Hi all, Great site! I have a 96 civic ex that runs at 180-186 degrees all the time when driving or idling. I replaced the thermostat and the coolant temp sensor with no change. On the highway the injector pulse width ranges from 9-12 miliseconds which seems high. All of the other sensors seem to be ok and within range, but the rear 02 sensor reads rich .7-.8 mv. but goes normal at idle. Im only getting 24 mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph which seems really low. Im not sure, I just got this car and my old one got 32-35 mpg. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

What's the status on tune ups? Spark plugs, air filter, etc.. Do you have a check engine light?

 

all new, no check engine light, no memory codes...

 

Am I crazy or should this car get better mileage?

 

Its cold here right now about 20-25 degrees.. if I let this thing idle the temp wont go above 180-183 degrees according to my scanner and the guage is about 1/3 of the way up. Im not sure if this is normal or not. I thought it would still warm up until the fan comes on.

 

No, you're not crazy. It should get better than that. My '96 4 door consistently gets 34-36 mpg and that's with a LOT of city driving.

I know you just got the car but do you know if the timing has been messed with lately, say, timing belt replaced maybe?

 

yeah the belt was replaced recently but before I got the car. I was thinking about checking the marks. It runs great so I would think its OK. Do you think if its off a tooth it could affect mileage this much? Thanks for the help..

 

bump

 

Being off a tooth on timing is not good for anything. Check your timing marks, the engine can only compensate so much.

 

sounds like thermostat may be stuck open or not the right temperature setting

 

Its a brand new honda OEM I just put in and it had a brand stant before that---same problem..

 

coolant temp sensor?

 

Thats also new OEM..

 

Did you check the base ignition timing?

 

I was going to but I didnt have time to do that today. I will do it tommorrow and post the results.