Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

oops13 · April 2001

The best solution to your bouncing is to slow down to reasonable speeds for the conditions that you are driving in. You will probably never notice anything about the rear end bouncing or hopping when driving at speeds appropriate for the conditions. I too have noticed the rear end hopping mid-turn, but only when pretending to be Michael Andretti travelling at speeds far beyond what is prudent on the 270 degree exit ramp from the freeway near my home. Even then the hopping only occurs when I travel over fairly large bumps. Just remember folks, this is a compact entry level economy car. I personally am pretty impressed with the ride and handling of my 2001 LX (getting rid those factory tires is the biggest change you can make to this car's handling). If you want to race, get a shifter cart not a Civic. You are driving a daily commute not SCCA Autocross.

cartagram · April 2001

What are the choices for better tires to replace the factory Firestones that come with the '01 Civics? And what kind of tire do you look for that would "improve" the Civic's ride? To put it another way, what handling problem would a different kind of tire solve?

oops13 · April 2001

I did not say that there was a handling problem that needed to be solved. I stated that a tire change COULD improve the handling of the car. When I say handling I am including wet performance as well. Putting the wrong tire on could do more harm than good. That's a chance you take. Always do your own research, don't just trust what the salesman tells you. A tire such as the Goodyear Regatta 2 is rated tops in it's class by Tire Rack customers as a touring type tire. I personally put Goodyear Aquatread 3's (it was rated tops in it's class as well) on my car after only 500 miles. I noticed an immediate improvement in wet traction and cornering grip(wet and dry). The ride is much less harsh also. It isn't just a wet weather tire anymore. It actually has the look of the old Gatorbacks somewhat. I did notice a slight change in the noise from them. It's not that they were louder so much as just a different pitch. I have over 7000 miles on them and they are wearing like iron. They have a silica reinforced rubber compound instead of carbon black which increases the grip as well as improves the mileage. They are 85,000 mile tires. From the looks of it I will get 100,000 easy. However, this is all just my personal opinion from seat of the pants feedback.

tazereli · April 2001

When the old firestones needed replacing on our 98 civic EX (good riddance) I got a set of Dunlop D60's for the 'Rack. My dear god what a difference! Not only did the car handle better, but the snow and rain traction improved tenfold. The car grips the road well and now I can take off ramps and on-ramps at speeds upwards of 45 mph. Now I did go to a slightly lower profile then stock so the tires have stiffer sidewalls. From 186-65-14S to 195-60-14H.
As to the Aquatreds Ive only had experience with the older generation while I was in college working at Sears Auto Center. After about 20-30K miles the wet weather performance would deteriorate considerably as that center channel wore down. Still plenty of meat but the wet weather performance was not there.

Happy motoring!!

Kyle

scooter62 · April 2001

hi all-
just picked up my lx 5-speed this week. i've owned 2 other civics ('78 and '86) with a corolla in between. so far so good. paid less than tmv, carsdirect, autobytel and one other dealer. only problem were the deep scratches on the rear fender. sales manager fell all over me being apologetic and gave me a bunch of free oil changes (whats with 5w-20? is it commercially available?). took 3 days to repaint, cure and finish. fortunately i cant tell the scratches were even there! very satisfied, but does anyone else notice an annoying little engine whine?

ian2 · April 2001

I dumped the factory Firestone tires with 195/60R14 Yokoyamas on my '98 EX(Canadian). The traction on dry and wet condition is excellent. I can easily push 50mph on on-ramps. 45mph is like a walk in the park. However, there's something to watch out for. If you live in an area with a lot of snow, you might want to put on narrower snow tires in the winter. The Civic, being a fairly light vehicle, will float on top of the snow with 195 tires -- not very confidence inspiring.

civic_cx_92 · April 2001

The tire swap from your 185/65-14's (58.86" circumference) to 195/60-14s (58.45") was a good one. It closely match the overall size of the original tires.

Too often I see oversized tires mounted on Civics to 'fill in' the wheel wells.

CX

ian2 · April 2001

I'm considering going with 195/55R15 when these wear out. I wonder if that would reduce body roll when cornering.

bordsource · April 2001

I have a whine, too. Mine comes from the blower. If I turn the blower on, a small whistle/whine eminates from the engine room when I rev the car, be it in motion or in neutral at a dead stop. It goes away by 3000 rpm. If I turn on the A/C, the sound becomes louder. See if yours is related to the blower also. I was told that the sound is normal (they said it was the power steering pump), and that mechanically the car is fine. But I'm not so sure. The engine loses a noticable amount of power with the A/C on in particular, and another Civic that was in the service bay at the same time as mine didn't make the noise. Lastly, they said that the Civic has variable-assist power steering, dpending on engine RPMs, which I know to be false. It all sounds fishy, but the car hasn't stopped running, and the A/C still puts out cold air. Nevertheless, if you have the same problem, I'd be interested in hearing what they had to say about your car.

One question about the tire upgrade: When you upgraded from 185s to 195s, were you still able to use the stock steel rims, or did you have to buy new ones?

tazereli · April 2001

there was no problem when I changed from the 185's to the 195's with the stock steel rims. Rim width is a factor when it comes to choosing a tire size. If the rim is too narrow for the tire, the tire will bulge at the center and you'll be riding on the center portion of tread. As to too big of a rim, the tire tech might have a problem seating the bead on the rim and the tire will look plain ridiculous. As well as riding almost on the sidewalls. Riding on the sidewall is a very big no-no. when upgrading to a bigger rim size make sure the new tires are approximately the same diameter and circomferance as the old ones. otherwise the speedometer caibration will be off.

mdriver · April 2001

I don't know about the rear suspension hopping in mid-corner, but it bounces in a straight line. This is probably because Honda tuned the rear to have very little damping for small up/down movements. Hit a large bump and the rear is contolled reasonably well. It's on the smaller bumps that the rear tends to bob up and down. Also I have noticed that the rear corners as if it had some kind of 4 wheel steering system. It's as if the rear wheels change their course slightly in a turn relative to the front wheels. Nothing major, but a bit odd and doesn't seem to help handling.

Isellhondas: There is an article in www.autoexpress.co.uk about the Civic coupe(search for the Civic coupe, as opposed to the other Civic models). The car is imported into the UK from Ohio. Even in the UK, they commented about the bouncing rear suspension. So now you have heard this problem from a source other than this message board. Unfortunately, the British review of the Civic coupe was not very kind. Although they gave the hatchback (not the Si) a reasonably good rating.

isellhondas · April 2001

Still...haven't heard about this anywhere else nor do I notice this when driving one.

And...what do the Brits know...? Look at some of the stuff they build!

Lets see now...rear suspension built by Lucas...

civic_cx_92 · April 2001

SUV weight is a concern for smaller car drivers.

Here in USA there is a SUV craze...
V-8 Expedition 4WD,
Curb Weight 5345-lbs. (XLT), 5468-lbs. (Eddie Bauer).

V-10 Excursion 4WD,
Curb Weight 7087-lbs. - 7688-lbs.

5,000 lbs SUV driving at 70 mph, It has a momentum of a 3,500 pound car doing 100mph.
6,000 lbs SUV driving at 70 mph, It has a momentum of a 3,500 pound car doing 120mph.
7,000 lbs SUV driving at 70 mph, It has a momentum of a 3,500 pound car doing 140mph.

can you imagine getting rear ended by one?

mdriver · April 2001

The only solution to being rear ended by these monstrosities, besides buying one, is to move to the UK where they still drive cars the size of Civics and not a pick-up truck in sight.

I have reservations about buying a small car in the US, even though I prefer them to anything else. In the UK, safety seems to have bypassed the US standard, since almost all cars now sold, come with side air bags and ABS. In the US, Honda only offers ABS on the EX models, while it is standard on ALL their models sold in the UK.

zack_01 · April 2001

I got rid of my Civic around 2 years ago. What a pain in the butt it was. Been watching the forum and see they haven't gotten any better. Had a '97 (inherited it from my sister when she lost her job and couldn't make the payments). Only put 33000 on it. Rear end bounced all the time. If I slowed down enough to make it stop kids on bicycles passed me. Hey young898 Honda's transaxles are [non-permissible content removed]. I would bet thats what broke. Mine kept crapping out on me. They blamed me for their factory boot that kept tearing or coming loose. Like I would sabotage my own car at night?? Like they don't know? Hell they admitted to my face its a COMMON problem. What your mechanics were doing was trying to figure out how they could blame you and make it a nonwarranty issue. Thats why they kept the car. Or they sound freaking incompetent if they can't figure out whats wrong. Now the die hards are poo pooing me. Well tell ya what. Next time your out in a parking lot or standing on a corner and you hear a car clicking and clacking while turning I will bet you $100 bucks its a Honda with a messed up transaxle. Never heard any other car do that. Me and my family have nothing but FWD cars and none have transaxles crap out so fast like the Hondas.

pat · April 2001

Read Edmunds.com's Erin Mahoney's report on road tests of the newly redesigned Civic by following the link in the Additional Resources box on the left sidebar of this page. The LX Sedan and EX Coupe are reviewed.

Share with us your impressions of the article and of the redesign and results.

Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards

otis12 · April 2001

Bought a 2001 Civic LX sedan, sticker is $16,250, advertised at $13,495. I was expecting the usual salesman game..."sorry, that one was sold"...I must admit I was shocked when the saleguy said and I quote, "no problemo, we got about a dozen all the same, for $13,495, pick out your color." Needless to say, I bought the car that day.

otis12 · April 2001

this price did not include NJ sales tax, and registration fee.

bordsource · April 2001

That road test was right on the money, and described everything perfectly except for the rear seat. The writer compared the rear seat space to neither the previous generation, nor the rest of the small car class. It's pretty roomy back there, certainly roomier than the rear seats of other cars, like the Sentra and Corolla. The Focus and Civic are about even, and both are more comfortable than the Neon. This fact was not brought out at all. And I don't see how that one editor got the footroom complaint from. I have size 13 feet, and they fit fine. Perhaps it is width that was the issue. Lastly, rear seat storage is pathetic in almost every car. What One seatback pocket is acceptable in this class. The problem lies more in the front of the car, where there's room for 3 CDs, a cell phone, and not much more (the owners manuals take up a lot of the glove compartment) unless you use both door pockets.

mdriver · April 2001

OK Isellhondas, Edmunds' review of the 01 Civic is another example of a review detecting the rear bounce (look in the second opinions section):

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/46005/page005.html

The Editor-in-Chief has written exactly my thoughts on the car. He is obviously more critical of the car's performance than the other Edmunds' writers. If the 2000 Civic finished 8 out of 9 in Edmunds' last comparison test, then judging by this review, it may move up to 7th place.

sweeneyj · April 2001

I'm thinking of buying an Accord or Civic EX and want to get it for as close to invoice as possible. Any suggestions on which dealers offer the best prices? I live in New York City, but I am certainly willing to travel the East Coast to get a better deal.

isellhondas · April 2001

Has to be a totally bogus post from a Honda hater.

Never heard of the "troubles" he talks about and that is the truth!

otis12 · April 2001

See my post #526. I purchased at Planet Honda on Rt. 22 in Union NJ (about 2 miles from Exit 140 on the Garden State Parkway). Besides the Civic LX for $13,495, they are advertising the following in the Saturday (4/28) Newark Star Ledger: Civic EX, list $18,150, sell for $14,995; Accord EX, list 22,640, sell for 18,895. In my research, they came in by far with the lowest price for a Civic LX with a straight forward sales approach. No bump and switch, et al, just a "yes, we have the advertized car."

sobers · April 2001

Atleast for the Civic part of it. I don't think last generation Civic got older or was outsmart by other makes etc etc. They selected the WRONG car & thats it. Edmunds set the rule that the Car should come within 17K!! Now Civic EX with 17300 was dis-qualified BUT they loaded Sentra/ Corolla/Protege for more than 17.5/18K ?? & to add on to it, they got Civic Lx with some 17000 RENTAL miles !!!

They complained about lack of keyless, which was a Dealer installed, $100 option on the Civic Lx. What would have happened if Civic EX would have been chosen ? With CD/Read disks/ABS/Moonroof, Powerful engine, Slick shifting manual, POwerfull Audio? The 2000 Civic EX would have come atleast with in top 3 & very close to #1. Not bad for a last year design !!

If Edmunds or Honda fans/bashers make too much out of tha test it is just an in-justice towards both the Honda & compact consumers. Despite Edmunds ratings, 328000 Civics were sold in last year !!

joshuae73 · April 2001

The TMV for a 2001 Honda Civic Sedan EX manual recently went up about $20.

I filled up the gas tank on mine yesterday:

332.3 miles / 8.589 gallons = 38.7 MPG!

WTF??? That was 60% highway, 40% city driving.

Maybe the odometer is wrong?

justin · April 2001

I went 394 miles on 10.2 gallons this weekend. 50% highway (70mph) and city. I was quite pleased with that!! EX automatic Coupe 2001.

joshuae73 · April 2001

If you assume our cars get 35 MPG versus 30 MPG for the Mazda Protege and other competitors (bar the ugly uncomfortable corolla), then after 35000 miles, we have bought 1000 gallons while our competitors have bought 1167 gallons. Let's assume $1.70/gallon. That saves us about $300, which is exactly how much I am allowed to spend at Las Vegas, which means I'm going to Las Vegas 1 more time per 35000 miles as compared with the version of me that bought the Protege or Elantra.

backy · April 2001

Shoot, Elantra owners like me don't need extra trips to Vegas to satiate our gambling impulses! After all, we bought a car with a lousy long-term reliability record, betting that reliability would improve with the new model. Talk about a crap-shoot! I've heard that Hyundai is thinking about having Kenny Rogers sing "The Gambler" in the background of their new Elantra ads. Or maybe not.

superego · May 2001

I have a new 2001 Civic EX Sedan.
The manual recommended the gas with octane
number no less than 86.
But a friend said that use higher octane gas
can be good for my car, and it is even better
for the engine and can achieve higher MPG.
I doubt about this.
Can you tell me, which gas do you use?
And which gas is better for Honda Civic?
Thanks.

tazereli · May 2001

the civic runs just fine on 87 octane from any reputable gas dealer ie sunoco, mobil, amoco etc. try to stay away from convenience store gas unless it is affiliated with a major supplier. you never know what gas you might be pumping into your tank with them. i prefer hess gas in my truck and amoco in my civic. 87 makes both run just fine with decent gas mileage. about 16-17 for the truck and about 33-35 with the civic.

isellhondas · May 2001

Just a waste of money to use the premium. Like taking vitamins your body has no use for.

mdriver · May 2001

Why would a friend's advice about what octane rating to use carry more weight than what the manual specifies? Unless an engine is specifically designed for high octane, power may suffer as well as a lower MPG

Also, "convenience" gas is fine and is only different from the major brands by slightly different additives. Does the manual say only use Shell or Mobil gas? I don't think so.

truckdude1 · May 2001

HI, we would like to know some information on the Honda Civic DX with Auto/A/c and radio, is the motor powerful enough for two people? we tend to floor or drive quick in city conditions alot, but we would service ontime.does this car tend to be reliable and get good milage? is the civic DX an ok deal and adequate enough with an auto tranny? please get back to us soon, thanks. provide all the info you can as we would like to know

scooter62 · May 2001

Has anyone used this website to purchase parts or accessories? The prices are about 1/2 the dealer retail. Do they provide directions for, say, putting on splash guards or the trim pieces?

nyyace · May 2001

I used hparts to buy an in-dash cd player for my Civic. I had no problems with shipping/delivery. I had it installed at a Best Buy. I would definetely use them again. There are a few other places where you can find accessories at discount prices. You'll find them if you type honda parts on a search engine such as yahoo.

mpgman · May 2001

Depending upon how you line the trim lines up, there can be very little price difference between the two. A Civic EX against an Accord LX-A for example. Both have the ABS and the Civic has the moonroof. Difference in price is about $2,000. If that price difference is not a barrier, what's your opinion as to the better value? Thanks.

sobers · May 2001

is better value than the Civic Ex. But Civic LX makes MUCH MORE sense to me. Diff of more than 3K & savings of 32-38 miles vs 23-30 miles of Accord!

Civic Lx is equiped very well(except abs) & has enough pep to carry 4 people in comfort.

joshuae73 · May 2001

I think the best value is the 2001 Civic EX sedan, manual transmission. Better value than LX civic:

That assumes you value a sunroof, ABS, VTEC with extra horsepower, metal moldings and door handles (as opposed to plastic moldings and door handles on LX), CD player in dash, 15 inch wheels... need I say more? This is worth the extra dough.

And it's a better value than Accord if you're into fuel economy and you are not a giant person.

truckdude1 · May 2001

do you know anything about the 01'civic DX with auto tranny? we would like to know how well they hold up under alot of city driving? is the motor well suited enough for two people who drive it hard,meaning flooring it all the time?, we service cars respectively and would like to know your experiences with the lx or dx sedan or coupe.i hear they are reliable and last a long time, we rented a civic lx from hertz in 99 with 44,000 miles and it seemed sturdy and held its own.please respond soon.thanks

joshuae73 · May 2001

I think the best value is the 2001 Civic EX sedan, manual transmission. Better value than LX civic:

That assumes you value a sunroof, ABS, VTEC with extra horsepower, metal moldings and door handles (as opposed to plastic moldings and door handles on LX), CD player in dash, 15 inch wheels... need I say more? This is worth the extra dough.

And it's a better value than Accord if you're into fuel economy and you are not a giant person.

mpgman · May 2001

Thanks for the feedback. Here are some small things that mean a bit to me:

Civic: better mpg, new redesign at beginning of cycle. Great resale.

Accord: more roomy, better legroom, real center console, a lot more storage bins, and center arm rest. Folding side mirrors. On the other side....new model due in 03. Almost as great resale?

I know the Civic EX has an armrest, but it looks like it is straight from the Hyundai Accent and there is nothing for the passenger. there is also no covered console storage in the LX.

Is real world mpg anywhere near EPA? In other words, I would expect to average around 30 with the Civic stick or auto, and around 24-25 with the Accord auto.

Yes? No?

Thanks.

joshuae73 · May 2001

I've filled the tank 4 times now. Always about 60% highway/40% city. My MPG keep going up:

33.7
34.2
37.3
38.7!

car_buyer_01 · May 2001

I know the Civic has a 13.2 gallon fuel tank, but the past/first two times I've filled up the tank from empty, it only took about 10 gallons. Is this right? Are the 3 gallons for reserve? Or is there something wrong with my fuel gauge?

sobers · May 2001

You are right....its 3 g for reserve & boy, there is one good thing called as 'Manual'

)

mdriver · May 2001

Maybe your mileage is improving because of warmer temperatures. I suspect that the increasing trend will come to a stop soon, otherwise you will top 40 MPG and that's not too likely.

car_buyer_01 · May 2001

I read the manual from cover to cover, but there was nothing on how many gallons are used for the reserve.

car_buyer_01 · May 2001

I was in a rush to install splash guards on my new Civic, but I left my manual at someone else's house. Anyway, to make a long story short, I jacked the car up in the wrong spot while taking off the front passenger side tire and poked a hole in the bottom of the car. There was a circular shape that I thought marked the placement of the jack.

Do I need to take my car to a Honda service shop to have this fixed or should I fix it myself? If I fix this myself what should I use? Thanks for any advice.

bordsource · May 2001

Mine has a 4 gallon reserve. That's too much, IMO, because 3-4 gallons is about a 1/4 tank. I was told it was normal, however. I'm beginning to think that they lied. I know that there was a TSB out on it- has anyone had this executed?

jjpcat · May 2001

I am very annoyed by the rear suspension in 2001 Civic. But this is my new finding.

This morning, I drove the car over 4 speed bumps. There was not a single person in sight. So I decided not to slow down. I was prepared to be thrown to the sky. But, surprising, the car ran over the bumps smoothly at 45mph. It was so smooth that I could barely feel anything. The last bump was right before a red light and thus I slowed down. The car ran over the last bump at about 25mph and the car did bounce a bit.

These are very smooth bumps and thus I wouldn't recommend other people to run over the normal bumps at that kind of speed. My point is that Civic seems to tune the suspension for high speed performance. It rewards you to drive over bumps at higher speed. Maybe they are selling this car at the wrong side of Atlantic.

mdriver · May 2001

Funny that all of the European reviews of the coupe remark exactly the opposite to your assertion. They say that this car was primarily designed for the U.S. market and is calibrated for cruising, not taking on tight corners.

Enough with the reserve/fuel light already. If Honda had left off this useless low fuel light (system) and spent the $1.95 on a low washer fluid light, I'd be impressed.

Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles