Hello everyone,

I have 2000 civic that I recently had a new IAC motor installed, cause the engine light came on and that's what they said was the problem. After a few days the light came back on, brought it back to the garage and they said it was the IAC again. They said because I bought it off ebay for cheap it probably wasn't an authentic Honda part therefore wasn't working, and for me to buy another one. I've read a bunch of stuff online saying there are a variety of other things that can cause the car to idle funny, but I don't think they checked anything else.
Does the idea that because it's not an authentic Honda part making a difference hold any water? I don't want to keep buying a new IAC motors if it's something else causing the problem.
Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

 

Is this automatic or manual? It's more commonly called an idle air control valve (IACV) rather than a motor.

 

I also had this problem but with my 93 integra. My car was running REALLY rough durring idle. So bad that it vibrated the center part of my steering wheel off. So I tried cleaning my IAC valve and that didn't help. Before taking any more drastic/expensive/time consuming measures I changed my PCV valve. Pain in the a$$ to get out of my car as it was in a bad location but after we changed that and the hose that connects it now it runs perfect! It took a few miles of driving for my ECU to reset itself but once it does man my car is perfect. I would try that if you haven't already.

 

He's actually getting a code for the IACV which shouldn't be caused by a vacuum leak.

 

It's automatic.

So is the part about it not being an authentic Honda part valid at all?
The car drives kinda jerky the way it is right now. Is it at risk of dying on me?

Thanks for the input so far.

 

Well they mean that you can expect OEM Honda parts to work perfectly and you don't have the same quality assurance with ebay parts. It could be that you got a bad part and with an IACV it's difficult to tell if it's working exactly right. Since you have an automatic, you're using a rotary IACV rather than the linear valves found on some manual versions of your car. To test the valve, you first turn the key to on and disconnect the IACV. Using a meter set to 20v, check the yellow/black wire of the connector with the red probe and stick the black probe in the battery negative terminal. There should be battery voltage. Reconnect it and start the car. Hold the RPM at 3k until the radiator fan turns on. Let off the gas and then disconnect the IACV. The RPM should increase.

 

A vacuum leak can cause an IACV code. When the ECU runs out of room to command the IACV to try and correct for a vacuum leak, it'll think the IACV is busted.