2001 Civic, motor jolt and loses acceleration at highway speed

[BowJoe]

The Civic motor will jolt and lose acceleration at highway speed. Most times it can be put in neutral turn off and restart and the it will be OK. Other times I must pull off and restart a few times before acceleration returns. Any Ideas?

 

[nd4sped]

What check engine light codes are you getting. Probably best to start there. Im going to assume there is a CEL with the type of conditions you described.

 

[BowJoe]

Car goes into limp mode. Turn ignition off and back on, car is fine. Check engine light goes out. Stored code is P1361

 

[nd4sped]

Sounds like a faulty TDC sensor. Could also be oil contamination in the connector (this is typical of Honda's that have oil leaks on the back of the engine). Oil tends to run down and eventually contaminate the crank position sensor connector causing intermittent signal. The car can drive with the issue in OPEN LOOP mode but will operate in a reduced performance.

It could also be the CKP sensor in the distributor. You will need to test the circuit on both with an oscilloscope to ensure the sensors are putting out the correct voltages when they rotate. Compare the maps to the Honda Service manual to ensure the maps are identical. if the voltage maps are different then the sensor is bad.

 

[nd4sped]

Here is a decent video on this issue.

 

[BowJoe]

Thanks. I did replace the sensor and no problems so far. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

[nd4sped]

Love it, glad to hear! Dont be a stranger!

 

[refreshingblueberry]

Sounds like it could be your main relay, man. That's a common problem with these cars. There are a bunch of videos on YouTube showing how to test them.

 

[davidbravo]

The Civic losing acceleration on the motorway could be due to a few things. First, check for engine fault codes. A faulty TDC sensor or oil leaking onto the crank sensor connector are common causes. The oil can disrupt the signal, leading to power loss. It could also be a bad crankshaft position sensor. Testing both sensors with an oscilloscope will help confirm the problem.