Hi,

I've got a 98 Civic and the car works great in my local basically flat community. But the moment I have to climb any sort of hill the car doesn't settle into gear and struggles tremendously. The problem is not new. I noticed it a couple of years ago. I have driven without a problem since then..I just avoid steep hills. Friends of mine have now moved to any area where I can no longer avoid hills to visit them. So it's time to get the problem fixed. Someone said to me that the catalytic converter likely needs replacing. Can anyone tell me if that is the likely problem and what it would roughly cost to get it replaced. I'm from rural B.C. Thanks for any help/advice anyone can provide.

 

welcome to the forum. It is possible that the cat is clogged. If your car has been tunned properly and the timing is set correct, also the injectors are clean, the cat would cause for a power lost on hill climbs. If you do not need a stock cat ( honda cat) per state laws you can got to any mufler shop and have an after market cat installed. In Ca. you must have a Honda Cat, no after market if you want to pass smog. Then it gets expensive.

 

Thanks for the info acmech. Much appreciated.

 

My guess is the clogged cat,does iy smell bad from the exhaust?

 

Thanks buckwheat. No there is no smell. The car just labors significantly going up inclines and obviously the steeper the incline the more laboring. It drives perfectly fine on flat surfaces and has done so for several years since the incline problem was noticed. I haven't tried going from D4 to 2 on inclines as recommended in the driver's manual. Maybe that will help a little. With our friends moving up a gradually steeped hill, I'll have to get the problem fixed as I can no longer just avoid hills. I was just trying to get a better understanding of what it might be in advance. Cheers.

 

Please let us know what you find out.