Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

dalek3 · February 2006

I had my car in to the dealer about the FM navi problem. They called Honda and were told that Honda is aware of the problem and the PCM (PCN?) needs an update. Honda expects to have an update for the computer in 1-1.5 months.

Does anyone know what the PCM is and does?

I'm surprised that I seem to be the only person who has noticed the problem.

jazon · February 2006

Has anyone received their notice yet for the air bag recall on their 2006 coupe?

The recall came out in December but I haven't heard anything since.

Whats up?????

This is a different recall than the gas pedal one.

jazon · February 2006

Are there any other recalls on the 2006 Civic that I haven't heard of beside the air bag defect and the gas pedal sticking problem?

Doesn't it seem strange for a car to have this many recalls in the first few months?

earth · February 2006

Yep, got my coupe 06 fixed at the dealership regarding the MAP sensore going bad, and the Service rep told my about the recall on the air bag, but never got the notice in the mail. The dealer fixed both the MAP sensore and air bag.

justjd · February 2006

I am having problems with my 95 Civic. The engine revs up and down while idling, and the tempeture gage shoots up after driving just a short distance. It is full of anti freeze and the over flow in 3/4 full. Any ideas what might be the problem?

vix4 · February 2006

The video states that all of the other manufacturers, Toyota, GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, would honor the warranty.

Only Honda would refuse in this situation.

Honda comes off looking very bad because this is an established safety problem and making a customer pay to fix a design defect is just not right IMO.

Honda also has a reutation for making bad transmissions so having this all over the news isn't exactly helpful in that regard.

bamacar · February 2006

The story said that she was informed when she purchased the vehicle the warranty did not apply to a grey market vehicle. If Honda did give service it would be a freebie beyond the warranty not "honoring the warranty". Can she take it back to Canada and get it fixed? If so that would be "honoring the warranty".

People seem to want their cake and eat it, too. Pay for a US car with US warranty and receive US warranty service. Pay less for a Canadian car without US warranty, and guess what receive no warranty service. You get what you pay for. Anything Honda does in this case is welfare, it is not "honoring a warranty" when a US warranty was never purchased.

mikefm58 · February 2006

Very interesting story. We still don't know why Honda is the only manufacturer that does this or why she bought the vehicle in Canada and now resides in the US. What if she's a Canadian citizen now temporarily living in the US?

Granted the article states she was told beforehand about the warranty, but come on, this is a known Honda defect.

If she's a US citizen and did this simply to save money, then she doesn't have my sympathy.

bamacar · February 2006

The article said she is attempting to have it serviced in the "same" dealership where she bought in Maryland. The dealership must have bought it in Canada then sold it in Maryland. The dealership must have got it for less in Canada and made more profit, she must have paid less at the risk of no warranty, and now she wants what she didn't pay for.

The article says she bought it in Maryland. Did it say she bought in Canada somewhere else or was it the dealership who imported it as "grey market"?

imidazol97 · February 2006

Honda should step up to the plate and repair it the way they would repair it in Canada under the Canadian warranty for HOndas physically located in _Canada_.

Since transmissions have been a problematic area of Hondas, they certainly should fix it.

Placeman · February 2006

I'm not sure about the rev issue, but the temperature problem sounds like a bad thermostat. It is usually a pretty inexpensive repair, but I'm not exactly sure where it is located on your engine.

crissman · February 2006

I think you might get lucky and solve both troubles with that new thermostat. Idle speed is definitely temperature dependent. Probably the thermostat is not opening completely, thus the high temp, and the fuel injection is trying to compensate. Just guessing, but thermostats used to be located at the point where the upper radiator hose enters the engine. You might be able to do this yourself, and they are usually relatively cheap.

bamacar · February 2006

Exactly, the dealer and the lady ought to take it to Canada for warranty repair.

Personal responsibility is always someone else's problem.

Honda should do a little charity work and fix it for the lady, and then deduct a few high dollar profit sale units from the dealer in Maryland selling grey market.

imidazol97 · February 2006

Don't cha think the dealer source in Canada has some culpability here too?

bamacar · February 2006

Yes, they should be penalized, too. When 99.9% of the people play by the rules, it is hard to feel very sorry for that .1% who try to get away with things.

xkiddx13 · February 2006

With any car you buy, do research.. that lady obviouslly did not do the research she should have done..

working in the car business like I do.. i see all kinds of issues..

i just wish ppl would take a little time to buy before just going out and seeing a car and then just buying it finding out later all the bad things..

here are a few tips.

1. ask around, people will recomend good dealerships to go to. as for Honda there are alot of good as well as bad dealerships, Honda's products are good but depending on where they are bought who know's waht kind of condition they are in, specially the pre-owend/used cars.

2. make sure the price is right, you should figure out your budget to find out what you can really afford as monthly payments, dont forget to add in insurance, and maintenece on the vehicle either, know if you have a new car payment of $300, chance are you have insurance payment of around $100 a month as well, then rutine oil changes, that is about $50 a year brek it down to months, that is around $5.00 a month, then gas, nowdays most ppl are droping around $100 a month in gas. you can break it down more for car washes, tire changes ect, ect.. but just off that your looking at car expense for one month of around $500.00, so dont think just cause you got a good deal on a car you can afford it. make sure you can, you you only make 2000.00 a month well with that new car you just got. there is only about 1500 left, and i assume if your lucky your only paying $500.00 rent, that leaves you with 1000.00 then your cell phone bill $100, your utilities, $100 cost of food, credit card debt. well what money do you have left..

3. research the vehicle you really want shop around, dont always go for the lowest price either, some times that might mean less of a warrenty then your stuck with alot bigger problems..

I could go on and on and on... just make sure you look at every angle. if anyone has questions, feel free to ask.

qddave · February 2006

I've been bit by the "no warranty" bug. I'm a Canadian citizen, now a permanent resident in the US. About 3 years ago my Check Engine light came on in my 99 Civic Sedan (built and purchased in Canada). Took it to the dealer here in Grand Rapids and found out that my vent hose in my fuel system was collapsed. It would have been covered under warranty had I been at a Canadian dealer but subsequently had to pay. The service manager was kind enough to call both Honda USA and Honda Canada to confirm. Wasn't really peeved about it since it wasn't much to repair. Not like an auto tranny with known defects.

Perhaps this issue has something to do with where the vehicle is manufactured. Before the 2006 Civic came out, the sedan's for Canada were manufactured in Alliston, Ontario, along with the the coupes for all of North America. The sedans for US consumption were made in Ohio. I believe Odyssey's were the same, CDN built for Canada, US built for US. Now, I believe all Odyssey's are made in Alabama. Civic coupes, Ridgelines, Pilots and MDXs are made in Ontario. And all Civic sedans are now made in Ohio. Perhaps its related to parts suppliers. Canadian plants could have their own set of suppliers which would mean if a Canadian-made car is serviced in the US, the replacement part through the service chain may not be identical. Food for thought.

blane · February 2006

imidazol97,

You wrote "Since transmissions have been a problematic area of Hondas, they certainly should fix it." Since this is a Civic forum, please clarify exactly to which Civic transmissions you are referring.

The only recent Honda transmission recall that I remember is with a limited number of 2003 & 2004 V6 Accords.

jesslyn914 · February 2006

Wow, it sounds like I have similair issues with my new 2005 Honda Civic. I have owned it for almost 6 months now, 2k miles (very low mileage). From day 1, the car clunked and squeaked going over bumps on the driver side front. I brought it in to the service center at the dealership who lubed all my bushings. I then took their word for it the noise was gone and continued to drive with my stereo on lound with the windows closed. Two weeks ago, I had my stereo off, windown down and again heard the same clunking squeaking coming from under the driver side.

I bought a brand new 2005 civic with not only a trunk leak, (which the dealership fixed under warranty), but a leak in the rear passenger side dripping down the armrest. The Honda Service Center was unable to identify the source of the leak since they replaced the back window, the driver's side coupe window and gaskets. After complaining loadly to American Honda, a specialist was called into the dealership Service Center where the source of the leak was a roof seam improperly sealed.

Anyone else having these issues on a brand new car or can commiserate with me.

bige3fiddy · February 2006

Thanks for your input I think that maybe the tire has a cut cord or belt because I hear tire noise from the rear that reminds me of an out of round tire. Will have dealer look into that.

rmknecht · February 2006

I am new to this board, so hello and thanks for taking the time to read this post. My 93 Civic LX 1.5 16 valve with M/T has been giving me fits. I have a Haynes Manual for this model but cannot figure this one out. I have tested the starter/solenoid---OK, the battery---bad (replaced), the altenator---bad (replaced, and boy was that fun!!), and both the positive (starter) & negative (ground) battery cables---bad (replaced due to corrosion and age). But still having probelms starting the car, you can still "pop the clutch" to start it, but that gets old real fast. What is happening is once you turn the key nothing happens the dash indicator lights come on but the motor does not turn over. Although I have had it start when I did the following...when I put the new battery in it, it started right up and did so again later but after letting is sit overnight, nothing. I had Advance Auto Parts test the car with it running, the test came back with faulty diode in alternator (which is why I replaced it). After I replaced the alternator - it started right up, but after that it went back to the original situation. This has lead me to believe that I have an electrical short or fault somewhere but do not know where to start. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

rmknecht · February 2006

I forgot to mention that I performed a "Engine Off Battery Current Draw" test according to the guidelines in my actron AutoTroubleShooter manual but do not know what Honda's specific acceptable range is. Also the No load battery test indicated that my battery is at 12.58V. I was thinking about testing the ignition coil but have read posts where the results are not always reliable.

devore420 · February 2006

Hi,

My 01 EX's motor (64K miles) has been fine since I bought it new, but in the last 2 months I've noticed two strange things:

1. After the car's been off a while (4-5 hrs), I start it, move down the street in 1st, then shift to 2nd. When I hit about 3K rpm, the motor stumbles, then recovers. Sometimes the stumble is pretty severe, other times it's more like a shudder. It feels more like a loss of power than the motor not firing. After I've been through the stumble once, it goes away (though I still feel a shudder around 3K RPM).

2. Sometimes (early after starting the car) when I hold the throttle constant, the RPMs will oscillate. I have noticed this mostly when stopped by watching the RPMs, but I've also felt it when moving.

I told the dealer about this and their advice was to try a bottle of fuel injector cleaner. I tried a bottle of Chevron Techron, which seems to have slightly improved the problem, but it hasn't eliminated it (the Techron also seems to have improved the power and response of the motor generally.)

A friend metioned I may have a cracked distributor cap. And the pattern and feeling of the problem seems like it could be moisture-related.

Does this sound like it could be the distributor cap? If so, can this easily be replaced ata home? (It looks like caps are pretty cheap.)

Thanks!

flowerpower · February 2006

i have an issue with honda engineering concerning the timing belt,if it breaks the engine freezes and you are looking $3-4k to replace the engine i have an 02 civic ex, i am at 104,000 mi, how long can i let the timing belt go before i need to replace it the dealer is quoting $600.00 to replace the belt and the water pump which i guess they do together. thanks in advance for any advice.

Placeman · February 2006

It definitely sounds like it could be a damp dist. cap if, of course, your vehicle had a distributor cap...which it doesn't. You have Coil-On-Plug ignition (COP). Along with the injector cleaner, try running a tank or two of premium fuel through your engine. Also, have you taken a look at your plugs? Check to see if they are fouled (really dirty). If so, that could be a sign that your fuel/air ratio is a little off. Clean them up, recheck their gap and re-install (I'd actually replace them since you already had them out). Don't buy into the gimmickie plugs either. Just buy the standard plugs that are spec'd for your engine.

mikefm58 · February 2006

The price sounds about right as long as it also includes all the accessory belts. That's what I paid to have it done on my '99 CRV. They don't "have" to do the water pump and belts, but they do have to remove them to do the timing belt. If you "really" need to scrimp, don't do them. You might be able to find a competent mechanic that would do just the timing belt for 200-300 bucks.

How long will it go before breaking??? Pretty much impossible to say, but you're rolling the dice. My advice, spend the 600 bucks at your dealer.

devore420 · February 2006

That explains why I was having trouble finding a distributor cap for an 01 Civic EX.

I'll try running a couple tanks of premium gas through along with another treatment of injector cleaner (the bottle suggests two may help more.)

I've asked the dealer on two service visits if the spark plugs need to be replaced (since it's over 60K miles). Both times the service advisor told me they looked ok. Sounds like I should just go ahead and replace them.

You also mentioned that the fuel-air ratio could be off a little. Is this caused by dirty injectors or plugs? If not, is it something that can be adjusted?

Thanks for the help.

imidazol97 · February 2006

Make sure you follow directions on how to put in the Techron: with tank low, pour in Techron. Then add the number of gallons of Premium fuel that the bottle is sized for 12 or 20 IIRC.

Do not use it more than two times in a row.

Placeman · February 2006

You're fuel/air mixture is actually adjusted by your car's computer. The O2 sensor on your exaahst system measures that amount of oxygen in your exhaust and can adjust the mixture accordingly. Typically if your O2 sensor is bad your check engine light will come on.

dalek3 · February 2006

A Honda parts guy once told me that if the engine won't crank it's either the battery or the main relay.

justjd · February 2006

I will try that. Thank you for your input.

suzyscivic · February 2006

I have a 98 Civic hatchback which is flooding like mad. I think I've narrowed down the source to the tail light area, so I think this thread would apply to my siutation. But the most I've ever done on this car was replace the battery and change a tire - so I have no idea how to replace the tail light gasket. I didn't even know I could take the tail light off myself. Are special tools required? Someone suggested resealing the old gasket with black latex sealer, and someone else said it could be replaced, but to make sure to get the gasket froma dealer. Any idea which would be a more permanent fix? It's bad enough to have to bail out the wheel well every time it rains, but when I had to change my tire last month, the water was frozen - I had to chip out the donut before I could change the tire! I appreciate the help, thank you.

crissman · February 2006

It's just a patch, but if you have pinpointed the spot where water gets in try using some silicon caulking on the inside of the trunk. Make sure the entry point is dry and just smeer some caulk on the seam with your finger. Put it on the bottom of the inside of the light assembly. Very simple, cheap, and it can't hurt anything to try. You can always do the gasket fix if this doesn't work.

devore420 · February 2006

My wife thinks I'm a weirdo because I acutally read directions, so that is what I did the first time, with the bottle sized for 12 gallons. But I didn't use Premium fuel (which I don't think the directions say.)

I'll give this a shot as well as the sparkplugs. Thanks for the info on this and the O2 sensor stuff, everyone.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2006

I like latex sealer because it's not messy.

Of course, replacing the gaskets is the best solution. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Many tail light assemblies uses plastic wheels to secure them to the car body...you just unplug the various plugs and spin those wheels off and yank. A few use small bolts, but again, a simple 1/4" ratchet drive takes care of that.

Sometimes you can stop a leak by just screwing those plastic wheels down tighter.

mancu18 · February 2006

lately my civic has been stalling. it gets to like 30 to 40 mph and then its like the car is rpm is going down. pressing to the gas does nothing then then the rpm jumps to like 5/6rpm. i tried changing the spark plugs but that only helps for like a day. whats up? how do i fix this?

suzyscivic · February 2006

I'll give it a try - thanks a lot!

isellhondas · February 2006

Replacing those tailight gaskets isn't hard, just time consuming. You really should do this ASAP since water in your trunk isn't a good thing!

port_48 · February 2006

Anyone come across this problem yet? Check Engine Light (CEL) stayed on after starting my 2002 Civic DX (sedan, 5spd) with 35K miles the other night. Autozone scan using OBD II found P1607. Service manual says: Engine Control Module (ECM)/Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Internal Circuit Malfunction. Removed #6 fuse (fuse to "brain") for 10 secs, reinstalled, turned ignition key on (position II) for 40 secs as per Service Manual and CEL is still on.

There are no other symptoms, i.e. oil level/pressure is fine, runs fine, coolant level ok, nothing amiss other than the orange/yellow glow of the light.

(1) Does it hurt the car to drive?
(2) Is the brain really bad after only 35K miles?
(3) Any other ideas as to fixes besides replacing the brain?

port_48 · February 2006

Review of Honda Warranty says ECM and PCM are covered 8 years/80,000 miles.

I'm still curious to know if others have come across this DTC.

Thanks.

travis77 · February 2006

06 EX,,, When i turn on my defroster sometimes i get a anti-freeze smell comin through the vents,,, just wondering if it's normal sometimes or if i should get it looked at? It's not a big deal to me,, just something i've noticed.

port_48 · February 2006

Brand new car? I'd have it looked at. I've had my '02 DX for 3+ years now and never had an anti-freeze smell.

Just my $.02.

bigmark · February 2006

The door to the gas tank on my 2001 Civic won't open. I press down on the release button in the car and nothing happens. Does anyone know how I would go about fixing that? Do I need to take it to a mechanic, or could I do it myself? What might it cost me if I took it to a mechanic?

Thanks.

top_civic_777 · February 2006

hey man the same thing happened to both my 91 probe and my 99 civic si try checking the electrical connectors to the fuel injectors ..... and if that dont do the trick take and do a carbon cleaning to it..i did both to both my cars and it hasn't done it since then...good luck.

crissman · February 2006

Does it feel different than usual when you press the release button? Could be the cable that connects the release to the latch at the fuel door has worked loose. You would then need to make sure the cable is firmly attached to both the release button and the latch. I suppose the cable could be broken, too. Since it probably runs across the bottom of the car, maybe something hit it, stretching or breaking it. Try checking it out yourself before submitting to a $50+/hr. mechanic charge. Good luck.

05civicwarning · February 2006

Check again, it is now. HONDA is investigating! The car has been quarantined and wrapped in plastic by our insurance company to preserve the evidence for a subrogation investigation.SEE Complaint Number: 10149079 :lemon:

05civicwarning · February 2006

THANKS, YOU MADE MY DAY

THAT WAS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, EXCESSIVE HONDA DOWNSHIFTING. I WILL PASS IT ON TO THE CORRECT PARTIES INVOLVED

THIS FORUM HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP!!!

flynfl01 · February 2006

Good day everyone. My car is a 2004 Honda Civic. Yesterday morning, I had ice on my windshield and used a scraper to remove it before leaving for work. Unfortunately, the scraper left some scratches on the windshield. Since I am fully covered for glass, I notified my insurance company who put me in touch with the glass repair facility they use. The facility told me the scratches cannot be repaired and the windshield would have to be replaced. This seems extreme to me given that the scratches are minor and not that deep. It is fully covered though. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Anyone have experience getting windshield scratches repaired? Is it overboard to replace the entire windshield or the best thing to do? Thanks!

suzyscivic · February 2006

I'm sure this will sound silly, but where are these plugs? The tail lights look like they are flush with the car. (I told you I was bad at this!) Also, I learned when trying to unhook my battery that everything is tooled in metric units - what would be the 1/4" equivalent for the ratchet drive?

I really appreciate all the help!

blane · February 2006

05civicwarning,

Just because yours is the ONE AND ONLY complaint filed with the NHTSA does not mean that there is any kind of endemic problem as you have implied.

Your report about a witness doesn't mean much because the "witness" could never have witnessed the position of the driver's feet on the pedals or hands on the steering wheel. If the driver stomped on the brakes, causing the accident, the witness' comments would have no validity.

Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions