Honestly I know nothing about cars and I've done alot of google-ing to try and help me find some answers. I've had a couple of shops look at my car, but everyone has said something different and the cost has been between $500 to $1,000+. I'm not rich and I just want to make sure I spend the money on the right thing to fix my car, so I don't get jipped.

The problem is my car stops while driving for over 20-30 min. Different things seem to cause it to stop sooner also. For example, bad traffic. If I stop at a lot of red lights on the 25 min drive to work, the car will stop. If it's hot outside the car stops sooner than driving in the early morning. If I turn the car on and off again a couple times. Like if I stop at the bank, and then stop at the grocery store, then if I try to start the car again after about the 3rd time, it will stop. I can't use the AC either, or it stops sooner.

When the car stops while driving it either just slows down, or stops completely in the middle of the road. The lights on my dashboard will all turn on and the car will just lose power. After I restart it (which is usually difficult and might require a few tries) the car drives extremely slow. It has a hard time accellerating. When I push on the gas, the RPM goes up but my car doesn't actually go any faster. The car will slowly accellerate and max out at about 35-40mph. But if I have to break at a red light or stop sign, then the car does it all over again and it takes me forever to reach that top speed.

Then I have to park and let the car rest for about an hour before it can drive normal again (for another 30min). Another thing I've noticed is that when the car is driving slowly, the part of the car underneath the radio gets really hot and sometimes the car smells like its burning after it's stopped.

Sorry this is so long. I just tried to be as thorough as possible. I have an automatic 2001 honda civic lx.

possible problems i've googled that sounded like mine:
clogged fuel tank, bad fuel pump/filter/injector, catalatic converter, coil pack
???

thanks for any of your help

 

Does the CEL remain ON steady when you turn the key to ON(II)?

When the engine WILL NOT start, can you hear the low humming noise of the fuel pump priming for 2 seconds in the rear when the key is turned to ON(II)?

 

^ Yes, the check engine light is always on, no matter what. And yes, there is a humming noise when I try to turn the car on. But when I turn the key more the car makes a screeching "che che che che che" noise and does nothing.

 

Also, I don't know if this helps or not. But even though the car feels hot and seems like it overheats sometimes, the temperature meter never goes into the red. When I start the car the meter is at the very bottom, and as I drive it never goes above less than halfway. So maybe it's broken? or it's just not overheating lol

 

Take car to your local auto parts store to have them pull the CEL codes from the ECU. Post the codes to get more feedback. Also have the battery checked.

The temperature gauge seems fine.

 

Allright thank you. I'll have to go get that done on Monday morning then. The battery was just replaced about 2 months ago though, so I think it should be ok.