I have a 1997 Civic EX and recently my check engine light came on. My mechanic downloaded the code, "P.O. 1259 - VTEC malfunction", but told me that it was undocumented in his manual. The engine seems to be running fine, but I am concerned about driving it until I learn what this code means. I would appreciate any asistance on this matter.

 

look all the way at the top of this page. 2nd post down. It's been stickied for a while.
You're welcome.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scmaguigan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 1997 Civic EX and recently my check engine light came on. My mechanic downloaded the code, "P.O. 1259 - VTEC malfunction</TD></TR></TABLE>
P1259... Have you checked the oil level? Has it been low in the past?

 

It was low, but the oil pressure light has not come on. I toppped it off and the check engine light was still on. that's when i went to my mechanic. He said it wasn't oil pressure relaterd, but VTech, that is ignition of fuel injection.

The engine is running smoothly, with no new and strange noises.

 

Thanks for the list, but iut still doesn't tell me what is wrong. Itr could be ignition, fuel injection, valve timing...

But I now know where to look for codes.

Thanks a buncH!

 

vtec is very dependant on oil pressure as it uses oil pressure ot activate teh cam lobe changeover.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scmaguigan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It was low, but the oil pressure light has not come on. I toppped it off and the check engine light was still on. that's when i went to my mechanic. He said it wasn't oil pressure relaterd, but VTech, that is ignition of fuel injection.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Your mechanic would be wrong about that. The engine being low on oil probably cause the CEL. Try clearing the code, see if it comes back. And keep an eye on your oil level.

 

did you try to reset it when you topped off the oil??

 

that makes sense .thanks