Honda Horror Story

My son has a 2006 Honda Civic which has been a good car. Wipers were dying so he took it to a local shop. How hard could it be? Wipers are controlled by a $25 steering column switch, so you test the switch and the wiper motor and the wires in between.

Turns out the $25 switch is still there, but instead of directly running the wipers, the switch is wired into a sealed non-openable non-serviceable $425 box (MICU) physically integrated with the under-dash fuse box. The garage found him a used box, to save money, but it was no good, so they got a new one from a Honda dealer. Installed the new box, wipers work great now, but the engine dies after a couple seconds because the box is apparently part of the immobilizer system. Honda dealer says the new box should work with no customization, but service manual says the main computer has to be re-flashed to recognize the MICU.

So the car is now immobile and 40 miles from the dealership, so re-flashing is problematical. Apparently there is an itinerant auto electronics guy whom the local garages call on, and he will be stopping in today. Hopefully he has the right Honda tool and knows how to use it. Meanwhile it rains or snows every other day, so the car has been out of commission since just before Thanksgiving.

My solution, on a 13-year-old car, would be to reinstall the original MICU so the car would run. Then install a switch on the dash and run hot wires directly to the low and high speed wiper motor terminals. Maybe add a pushbutton for the windshield washer pump. That’s what I would do, but who asked me?

I would have used it as a sunny day car. Modern cars may run better and last longer, but they really ream people on its gadgets. $425 for wipers, thats nuts but nothing you can do about it but bend over and take it.

warminmn wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 11:24 am

I would have used it as a sunny day car. Modern cars may run better and last longer, but they really ream people on its gadgets. $425 for wipers, thats nuts but nothing you can do about it but bend over and take it.

Is there an alternative to a $200 plus key fob replacement I should learn about?

titleist1 wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 11:31 am

Is there an alternative to a $200 plus key fob replacement I should learn about?

Ive never had one and have no idea. My Crown Vic had some aftermarket wireless starter that didnt work (no remote starter or maybe it would have). When I removed it, it had another car key inside it so I got a spare key for my work. I'll stay with the Vics as long as I can but they are disappearing quickly now.

rberg,

being an old coot that simply refuses to tolerate the bullstuff involved with cars at any level I would have followed your solution from the very beginning and been driving in an hour and since.

I hate power windows, power door locks / fobs, keyless entry pads etc etc etc.

i'm betting that you are also being told preinstalled new electrical parts are non returnable too aren't you.

KingCoal wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 1:50 pm

rberg,

being an old coot that simply refuses to tolerate the bullstuff involved with cars at any level I would have followed your solution from the very beginning and been driving in an hour and since.

I like my solution, too, but it's my son's car and he is 300 miles away. I'm not much of a mechanic, but over the years I have resolved on my own a number of sticky problems that the professionals just gave up on. They know a lot more than I do, and have the tools and experience, but just aren't willing to think outside the box.

warminmn wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 12:48 pm

I'll stay with the Vics as long as I can but they are disappearing quickly now.

One of my neighbors says the same about his Mercury Grand Marquis. Basically the same as the Crown Vic, I think?

[/quote]
One of my neighbors says the same about his Mercury Grand Marquis. Basically the same as the Crown Vic, I think?
[/quote]

The Crown Vic is kind of a stripped down grand Marquis or lincoln. Same frame I think. Basically no big frills. The Lincoln and Marquis has an airbag suspension that works super good until it busts then its so expensive to fix most put Vic springs in them. The seats in a Vic are not even close to the others. The vics gauges are mechanical with sensors of course. Cops loved them as they were rear wheel drive and tough as hell in accidents. Quite dependable. 25 MPG highway +/- 1MPG (civilian models, cop cars around 20). It isnt 40 MPG but I could haul 10 bodies in the trunk They made the trunks large for all the cop gadgets I think. I need a lot of space to haul stuff and its one of only a few cars that would work. Ford has thought of making a run of them for policeman again, but well, they havent done it yet so probably never will.

Rberq go for it my old 88 Ford F-250 was the best truck I ever had however it was a wiring nightmare. It had all kinds of pollution garbage on it and the dual full tanks with multiple fuel pumps and selection switch’s were a pain. I had toggle switches running everything it looked like a cockpit of a plane. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

I can believe it Berquie. Seems strange, I always felt Honda was the queen of all the imports but maybe I’m misinformed.

My wife drives a ‘15 Grand Cherokee that to my knowledge has 12 computers on board. While it’s been fine for 80,000 miles, I do not look forward to the day that all of that begins go sour.

I miss the old Dodge Ramcharger days that I could yank the battery completely out of after ignition and drive down the road.

I guess it’s the price we pay for comfort?

CoalJockey wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 7:00 pm

I can believe it Berquie. Seems strange, I always felt Honda was the queen of all the imports but maybe I’m misinformed.

My wife drives a ‘15 Grand Cherokee that to my knowledge has 12 computers on board. While it’s been fine for 80,000 miles, I do not look forward to the day that all of that begins go sour.

Last time I was at my regular independent garage, the owner was grumbling about all those computers. Plus he says the manufacturers won't let him buy documentation and tools that the dealerships have. It must be a nightmare to troubleshoot problems.

rberq wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 10, 2019 7:12 pm

Last time I was at my regular independent garage, the owner was grumbling about all those computers. Plus he says the manufacturers won't let him buy documentation and tools that the dealerships have. It must be a nightmare to troubleshoot problems.

It all seems to getting worse for long range or even short range reliability. Supposedly, current models now can have anywhere from 20 to 50 computers on board, depending on how many different "infotainment ( distracted driving) systems and butt massagers are on board. Just the ABS / anti-yaw modules can be stupid expensive. 20 years ago, you could at least get some of the Bosch ABS modules and ECM's on US cars rebuilt by places that had successfully hacked them.

I'm not all up on specifics, but Honda seems to have the worst of many maker's problems with engines going south quickly on newer cars. Fuel dilution of oil and carbon build-up from the direct injection. Many Civics, Accords and CR-V's. Then there's the crazy high line pressure of direct injection systems. Getting real hard to avoid the small bore motor with turbo and direct injection. All thanks to rapid implementation of the new corporate average fuel economy ( CAFE ) standards. IF they would have not let the CAFE levels lay dormant for so many years at 27.5 mpg fleet average for cars from 1990 to 2010 maybe we wouldn't have to suffer the engineering fails from going to 48.7 next year and 61.0 in 5 years. "Foreign" cars like Fords made in Canada and "trucks" like the PT Cruiser were not counted against the fleet car average.

The biggest problem now days is most systems in the newer vehicles control other systems which makes it expensive to fix when they go bad. When my phone rings in my truck ( using Bluetooth ) the blower on the HVAC will lower the speed itself, wiper speed is controlled by the vehicle speed now this is not anything new, but with the technology now days its getting worse and most people can't work on them.
I remember growing up in the 70's and 80's If our cars lasted 100,000 Miles it was like hitting the lottery, for us other then routine maintenance and tires 100K is nothing for the newer cars

Update on the original problem: After $425 MICU replacement, plus $150 for the independent expert to reflash the main computer to recognize the new MICU, the wipers failed 30 miles later. This time my son was a couple miles from a Honda dealership, so he left the car there and they ferried him to work. They diagnosed wiper motor problems, and are over-nighting a new motor from a warehouse somewhere out West.

I hesitate to advise him to have the original MICU put back. There would be $150 to reflash the computer again. Also dozens of wires going in and out, and all they would have to do is break a wire or bend a pin, and he would have some new electrical nightmare. I found a list of thirty-three electric functions/switches controlled by the MICU.

Hot Spare or resell the MICU...