The car wouldn’t move, wouldn’t rev over 1,500 RPM, and after a while I couldn’t connect to the ECU.The car drove fine until suddenly slowing to a stop without any warning. Everything on the dash looked fine. Nothing looked out of the ordinary–until I tried to move or rev.

I keep an OBD-II bluetooth dongle plugged in and checked for pending codes as soon as I started losing power. There weren’t any, but when I tried it again Torque just said it couldn’t connect.

Mom drove me home and a tow truck took my car to a shop, but the driver said he drove my car up the ramp, it just hesitated to start.

My mechanic drove her for 10 miles and idled for an hour without an issue. I immediately drove to AutoZone and someone checked my battery and alternator, saying they were working perfectly, but told me to clean the little bit of corrosion on my terminals.

I have driven my car for 4 days without a problem, not even any hesitation on startup.

By the way, she had a quarter tank.

What do I check next?

Thank you very much! Have a great day!

 

I'm confused by your post when you say you lost power. Your engine never shut off when the car was acting up? Did anything electrical act up like dimming lights, loss of radio, etc? Would the engine rev when you were in neutral? Or did the car not want to move when you tried revving the engine while in drive, like the transmission was having a problem?

Any recent work done on your car?

 

The lights, fan, and radio performed within specified parameters.

The engine idled normally, but when I tried to rev it in neutral it wouldn't go past 1,500, and the car didn't move while in drive despite flooring it.

All that I had done recently was remove the catalytic converter, which threw a P0420, remove the carbon, reinstall it, and then swap with my other cat, which I had also cleaned.

That worked once, but then I decided to replace the cat.

Unfortunately, it didn't work this time.

I hadn't done any other work besides topping off the ATF with Lucas Transmission Fix because it has a slow leak.

I drove 50-100 miles without a problem, although the transmission shifts slowly now. I don't know if the gears are wearing out or the Transmission Fix is too thick.

My transmission leaks if I combat park, but if I park my car like a boring useless civilian it doesn't drip, although I don't know if it would have if I 100% used ATF.

 

Since people often suggest replacing the spark plugs and wires when problems arise I should mention that I recently replaced those, trying to figure out why my car keeps ruining catalytic converters. I installed the plugs specified in my owner's manual, but I couldn't find NGK cables in my town.

 

I have been changing my spark plugs every year or two. The last time was after I had misfires. This is how they looked:

According to this chart I think they were okay. Is it big enough?!

Lacking any specific suggestion I am going to start going through Eric the Car Guy's troubleshooting guide:I am sure that oil level is inadequate. Does it smell like gas? Does it smell like burning? Does it look, but not taste like a milkshake?

 

You have a lot going on with your car.

Burning through converters is a sign of engine performance issues or buying very inexpensive aftermarket converters.

Since you have an obd2 scanner with torque, what are your short and long term fuel trims when the engine is warmed up and at idle?

Where is the leak on your transmission and why were you adding lucas transmission fix?

 

I bought the car from my brother-in-law and he installed, or paid someone install, an Evan Fischer cat, and when it died, or was killed, I tried to research brands, but I could only find anecdotal evidence of which brands has allegedly worked well for the people who bothered giving feedback.
I ended up buying another. I believe the best price that I can find right now is $150.I don't know what that means, but I will get the numbers and report back!I don't know!

It only seems to leak when I back into our driveway. I don't know that it leaks when I drive and it doesn't seem to leak on level ground or when the front is higher than the back. I tried cleaning the underside and I tried looking with a flashlight, but all that I could tell was that it seemed to be leaking from higher up, near the firewall.

I put white cardboard under my car when I parked, but the ATF just seemed to be dripping from somewhere higher.

My mechanic said he didn't see any ATF. My transmission was leaking and I didn't want it to!

I can always back into the driveway, put down the cardboard, and poke around again, but unless that is related to my car being found on road dead, I would rather get back to it.

 

Since you have several issues at once, you will need to at least diagnose some of the known issues. From your description of the engine running, but the car not moving leads me to believe the transmission was having issues, or maybe the PCM, since you couldn't connect your scanner to it when acting up. This could also be a wiring/ground issue. By no means am I suggesting to replace/repair either. I'm suggesting that you do some initial troubleshooting to narrow down the problem.

The Honda catalytic converter runs around $1000, so the $150 converter likely has less precious metals and doesn't take degradation/fouling to lose performance and set a P0420. If you don't have a P0420 code right now, then don't worry too much.

Fuel trim is the increase or decrease in fuel to keep your engine running at proper air/fuel ratios according to the O2 sensors. An engine running perfectly would have zero total fuel trim. In reality a fuel trim from -10 to 10 is normal. Long term is the learned fuel trim by the computer over time, and short term fuel trim is based on current readings. The total fuel trim is the sum of the long and short term trims. The total fuel trim can indicate a rich or lean engine and also why depending on the fuel trim at idle and at elevated rpm (like 2000 rpm). Just report the fuel trim at idle when the engine is warmed up and also at ~1500-2000 rpm. The numbers jump around, so get an approximate number to see if this is an issue.

Your spark plugs look ok to me, but spark plugs can be hard to read if you don't have a drastic problem. Your car calls for NGK ZFR5F-11 spark plugs that should be replaced every 30K miles (I don't go by the years on the spark plugs). For plug wires the OEM Honda wires seem to last forever, where aftermarket can degrade and cause a misfire. NGK is also a good alternative aftermarket brand. What code(s) did you get when you had a misfire?

Since you have a transmission fluid leak, I'd recommend checking the level with your car parked on level ground with the engine cold. Add transmission fluid for Hondas to get the fluid level correct. I'm not a fan of the stop leak products, because they rarely fix leaks. Also Honda transmissions are picky about fluids. To find a leak, find the area of the transmission that you see the drip. Clean as much off the transmission as possible. Spray the transmission with something like athlete's foot powder from the can. Drive the car to get the leak to appear. Then start tracing the stain to the highest point to narrow down the leak. It may be something as simple as an o-ring on a sensor that is a cheap and easy fix.

Cleaning all ends of both battery cables with a wire brush or sandpaper is also a good idea to ensure you have good electrical connections. With the battery disconnected, trace the + and - battery cables. Disconnect each end and clean up those connections. Clean any corrosion on the battery posts. Clean the large + cable to the alternator. Ground 101 is on the firewall near the intake air temp sensor. That is an important ground and I suggest disconnecting and cleaning that ground as well.

I know I posted a lot of stuff, but this hopefully gets you into a better position to identify the root cause of why your car stopped moving while driving.

 

Could I be unable to connect to the computer because my car was using more electricity than it is generating?I knew when I ordered the aftermarket cat that it wouldn't last as long and since the original failed at least a couple of years before I bought the car I didn't feel excited.

The code returned last week, shortly after I swapped CCs. I have cleared it twice so I would know if anything else came up.



I added all of the gauges that seemed important. I wanted to know if I was climbing or descending a hill, so I added the inclinometer, but my phone needs to be exactly vertical to read correctly.

My brother with Autism asked me to buy him bagels and I thought that I had just enough time before trying to drive an hour each way to see 3 clients, but my transmission didn't want to get into gear. The first couple of times that I came to a stop and tried to drive off my transmission seemed to shift into natural and then suddenly shift into drive, chirping my tires.

It was below freezing and it seemed like once my transmission warmed up it shifted correctly, although slightly delayed, but I barely felt comfortable driving to see my clients as it was.

I asked to reschedule.

However, I drove over 25 miles while running errands and she performed within specified parameters--aside from the p0420 returning.

When I got home I backed into the driveway and figured out how to add fuel trims to my crowded cluster of gauges, so it should have been pretty warm, but would have cooled down somewhat.

I told it to make a bar graph, but I just received the instant number, which varied between 8.59 and 10.16. I will get back to you about the trims at 1,500-2,000 RPMs.

I forgot to get that and the car has had a while to cool down.

I believe that I had a p0301, p302, and p304. The corresponding spark plug tube seals were cracked and those tubes were oily. I replaced the seals, plugs, and wires, and the misfires stopped. I also replaced the distributor because the points were corroded and it was leaking oil. Additionally I replaced the starter, which was all oily for some reason.Check the ATF with the engine cold?!! Who does that?! Unfortunately, we don't have level ground here--unless I park on the front lawn and Mom hates it when I park on the lawn!

Yes I live with my mother.

One problem at a time!

I always check my fluid in a seemingly-level parking spot and it would warm up slightly getting there.

​​​​​​​Spray athlete's powder?! Genius!

Why didn't I find this tip anywhere when I researched finding ATF leaks?

I put the white cardboard under my engine compartment as soon as I got the fuel trims and I have some kind of mysterious red leak.I cleaned my grounds a couple of years ago when I tried to track down another problem, but I will clean everything.

Did I miss anything?

I swear this response took me a couple of hours on my phone (and at least another hour on my computer proofreading and adding quotes)! Once again I spent far longer talking about fixing my car than actually fixing it!