As some of you may remember, I experienced a problem with my engine missing back in September, '00. Coincidentally, I was on my way to the dealer for my one year service and it started missing as I got on the freeway. Long story short, they ended up replacing the fuel injectors on the advice of Honda TechLine.

Well, it started missing again over the last several weeks, but very intermittently. Sometimes it would clear up by just putting in the clutch and giving it a few good revs. I've been too busy to deal with it and since it's been intermittent, so I didn't want to take it in and let the dealer have it for several days until they could duplicate the problem, while I'm stuck with a Civic.

Yesterday, however, it missed all the way to work and all the way home. This morning, it was missing again, so I just drove it directly to the dealer. This time, Nick, the master mechanic, told me he had another S2000 recently with the same problem and they replaced the MAP sensor. The sensor is located on top of the intake manifold and is held on by two screws. They didn't have one in stock, but this part is shared by dozens of Honda models, so they took one off a brand new vehicle. Nick drove it around the block, prononounced it fixed and then had me drive it around the block. It was running perfectly again! I could kick myself for not dealing with this sooner.

Some of you longer-term members may remember cdelena reporting this fix months before my fuel injectors were replaced.

 

So what are the symtoms for engine missing?

 

The symptoms are stumbling, hesitation, poor idle. When accelerating, it feels like the engine has a cork in the intake or exhaust. The loss of power can vary from minimal to very obvious. The quicker you open the throttle, the more noticeable it is.

What's actually happening is that the MAP sensor is calculating the air/fuel ratio incorrectly, resulting in less fuel or more fuel. Less fuel means that your engine is starving for fuel and can't produce power. More fuel can mean incomplete combustion and popping.

 

Thanx Tom!

 

It might just be my shitty driving (sometimes)

but sometimes when Im rolling in first, or second gear at about 15-20 mph the car will start jerking... even when i accelerate... i gotta put the clutch in to make it stop..


Ive driven stick (3 civics, a prelude, a boxster, and now the s2k) for a while and havent had this happen, so maybe the s2k is just more touchy... i dunno... anybody know what im talking about?

j

 

yes.........but I haven't had to ask my Mom to give me a ride anywhere in a long time..........j/k

 

Yup, I've had this problem when stuck in stop-and-go traffic. It's almost like the plugs get fouled when you're creeping along, giving it just enough gas to keep moving or just enough revs to move forward a few feet. Then it suddenly starts bucking and you have to push in the clutch and give a few good revs to clear it out.

The symptoms I described at the top are distinctly different, as it happened at all speeds and all gears, mostly when accelerating and the wider the throttle the more evident it is.

 

You open the hood, and what-do-you-know the engine is missing!!!!

 

Yes, in my case the intermittent symptoms were hesitation and uneven fuel delivery usually in the 5K to 8K range. For awhile I thought it was a VTEC problem, but after numerous runs it became clear it was fuel. I had less of a problem at low speed and small throttle openings, and only a few occasions of bad idle.

After an unsatisfactory conversation with the dealership I found the threads on the board where people corrected the problem by tapping on the MAP sensor (RT suggested it was a suspect at about the same time). I removed the sensor, rapped it a couple of times with the screwdriver, and reinstalled. The problem disappeared.

I have since installed a new sensor just it case, but the old was working just fine. I have suggested to Tom that maybe this generic Honda sensor is marginal for the vacuum/pressure curves on this car. It certainly seems to be a problem for the SC cars.

 

Yes, I just experienced all of these symptons today on the way home from work. I was stuck in stop & go traffic, caused by an accident way ahead. Everytime I stepped on the gas, the engine would bog and jerk more. I had to step on the clutch and give it some gas. It was also idling very rough too. It did seem to idle fine when not the engine wasn't under any load in neutral.

I've also run into these problems while VTECing, which would be similar to CDELENA's experience. It seemed like the VTEC would engage and disengage back and forth. During one occurrence, I tried to maintain a constant RPM point and felt the same VTEC engage/disengage sensation.

This problem seems to be more prominent during the heat of summer. I will definately be getting replacement MAP sensor before the S2kDays drive. I'd hate to be left stranded if a major malfunction occurred.