98 Civic Engine vibrating, running rough, slow acceleration

I was coming home from a snowboarding trip when all of a sudden the
engine light comes on and I felt a strange vibration whenever I
stepped on the gas. I pulled off to the side and tried restarted the
car, and noticed it accelerates poorly and the engine vibration
gradually got a little better as I sped up, but still very noticeable.
It also seems to kind of chop as it is starting up.

I have changed the transmission fluid, oil, and spark plugs, and this
still is occurring. Any idea what it could be? Something must have
broken for it to occur so instantly, but I have no idea! ><

 

If the engine light is on, get the code scanned. it will tell you the
possible problem.

 

PS, post the code here, many of the experts can help.

 

If the engine hasn't had the usual ignition tune-up parts (distributor
rotor, cap, and spark plug wires) with OEM parts recently this is the time
to do that. It may well fix the problem, which sounds like a rhythmic
misfire. Be sure to use genuine Honda parts for everything, although
aftermarket plugs are okay. While we are on the subject, the tranny fluid is
genuine Honda, I hope. Others can cause rough operation.

This is also a good time to ask the dreaded question: was the timing belt
changed on schedule (see the owner's manual)? A jumped timing belt can also
cause your symptoms, but if it hasn't failed badly you want to catch it
before it gets to that stage. Timing belt failure can be very costly.

Mike

 

Yep, Go throw a bunch of money in it when a simple code read will point out
what is wrong. This isn't the 50's. Cars since 96 are computer controlled
and getting the code is imperative to fixing it right.

 

If only it were that easy, these questions would never come up!

As I pointed out, the replacement of tune-up parts with good ones is called
for only if they are old. The process of troubleshooting involves first
fixing known problems, then seeing what symptoms remain. I agree that the
OBDII codes will be helpful once known issues are corrected and assuming
there is still a problem after that, but they aren't usually helpful before
that. Bad ignition parts can produce at least a dozen sympathetic codes, few
of them pointing to the bad parts.

The timing belt is even more critical. If it has jumped (not my first guess,
but something that must be eliminated because of the dangers of ignoring it)
there will be no codes that point to that. Ignoring a warning sign only
leads to regrets. If the belt is due for replacement and is neglected, the
codes will only give clues to what was wrong with the engine before it was
ruined.

Mike

 

yes you need to read codes, but i'm not sure something serious like a
skipped belt will throw a code. i'm pretty sure that d16 is timed off
the cam, not the crank. if the crank is out relative to the cam, the
ecu will never know.