1994 Civic VX New owner disappointed!

[Otistheminivan]

I too agree that you REALLY need the manifold fix'd or replaced. Let us know the outcome.

John

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by eliteskill

The weird things i noticed about the car.
At a stop it idles funny. the car pulses and drops idle. its a steady pulses of 4 or 5 idle drop and runs like a normal car.. each time at a stop light. is that lean burn mode activated?

=(

this is a symptom of a vacuum leak somewhere on the intake manifold which can cause all sorts of problems and push your gas millage down.

[nlife]

Originally Posted by eliteskill

repairs made since: new o2, tranny bearings fixed, tranny seal fixed, bought a tach to chk rpms

mpg this pump @ 30mpg better than my 26.. but still having horrible mileage compared to everyone else... will try next..

will get a new exhaust manifold this week (they are expensive anywhere to get a cheaper one than $250) , and also tires and alignment done. anything else that could be going bad? maybe my cat? that would effect my mpg... i would be happy for just 40mpg.. even thou i see people breaking past 50...

Don't rebuild the engine because you're out of gas... meaning try the cheap things first.

Given that the car is older and you've flushed your fluids, try replacing your thermostat with a hotter one (new one if it's already the hottest you can get). It's a cheap fix ($10) and in my case the gas mileage went up after flushing and replacing. I did replace a faulty thermostat and OLD coolant in my festiva (it was as black as Coke). I had also put a hotter thermostat in the honda. The stock thermostat was rated at 172F (78C) and was replaced with one rated at 194F (90C). I went from 40ish mpg (highway) before to high 40ies in my festiva. I also went from 38mpg in the Civic SE to 47mpg on the latest highway trip. No other real modifications, but both cases has increased my mileage by 7-10 mpg. Not bad for a total of $30 invested (coolant, flush, thermostat and my time).

[gork57]

If your car doesn't have a tach, that could be a problem. All VX's came with a tachometer as OEM equipment. A good thing to do is to check the VIN and input it into a Honda Online dealership or other reputable site, then see what model you come up with. Could be you have some other model sold off as a VX. Of course the things stated by other posters, such as not gauging your mileage from just one tankful are true-but in 12 years of owning my 1992 VX I have never averaged as low as the 26 mpg you mentioned (at worst it was around 40, and that was with CEL on and a bad O2 sensor).

[JESSE69]

I'd say get rid of it and get a genuine Civic HX M/T! My $3500 salvage title one gets me 50 to 51 mpg at 70 mph!

[thisisntjared]

sticking brakes?

[eliteskill]

brakes are fine, it really is a real vx, vin is right and motor d15z1 is correct... the car did not have a tach when i bought it because the car was stolen before.. interior was stripped.. motor untouched.. the guy bought any civic parts to replace the interior with to sell the car, hence no tach. I already bought a tach and put it in. i really think its just because of the cracked manifold messing with my o2, but im unable to track down a new exhaust manifold? does anyone know where i can get one?.

[djenyc]

eliteskill - For exhaust manifold try junk yards
This site let's your search their inventory
www.car-part.com
I just checked for you and they had a bunch in $25-40 range, call them to order and make sure they don't overcharge you on shipping, as I noticed that some of them do.

Year1
Part
Model Description Part
Grade2 Stock# US
Price Dealer Info
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 1.5,VX A 040182 $45 Newville Auto Salvage, Inc.3 USA-WI(Edgerton) E-mail4 1-866-884-3115
1994
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic -CX HB 1500cc A F300 $40.61 Northwest Auto Parts - PRP, PAR, ARAPro5 USA-AK(Anchorage) E-mail6 1-907-333-6531
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 1.5L A SB204 $40 Shenandoah Auto Salvage, Inc.7 USA-VA(Stuart-Draft) E-mail8 1-540-943-2300
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic AFT NOF $40 McDill Auto Wrecking, Inc. RP+ Member9 USA-WI(Stevens-Point) Request_Quote10 1-800-332-4491 Request_Insurance_Quote11
12
1994
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 5/94 1.5 5SP CX,CCC132038 CCC132038 $40 Westside Auto Parts13 USA-CO(Fort-Morgan) E-mail14 1-800-307-2487
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 1500,VT,MT, O2 SENSOR BAD A CC $35 Edgar Motor Company15 USA-NE(Edgar) E-mail16 1-800-666-3315
1993
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 1.5L CX ?EPA (MATCH) 00028181 $35 Forest Auto Parts17 USA-ID(Lewiston) E-mail18 1-800-967-5228
1994
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 8-94,FWD,EFI,1.5 8B1041 $35 Eastside Auto Salvage19 USA-NC(Midway-Park) E-mail20 1-800-435-2886
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic HB (3 Dr), 1500, CX and VX- 1111 $35 A-1 Auto Parts21 USA-MN(St.-Paul) E-mail22 1-866-488-2533 or 1-651-488-2533
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic HB (3 Dr), 1500, CX and VX- 1111 $35 A-1 Auto Parts23 USA-MN(St.-Paul) E-mail24 1-866-488-2533 or 1-651-488-2533
1993
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic 3-93,MFI,1.5 A 27084 $35 Jahnke Auto Parts RP+ Member25 USA-WI(Menasha) E-mail26 1-800-236-3181
1995
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic O2 SENSOR ONLY,HB,1.5,CX,MT....... A 38562 $35 Davis Foreign Auto Parts27 USA-AL(Hunstville) E-mail28 256-859-0113 / 800-572-7235
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic CX,1.5L,63790 A 013912 $29.98 Abco Fridley Auto Parts29 USA-MN(Fridley) E-mail30 1-800-784-8890 1-763-784-8890
1994
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic CX,1.5L,29492 A 015090 $29.98 Abco Fridley Auto Parts31 USA-MN(Fridley) E-mail32 1-800-784-8890 1-763-784-8890
1992
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic HB (3 Dr), 1500, CX and VX- 11-62R $25 E.T. Cote and Son33 USA-MA(Leominster) Request_Quote34 1-978-537-2420 Request_Insurance_Quote35
1995
Exhaust Manifold
Honda Civic HB (3 Dr), 1500, CX and VX, FED- 95CIV $25 E.T. Cote and Son36 USA-MA(Leominster) Request_Quote37 1-978-537-2420 Request_Insurance_Quote38

[eliteskill]

thanks alot hopefully ill be gettin one around next week

[fungalex]

HI, I just got myself a used vx and been getting about 29mpg on the first tank.

I will try change the following item to improve the mpg

new o2 sensor
aligment
rebuild tranny
new fuel filter
spark plug
get fuel injector clean
check timing

maybe it is our ca model, mpg not as good compare to 49 states model