I have an 01 Civic LX with about 57k miles on it. I was on my way home from work tonight when all of a sudden my check engine light came on, then the oil light, the battery light, and ABS light. My car started to slow down and I could barely accelerate. I was able to park my car. When I shut it off and tried to start it again, it would barely turn over. My hood felt very warm and there was a slight burnt smell coming from it when I went to check. No obvious leaks. I was eventually able to start the car, but the check engine light came on again (the other lights stayed off this time).

Any ideas what this could be? I just had an oil change in July and had my transmission fluid flushed and replaced. For the last 6-9 months, however, I've had trouble with slow starts. There are also times when the car will turn on but the radio won't. I shut the car off, wait a few minutes, restart, and the radio is working again. The dash lights are also dimmer than they used to be when I first bought the car in 2006. Could my battery be bad? It's about 3.5-4 years old.

 

WE NEED YOU TO DO A SELF DIAGNOSIS FIRST. YOU NEED TO DO THE BASICS FIRST. HAVE YOU CHECKED IF BATTER IS AT 12.4V WITH THE CAR OFF? HAVE YOU DONE A CHECK ENGINE DIAGNOSIS AND IF SO WHATS THE CODE? THE CODE WILL HELP US OUT ALOT!!! MORE THEN YOU CAN THINK OFF. THE CODE MIGHT EVEN TELL YOU WHAT IT IS. JUST REMEMBER THE CODE TELL YOU WHAT PART IS MALFUNCTIONING BUT IT DOESNT TELL YOU WHAT MADE IT MALFUNTION OR WHATS CAUSING TO MALFUNCTION. A CODE IS JUST A TROUBLE SHOOT YOU HAVE TO DIAGNOSIS THE PROBLEM FURTHER TO PINPOINT THE EXACT PROBLEM. WHEN YOU HAVE ALL THIS INFO POST BACK AND WILL BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU A DETAILED WAY TO DIAGNOSE YOUR SPECIFIC PROBLEM

 

I took it to a mechanic this morning. Turns out it was the front cam sensor and crank sensor. He quoted me a total of $413 for everything (includes diagnostic, parts, and 3 hours of labor @ $90/hour). Am I getting ripped off?

 

That's not a bad price considering all the crap they have to take off. Honda recommends replacing the timing belt at 60K even though they're rated for 90K. Might as well have the timing belt, tensioner, and waterpump changed since they're gonna be in there for the crank sensor anyways.