I am a divorce mother of two... Struggling to make ends meet. I purchased a Honda Civic knowing that Hondas are know for making quality cars that will last a very long time. I am a commuter and I need this car to get me back and forth to work... I don't know much about cars.. but on the 1st day of this nightmare... I smelled coolant leaking.. Did not pay much attention cuz, no engine lights came on telling me to do anything. So the next day I set out for work and not more than a few blocks from my house white smoke began coming from the under the hood and the temp gage was off the chart.. I stopped and opened the hood and smoke everywhere... Took it to two 3 cert mech and they both were dumbfounded that this could happen on this year of car.. they both said their was a crack in the engine.. Took it to Honda Dealers and they laughed in my face and said their hands were tied... They could do nothing for me...

I am in the process of getting an Attorney and filing suit... I am going to name everyone that I came in contact with that lied to my face knowing of this problem but just dismissed me as being a Stupid and unfortunate woman... I am going back to the dealer to demand help.. Then calling the US Atty and Atty General and the Dept of Justice... We cannot Let Honda get away with knowing this... This Vehicle should be RECALLED.

Update from Jul 19, 2010:

Cracked Engine Block

I went to work on a Friday and apparently, my car had been leaking anti-freeze which I was not aware of. I was going to run an errand at which time my car starting smoking. I had no idea why! I had my stepfather meet me and take a look at the car. He performed a temporary fix to ensure that I could make it home safely. The following day, I took the car to Pep Boys. A few days later, they informed me that the issue was not a waterpump as my stepfather had assumed. I was subsequently informed that the car had a cracked engine block and I needed a new engine which would cost approximately $4,000. The car has 80,000 miles but Hondas are supposed to be reliable cars.

I decided that if I were going to come out of pocket $4,000-$5,000 I might as well purchase a new car versus repairing this car that will inevitably require more costly repair. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER CIVIC!!!

So, I loved my Honda civic 06. I bought it in Dec. 2005 after my dodge neon was 4,000 in repairs. I was so excited to have a car that would last me "forever"...or at least 15 years! I trusted in the Honda experiences I had heard for years.

First, April 2010 my air conditioner went out, only blowing hot air. I figured there was a leak so proceeded to take it to a small shop where they refilled with refrigerant. It lasted two weeks and hot air again. Took it to Honda where they said it would cost me $200 to look at it and up to $750 to fix it. I did not have the money to do that at the time of the oil change so I told them I would wait and use the windows.

Then June 29, 2010 I am driving to work, about 15 minutes into my drive my car makes the most horrible clanging sound I have heard, I thought it was the ols Buick next to me but it was my car!! It would die down and start again getting louder each time. Was it my AC? It stopped making noise when I was at a busy intersection stopped and once I accelerated just a bit it made a crashing sound, smoke came from my entire engine and it DIED. I was on the corner nothing even turned on!

Took it to firestone to get a diagnostic $106. Got a call back, the piston came off, went back inside the engine and cracked the engine block. I was literally on this website reading all the other stories that were exactly like mine and they told me I needed a new engine. When I saw the hole it was huge!

Called Honda where they told me I am 4,000 over my warranty and there is NOTHING they can do, their hands are tied. They also quoted me higher to get a new engine.

I went to the Hyundai dealer my parents recently went to and traded in my civic for a 2010 Hyundai Tuscon. I could not come up with $5,000 on the spot or another $750 for AC. Now I have a 120,000 mile B2B warranty, and a life time warranty after that!!! Love my Tuscon

My four year old Honda Civic began smoking and leaking radiator fluid four days ago. We took it to a mechanic and the next day he reported that the car had a cracked engine block and needed to be taken to the dealership. I took it to the nearest Honda dealership and they said they had never heard of this problem in a Honda ( which I think may be a lie judging from all the complaints listed here about the same issue ). They checked it out the next day and agreed that the car did indeed have a cracked engine block. Since my civic has more than 60,000 miles they needed to check with corporate headquarters to see if they will pitch in toward it.

This happened on a Friday so we have to wait out the weekend for HQ to give their decision. I will fight tooth and nail to have Honda stand beside their work. I will update soon with the result.

One warm June day, I was driving for about an hour and my air conditioner stopped working and was blowing out hot air. I fiddled around with it and then opened the windowsn. The next day, being summer, I didn't think anything about some fluid on the garage floor thinking it was water from my air conditioner. My husband point out that it was coolant. I made an appointment in the next 2 days with the Honda dealer.

The next day, I went to get new tires. The tire guy said they had a problem starting my engine and they had to add coolant. He told me if the temperature gauge got to halfway I needed to pull over and let the car cool down. I got the the second light and the gauge went all the way up to hot! As soon as the light turned green, I pulled into a parking lot and called AAA. Towed it to a Honda dealer. They called me the next day and said my block was cracked at 61,000 miles!

I had a Honda back in the earlt 80s that died on me and I vowed I'd never buy another. I drove Toyotas for 23 years and drove them for a LONG time before I'd get another one. Never had a cracked block even at 185,000 miles! Never another Honda. My husband has a 2007 Ridgeline that gets 12 miles to the gallon!!!

Honda customer service has been pretty tight lipped on information . They were very emphatic that they would not approve any recovery amount unless the diagnosis went through one of their dealerships. My 2006 Civic was not under warranty so I took it to a radiator shop that fixed the cracked block with aluminum epoxy. After prepping the area that discover the block was not cracked but suffered from porous casting along the coolant jacket behind the exhaust manifold. The aluminum epoxy held and I have driven it thousands of miles with zero leakage.

Have 110,000 miles on the car and got caught in rush hour traffic with a cracked engine block. Had the car towed. The dealership says that this has been a problem with that model of car. I looked it up on the internet and reviewed with the dealership what I discovered. The car is 4 years old and my 4th Honda. I have clocked way over 110K miles on previous cars with no major problem. The dealership is calling the area rep for an assist on this. I will call the corp. HQ tomorrow with my compliant and the complaints found posted on the net (various sites). I am hoping and praying for a resolution to this problem or it will be the last Honda I will ever purchase.

Update from Jun 7, 2010: Honda stepped up to the plate and the local dealership also went to bat for me. 90/10 split....with great relief. It was in the shop a total of 3 days and is working just fine. I am very happy with the result. My advice is to get the scheduled maintenance done and keep very accurate records. I would also suggest staying with a Honda mechanic and not a generic (like a lube 'n tune shop). I am pleased with the outcome. Thank you Honda for stepping up to the plate and working with me. It is important to back the product that you sell.

I am the original owner of a 2006 Honda Civic and have had all the recommended scheduled maintenance at the dealership where I bought the car. With my long commute I'm up to 143,000 (highway) miles. I was on my way home from having their "B13" service when the engine light came on; it needs a new engine(!) They told me this is a common problem with 2006 Civics and that dealership has handled "several, one just this week", and that it manifests itself arbitrarily, "the engine is fine and then it just breaks". Most Civics less than 5 years old are still under warranty (or close enough) so I imagine that these people haven't felt the need to report this. But even with them managing to get Honda America to pay 25% of the cost I'll still pay over $3000 in repair costs. Hondas are "supposed" to be very reliable, so having a well-maintained engine die at less than 5 years old feels like I've been cheated. But more significantly, if Honda KNOWS this is a problem, I think they should take more action and responsibility about fixing it. Even with their "Service Bulletin" they said it won't be a recall unless it's a "safety issue" like seat belts. I don't think it's safe for people to be driving around Civics where the engine could fail at any moment without provocation.

Update from Sep 3, 2010: After talking with my dealership I called Honda America at 1-800-999-1009 about the extended warranty mentioned above. They assigned me a case number and had me fax in a copy of the repair invoice and a copy of the part of my credit card statement showing the payment. I'll update once again based on what happens next! (Note, when I called they asked for my VIN number so I was lucky I had my insurance card handy.) I thought I'd post now so others can "get the ball rolling" if they've already paid for this repair.

Update from Oct 18, 2010: I received my refund check from Honda for the full $3400, which included the new engine, radiator and starter that all died when the car overheated. I got a few calls updating me along the way from one of their national reps who was polite and helpful. I'm (back to being) a Honda customer for life!

Like complaint number 49, I was driving my son home and there was a terrible burnt rubber smell then an awful noice that sounded like a diesel engine gearing down super loudly, then smoke and my car died and rolled to the curb. I called my honda dealer and they sent a tow truck.

My car is in the shop right now. My mechanic called to say the "power steering pump" blew and threw two bolts into the engine block at an angle. He said he wasn't sure if it had cracked yet or not, he has to take a closer look at it and maybe he can drill them out of the engine block and fill the holes, other wise I have to replace the engine and the work alone will be $1000.00....

I just had the rear arms replaced and new tires put on due to that little issue honda would not cover two weeks after the warrantee ran out even though it was a known issue. The car is not under warrantee anymore and I still owe on the car....I thought honda's were built for drivers....but if that is true I am driving the blackest lemon this side of the planet around.

I noticed coolant leaking from my car and immediatly took it home (5 minutes away). I looked under the hood and a stream of coolant was spraying from my engine block. I called my local Honda dealership (Manly Honda Santa Rosa CA) and they told me to have it towed there. The service guy, Scott, was so nice he assured me it would be okay and Honda would help me with the cost because my car is out of warranty.

I bought this car becuase of Honda's good repuatation. We'll see how it goes and I will be updating this complaint.

Update from May 16, 2010: A few days after bringing my car to the dealership Scott called me to let me know the District Parts and Service Manager authorized a 25% discount on the repair. Ouch. I said that while I appreciated that, I would like them to consider at least 50% and I reminded him that I have all the service records for my car back to the day it came off the lot. A couple more days went by and Scott called again to tell me that the offer stands and no additional discount was approved. He said it was because I'm not the original owner, my car has 80,000, and it was not serviced at their dearlership in Santa Rosa. I was still nice about it but let them know I'd have to think about what to do before authorizing any work to be started on my car.

I called Honda Corporate and opened a 'goodwill consideration case'. The guy who took my request was a gerk and I was sure that I was screwed. I asked that Honda cover 75% because this is a well documented problem that Honda is very aware of, its a dangerous problem-they are lucky no one has been in a serious accident, and I also reminded the associate who took my complaint of how badly a problem like this went for Toyota and their Prius because they didn't take care of their customers.

A few days later Scott called and told me that Honda would pay for 100% of the repairs costs!!!!! AHHH!!!! Wow. I was so happy. My car has been at Honda for two weeks and I should have it back in 5 or 6 more days. I did have to pay for a rental ($35/day) but thats much better than $4,000! Overall Manly Honda and Corporate Honda did a great job handling this issue. I had to nicely but firmly stick to what I knew was right and it took a while but they came through for me. Thank you Manly Honda!

I have never driven this car hard. I always have the servicing and oil changed when it should be and always by the Honda dealership. I am really surprised and annoyed. Especially when I see this has become a known, common complaint with this model. This is my 3rd Honda civic. My 86 model went for +250K miles before I replaced it with a 1998 model that I replaced in 2006. Depending on how Honda of America handles this, it may be the first time in 20 years that I go to look at an American brand car.

I noticed the smell of anti-freeze for a couple of days before discovering the blue coolant dripping from the underside of my 2006 Civic EX with 56,300 miles on it. It never overheated or quit running so I was lucky in that respect. I brought it to my Honda dealer where they found that the block had cracked. They are replacing the short block under warranty and they gave me a free loaner. I should have the car back in 4-5 business days.

I was unaware that there was an issue with blocks cracking in 2006-2008 Civics until after it happened to me. I am just grateful that it happened while my car was still under warranty. Hopefully they will be replacing the block with the newly designed one that they started using in the 2009 Civics.

Cracked engine block.

I noticed something was unusual over the weekend when my heater did not work, which has never happened. Occasionally the heat would come in, faintly, and when it did, I smelled that sweet, maple syrup smell of coolant. (I did not know it was coolant at the time, however.) The following day, on a simple drive, my car overheated without warning. The temp gauge was maxed out and steam started rising from the passenger side of the hood.

An acquaintance believed the antifreeze was leaking and so we put in at least a gallon just to replenish it to a normal level. (At that point, the heater started working.) Since it was a Sunday, I called my nearby Honda dealer the next morning and was told to bring it the next day. After quoting me $97 for a diagnostic, several hours later the service guy called me with "good news and bad news."

I asked for the bad news first: "You have a cracked engine block," he said. My mind blurred because my warranty had just expired and I'm about a year away from having the car paid off.

The good news: I only have to pay $135 to replace it with a new block. (On top of the diagnostic fee and having to pay for a rental car at $33/day until its fixed, which will supposedly take a week or so.) He said Honda agreed to pay 95% of the whole repair and replacement because it's "aware" of the issue. Also, because I'm just over the warranty and got the "goodwill" consideration.

The guy also mentioned that he's "seen a few" other Civics with this problem at the dealer. In my own case, many of my miles are highway-driven and I've kept up on all scheduled maintenance and just a few months earlier purchased a new set of factory tires at the dealer.

Like most people, I got a Civic because of its reliability and am surprised that I've had to lose sleep over a car with less than 70,000 miles on it.

But was I relieved that the nice service man quoted me $135? YES. It could've been a LOT worse. So part of me wants to complain that I have to pay anything at all for this defect, and the other, pragmatic side is just thanking God that I'm not on the hook for $4,000, which is the cost the service guy said it would've normally been.

I feel badly for some of the other people on this board who totally got screwed.

Update from Apr 8, 2010: My repair only took three days and the total cost for the whole thing, including a rental car, ended up being $240. For a new engine block replacement, I'll take that and run!

I do not know what Honda is going to do about my misfortune. By the looks of it, not much. Between my wife and I, we have owned eight Honda vehicles. We are a Honda family to say the least. To their credit, this is the only one we have had an issue with. This is a big issue. Looking at the complaints, it seems Honda does not want to pay up for replacing the engine. I would like to see them at least sell me the block at cost and I would pay for the labor. Anything to help supplement and or defray this large expense would go a long way in my mind whether to purchase another Honda in the future or not. I just found out about the crack today. I will call my dealer tomorrow to see if there is anything they are willing to do to keep coming back and purchasing more Honda's. I am not holding my breath. Shame on Honda for not taking a more pro active role in confronting this problem.

Two nights ago, I noticed a sweet burning smell and a puff of steam coming from under the hood of my 2006 Civic. Up to that point, the car has been trouble free and I was a happy owner (long time honda owner) -- next day on the way to work the same thing happened again, so I took it directly to the dealer. Got called a couple of hours later telling me I HAD A CRACKED BLOCK and the car needed a NEW SHORT BLOCK. Dealer offered NO HELP (KEYES WOODLAND HILLS HONDA) - so I called American Honda -- still waiting to hear back from a case worker.

I AM SHOCKED at the number of owners of 2006 Honda Civics who have suffered the same failure! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.