i have a 1997 honda civic ex(vtec)(d16y8 engine) and i had it for 4 years. it never gave me a problem but this summer...it started fuking up. it has over 210,000 miles on it. when its hot, the fuel gauge doesent read correctly. but thats not the problem im worried about...what im really worried about is that when i put the car in drive..and then accelerate it happens to stress out in the begging. the rpms jump and it feels like its about to turn off. it accelerates..then feels like it gona turn off..then accelerate...then feels like it gona turn off n this keep repeating till i reach about...hmm 20mph maybe. i hope nothings wrong wit engine(like pistons, camshaft, valves, ect.)
n btw i havent done nothing to the car sins i got it(4 years ago).
i didnt get it a tune up...n i didnt timed the vavles or nothing.
ps i was thinking that the car isint getting enough air, or that the vavles are timed correctly. n also this started happening this summer.
Update:i ment to say that the engine didnt get enough air. not the car.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Sounds like a torque converter issue, inside the torque converter there are 3 parts, the Turbine, Stator, and the Impeller (Also technically a 4th called the Torque Converter Clutch).
I'm betting your problem lies within the Stator, it's what multiplies the engines torque so you have the power to accelerate. Now just like a clutch in a manual car, a torque converter in an automatic can wear out as well. If a stator begins to wear out it will slip and/or rotate in the wrong direction disrupting the fluid flow in the torque converter and you'll notice a huge difference in your acceleration and the car will feel like it's struggling and seem wimpy, but once you get up to speed it will be like everything is fine since all the Stator does is increase torque and you no longer need torque once your moving.
One way to test it is doing what's called a Stall Test, basically with the car in 1st (must be done in gear) you hold down the brake (pedal brake NOT hand brake) and press on the gas, you'll see the RPMs increase but then they will hold at a certain point, where they hold is you current stall speed, it's just up to you to find out what the car's OEM stall speed range (probably call Honda) should be and compare to yours, anything lower or higher your gonna need to replace the torque converter.
The Torque Converter Clutch inside the torque converter will also give off similar symptoms with the addition of stalling when you come to a stop.
That's just my $0.02. Could be that or maybe it is just time for a major tune-up.
Gary's got the right idea too, but that's more just throwing parts at the car and hoping it fixes the problem and not actually diagnosing it.
Anyway, good luck.
Gary answered this question with a fairly thorough list but I figure it can't hurt to add my $0.02.
My sincere hope if that you don't have an electrical problem - those can be an absolute bear to resolve and on a car this old/with this many miles it just may not be worth it.
Go down the basic tune-up route first.
Step one should be replacing the fuel filter. It's a $5 cylindrical component that will be mounted to the underside of the car near the fuel tank. If it's plugged then the fuel pump may be having trouble sending the appropriate amount of fuel to the injectors. If the problem persists then I'd probably move on to replacing the spark plugs and inspecting the spark plug wires.
first step is tune-up.
replace the ff:
sparkplugs
fuel filter
airfilter
change oil and filter
clean up throttle body
adjust valve
check /replace timing belt
retorque cylinder head bolts
check/replace fuel motor
check level auto trans fluid
same as gary