Honda Civic Sedan 2006

psy

We have had our Civic long enough for it to start showing its true colors. They are indeed bright! It would appear that its going to have a good life with us. Purchased the car from Mark Roberts motors in Bartlesville, Ok. the Thursday before Christmas. The deal went down without a hitch. Paided $19,128.00 for the car including dest. and doc. TTL was another $758.00 at the local tag agent. That number includes a $28.00 late fee. I was late tagging it. $&*)**^%#+()_#$

Lets get to what some would refer to as the bad. Knowing it was a first year of a new generation I knew it would have some issues to deal with. So far I havent had what I would call teething problems. But its not been problem free either.

First was the problem of the center console and lower dash heating up with the heater on. Goodness did it get hot. Perfect for keeping coffee warm and warming up a container of water or coke. Not wanting to waiste my time going to a dealer for warrenty work I repaired it myself. Was very simple to do and took about a half hour. I couldnt have driven to a dealer in that amount of time.

I removed the shift knob, boot/cover and the top of the console to find a 45 degree peice of ducting had fallen off that supplys hot air to the rear seat floor area.
http://www.psyshack.com/duct1.jpg
http://www.psyshack.com/duct2.jpg
I put the duct back in its proper place just to have it fall out again when I thumped it with my finger. To fix this I got out my cordless drill. Drilled a small hole and installed a small screw.
http://www.psyshack.com/duct3.jpg
http://www.psyshack.com/duct4.jpg
I did have a clip fall off the console body. So I had to pull the entire console to retreive it. Six screws and one wire and it was removed and clip found. All said and done it took less than 30 mins to do the whole project.

Second problem is the drivers window door switch. The auto up function stoped working. Auto down works just fine. Ive followed the directions in the owners manual for reseting the switch function. Still dosent work. This concerns me little ,, as I never use this feature and really dont like it. I may or may not address this. I have noted it with my dealer and Honda Cust. service. Mite have it replaced when I open the door panels up for a speaker upgrade. Or just buy the switch and replace it myself at that time. Again its no biggy to me.

Third is a issue in the 5MT. Sometimes you can feel the syncros in the tranny not quite getting the job done. Not a grinding of gears. More of a hold on. We arent sync'ed quite right thing. I will address this at the first oil change. At that time I will put the car on all M1 or Amsoil in the crank case and tranny. Honda has had this problem with the TL's and Accord's with 6MT trannys. Ninty percent of the time a fluid change cures it.

Now to the good. We have had zero squeaks and rattles. None! The car is tight. It has been driven on roads that are worse than cattle trails to fresh paved hwy's. Its lept over railroad track crossings, ignored speed bumps and sunk its wheels deep into pot holes. All has remained tight.

It has had afew matrial rubs. Early in the winter we had a good cold snap for Oklahoma. Temps down into the single digits for a few mornings. The cold did induce matrial rubs. All went away as the car warmed up to above freezing in the cabin.

Fit and finish are OK. Honda has been riding the coat tails of build quality, fit and finish of cars built 10 to 15 years ago that where truley amazing in the quality and eveness of panel seam and alignment. Yes there paint has taken a nose dive like everybody else's in reguards to finish and duralbility. Blame this on the evil circle of EPA, Manufatures, MBA's, and economist. They are all pointing fingers at each other.

The uphostery in the car is top notch. The seats and carpet seem to clean up very easy. The seats, center armrest and door armrest are soft to the touch, but have a firm sturdy feel to them. I am very comphy in the car. And have plenty of room. Being 6'2" 250lb man this is important. I have a bad lower back. So for me I have to change driving positions alot. The tilt/telescoping steering wheel with the recline and forward or backwards movement of the seat allow me many combinations to which I can change and not have my back start hurting. A rock function would be nice to raise or lower the front of the seat bottom. The plastics are on the hard side and a bit cheap looking. But this is a Civic. They do tend to scuff easy.

The car drives and handles very well. It can be spirited as you rack the tach and yank gears or docile. It stops very good and maintains itself in panic stops. I had less than 50 miles on the car the evening I purchased it. I was getting on a freeway driving home from the dealer. I decided to get on it hard. 1st thru 3rd redline shift... Whoops! Then no more than that bad break in practice out of the way a large buck steps up to the shoulder of the hwy in front of me. That incited a full on panic stop. So much for the brakes being bed'd in right. As of yet no oil has been used and no pulsing brake pedal. No harm done.

All in all this car has been alot of fun and is a joy to drive. It is very Accordian like. It shares a home with a 05 Accord EX Sedan, I4, 5AT.
http://www.psyshack.com/3pair.jpg
I believe it will spank our Accord in a 0-60 mph run. It will run 60 mph in second gear. Here is a short clip of a 0-60 mph run.
http://www.psyshack.com/MVI_4979.AVI
I made five runs that day. All where the same. I launched it hard with alot of wheel spin. Do to the hard launch, tire pressures, short shifts it was a bit slow. There is better than a second that can be shaved off the time with a softer launch,lower front tire psi, faster and higher rpm shifts.

The over all fuel economy is very good on the car. I drive it about 25% city 75% hwy for a ave. of 37 mpg. I drive from very hard to hypermiling. http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/1820.html
The car has seen beep and creep city driving, interstate 40 at 80 mph to carving around two lane hill roads in SE Oklahoma and SW Arkansas over the Talimena drive. Also day trips into NW Arkansas,, Ozark country. I run my tires at 42 psi front 40 psi rear. Ive been running max tire or near max tire psi for 25 years. My tires always give me good life. 40k to 60k no problem and better mpg. And I hate rolling tires onto the sidewall during hard cornering. Even at those pressures I almost broke the bead loose on two tires in a hard fast tight corner last week. I hate it when they wallow on the sidewall.

Ive made a few mods to the car.
First was the horn. Its way to wimpy. Added a low tone horn to the wimpy high tone that came with the car. Removed the bumper cover and wired it in.
http://www.psyshack.com/horn1.jpg
Four screws, a handful of push clips and the bumper cover is off.
http://www.psyshack.com/bumpoff1.jpg
http://www.psyshack.com/bumpoff.jpg
Wire in the new h

psy

Darn board cut me Off!!! *(^#%@^%(&*

page 2

Wire in the new horn and reassemble.
http://www.psyshack.com/installed.jpg
It made a huge difference.
http://www.psyshack.com/BEFORE.AVI
http://www.psyshack.com/AFTER.AVI

I also painted the "H's" on the front and back. The HUGE chrome "H" on the front is tacky tacky tacky IMO. Makes me long for the small "H" of the past. Also painted the numbers and letters on the lic. plate black. Dont worry its not something a cop will ticket you on here or even give a second thought about. So dont start.
http://www.psyshack.com/h1.jpg
http://www.psyshack.com/civicf21206.jpg
http://www.psyshack.com/civicr21206.jpg

So lets hear about what others like, dislike, repairs, warranty. How it drives what it looks like mods,, so forth and so on. I like My Sedan!!! I have a friend that really likes his Coupe :shades:
http://www.psyshack.com/twoofakind.jpg

psy

evped

Excellent post. Very informative. Thanks.

crissman

Nice work, psy. I noticed yesterday just how anemic the horn really is. Could be my biggest gripe so far. I'm afraid I have too many thumbs to try your fix myself.

nooffal

I just have a question on my new 2006 Civic LX. I JUST bought this thing yesterday, brand new, hadn't even been test driven one time (except me).

This is my first new car in cold weather (originally from FL) and this morning the thing was acting like it was going to die for a few seconds, before it finally started.

It was probably 20-30 degree F out -- is this just due to the car being so new? Or, could there be an issue with the battery or starter? Considering I just bought it, I want it perfect!

Any ideas? Thanks!

crissman

Could be it just hadn't been driven enough to get the battery charged up, coupled with the low temps. That's if the starter was turning slowly. If it was stumbling for a few seconds, your guess is probably as good as mine, but I'd certainly not expect that to continue. Maybe if it's been sitting on the lot awhile some moisture condensed in the tank.

seawea

Hello everyone-

I need some advice. When I purchase the car, it already had 6 to 7 miles on it, is that a sign of it being a demo car(test driven car)? And when I stop at the light, I can hear a growling sound coming from the hood of the car, is that normal. In addition, my wheel hubcaps are not een sticking to the wheel, it's like loose, is that normal on the LX. I paid $17,375 out the door, after one day, I am being to think that I bought a demo car and not a actually new one, and I know that I can not return it, unlike it is a lemon.

Thanks.

sheldo1

My car came off the factory truck with 7 miles on it. I'm not sure why but perhaps there was some testing done at the factory? I think a Demo would have had a lot more miles than 7 if that's what it was used for. As for the other issues, you should probably just have the dealer check it out.

targettuning

While I haven't had the window "auto up" problem I have a thought on the matter. All new automobiles are mandated to have "pinch control" on their power windows to prevent injury to small children, or anyone else for that matter, who may somehow get a body part or appendage in the way of a closing window. The window senses an obstruction and reverses so it therefore seems that whatever senses this obstruction may be malfunctioning on your car. Just a thought.

targettuning

To those with very low mileage on their "new" car...this is pretty much normal. The cars are shuffled around in holding lots at the plant, driven to the transport truck, unloaded and further moved around at the dealer for prep, driven to the local gas station for a tank fill-up and possible shake down before delivery. In addition there probably is some type of a "hands-on" quality check drive at the plant. I would start to worry if it had more than 20 miles on it which would indicate either a distant dealer trade or extensive test drives by prospective customers.

mcap

When you pay for a new car, you should get one. However, I agree with what was already said. According to consumers, a new car should have very few miles on it but anywhere between 1 and 10 is fairly normal. Mine came with 4.

I can't say if it's the same noise but I may have experienced the grumbling/vibration that you speak about. It happens at idle and only after the car has been moving (in other words, I don't usually hear it at start up). From what I could gather on previous threads, this may be defective idle pulley or something but there is no great fix for it yet. The replacement doesn't work either. I am no mechanic but it doesn't seem like such a damaging thing to me so I may leave it for my first oil change or until I read more about it. The last thing I want the techs to do is to start messing with the valves or tinkering until they are sure of what they are doing.

Other than that the car has been tremendous. I love it. and plan to enjoy it grumbles and all until I think there is something seriously wrong with it. I hope you enjoy yours. I don't have the wheel covers so I am not sure of what exactly is going on there.

marc

aviboy97

When I purchase the car, it already had 6 to 7 miles on it, is that a sign of it being a demo car(test driven car)?

It is very common to see "new" vehicles with some mileage on the ODO. In Connecticut, I think the car is still considered "new" until it reaches 3000 miles. After it reaches 3000 miles, it must be sold and disclosed as a demo until it reaches 6000 miles, then it is considered "used".
Even if you buy it as an advertised "demo", it is still legally "new" until it has a registered owner.

thegraduate

Great thorough post! There should be more posts like these around the boards!

mamamia2

6 to 7 miles??? Boy, some people are picky... I got my car with 56 miles on it... So what? Cars are driven in the assembly plant, in the dealership, soemtimes transferred between dearlerships... And yes, sometimes are used to test drive by potential buyers who elect to wait, or buy another color or another model...

6 to 7 miles? Be HAPPY. You've got a brand new car. A true virgin, I might say.

psy

The auto up function or turnpike function has nothing to do with the auto reverse if a obstruction is in the way. after all the auto down still works fine. I feel its a switch issue. It did work when I picked up the car. To tell the truth I hate the function myself.

psy

My Civic had 11 miles on it when I bought the car. Noooo biggy. Our 05 Accord had 72 miles on it I think at purchase. It was a dealer trade. Dealer was 50 plus miles away. Again No biggy. Seeing that we will put a easy 200k on our cars in 5 to 7 years,,, 11 and 72 miles isnt squat. Cars do get checked out when they come in by the service dept. People test drive them,, dealer trades are done. Im glad to see a few shake down miles on a car. I would hate to buy a car and have something fizzle at 6 miles just down the road from the dealer.

thegraduate

I have ya beat! My 2006 Accord had 127 miles when before I test drove it! No problems yet, except a slightly misfit gas cap rubber fitting. Fixed with a tug on it to seat in back in place. 10 seconds.

psy

I wanted to add a bit more about the Civic's Navi.

Its a good feature but not a good deal.

The Navi works well and is easy to use. The best on the market IMO. Voice activation is so so. Maybe it dosent understand a redneck southern draw. Its easy to see in all but direct sunlight blareing right in on screen. I look forward to useing it for road trips this spring and summer. It does seem to track well and give useable directions. Ive caught it twice screwing up. Once we where in SE Oklahoma and if we had followed it advice we would have heard banjo music and somebody would have been screaming as it would have put us in Delivrance type country. Other time it wigged out, the GPS went way off the HWY and would of had us driving thru a Indian Casino. We had to laugh about a drive thru casino. Ive also caught it lieing about miles to a destnation. Told me it was 28 miles when I know its a solid 52 miles.

My one gripe ,, and IMO is a biggy. NO TRIP COMPUTER. No real time mpg, trip mpg and such found in ,, say the Accord unit. I find this insane for Honda to not include this. hell its not even in the hybrid. Hybrid has the junkie dash read outs. Its dosent even get the function like Accord. I find the way Honda packages the navi awful. I can see the Acura line getting fancey suround sound adders and afew other features to set them apart.

Come on Honda you brag and brag about how green you are and use it every chance you get. Talk about how the 1.8L engine has valve timings at low load to replicate a 1.5L. Use the green weenie thing to defend yourself for not putting a V8 in the Ridgeline or Pilot... Go on and on about your mpg but no trip computer. All the data is there and you dont put it in a Civic as you brag about it going upscale.

So now Im going to go buy a scan guage to do something they SHOULD have done from the start.

So in short they did strip the Civics Navi down to bare bones and that makes it not worth the asking price.

The audio works very good for a Navi car with 6.5" speakers in it. 6.5" speakers are lame in the back. I will have to change them out. They also rip you on the Sedan. Its xm ready, Now this really dosent bother me. I dodnt like xm. But again its not there if you do want it.

I havent used the card slot or the aux imput. I have no use for a ipod or the card reader. Many do and its there if you need it. I have 40 gig of mp3's on cd's in the console,, so Im good. I havent had the cd player skip or mute. Even with wheels reaching the depths of pot holes or leaping speed bumps in a single bound. I have noticed it slow to get the album and track list going for my mp3 disc's.

So I will have to upgrade the speakers in the car and buy a scan guage. Speaker upgrade dosent bother me. But the lack of a trip computer and afew other basics in a over priced Navi unit do.

Will this turn me off from looking into navi in future car purchase's? No. Will it make me look more into over all feature sets you bet. Will it define a car purchase no.

Its nice to have and lets face it It looks great in the dash!!!!

mrmusic

I agree. Owners whine and gripe about nothing and yet don't say a word about the awful Bridgestone tires on the Civic (except the SI) Wait til you get caught in rain or snow with them. I took mine off and put on the Michlein Sport Alantro tires. Now thats a great ride!!! It was $540. well spent.

sheldo1

I have the opposite opinion on the Bridgestone tires having been through several snow storms with them. The traction was great.

targettuning

I think it does if while using the "auto up" feature you get your hand in the way. The auto reverse feature works no matter how you intend to close your window...automatically or manually (by holding the UP button). I am speculating the auto reverse feature is on the fritz because, I believe, once an obstruction is encountered the window reverses and either stops part way down (the 2 inches you have) or all the way down. It then should be able to be reclosed, however, in your case it may just stop at the location programmed without being able to the be fully closed. Auto down should have no bearing on the anti-pinch feature.

targettuning

Maybe you should worry...In my younger days I delivered and picked up dealer trade cars for a now defunct Ford dealer. I couldn't wait to drive a new high performance Mustang at slightly more than Ford's recommended break in limits. I just plain drove "somebody elses new car" fast on a, more or less, regular basis. Of course there were the retirees who did this just for something to do and they drove accordingly but there were us young bucks to whom the eventual owner was irrevelent. We didn't have the money to own these cars and played out our fantasies with YOUR new car. So, once again... maybe you should worry!!!

vinnyc

Hi warner,

Is that any latest news regarding this issue. This problem is getting worse on my car. I can feel some vibrations in any speed, not only noise. Can anyone tell me if they have got this problem fixed please?

sheldo1

My dealer said that they have had numerous complaints about this but Honda doesn't have a fix yet.

mdchachi

Considering that most people won't miss a trip computer (and a lot more people desire a memory card slot/aux input), I hardly think their design choice was "insane". Probably not one customer in a thousand desire a trip computer so badly that they will install one themselves.

lewen

Ran across this picture from our local paper, Herald Democrat. I'm pretty sure this is a 2006 Civic LX that has hit a tree pretty good. From the picture it appears that the driver's compartment did pretty well. The story did say that the driver was taken to the hospital but didn't give any details. I just thought it was interesting. I am the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic EX bought in October and so far we love the car.

thegraduate

No telling what speed this was...it looks like maybe 25-30mph? Maybe a little less since the fenders didn't bend at all.

vinnyc

I am very disappointed with Civic 2006. It supposes to be like a hot cake, but now I don't even want to recommend to my friends or anyone else!

targettuning

What? Why?....a disconnect post. One presumes it has to do with the harmonic resonance type noise, which mine has by the way. I am also still waiting for a cause/fix from Honda but not quite ready to drive it off a cliff like this fellow.

vinnyc

I am still waiting for Honda to pull me back from the edge of the cliff. LOL

warner

I agree. Owners whine and gripe about nothing and yet don't say a word about the awful Bridgestone tires on the Civic (except the SI) Wait til you get caught in rain or snow with them. I took mine off and put on the Michlein Sport Alantro tires. Now thats a great ride!!! It was $540. well spent.

I have the opposite opinion on the Bridgestone tires having been through several snow storms with them. The traction was great.

I have had pretty good traction with the standard tires on my 2006 Civic in the snow here in Chicago. However, I will agree that Michelin makes the best tires BY FAR for rain or snow and when these tires wear out, there's no question which brand of tire will go on the Civic.

Warner

hangaralf1

i won't be replacing my tires with the stock BS el400's either. Other than the handbrake digging into my thigh, that's my only complaint. The handbrake issue was addressed by placing a foam bicycle grip over it. the el400 issue is being addressed by driving really hard around corners and accelerating and braking as hard as i can.

thegraduate

the el400 issue is being addressed by driving really hard around corners and accelerating and braking as hard as i can.

I sure hope you aren't expecting any more than 20 mpg driving like that! That's what Motor Trend got after their week of testing hard. You'll end up costing yourself more money on gas, oil, and brakes if you drive full throttle all of the time. If they are that much of a hindrance, go ahead and replace the tires.

psy

I have a buddy that bought a early production Civic Coupe with a 5AT. He got the lug bug. and after driving my 5MT is kicking himdelf for not buying the MT.

He took matters into our own hands concerning it. My wife and I bought a new 05 Accord EX Sedan 5AT, I4. I love the car other than the sucky butt AT tranny. Gm would be proud if they could make a slush box like that. I changed the fluid out in it to M1 ATF and it now shifts some what better and fluid temps have droped 20 degrees over all. That tells me its not slush box sliping into gears for that smooth I want a caddilac shift. It hits its gear and moves on.

Knowing that my buddy did a complete flush on his Civic AT to M1 ATF. The tq seems to be locking up better. The real problem with his car is the low rpm lockup point Honda chose to use. The new fluid allows the tq to go ahead and lock up at the low rpms. So now its a true lug problem when it does it. Acts like my 5MT Civic if I try to drive it around in high gear at 1500 rpms or under. IT LUGS!!!

vinnyc

Thanks for your reply,
Are you saying that the problem can be fixed by replacing the transmission fluid?

thegraduate

Your idea of better is harsher? Most of the market prefers more imperceptable shifts, I would think. If you like a stiff shifting auto, then I have a 1996 Accord LX to sell you... :-)

mrmusic

I agree completely. And after reading reviews on the Michlein Sport Alantro www.tirerack.com I was headed for Discount Tires and some better rubber. Say all you want about those awful BS tires I know how well my Civic handles after the switch. Well worth the cost!!

My life and car are worth more than foolish pride. Honda built us a wonderful car but shafted us to save a few $$$ on some 3rd rate Bridgestones. Mine are now resting in the garage til I can find a fool to haul them off.

psy

It didnt fix it. It helped it. Made the issue a bit better to live with.

psy

"Your idea of better is harsher? Most of the market prefers more imperceptable shifts, I would think. If you like a stiff shifting auto, then I have a 1996 Accord LX to sell you..."

Yep harsher is better. I would love it if our 7th gen Accord had a 4th gen AT in it. I knew better than to buy a small car with a automatic in it,, muchless a Honda automatic. But knowing the wife will drive it more than I. What the heck. Ive enjoyed my Civic 5MT. Get to drive it to work today. I will be stuck in Tulsa traffic at 5:00 pm today with a MT and a grin just above my chin.

Most of the market wants a smoother shift. I would have to agree. But must of the market has no idea what has to go on to make that smoother shift happen. In a nut shell its controled slipage. Makes life harder on the clutchs, fluid and bearing. More heat more clutch matrial floating around in the fluid.

Honda got smart and put a tranny oil filter on the Accords AT units. Ive wondered if they did the same for Civics AT units. On the I4 autos its a filter that looks like a fuel filter. On the V6 autos, its a filter elemnt behind a cover plate. When i changed the fluid and filter on the Accord I cut the filter open. And it was packed with slurry/fiber type matrial. That would be clutch matrial from that uber soft shifting it does. Glad that matrial was in the filter and not pluging up passages and flowing around and thru bearing.

Also Im not convinced that Honda has there choices for tranny fluids right. They make it sound like you cant or shouldnt use anything but there products. What hog wash. I went to a Chevy dealer to buy some GM syncomesh MT tranny fluid for my new Civics MT. They where out. Come to find out the Honda dealer next door bought all 8 cases they had in stock. I wondered over to the thug Honda dealer and sure enough setting on the end of the parts counter on the floor in the service side of the parts counter was 8 cases of GM tranny fluid. On the public side of the counter was display shelfs full of Hondas tranny fluid. None of the GM stuff there. LMAO.

Off to work now. I get to enjoy the postive shifting of my 5MT and once again push the high 30's or low 40's in mpg.

vinnyc

Could anyone tell me what is "LUG Bug"? How it can be fixed? Do you thnik Honda will fix it for us?

thegraduate

To each his own I guess.

Part of the way the Accord (and I imagine the Civic, now) pulls off a super-smooth shift is by matching revs during the shift itself (with the Electronic Throttle).

gp46

Its sad that you would presume that the people on this forum are too stupid to determine the difference between normal road noise and abnormal vehicle noises. I clearly believe the 06 civic does have some noise issues. My civic has been back to the dealership 5 times for same noise issue. Dealership is unable to repair because replacement parts are also defective. That is what the Service Director at dealership has told me. My noise issues are valid and I'm sure that all other Civic owners who take the time to post here are as well.

qddave

Wow, I'd love for you to pinpoint in my post where I presumed that people on this forum are too stupid to determine the difference between normal road noise and abnormal road noise.

I'll even paste in my post:
I've test driven a few Civics and did not notice any irregular vibrations, although I wasn't looking for them. I'm not trying to start anything, just curious. What if the Honda comes back and says, "that's the way the car is supposed to sound." What will you do, get rid of the car?

Auto trans equipped Proteges have an interesting high pitched whine while at highway speeds. Owners complained and Mazda replied by saying that it was the natural resonance of the transmission. In no way is it a part failure, just a design flaw. Definitely something that the dealer cannot fix. So do you still hang hte issue over the dealer's head? Furthermore, Honda likely wouldn't put it at the top of the list for fixes. I personally don't see it as high priority. It's not like the loose gas pedal issue. Maybe that's the way the car is supposed to sound.

Some posts had people complaining about a rattle hear and there, or easily hearing the sounds of the road through the floor. It isn't a Lexus, it's an economy car. Do you think the fully loaded EX gets more insulation than the stripped down DX? I guess I'm sort of saying, "keep and open mind." There's a lot to like about this car and it is a first year model. Think about what Cobalt owners put up with.

drexelnet

Hi everyone-

I noticed when looking at the manual, it stated that using Honda power steering and braking oil is perferred. But, I was wondering if I could use some other oil/fluid brand instead of the Honda Brand. Would it damage my engine? By the way, when I purchase my 06 Civic LX sedan, I noticed that some edges and other interior parts/surfaces were either chipped or sratched, is that normal in a new car, I don't mean to be picky but it just doesn't feel right. I thought that a civic would have better fit and finish that this. Is this a sign that this is a demo car? And is it normal when everytime I turn on the car, there's this cruise main icon that showed up on the dashboard. Finally, is there a way to turn off the daytime running lights.

Thank you very much for all your advices.

crissman

On my '06 EX the Cruise Control light will come on with a restart if it was left on when engine was previously shut down. The manual says that the DRL can be switched off by the Honda dealer on U.S. cars. Don't really know about your chips and scratches. Did the car have much mileage on it. Mine was actually driven from another city, so it had 200 miles when I got it, but everything was clean and shiny.

silver7

Hi. You might have already read my post, but we have been having the same experience. The not starting at all seems to be isolated to colder mornings, but in general we have noticed that the car just doesn't seem to turn over like one would expect a new car to. We took the car in the first time we had trouble starting it (we've had at least 5 times now where there was no denying that the car was having serious starting issues) and the mechanic did note that it was starting rough. The mechanic reset the idle and that seemed to work for a few weeks. We are back to having the same problem again (both yesterday and today the car wouldn't start the first attempt) and I was on the phone again with the service dept. I requested that the same mechanic that first detected the problem be the person to take a look at it, and we have arranged to leave it over night so they can start it cold in the morning. I wouldn't brush it off, I'd take it in. I agree with you that a brand new car just shouldn't have problems starting even on a cold morning. I'll let you know if we discover any solutions. Best of luck!

sheldo1

It's the "growling noise" many of us are getting at 1500 rpm. Some people say it is a "lugging" problem where the transmission isn't shifting to a lower gear soon enough and the engine lugs. This would be very evident on a manual transmisson car if you were in too high of a gear. I am not certain that that is what is happening in this case as I can hear the sound in first gear as the engine passes through 1500 rpms. Personally, I think it is just a case of something resonating at 1500 rpms. What it is, or what causes it, I don't know.

There are a lot of "experts" on this board who claim to know exactly what the problem is but I'll wait for Honda to come up with a solution. My dealer said they have had numerous complaints about this but even their best mechanics can't figure it out yet. Honda doesn't have an answer yet either so how can people on this board be so certain it is "lugging"?

drexelnet

When turning on the car, I noticed that one of the temperature knob always turn on, its the one that is located on the middle of the top column, is that normal, can i turn it off? do other noticed that when gently stepping on the gas pedal the car gives it a jerky feeling, like it accelerating off the line.

thank you very much

vinnyc

Thanks for your reply. I was getting this "growling noise" at 1500rpm earlier. But now, it seems to be happened at all speed. This is noise is actually very irriating. I don't know how long I can stand for this noise. I am thinking to sell the car and getting a Toyota instead.

thegraduate

I am thinking to sell the car and getting a Toyota instead.

Why, does sludge not make noise? My girlfriend's Corolla just got back from a 2-week stint at from the shop. They finally figured out why her steering wheel was sticking (quite dangerous). The steering coulumn was warped. They said it the way it happened, it was unlikely due to impact (I don't know if I believe this). Her car's ignition cylinder is loose, also, and is back in the shop (until Thursday the 23rd, they said) to be replaced and have the keys remade (and programmed for the immoblizer). Thank God it's still only got 17k miles on it, so the warranty is covering all of these items.

On the other hand, my new Honda has 4,200 miles on it now, no issues.