smell was so potent on hot days. Good luck

2013Civic

The car is in the shop right now and they're taking a look at it. Don't think it's the new car smell, unfortunately. That's what I thought it was for the first few months because I got tired and headaches on shorter trips, until it started getting so bad that you can't drive in it for more than 10 minutes with windows down and recycle on/HVAC off. My husband drove it to the dealership to be looked at and ended up in the ER a couple of hours later because he got really sick from it. We're scared to get in the car and am curious why the mechanics haven't given us a solid diagnosis after having it in their possession for six business days. They've asked us to wait another four business days, so we're doing that and driving a rental in the meantime. Very frustrating and frightening.

lazlong

Sounds like what was happening to me when my catalytic convertor went bad. I would hook a code reader to it just on the chance the dash light isn't working.

2013Civic

Cool, thanks. I will look into that. What would make a catalytic converter fail on a car that is less than six months old off the lot? Seems kind of strange.

lazlong

Running hot, bad headgasket or carbon buildup are usually the culprits. Hell, the cat could have been bad out of the box. Yes, a new car can develop these problems. And parts right out of the box can fail.

FYI: The government makes automakers warranty catalytic convertors for 8 years or 80,000 miles.

lazlong

OK, disregard the last post for a second. You say you did 4 cross-country trips (there and back twice), right? The Civic was designed as a "city car". That's why it runs 3000rpm @ 70mph. On your trips did you run 3500rpm or greater for more than a couple of hours? If so, you may have a bad headgasket from running it too hard. Which in turn would kill your cat.

Jjbaehr

Sounds like a plastic shopping bag melted to your exhaust, very common to happen!

2013Civic

Thanks for your replies. Very interesting.

I think you may be onto something that maybe the cat was bad out of the box, simply because I tasted/smelled a very faint metal-type exhaust sensation right off the lot, which I rationalized was new car smell. And, yeah, no dash warnings at all this entire time. The next day I began to wonder if it was something in the car. The salesperson who sold me the car gave me a recyclable Honda-branded shopping bag, which I thought maybe was giving off some kind of smell because it smelled like car exhaust. Then I thought maybe the weird smell in the trunk was from a new suitcase I bought. I now know it was absorbing whatever slight exhaust smells were coming into the cabin; it's the same stuff that's in there now, but a much lesser amount of it.

Also, a hose that connects to the gas tank was found to be loose and leaking gas, so that may explain the gas/exhaust smells in trunk and back seat very early on, from like Day 2 of car ownership, but now that at least that was fixed, it still doesn't explain what's coming in from the engine into the cabin, nor the interesting exhaust hiccups and shaking muffler upon shutting down. Maybe carbon deposits in exhaust system?

I drove the car in town for a week or so before driving on the highways across the country. While on long trips, I most often set the car's cruise control to whatever the area speed limit is, so mostly between 55 MPH and 70 MPH, with the exception of Kansas, which now has a 75 MPH speed limit, so I did set it for that speed limit. So, if what you're saying is true, driving the speed limit in Kansas can destroy a Honda Civic? Yikes...should be a disclaimer on that, I think, when they sell you the car. "Great for road trips because of the good mileage," is not exactly promoting city driving. As for cross-country, I went once across from New York to LA after buying the car, and then a few shorter interstate trips which added up to a second cross-country trip mileage-wise.

In all seriousness, I did not run this car hard, IMO. I had a brand new Civic back in 2003 that I also used for distance driving using cruise control to track with area speed limits and never had a problem like this. I kind of wish I had my old car back. That thing was a champ--very solid engine, and I never had a problem outside of brake pads and cheap tire replacement (Honda tires are pretty, um, "economy."--I've owned four Hondas so far--3 new, one used--and the tires are the pits; it's a given for me that at least one tire patch will be needed within the first year and a complete new set of Goodyears by the second ). So I'm wondering if having a bad cat from the gate coupled with distance driving around 3,000 RPM could have led to what's going on.

I've read online about at least one other new 2013 Civic owner that have had very similar issues and did not do any distance driving beyond a daily commute to work, so I'm wondering if it is an assembly line issue at its heart. We'll see what the dealership says. They're still looking at the car, and have had it for almost going on three weeks now. Maybe it's something really obscure and abnormal for them to have it that long(?) Not sure...

Do you know what the best cars are for distance driving? Are all cars like this, or just more economical ones? I have really enjoyed my last three Hondas, and hope this lemon-like one is an anomaly. We'll see what they say...

2013Civic

I SO wish that were the case. That was the second thing I had checked one month after buying the car. Then I thought it was the cabin filter, which the dealership switched out for me, all the while reassuring me that it must be new car smell sensitivity because the car was too new to have exhaust-in-cabin problems. I even thought it might be engine oil, so I asked a dealership to do an extra in-between oil change, which they refused to do(!) because they said it didn't need it. So frustrating.

lazlong

Now I'm leaning towards you having a bad cat.
---------------------

Only economy cars are geared that way.

2013Civic

That's good to know. Time to up my game a bit with my next car purchase, then (i.e., out of economy level and into something with a little more guts for long-distance driving).

I'll mention the cat to the dealership mechanics and see what they say.

Thanks again.

Stefanie55

Thanks for info.

2013Civic

Honda had the car for almost three weeks and found nothing(?!?) Very frustrating. Our next step is to hire a licensed environmental tester to test for off-gassing engine components and possible radiation from Japanese parts. This is a huge, expensive headache--literally; cannot get 1 mile down the road without getting serious metal breath, headache, stomach disturbances that last for 12+ hours. Been in rentals the whole time and was fine. Not happy, Honda. Not happy at all. I'm going to dig as deep as I need to in order to get some answers from a multitude of knowledgeable sources, even if they can't/won't resolve them, especially since I've come across several new car owners and leasees who have had this problem. My car's not the only one in the history of Honda to have this happen.

Edit: Should anyone having these same symptoms in their new 2013 Honda of any model, please feel free to reach out; would love to hear your story.

OneBadTurboCRV

If you were smart you would have purchased a dual gas monitor from your favorite hardware store that runs on a 9v battery. They sell carbon monoxide testers that have a flammable gas LEL built in with a live reading display. LEL means lower explosive limit. Then again, you HAVE been driving the car for thousands of miles... Sounds like the new Toyota gas pedal scheme.

jkrus10414

Hello,

Did you ever find the cause and the fix for this problem? I have a 2013 Civic EX-L and am experiencing the same thing. Seems to be only when the A/C is on and on recirculating...?