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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

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  • strong68strong68 Member Posts: 22
    Every morning when I start to drive away and apply the brakes for the first time the brakes make a grinding, creaking noise, like the pads are shifting. This happens when the brakes are first applied but then stops once I start driving and braking, etc. HONDA said it is normal....this can't be normal! Can it?? When it rains, the noise does not happen...I assume because the moisture creates a barrier and stops the friction.
    Any thoughts?
  • alyssazmomalyssazmom Member Posts: 142
    I would take your Civic to an independant mechanic OR a different Honda service dept. I changed from the don't-have-a-clue-and-are-liars Rosenthal Honda to an honest-and-gets-the-job-done Leesburg Honda- such a difference!! I have a 2002 Honda Civic EX sedan and my brakes do NOT make grinding noises.

    Carrie ~2002 Honda Civic EX sedan in Eternal Blue Pearl.
  • gee35coupegee35coupe Member Posts: 3,387
    And they make a slight grinding sound on first application. No big deal.
  • ronin88ronin88 Member Posts: 3
    I don't understand what you were saying in your post above: ".........Recently I drove a friend's 2002 Civic LX sedan and it seem to feel more stable on the road than my 2002 Civic sedan. I attributed it to the double wishbone suspension on her car......."

    So her 02 sedan has double wishbone, but your 02 sedan doesn't?

    But anyways, sorry to hear about your problems, but I think you may have been unlucky with your Civic. I don't know how cold it gets where you live, but it can't be much worse than in Ottawa, Canada. Even in minus 20 degrees Celsius temperatures (which is around minus 5 farhenheit), with my 01 EX coupe parked outside all night, I was still getting instantaneous startup in the mornings.

    And just recently, I moved across the country from Montreal to San Diego in my Civic. A total of 3620 miles over 5 days, 12 hours of driving per day. Our car was so packed and loaded-down, the rear of my car looked like I had intentionally lowered it with aftermarket shocks. The AC was on all the time, and we still got 38.5 mpg for the entire trip. Not a single problem. It was as smooth and comfortable a cross-country trip as I could have hoped for. And my back didn't even once during all that driving -- great seats in the new Civics.

    Needless to say, I am very satisfied with my 7th gen Civic.
  • osum02osum02 Member Posts: 29
    Sorry, I meant to say 2000 Civic had the double wishbone suspension which seems to be more stable. No bouciness or instability.
  • ronin88ronin88 Member Posts: 3
    What they told you about the steering to the right being intentional is not a lie. Some manufacturers will do this on purpose for the exact safety reasons your service department told you.

    Of course, the pull to the right should be very slight. If it is really strong, then of course something is wrong. But my point is that they were not lying to you.
  • osum02osum02 Member Posts: 29
    Thanks for the response. Yeah, I'll get the printout and post the numbers stated on the paperwork. The last dealer even provided me a graph of the front end. His explanation seemed rather logical but why this bias. I've never had any other car do this without it being fixable. I've had Toyota's, Ford's, and GM products. This is my first Honda product ever. By the way, in general I'm very happy with this car, but sometimes a person just gets tired of hearing the samething from dealership service depts about something being a "characteristic". I guess I was just venting. Please forgive me for the length of my previous posts. Ronin88 mentioned something about this steering bias to the right being for safety issues, could someone please elaborate on this. Thanks!
  • ronin88ronin88 Member Posts: 3
    Like I said before, the pull to the right should be very slight, and to really notice this (and to properly test any alignment issues) you should drive on a perfectly flat long stretch of road.

    Most roads are built so that water runs off to either side of the road, so if you drive in the fast lane (left side), your car will likely drift left; and if you're on the right side, your car will drift right.

    If you're driving on a 2-lane road with one lane in each direction, your side of the road may already be slightly slanted to the right, which would make your car naturally drift to the right.
  • swinga7swinga7 Member Posts: 45
    The passenger window in my 96' Ex has been giving me problems. It keeps falling off the track and getting stuck.

    I've heard of alot of other people having this problem was there a recall for this problem or am I going to have to pay honda to have it fixed? and about how much is this going to cost?
  • lok888lok888 Member Posts: 1,788
    swinga7 - I also have a problem with power window on my '93 Accord. But it is the driver's side. The run channel has been replaced twice. And I replaced the power window regulator and motor early this year. I just ordered the parts from www.manhonda.com Bring it to local Honda dealers for an estimate.
  • bingo_rangerbingo_ranger Member Posts: 1
    Cold engine jack-rabbit starts and old dirty oil shorten the life of the engine. Warm the engine before starting out in the morning. Change the oil every 3000 miles. This is important for high compression Honda motors. Many people put in heavier weight oil than Honda recommends. When buying a used honda listen to the engine during a cold start..if it makes a rattling sound the piston rings are warn, need replacing and is a sign scheduled maintenance was not performed. If the seller blames poor grade gas don't buy the car. Most people don't keep service records but always ask.
  • theracoontheracoon Member Posts: 666
    A lot of good information that I agree with, especially about using too heavy an oil, except possibly for this statement:

    Change the oil every 3000 miles.

    I'd suggest changing the oil based on the intervals recommended by Honda in the Owners Manual for the vehicle. Read and understand the Honda Owner's Manual definitions for "normal" and "severe" conditions, and then change your oil according to which definition meets the way the vehicle is used.

    JM2C
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    Some valve rattle is normal for Hondas. I've owned numerous Honda/Acuras and a little noise is typical upon start up so don't discount a good Honda because of it. Have it looked at and look for blue smoke.

    Also, if you do alot of highway driving 3000 miles is a little to frequent and in fact, my Civic's owner's manual (and my previous Accords) says not to change the oil before recommended. Since my interval is 10,000 for normal conditions I will change it at 7,500 with synthetic oil and every 7500 afterwards. In my older Hondas I change it between 5000 and 7500 with synthetic. BTW: Synthetic really seems to make older Honda engines smoother.
  • ejamanteejamante Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the help on my last problem...had to change brakes in front, now better.
    new problem is that the dashboard light for door ajar is not lighting up, no matter which door (front , rear, r or left) is open. Curiously, the light in the roof of the car works, but doesnt light up when the door is ajar like it should (Im unsure if this is at all related to the problem) Asked NAPA autoparts guy, he thought it wasnt a fuse...I looked at the manual and didnt see a fuse specifically for the door ajar dash light..could it be a bulb problem, and if so whats the best recourse? Pls respond auburn 63 or other knowledgeable folks out there! thanks!
  • veetek99veetek99 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2002 Civic LX. My owners manual says it is not necessary to warm up a cold engine by letting it idle for a long period. It says you can drive away in about a minute. I have my oil changed every 5,000 miles per the severe schedule in the owners manual.

    I have the non-VTEC engine. Are the VTEC engines made better than the non-VTEC or are they built to the same specs?

    Are Honda engines built "today", if maintained properly, able to go 250,000, 300,000, 400,000 or more miles as you hear about some of the older Honda's? Or is it pure luck if you get that kind of mileage from an engine?
  • seafseaf Member Posts: 339
    I have a '99 civic and I drive mostly towards the normal conditions than severe. Although in the winter it might be skewed more towards severe. I have been changing the oil according to the severe conditions but I plan on just changing the oil myself every 5k miles and oil & filter every 10k miles. I let the car idle (without pumping the gas) right after I start it up after parking for a while for about a minute before driving off. I heard most of the engine damage is done when the engine is not lubricated such as when you start it up in the morning. And revving a cold engine is probably the worst thing you could do to it.

    As for VTEC & non-vtec. I believe the VTEC engines just have more sophisticated intake valves that adjust to the engine's RPM. They should be about the same in terms of reliability. The Vtec engines are more high-tech, probably costing more since it has more components.
  • firephoenix777firephoenix777 Member Posts: 59
    correct me if i'm wrong, but 1)i thought the manual said you can idle the car for about 10-15 seconds before driving, but don't drive it hard until the engine warms up. 2)idling the car longer will cause more pollution because i think those catalytic converter works best under high temp. so driving the car immediately will warm things up faster than letting the car idle for 10 minutes. (again, correct me if i'm wrong)

    VTEC & non-VTEC, no differences to me. both need to be revved to get just a little power.
  • firephoenix777firephoenix777 Member Posts: 59
    "The difference in pollution between waiting 15 secs and 60 seconds is probably negligeable."

    yeah. but not when all the cars in the US are idling for 60 seconds.

    "I would advise against idling for 10 minutes before driving away though."
    agree. somebody told me that he'll idle the car til the engine warms up, which i think is not needed in today's car.

    yesterday i revved the engine to redline to see if the rev limiter works or not (damn, it worked)......i didn't really feel the burst of power, i only felt the 4 banger was screaming for help cuz it's so loud...

    i always think that when the manufacturers release the specs of a car, they should also indicate the hp and torque between like 1500rpm-4500rpm (which most ppl would keep their engine running at) instead of the max hp & torque which come out at 6000 or 7000 rpm. who's going to keep the car at high rpm all the time just to get that hp.....
  • auburn63auburn63 Member Posts: 1,162
    What year car was yours again? Also, did you say the interior lights do or dont come on when you open the door(s)? I will try and check this board from work tomorrow so that I can get a peak at an ETM.
  • dave210dave210 Member Posts: 242
    The front of my car always makes this weird click noise when these steps are followed

    1. Put car in reverse
    2. Then put car in drive
    3. Drive forward
    4. After the first application of the brake pedal after put in drive, the "click" occurs from the front of the car, and it's only after I reverse, drive forward, and then brake.

    After that, everything is fine and the click doesn't happen again until I repeat the above steps again.

    Any ideas and should I get it checked out? It's a 2001 Civic EX Automatic.
  • ejamanteejamante Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the response, Auburn! Car is a LX Civic 1997 4 door..in dash door ajar light doesnt go on regardless of which door you open, and the light on the ceiling of the car works if you push the switch to the right, but in neutral , when it should light if a door is ajar it doesnt either. Brought it to a local honda who said there may be a short circuit, perhaps due to a cd player installed post purchase, and that i should just live with it bec it may cost 1000$ to fix..are there any other options/more economical ways of fixing this?
    Thanks!
  • auburn63auburn63 Member Posts: 1,162
    Honda considers this noise normal movement of the pads. The noise can be temporaraly fixed by using brake disc quiet on the inside and outside of the shims of the frt brake pads.However since it is a normal noise this is not a covered repair
  • auburn63auburn63 Member Posts: 1,162
    If the original radio is not being used then it most likely is due to that. There is a signal wire that runs through the radio and aftermarkets do not have this connection. We have been able to splice the wires together to repair this. The wires would be at the back of the radio in the original Honda radio connector. The wire colors are LT Green/black and LT Green/red. Splice those two together and that should fix your problem. Good luck
  • ejamanteejamante Member Posts: 6
    So just so I get it totally straight, you mean to connect which wire with which? (light green with light green?) Does this reestablish the connection? Also can I just bring the car to an electrical auto place or a car stereo dealer and have them do this? im a little scared of messing with it as I may cause more dashlights to change...

    Thanks!
  • auburn63auburn63 Member Posts: 1,162
    LT Green/black and LT Green/red are the two wires to put together and yes you can bring it to a stereo place, just tell them what you got and what you think it needs to be repaired(the wires above put together). Good luck
  • strong68strong68 Member Posts: 22
    Dave,
    My Civic 2001 LX makes the same brake noise when I first apply the brakes. I took it to the dealer and he said it was a normal noise and that it was the brake pads shifting. He said some Hondas make a louder noise than others..but that it was normal. It frustrates me...but guess I can live with it.
  • rmb48rmb48 Member Posts: 9
    My wife's 99 Civic needs a new tail pipe and muffler. Not under warranty, of course. The closest dealer quoted $450 for the repair. Our usual mechanic, not a dealer, says he can't get the parts and do the repair more cheaply because Honda has not yet released 99 Civic parts beyond the dealer. The dealer is willing to sell the parts to us for $350.

    Are we stuck? Is this a fair price? -- it seems way out of line to me. Any suggestions about how to find the parts more cheaply? Thanks.
  • rmb48rmb48 Member Posts: 9
    My wife's 99 Civic needs a new tail pipe and muffler. Not under warranty, of course. The closest dealer quoted $450 for the repair. Our usual mechanic, not a dealer, says he can't get the parts and do the repair more cheaply because Honda has not yet released 99 Civic parts beyond the dealer. The dealer is willing to sell the parts to us for $350.

    Are we stuck? Is this a fair price? -- it seems way out of line to me. It is also troubling that every muffler I've ever bought came with a lifetime warranty, except for the one installed on our Civic when it was new. (Though the expensive replacement muffler has the warranty.)

    Any suggestions about how to find the parts more cheaply? Thanks.
  • gee35coupegee35coupe Member Posts: 3,387
    4" tip muffler. Only $99. Just kidding. I'm sure any reputable shop can hook that muffler right up.
  • theracoontheracoon Member Posts: 666
    Any suggestions about how to find the parts more cheaply?

    Call Midas or one of your local muffler shops and ask for pricing on a muffler with lifetime warranty. Make sure you ask what the installation charges will be.

    JM2C
  • auburn63auburn63 Member Posts: 1,162
    I think the cost of the OEM parts is worth the money because of the direct fit, better quality than most aftermarket stuff and sound/quietness(factory original) is usally much better than most of the aftermarkets. Most of all I like the direct bolt on, not clamped, look and fit.
  • hl66hl66 Member Posts: 2
    My headlights and dashlights flash at the same time, on their own. They get brighter for 1-2 seconds at a time. This happens at highway speeds as well as at idle. This still happens after I have turned off all accessory loads (radio,ac, heater,cruise,etc). It's a 98 Civic EX. Any help is greatly appreciated!
  • bjk2001bjk2001 Member Posts: 358
    My wife just told me that our 02 Civic Sedan rear window defrost only bottom 2/3 works. Top 1/3 of the rear window has embedded power strip lines in irregular shapes, it won't defrost. Since Civic has built in Antenna in the back, is this normal or we have a defected rear window defrost?
  • tblazer503tblazer503 Member Posts: 620
    Don't you have the rear-window anttenae? My '00 EX had it, and from what I've seen, the new ones don't have the antennae on them... Perhaps this is the rear window antennae... if so, it doesn't heat up... just helps the radio reception.

    Easy way to check it... On both sides of the rear window, there will be blade connectors and they will be the defroster connections... if you have another connection on the top of your window, and it is not connected to any of the defroster lines, its probably an antennae... =o)
  • tblazer503tblazer503 Member Posts: 620
    That is normal... look at the bright side, mine clicks twice... =o) (front and rear disc + huge rotors..)

    Lets see if I can explain why it happens... your brake calipers constantly put a little bit of pressure on the disc. This is for a few reasons from what I know, mainly to keep gunk off the disc(water, dust, mud, etc) The pads will always have side to side play(usually about 1/32" or so) So you shift into reverse, push down on the brakes, thereby applying more pressure to the pads and causing them to shift back(from the friction against the disc) Then you shift into drive, and the first time you hit the brakes, you put pressure on the pads again, and now they shift forward... until they hit the other side of the space in the caliper... therby the clicking sound...

    Hope this helps....

    Of course don't be like a co-worker of mine who heard a "funny noise" in his rear brakes for a while..... (Changed out the disc and pads... There were NO pads left... disc was trashed... ) hehe
  • bjk2001bjk2001 Member Posts: 358
    Thanks! Our 02 Civic have embedded rear window antenna . Our 97 Toyota Avalon has embedded rear window antenna too, but it will defrost the whole rear window. I don't know how did Honda lay out their embedded antenna and defrost wires. It was dark last night when wife asked me about the rear window defrost, I can only see top 1/3 has wire strips in some irregular lines. I will check when wife comes home tonight to see if there are two sets of connection or not!

    Speaking of our 97 Avalon rear window defrost, it quits working now. I checked the fuse is ok. When I push the button defrost light will go on and I can hear a relay on the drive side kicking but defrost is not working. :(
  • seafseaf Member Posts: 339
    Defroster wires can be delicate. If you ever removed or installed window tint in the rear window, you might have damaged them. Or if you scrape the inside of the window for whatever reason.



    A simple test would be to have a flashlight bulb and a battery handy, make a series connection between the two terminals of the battery and the bulb. If there's a broken connection in the rear wires, the bulb will not light up. Try it with the working wires to make sure your battery isn't dead or the bulb isn't working.
  • mainstmainst Member Posts: 1
    The manual in my brand new 02 Civic says use 5W-20 oil. This sounds way out of line to me. I live in northern New Jersey so temperatures are moderate. Any thoughts?
  • bjk2001bjk2001 Member Posts: 358
    mainst:

    Honda uses 5W-20 as standard for all 02 and some 01 cars, due to corporate MPG Nowadays oil manufacturers are making 5W-20, so its more readily available now.
    There have been many debates on 5W-20 vs 5W-30 oil. If you take your car to Honda dealer today they will probably put in 5W-20 for you. Since you are in New Jersey, not in Tx, Az, or Ca weather is really hot in summer, I think you will be ok. Just wait till they come up with 0W-20 oil or 0W-10 next.

    bjk
  • ajunejaajuneja Member Posts: 1
    Hi
    I needed to use the shift lock release today. Does anyone know what does this mean for the car? Is something going wrong? How long can I safely use shift lock release without getting the problem fixed by the mechanic?
    - Amit Juneja
  • spokanespokane Member Posts: 514
    You are not hurting the car or incurring any safety problems by using the shift lock release. However, it is inconvenient to continue to use it day after day. Your lock cylinder switch is out of adjustment, the solenoid on the shift mechanism is out of adjustment, or there is an electrical problem in the interlock circuit. A competent shop should be able to find and correct the problem rather easily.
  • tomf11tomf11 Member Posts: 40
    When I attempt to start the car in cold weather it appears to flood easly.

    I have to hold the accelerator pedal to the floor to start it.

    Any idea's?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    If holding the gas pedal to the floor does the trick I think you have the solution already.

    Seriously, the car is fourteen years old. It's probably in need of a carb overhaul or maybe something simpler.

    A Honda dealer or good independent should be able to fix it.
  • storm_civstorm_civ Member Posts: 7
    Guys, I need a little help. I have a 95 Civic EX couple 5-speed. When I first start the car in the morning and drive off, there is a noticible shudder when I am engaging the clutch. The shuddering is quite evident and causes the front end to buckle up and down. After everything warms up it seems to go away. I've had this problem even when the car was new... and the car now has 112 K on it. Any help/suggestions would be great.. Is it my clutch??
  • spokanespokane Member Posts: 514
    If you are not sure the problem is clutch-related, have an experienced person drive it (cold) to see if it's the clutch or the engine electronics warm-up mode. I don't know what's wrong, Storm_civ, but if it is clutch-related, I would suspect the slave cylinder or possibly the clutch release bearing. The clutch disc, pressure plate, and flywheel are probably OK since performance is good when the components are warm. Unless someone with specific experience on this problem suggests otherwise, you might remove the slave cylinder and rig up a mechanical lever to stroke the clutch fork with a cold drivetrain. If the fork moves smoothly, replace the slave cylinder - which is not a big job.
  • thedelimanthedeliman Member Posts: 15
    hi,

    does anybody have *any* idea why my (May) new 2002 civic LX has a very sluggish ignition??? Occasionally, when i start the car, it would crank for over four seconds (a LONG time; try counting next time you start your car) before starting. Some times, it gets so bad that I have to switch the car off, and then back on again.

    of course, the dealership is NO help, since it's under warranty (and they don't get to screw me by the hour). "We can't replicate the problem unless you bring it back *as the problem is happening*," says one genius at the repair shop.

    I've been to 2 separate dealerships, with the same answers. ANY IDEAS???

    thanks!
    -karl
    (if you could cc: a copy to karlkwok@rocketmail.com that would be great!)
  • teracon1teracon1 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2001 Civic LX and since the third month of ownership, the side airbag light stays on constant. The only time that it does not is when a passenger is physically in the seat. I took it to two Honda dealers and they could find nothing wrong. I think that it is the sensor. Any ideas?
  • mazdaprofourmazdaprofour Member Posts: 202
    MY QUESTION HAS BEEN IGNORED....CAN ANYONE WITH A
    2003 CIVIC LX RESPOND?

    Has anyone else noticed that when you turn up the dash lights, with the lights on and it is fully up, once you turn off the car and leave it off for a while and turn it back on, the lights will default to the lower setting?
  • seafseaf Member Posts: 339
    Thedeliman, does the car take longer to start when it's low on gas? about less than 1/4 full tank? If so that might be due to the lack of pressure in the fuel lines, so when you crank the engine, it takes a few seconds for the fuel pump to pump the fuel through the lines to the engine.
    This is even more noticeable especially when you leave the car parked for a while (more than 3 hours)


    I've noticed this on my 99 civic, and my workaround is when I am about 1/4 or less full on tank. I turn the key to the ON position (past "accessory" but not the "start" position) to turn on the fuel pump and repressurize the fuel lines, until the seatbelt beeps stops (about 5 seconds or so), then continue turning it to the start position to crank the engine. This trick will start the engine right up. Less cranking so less wear on the starter motor. I think this problem is common among Honda Civics. Let us know if this works for you.
  • devozdevoz Member Posts: 19
    Hi, I have a 2002 Civic SI and it definitely
    seems to start slowly when low on fuel. (Turns
    over longer until it starts). I will try the trick next time it gets low to see if it fires right up. It seems to do this when its pretty low, say about 2 gallons left.
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