So I have a 2014 Base Model ILX and just replaced the radiator. I ran over something in the road that kicked up, busted through the plastic shield and cracked the bottom of my radiator. It may have also damaged the condenser since it is bent..
I just replaced the radiator on it with OEM component (this was way more difficult than any other replacement I have done since the radiator is buried under the hood release and bracketing). I disconnected the battery, fans, & car horn in the process.
When I put everything back together, it was a bit rough starting up and there was a shimmy in the engine. Upon just driving no more than a tenth of a mile, the car seemed to go into limp home mode. Multiple warnings came up (VSA, power steering, and at least another one I can't remember). My power steering was still working fine at that point though. The OBD II code that came up was P0303 (cylinder 3 misfire).

Tried checking the spark plug on 3 and it seems fine. My dad did a compression test and they all were either 152 or 153 psi (is this what it should be?).

Looking for recommendations on what to do next. What could possibly be happening here? Is this potentially engine damage from overheating? Maybe disconnecting something during the replacement is causing it to freak out (i.e a computer problem)? I know there was a sensor at the base of the radiator that I had to move from the old one to the new one (temp sensor?) and not sure if that would cause the car to freak out at all.

Thanks!

 

Also, it didn't have these errors when it overheated before I started working on the car.

 

did you connect all sensors and connectors????????
go back over your work.

if not; the next thing to check is the head/head gasket...YOU may have warped the head...how far did you drive it with no coolant/overheating?

 

I'm pretty sure I connected everything; I could double check it all though. The only sensor that was moved was the one at the bottom of the radiator which I think is just a temperature sensor. If this were damaged or not connected properly, would it throw everything off like that?

When it initially happened, it was a couple miles without it overheating but as soon as I got off the freeway it got hot, but I was pretty much home.
I did have to get it over to my parents house to work on it though. So a 20 minute trip took over 2 hours because I was constantly pulling over anytime it started to get hot and refilling the radiator and cooling it (pretty good leak so it couldn't hold fluid for too long).

 

If the head were warped or the head gasket got blown, wouldn't the compression test indicate that? (i.e one cylinder isn't holding pressure like the others) When my dad did the compression test, all 4 cylinders were showing 152-153 psi.

 

most likely something isn't hooked up correctly, like a sensor or battery cables..

a warped head or bad head gasket would have white smoke coming out of your tailpipe. ie; burning coolant.

 

So you think it's likely a computer issue freaking out, throwing all of the warnings, and causing the motor to start/run rough?

 

no one can say for certain, until you go back over your work and look at every single connector/sensor/battery cable.

Are you emitting white smoke from the exhaust? that's the tell tale sign of a warped head/bad head gasket, as the engine is burning coolant.

 

I will have to double check the white smoke, but I didn't notice anything. I could hear some sputtering from the exhaust (and didnt see white smoke then), but I was attributing that to the engine being rough and shimmying.