Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

panther61

Can someone please tell me how to remove the stock radio/cdplayer from the dash. Any special tools? Also same for door and rear speakers? Can anyone confirm the speaker sizes for both locations? Thank you.

jlim1

Can someone help me verify if sales tax applies to the new vehicle price or the (new vehicle price - trade in vehicle)? I'm in Michigan.

Thanks !

jlim1

Also, is there written rule somewhere that says that the sales tax applies to the difference between the cost of new car and trade-in? The salesperson says that he's 101% sure about the tax being applied only to the cost of new car, but I don't believe him from what I read on Net. Is there any local authority I can confirm this with? Thanks !

jlim1

I've found the answer to my question. In Michigan, sales tax applies to the cost of new car
It's available under MI Secretary of State's website.

jim246

I have negotiated a price of $18,300 for an
EX auto sedan I/side air bags
floor mats
splash guards
fog lights (do they work well?)
ad tax @ $830
tags @ $120
freight $440
I can do the mats and splash guards myself from hparts.com. But if I get a good deal... Let them do it for me. Is this a good deal? or should I wait for 2k2. Thanks

mdriver

It's not so much the price difference but the problems that will be solved for 02. Typically, the second year model with have a number of changes that fix or improve the problems that develop in the first year. They will probably be out in a month or so.

Also, forget about all of the dealer add-on stuff and order it yourself at considerable savings.

truckdude1

Our Civic Ex is 2 weeks old but excellent, but the Clover Green paint gets dirty so easily basically covered in dust. The gas mileage was 365 miles on the first tank with city and highway miles. Our only concern is that is it ok that the engine revs up to 5500 just to speed up decently. And its quite noisy, so do any of you Civic Ex automatic couple owners have any advice you can share?It would be a great help and is it ok to drive the Civic Ex 85 mph on the freeway? will it last easily to 100,000 miles if it is maintained? and last will Green paint shine for at least 4 or 5 years if its waxed and washed? its always in the sunshine all day everyday, thanks.:)

backy

I have not read the 2001 Civic break-in recommendations, but do your car and yourself a favor and do not take it up to 85 until it has some miles on it. The typical break-in interval is around 1000 miles. Honda may have loosened their official recommendations in this regard, but if you plan to keep the car for 100,000 miles it won't hurt to baby it a bit for the first 1% of its life. Keep it well-maintained and it should last far more than 100,000. My favorite car of all time, a '85 Civic S, had 80,000 on it when I sold it (what a dope I was!) and it had lost nothing in power and compression, in fact it ran better than when it was new and looked new, too (after repairing a little rust from the salt-infested Minnesota roads). Your paint should easily last 4-5 years if you wash and wax it regularly, preferably careful hand-wash or a brushless carwash, and a gentle wax made for clearcoat finishes. I wax my cars at least once every 3-4 months (just did my Elantra today) or when the water stops beading. Have fun with your new Civic, and try to ignore the "sporty" engine noise--remember it's a small high-revving engine.

britton2

just curious - what kind of wax do you use?

backy

The last few years I've used Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid. It's supposed to be formulated for clearcoat paint. Has a good shine, easy to apply (don't let it sit too long though) and lasts OK (not as good as some, but I don't mind waxing every few months). I think Consumer Reports had a review on waxes in the past year or so, if you want other ideas.

bdesai

I have two questions for those who know car mechanics well and to those who have test driven both the EX and the LX.
1. What does Final drive ratio stand for? I ask because they are different in the brochure for the EX and the LX. EX 4.36 and LX 4.10(may not be accurate).
2. When I test drove the 5 spd LX, the engine was at ~3100 rpm at 75 mph and that is acceptable to me from long distance NVH and comfort stand point. Don't know about the EX because the dealership did not have any 5 spd EX. What RPM is the 5 spd EX, at 75 mph??

Thanx to all for input. Please note that I am only talking about 5 spd MT Civics.

silver_bullet

This is the ratio of the gearing from the output shaft of the transmission to the output at the axle shafts -- for example, a 4.10 ratio would mean that the transmission output shaft turns 4.1 rotations for every one rotation of the axle shaft. Clearly, the higher the ratio, the more revs the engine will have to turn for a given number of axle shaft rotations, all other gearing within the transmission being equal. Generally speaking, a higher final drive ratio gives quicker acceleration at the expense of more revs while highway cruising.

civic_cx_92

The American Honda site has the EX manual having 4.41 ratio while 4.11 for LX manual.

Mathmatically if 4.11 gives 3100 rpm then 4.41 would be 3326 rpm.

The tire diameter must be considered...
LX has 185/70-14's which is 24.2" diameter
EX has 185/65-15's which is 24.5" diameter

due to EX having larger tire diameter by 1.24%, the 3326 rpm drops to 3285 rpm.

Finally consider maximum hp comes on at 200 rpm higher for VTEC-E equipped EX than the LX.

civic_cx_92

Did I just gave away info by putting 185/70-14 tires/wheels from LX on EX, it will produce a quicker EX?

vocus

I saw a deal in the Sunday paper here in Maryland where they were selling new Honda Civic LX models (coupe or sedan) with all standard equipment plus automatic transmission for like $14,500 or something. Is that a pretty good deal?

jrct9454

Here on the West Coast, LX automatics [coupes or sedans] routinely change hands at $14.5 - $14.7k, or sometimes a bit less at certain dealers. Manual trans cars tend to be $800-900 less.

In short, the MD deal sounds good to me...

truckdude1

Hi, Our Civic Ex is Clover Green Metallic pearl, its very shiny, but every single mark shows up on it easily. I would like to know what a good car wash is to wash the exterior paint with? right now we'er using ZipWax car wash made by Turtle Wax. The paint is only 3 week's old so it looks new, but i was wondering what type of wax we should use? i do not want any swirl marks or any scratches to show up though so i would like to know how to wax it,do i just use a application pad and wipe it on and use a towel to wipe it off? what wax is very shiny and lasts for at least 4 months? i heard of Nu-Finish and Turtle wax and Meguiars please help out with any advice, oh and yea our Ex Automatic Coupe runs at 75mph with an RPM of 3350. Thanks alot.

bdesai

That was very helpful ! So, than the Ex should be just as quite at highway speeds(~75 mph). Does the presence of a moonroof make it noisier (when the moonroof is closed)???
Also can you tell me the mathemetical method you used to come to that conclusion? Just for my curiosity.

civic_cx_92

Simple, 3100*(4.41/4.11) = 3326
Then 3326*(24.2/24.5) = 3285
I am assuming the fifth gear ratio for EX and LX are identical.

jlim1

My 01 Civic EX doesn't seem to chill out fast enough. It was 90F with 69% RH this afternoon and with the a/c blower on almost to max, I don't feel that the a/c is exceptional. And that's after a 20-mile ride (45-min long). In my old car, I usually turned the blower from Me to Lo by 10 miles. Not with this Civic though. Any comments? It's only 3 days old.

otis12

A ultra-large volume dealer here in central NJ has been selling LXs with auto. trannys for $12,995, plus tax and tags.

dudka

i would not worry about the car lasting mere 100 000 miles. if you follow the break in procedures the way manual prescribes it, the car will last you 300 000 miles or more, with out major repairs. i used to own an 85 civic, when i sold it it had original clutch and 250 000 on the odometer. the only expences i had were maintenance (oil change, tires, brakes (replaced twice in the life time), tming belt, belts, hoses, ect) i still see the car in the neighborhood.
hondas are designed to be revved hard, after being broken in, don't be affraid to bring it into the red line, there is a whole new feeling after 5000 RPM, it is like a turbo kicking in. i just recently traded in my 99 civic ex for a cr-v. i wish my cr-v had vtec, i miss it terrebly.

civic2001lx

I use Mother's Car Wash and Mother's pure Carnuba Wax on my new 2001 Civic Coupe Satin Silver Metallic. Just be sure to stay away from anything that has a cleaner or abrasive as your car is brand new.

Oh, and I also learned the hard way that you shouldn't leave wax on too long. Basically, I put the wax on with a terry-cloth applicator pad and then wipe it off with a terry-cloth towel.

Hope this helps.

sr_srikanth

Who is that delaer in NJ. I am looking for a compact car and if I get that price I will buy that.

Thanks in advance.

vnatarajan

Hi,

Any idea if Honda going to release red color 4dr civic in 2002 like the one currently in 2dr?

thanks,

tspin

I am thinking about buying a 2001 EX in the next month. is it better to wait until the '02 model? also, with the new model almost out, what is a good price to expect on the east coast for a '01 model? suggestions?

newbuyer26

Hi

I am moving to TX soon and am planning to buy a Honda Civic 2001: EX or LX model (this is my first car actually, so I'm new to this game!). Could anyone tell me what is a good price to expect ? Can I settle for the invoice price or should I expect lower than that (since I heard some people in other areas get such deals)? Also, if anyone has any recommendations for dealers in the San Antonio-Austin area, could you let me know?
Thanks a lot in advance!

wishbone0717

Purchased in NW NJ early June, 2001 Civic EX 4dr sedan with side airbags/mats included $16,750-plus tax and tags-maybe this will help someone-this forum was a great help to me. Thanks

popmo

I am looking at a Civic EX, 4 door with side air bags. Did the price of $16,750 quoted by Wishbone0717 include the destination charge of $400? We are in Richmond, VA.

otis12

The ads run in the Newark Star Ledger on Saturdays and Sundays, Planet Honda in Union.

wishbone0717

Yes, price included destination charge. All of the other dealers in area were approx $17,000 or even higher-had to wait for one in color I wanted with side airbags because only one dealer had in area and he wouldn't sell for less than $17,000. But wait was only one week. Hopes this helps, any other questions, let me know. Thanks

howac

We bought a 2001 Civic EX sedan (with automatic and side airbags) in February. Paid $16,600, (including destination, which is a little below invoice) and the dealer threw in the floor mats for free. We are in the San Francisco Bay Area in CA. What we found when shopping for the car was that the willingness to deal of different dealers really varied. We compared 6 in the area and some didn't have the car and others didn't seem to want our business. The consistent thing was that going through their internet/fleet department got the best prices. To anyone buying a car in the near future, I'd recommend shopping the dealers' own website and request for quotes. The regular sales people are not likely to lower prices without extensive negotiations. I feel that there's a little internal competetion between the regular sales and the internet/fleet departments. It won't hurt to shop around.

So far we love the car and have had no problems with it. The only weird thing is that we're only getting around 23~24 mpg (mainly city driving on flat roads). This is surprising compared to the EPA rating of 31. Even with stop-and-go, I'd expect the mileage to be in the 26~28 mpg range, especially considering that my wife drives very gently. The dealer said that the engine is still new and has not completed the break-in period (it has 2500 miles). The fuel pump/connector recall was taken care of and no problems were found. Any advice, similar experience, or mpg numbers would be greatly appreciated.

texaslead1

Dot worry about the mpg during the first 5K. I had a similar experience before hitting the 5k mark, only get about 24-27 mpg. however, on my cross country trip I got between 34 to 40.5 mpg on highway driving. my average mpg with mixed driving has been 29-32.
I currently have 15.6k.

justin

yes, also that same for me. my 2001 EX Coupe auto got an average of 23mpg up until the 4000 mark when i got my first oil change. now i get 28-30 in city (DC driving) and up to 40, yes 40 mpgs on the highway! love that!

howac

Thanks so much for the info. Now I look forward to the first oil change so we can start enjoying the full efficiency of the car.

Now that I thought about it, the low gas mileage is probably due to the oil specially formulated for new engines. I just checked Honda's website and they strongly recommend that the special oil be kept in the engine until the first scheduled service. It's the care and attention to detail that make me a repeat Honda customer.

mdriver

If Honda offers attention to detail, why don't they offer "break-away" side mirrors instead of the fixed variety. They used to have this useful feature on the 5th gen Civics, until an accountant thought it would be cheaper to go with fixed break-off mirrors. That's the kind of attention to detail Honda hopes you forget about. Same with the switch to struts after years of bragging about the benefits of wishbones.

silver_bullet

Honda is hoping you won't notice that they are mostly resting on their laurels. They've been steadily decontenting their cars for awhile, in an effort to cut costs and remain competitive. They'd do better to keep the quality up, and let the product speak for itself - we already have plenty of mediocre small cars to choose from.

civic_2001

Hi,

I am going to buy a Civic LX 4 Dr AT. Does anyone know the posibility of getting a deal below invoice price in Illinois?

Thanks!

isellhondas

I have to ask...WHY would a merchant want to sell a popular prouuct for less than they paid for it?

Just curious...?

isellhondas

One thing about the buying public...they want it ALL.

Please improve the new 2001 Civic or I'll buy something else.

We want more interior room, better safety ratings, more power, better fuel economy etc...

Oh...but don't raise the price!!

So I guess things like break away mirrors and the like have to be eliminated from time to time.

Maybe you have a better idea to make major improvements while increasing market share and profitability without sharply raising prices?

truckdude1

Hi i'd like to know is Spray WAX safe for cars, we have an 01 Civic and its Dark Green and gets alot of sun. If so, does spray wax protect the paint long and since the cars new will the spray wax make it shine even MORE...please help..how often should we wash the car..it gets dusty in only a day or two..and please inform us what a good spray wax is and what brand of car wash to use, also is it safe to spray armor all or turtle wax TIRE protectant on the tires everytime we was the car? please help us out soon.thanks

justin

where do you figure the EX 2001 has less content than a EX 2000? It has larger wheels, more room, more power, and better MPG's. It has lost nothing. It has GAINED struts up front for crisper, flatter handling and more room. What has been lost?

Yes, I hate the fact that Hyundai has break away mirrors and Honda does not.

silver_bullet

GAINING struts is no gain to those of us who enjoyed the advantages of Honda's double wishbone front suspension. My comment about decontenting was based on a longer term view, not just a 2000 vs. 2001 comparison. Honda is steadily offering less in relation to their asking prices, unlike many of their competitors who are doing the opposite.

civic_cx_92

"Honda is steadily offering less in relation to their asking prices"

Well my '85 Civic S did have folding mirrors but compared to my '92 CX:
no fuel injection
no air bag
torsion bar front suspension
trailing link rear suspension
The S weighed only 1850 lbs but managed only 32mpg
While the CX weighs 2100 lbs and manages 35 mpg.

Compare the 2000 LX sedan with 2001 LX, see my earlier message 608 and 613.
I forgot to add ALL 2001 Civics use ULEV engines...It takes 10 Civics to pollute as much as one Excursion.

justin

that "tuning" the Civics is easier with wishbones instead of struts. i personally don't understand the whole tuning thing - but to each his own.

mdriver

Funny how a supposedly "cheap" Korean car like the Hyundai Elantra offers the kind of "attention to detail" that Civics used to be known for. The Elantra has standard side SRS, heated break-away mirrors, map lights that are actually brighter than a candle, a stereo that actually faces the driver, a height adjustable seat that also "rotates" the entire seat (as well as reclines) and so on. I have driven a friend's Elantra (auto) and Civic LX (5sp) back to back and the Elantra trounces the Civic: Better handling and ride, quieter, much more power (even with auto), an auto trans that shifts at exactly the right moment and of course the great warranty. The only negatives are slightly lower fuel economy and some issues with crash testing (although its structure is as strong as the Civics). It almost seems as if the roles are reversed: The Civic is becoming more like a Hyundai and the Elantra is becoming more like a Honda. Although I'm still not overly convinced about the reliabilty, the fact that the Elantra drives better than the Civic and has at least as good build-quality is something that Honda should be very worried about and is probably a reason for the less than stellar sales numbers of the 01 Civic.

p.s. When was the last time you saw a Civic with Michelins as standard equipment. The Elantra has them and they are vastly better than the ultra-cheap Firestones on the Civic.

sobers

Here the local dealer is doing 200 over invoice with Keyless(LX) for $155 installed & mats & guards for $180 installed. I would suggest to wait for the 2002 model year which is just a month away !

truckdude1

AS i said we have a 2001 EX auto coupe, how high should the rpm go up to take off? We dont floor the car, we push it average down so it can speed up decently and the RPM always jumpes nearly over 4 thousand, and quicky it goes down but is this normal? at Idle its just under 1,000 but when we speed up or floor it on a freeway to pass its nearing 5-6,000.please tell me you advice, and does any one in here have a newer Civic withhigh miles yet? because we want to know how well its running or if its still perfect? thanks alot, late

truckdude1

How high does your RPM go up to when you take off? We tend to push the gas a little over half way down and the rpm quicky seems to jump up to at least 4 thousand RPM but quickly shifts and goes down to 2. How high should the RPM be near 75 miles per hour? please let usk now how well you CIvic is running and the mileage. We have near 1,000 miles on it and NO problems.Thank GOD!! Do any of you have a 2001 EX civc or LX with over 35,000 miles yet? well please reply thanks again

rgarbaccio

Can someone clearly describe how the back seats fold down? I don't mean "how to do it" but rather can you fold them both down, and be able to slide something maybe 3 feet wide right into the back seat from the trunk? Or does only one seat fold down? If they both fold down, is there a pillar in the middle preventing such a loading?

Thanks.