1998 Honda Civic

CAR WOULDN'T START, JAN 10, 2009 WAS TAKEN TO SERVICE STATION,BATTERY OK ENGINE OK, CHARGING SYSTEM OK, COMPUTER SYSTEM OK THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, CAR WOULD START FINE,NOTHING WAS DONE TO IT. 11 DAYS LATER CAR WOULDN'T START,SO IGNITION STARTER WAS REPLACED. CAR WAS OK UNTIL JAN 26(5 DAYS AFTER NEW CAR IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED) CAR IS STILL IN REPAIR SHOP. JUST FOUND OUT ON INTERNET ABOUT PROBLEMS AND RECALL OF 98 HONDA CIVIC IGNITION SWITCH. PLEASE ADVISE AS TO WHAT TO DO NEXT, NEED CAR FOR WORK TRAVEL. I AM AFRAID FOR MY LIFE TO USE THIS CAR NOW. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN IT AT ALL. *TR

DEALER STATED THAT A/C SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE TOTALLY REPLACED. STATED THAT CAR HAD "BLACK DEATH".. WHEN I CALLED OTHER HONDA DEALER , THEY STATED THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF A NUMBER OF THESE INSTANCES, AND THAT 1998 CIVIC NEEDED THE ENTIRE A/C SYSTEM REPLACED IN MANY CARS THAT THEY HAVE SEEN.. ALSO, MY ROOMMATE , WITH A 1999 CIVIC , HAD TO REPLACE HER A/C UNIT LAST YEAR ALSO.. AND WITH CONSIDERABLY LESS MILES AT THE TIME.. WHEN I DESCRIBED MY SYMTOMS, SHE SAID IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO HER CAR ALSO.. CALLED HONDA CUSTOMER RELATIONS LINE.. WAS TOLD THAT "I NEEDED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPAIR".. IF IT IS HAPPENING TO MY CAR, AND MY ROOMMATES CAR, ISNT IT HAPPENING TO OTHER CIVICS TOO? I ALSO AM A REPEAT HONDA OWNER, AND GOT 200,000 MILES OF WEAR OUT OF MY LAST CIVIC WITH VERY MINIMAL REPAIR....I FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD RECALL THIS PROBLEM.. AND THAT IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING AFFECTING THOSE OF US WITH CIVICS IN THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.. MARC LIBBY. *AK

I WAS DRIVING MY HONDA CIVIC FROM FORT WORTH, TEXAS TO NEW MEXICO ON A TRIP WHEN I HEARD A STRANGE NOISE. SOON AFTER I NOTICED MY AIR CONDITIONER WAS NOT BLOWING COLD AIR ANYMORE. WHEN MY MECHANIC LOOKED AT IT, HE SAID THE COMPRESSOR HAD EXPLODED AND HAD A LARGE HOLE IN IT. I THINK THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE WHEN THE COMPRESSOR EXPLODES IT IS SENDING SHRAPNEL INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. COULD THE REFRIGERANT CATCH FIRE? I FOUND TWO REPORTS OF 1998 HONDA CIVICS WITH EXPLODING COMPRESSORS AT THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND NONE FOR ANY OTHER MAKE. WHEN I CONTACTED HONDA, THEY SAID TOUGH LUCK, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD CUSTOMER AND BOUGHT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY.*AK

I WAS DRIVING AND I HAD ON THE A.C. ON LOW. I HEARD A LOUD POOF SOUND THEN I SAW A CLOUD OF SMOKE COME FROM BEHIND MY CAR. I STOPPED AND FOUND LITTLE PIECES LAYING ON THE GROUND AT THE POINT I HEARD THE NOISE. UNTIL THEN I HAD NO WARNING NOICES, JUST THE POOF. THEN MY CAR STARTED BLOWING HOT AIR. I WENT AND HAD MY A.C. CHECKED, AND I WAS TOLD MY COMPRESSOR COMPLETELY BLEW OFF. NOW I NEED TO REPLACE MY WHOLE A.C. IN A CAR THATS JUST BARELY OVER FOUR YEARS OLD. *AK