Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

civickidd

I too purchased a 2003 Civic LX sedan/auto, and yes, it sucks. You can trade it in and take a loss (of $2000 minimum), plus you lose your bargaining power because the salesman see how far you're willing to go to get into another car..I was forced into getting my ugly auto sedan (long story), and truly hate it, but in the end it gets me from point A to point B reliably, so i'll deal with it for another year till its my turn to choose which car to buy

gregoryc1

QUESTION: ----What is "wrong" with your Civic. We have a 2003 Accord and a 2000 Civic. Both vehicles are 4 cylinder, and they run "great"! We use premium fuel and an upper cylinder lubricant in the fuel. We have plenty of power / acceleration, and the engines are "very smooth". -----Just my opinion. ----Greg

flowerman

hi,everyone this is my first post,hope someone can help. i have a 2002 civic ex sedan, like i ve just read several people have commented on the lousy stereo system, i have constant rattling and noise from the speakers in front passenger side speaker, i cleaned out the glove box,cell phone, change etc it seemed to help,but still there, i am scheduled next monday to take into dealer, i am wondering if there is any point to letting them tear into the door. would i be better off just getting new speakers or complete stereo system after warranty runs out. and any suggestions who has the best systems, am worried about letting some of the monkeys at these aftermarket stereo,alarm,sun film place tie into my car. also the back driver side door has started groaning when i open it. i had a civic dx hatchback for 11 years and never had any of these problems until it was really old. thanks for any advice anyone can give.

ralphwiggm

I have a 2003 Civic Coupe with only 500 miles on it. Both times I've filled up the tank, the gas light has come on, but the tank was full after 9 gallons (it's a 13.2 gallon tank) and the gas gauge went back up to full. Anyone know why the gas light comes on with over 4 gallons of gas left???? That's almost 1/3rd of the tank.

dalaw

Yesterday I filled up my 03 Civic LX 4dr with 10 gallons of gas and the light did not come on before that. Was your gas needle showing empty when the light came on? Your gas light may be malfunctioning, and maybe you can ask your dealer to check it out. Here is my story: one time I filled up my tank and I swear there were 2-3 gallons left in the tank (the light hasn't came on yet)before I went into the gas station. The gas pump was pumping an unusually large amount of gas into my civic, so I stopped the pump manually because I know that the tank holds only 13.2 gallons. The gas pump had pumped 13 gallons and it would continue to pump if I didn't stop the pump myself. At first, I suspected that the gas pump ripped me off by pumping less gas than indicated, but then on that tank, I drove 170 miles before the gas needle even started to move down a little from the maximum mark (mine is not a hybrid). So I think the tank did hold at least 15 gallons of gas that time. Anybody experienced this?

crazygrrrl

Honda probably set the low fuel warning light to come on early because without fuel, your fuel pump would likely burn out. I never let my car go lower than 3/4 a tank before I refuel it.

I don't think it's possible for a 13.2 gal tank to hold 15 gallons without making a big mess.

They say that gas is most dense in the morning, and in the afternoon (or when it gets warmer) the gas molecules expand. So maybe if you bought gas early in the morning, it expanded to make the tank stay full even when driving??? It still doesn't make sense to drive 170 miles without the gauge going down at all. I'm puzzled.

mdriver

The problem isn't a low fuel light inconsistency, but a full tank inconsistency. This generation of Civic has a tank that when approaching full sometimes shuts the gas pump off early and sometimes doesn't. This variation of "fullness" gives you the impression that the low fuel light is inaccurate. I've put almost 14 Gallons in the tank. I know there's a problem with filling because if I just let the pump shut off by itself, sometimes I can drive 50 miles without a move of the guage off "F" and sometimes it moves after just 20 miles. This also makes calculating fuel economy very difficult becuase the refill amount varies widely. My solution is to always fill up at the exact same station AND pump every time.

bracks

Help!
I saw a few posts on this. I have a 2003 Civic with 8,000 miles on it, and it doesn't start all the time. Everything lights up, but there is no cranking. I have had it in three times and Honda told me they can't find the problem, and it starts for them. Yet, I pick it up and about the third time I go to start it, it doesn't start. Any ideas?

Thanks!

dudka

how many keys do you have on your keychain? Try having only the car key and keyfob if you have OEM Honda keyless entry or alarm.

auburn63

Is your car a stick shift? We have seen a few of those have bad (intermitant) clutch switches. Other than that its like dudka said we have seen imobilizer interferance with too many keys, metal objects or electronic devices on the key rings.

steine13

My money is on "electrical", just like the other posters.

I dunno about the immobilizer; easy enough to check by using just the key w/out the key chain.

Other than that, I'd look at the clutch interlock (manual) or the shift interlock (auto) that keeps the car from starting unless the clutch is depressed or the gear selector is in either "P" or "N".
Since it's intermittent, use the technique known in the field as "wiggling" to determine the source of the problem.
Let the clutch in and out a few times and really stomp on it, then start the car.
Or: Shift from Park to Drive and back a few times, or try to start the car in Neutral.

Good luck; let us know.
-Mathias
East Lansing, MI

spokane

Your A/C function is not normal. It could be a defective fan motor or resistor bank for the fan electrical supply. A problem with the linkage for one of the dampers in the ventilation system is also a possibility. A technician with any experience on the Civic ventilation systems should be able to find the problem quickly. From your description, I expect this will not be a major repair job. Tinting the windows would not provide significant improvement; you need to have proper airflow. Good luck.

bracks

Thank you for the suggestions! I am going to try my spare key for a while and see if that works. I picked my car up from Honda yesterday, and they couldn't find anything wrong, so they stuck a new battery in "just in case". Hopefully the key will work. If not, my car is automatic, and I will try the shifting from Park to drive. It just amazes me that my dealer has no idea what is wrong!

theflow

Where can i find a more comfortable seats with better lumbar support. Also, what can i do if i couldn't stand the extremely bumpy ride of my civic. Can i replace the suspension? What about shocks and springs?? It's a 2001 ex model. Will it void the warranty? Help........

dudka

Si seats are VERY comfortable, they are $1000 a piece, but can be found on ebay (most likely stolen) Some Integra seats may be more comfortable.

As far as the suspension, there are kits out there, but most of them are to stiffen the ride. I am surprized that you think that your 2001 is too bumpy. I know that Honda re-worked the suspension for 2002 because the 2001 were too bouncy. Are you riding on stock wheels and tires? Check the pressure. It may be too high.

cam03

i have an 03 ex civic that i purchased three weeks ago. I have 160 miles on it. Today I was driving and when I stopped at a traffic light I noticed the guages went to zero. After I started to drive again all the guages started to work properly.I became very upset. What should I do? Should I call the dealer? Has anyone else experienced this and what did they do about it?

markbalsam

I just bought a 2000 Civic EX on August 24th, 03. Anything at all I should know about them so I can get it checked out right away. I know it had 2 recalls on it. One for the front seatbelts and one for the ignition switch. Anything else I should know as this is my first non-american car.

glb5

We have an 02 Civic coupe 5 speed with the dreaded ft pad clunking upon a change of direction forward to backward and visa versa. It was either Varmit or Auburn63, I can't recall , who posted about a TBS on the CRV's. Do you guys or anyone else out there know of a TBS om this problem for our Civic, or is Honda just going to ignor it,so please post the TBS number, this noise is driving me nuts. thank you.

auburn63

There is no service bulletin for the civic yet but you can have someone put some disc brake quiet on the back side of the pads and it will stop..

mdriver

I have an 02 5sp EX that when reversing, applying brake, going forward and applying brake gets the "clunk". Have been told nothing can be done by dealer. Is this one of the "improvements" Honda made when coming out with the 7th gen. as the 6th gen had no sign of this problem.

Also, someone said earlier about the "bumpy" suspension in the 02 EX. I think that what he/she was referring to was the bounciness of the suspension. I think this soft suspension instead of providing a smoother ride makes the car gyrate constantly on the most minor of road dips. A firmer suspension would have actually improved this tendancy reducing the queasyness. Unfortunately, the 02 hardly improved firmness over the 01 and it still bounces and floats more that any other small car. Just look at the back of any 01-03 Civic (any trim level) and you can see the excessive up and down movement, while other cars remain well controlled. Very visible.

theeby

My car is Honda civic 91 model - automatic, Whenever i run A/c and wait in a signal or in heavy traffic, it runs ok for few minutes and the engine dies without any sound.

When the car is in idle position at D4 if I switch of the engine I could feel the lack of engine power and if i don't accelarate a bir it dies.

If i switch off A/c and restart the engine it starts immediately. My mechanic has checked and says everything is ok.

The problem started only after i serviced my oil change and filter change, engine tune up, new battery etc...

Intially the engine was dying when i switch on the A/C now it has become the opposite what could be the reason.Pls help.Thanks

dudka

I would have Idle control valve checked.

jtyoung59

I have a weird problem I was wondering if anyone else has encountered:

When we got into my 2003 Civic EX yesterday, my daughter noticed a gash in the rear seat upholstery about 2 inches long where the fabric appeared to have melted!

It's been hot the last couple of days here, but only in the mid 90s. I have noticed that the metal seat belt latches do get very hot when the car has been in the sun, so all I can figure is somehow one of them got hot enough to melt the fabric. This clearly not a cigarette burn (besides which, no one who would have been in the car smokes)- the melted area looks more like someone took a hot knife to the fabric!

Has anyone else had this experience? Certainly, you would think Honda would design fabrics that could withstand the kind of heat generated while sitting in normal summer sun - I live in the SF Bay Area, not Arizona, etc.

P.S. Do you think this would be covered by the warranty?

smithie1

The brakes on my three-month old Civic EX '03 (ABS) appear to "catch" to become more grippy, so to speak, from time to time without any apparent pattern. It is almost as if a ghost foot is momentarily pressing down the brake pedal further while my own foot rests on the pedal. Several family members and friends who have driven my car have also mentioned this to me without my prompting. I have not yet spoken to the dealer. I would like to know before I do whether this is common and presents a safety risk. Do people know what this is and whether this can be fixed? (If this issue has been discussed previously on the board, please direct me to the relevant posts.) Thanks in advance.

auburn63

If the A/C was overcharged it could cause your problem. Has the A/C been recharged lately or this summer? The hotter the temp the higher the pressure on the high side eventully the pressure is too much for the engine and it shuts down or stalls. Other than that is the oil overfull, or did they use quality tune up parts? We see (no offense to Italy intended) alot of cap and rotor problems with made in Italy stamps on them. also as stated by Dudka your idle controllers could be going bad also if all else looks good..Good luck

dalaw

Your Civic appears to be braking more while you steadily hold your foot on the brake pedal is due to the downshifting of the automatic transmission. During moderately hard braking, the downshift will help to slow down the car using the engine's compression. If you look at the tachometer next time your car does this while braking (keep your eyes on the road too), you will notice a jump in engine rpm.

frankiejr101

Hi Everyone!

I have an '01 Civic EX and just two questions.

1. Has anyone else had a problem with *occasionally*, after you shut the car off and take the key out, you go and barely start pulling on the door handle to open the door when all the doors suddenly lock? They weren't locked before, and then I have to hit the unlock button to get out of the car. It's not a big deal to me, just want to make sure it's not a sign of something worse.

2. When I set the air control to "feet" or "ground", whatever that is called, I can still feel a lot of air coming from the upper vents. I figured that should only happen when it's set to upper/lower, and just upper. I know it's not the defroster vents, it's the actual dashboard vents and it's very annoying because it's quite a bit of air coming through! Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks so much! Still think this is the best car ever!!

jtyoung59

I had the exact same thing happen to my '03 EX. I restarted the car and they were fine. I haven't had a problem since (now have about 4,000 miles on my car - this happened about 1,500 miles ago), but it was definitely worrisome.

Let me know if you hear any more.

dudka

<<<<<<Hi Everyone!

I have an '01 Civic EX and just two questions.

1. Has anyone else had a problem with *occasionally*, after you shut the car off and take the key out, you go and barely start pulling on the door handle to open the door when all the doors suddenly lock? They weren't locked before, and then I have to hit the unlock button to get out of the car. It's not a big deal to me, just want to make sure it's not a sign of something worse.

2. When I set the air control to "feet" or "ground", whatever that is called, I can still feel a lot of air coming from the upper vents. I figured that should only happen when it's set to upper/lower, and just upper. I know it's not the defroster vents, it's the actual dashboard vents and it's very annoying because it's quite a bit of air coming through! Anyone else have this problem?>>>>>>>>>

1. Do you have either OEM or aftermarket alarm installled? The only similar experience is that when you hit "unlock" on the remote, but don't open any doors in 30 seconds they will automatically re-lock.

2. When you set the air flow to "feet" you should not get any air from the center vents. The side vents, by the windows, are not controlled by the air flow selector. They have a little wheel on them to cut the air flow.
I find the best setting is "bi-level" or "feet and face" the system will automatically direct warmer air to the feet and colder air to face in winter. I think when you have A/c on, the temperature is the same for "feet" and "face".

mattbrat

I have 01 Honda Civic HX with 53,000 miles on it, when my wife took it to Honda for an oil change, they told her the brakes (both front and rear) need replacing. I was surprised, because there was no squeal from the brake sensors whatsoever to alert me that the brakes need replacing. I know the front brakes has sensors, but is that true for the rear brakes as well? By the way, is there a brake indicator light in the dashboard that would alert when brakes need replacing?
If anyone knows please respond.
I don't believe the service guy at Honda and I'm about to take the tires of my car to check the brakes.

dudka

I think College hills honda price is decent. Since you are in Tx, www.hparts.com maybe closer to you and would take less time to ship. Call them up and give them your best price on O2 sensor and see if they can beat it. As far as tricks, I think you need an O2 sensor socket, or a regular socket with a cut out for the wire to remove and install it. Since yours is 92, it is probably rusted and you would need to spray it with either WD-40 or Liquid wrench and soak it over night. You probably have the original O2 sensor in your car, so that would be its life. Try Autozone and Pepboys for prices on O2 sensors. You can probably get a salvaged one from a junk yard for $20 that may or may not last you another 50K-100K miles.

As far as the brakes on 01HX, I think they are drum in the rear, and may not have a sensor, chekc with your manual. The tech may have suggested to change brake pads as they were nearing the level where the sensor would make noise, it could be also that they are tyring to make some money. If you are the original owner of the car then you would kno wif the brakes have been replaced before. If you bought it used, then previous owner may have replaced brake pads with ones with out sensors. No there is no light in the dash that would tell you the brake pad condition. The "Brakes" light is for the hydraulic system only, to alert you of broken hose or clog.

frankiejr101

Dudka,

Thanks for the reply. Not sure what OEM is but I have just the factory made '01 Civic EX, no extras, no alarms, nothin'. We do have the keyless entry though. I am aware of the re-locking procedure for the doors but we just shut the car off, open the passenger door, then within 3 seconds go to open driver's door and before it opens, all the doors lock and I must manually unlock them so I can get out.

Definitely some good air coming out the side vents, too much. Shouldn't be more than a trickly coming out the top when set on floor. Maybe I should have them check this out. Scared for them to get too into it and mess something else up trying to fix this one!

frankiejr101

Hi Everyone!

I have an '01 Civic EX and just two questions.

1. Has anyone else had a problem with *occasionally*, after you shut the car off and take the key out, you go and barely start pulling on the door handle to open the door when all the doors suddenly lock? They weren't locked before, and then I have to hit the unlock button to get out of the car. It's not a big deal to me, just want to make sure it's not a sign of something worse.

2. When I set the air control to "feet" or "ground", whatever that is called, I can still feel a lot of air coming from the upper vents. I figured that should only happen when it's set to upper/lower, and just upper. I know it's not the defroster vents, it's the actual dashboard vents and it's very annoying because it's quite a bit of air coming through! Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks so much! Still think this is the best car ever!!

mattbrat

I have 01 Honda Civic HX with 53,000 miles on it, when my wife took it to Honda for an oil change, they told her the brakes (both front and rear) need replacing. I was surprised, because there was no squeal from the brake sensors whatsoever to alert me that the brakes need replacing. I know the front brakes has sensors, but is that true for the rear brakes as well? By the way, is there a brake indicator light in the dashboard that would alert when brakes need replacing? If anyone knows please respond.
I don't believe the service guy at Honda and I'm about to take the tires of my car to check the brakes.

mattbrat

It is drums on the rear, so they don't have sensors, thought so but wasn't sure. I'm the original owner and haven't replaced the brakes so the front ones should have sensors. I'm still not hearing anything from the front brakes, so I'm assuming they are still good and I know the fronts wear out way before the rear ones do. I figured that the Honda dealer was trying to take me for a ride. Thanks dudka!

fzash

My suspension seems to be so soft on my 2002 Honda Civic EX that i feel every damn bump on the road. Ill ride over moderately small bumps in the road, and "boom" it feels and sounds like there's no damping whatsoever. Living in Boston, there's no shortage of potholes and rough roads to ride over, and this is really starting to annoy me.

Is this a problem many people have with the 2002 Civic, or is my suspension just shot? (I have approximately 25,700 miles on the car.)

theflow

I feel the same damn pain with my 2001 EX. The ride is just so bumpy and I have about 29,800 miles on the car.

auburn63

Civics are known for blowing the struts out so take a look at the front strut/shock and see if you see alot of wetness around the tower or go have a dealer check them out..Good luck

dalaw

Mine is a 03 Civic LX sedan. I agree that the rear suspension in the current civic is badly tuned, but I am fine with the front ones. Instead of fzash saying the suspension is too soft, I think that the suspension is too stiff in the rear. Even when I go over speed bumps very slowly, the rear bounces really hard, and it feels like the springs don't compress at all. My friend rode with me once and he said the car feels like it has no suspension. Loaded with four people, the car feels much more settled and suppresses all the bouncing the rear suspension would have. Honda should have at least made the front springs stiffer to make the car more balanced. Anybody with your 01 and up Civic with aftermarket suspension installed please share your comments.

mdriver

Actually it's not the rear springs that are to stiff, it's the rear shocks that are too weak. Just push down on the trunk a few times about an inch (no more) or so and you can easily get the back to start bouncing up and down with not much force. Now try doing the same in the front - no bounce at all. If you follow any 7th generation Civic (any trim level) you will see this jiggly bounce at the rear, but the front seems very well controlled.

yleecoyote

Thought I might give an update on my Civic ownership experience across the last 101,000 miles.
I have a few earlier post here and haven't taken the time to review them or refresh "exact" facts from my maintenance log, so forgive me if I'm off by a few miles on some of the maintenance items.
This is a 2001 Civic EX coupe, manual 5 speed purchased new in either July or August of 2001. If color has any significance, it is Black hawk pearl.
I changed the tires from the Firestones to Michelin at about 6000 miles. I work for Michelin, so that decision was fairly easy. The tires that went on were stock size, "Michelin X Plus". This is a tire that is normally available at the large Discount stores. I put 80,000 miles on this set, still had plenty of tread left, but uniformity (balance, variation in radial forces, out of round, etc.) and wet traction were becoming an issue. I rotated the tires every 10,000 miles. They were replaced with the exact same tire at 86,000 miles.
I started experiencing some vibration issues in the 45,000 to 60,000 mile range. I finally diagnosed this as leaking front struts. The driver's side had just about leaked all of the oil out but the passenger's side was still pressurized, it had leaked very little if at all. I didn't look closely for oil on the top of the strut, my final determination of the problem was when slowly going over speed bumps, I would hear a strange noise, at the end close to a scraping sound. When changing them, the drivers side strut had leaked oil down the side of the housing.
I elected to go the cut and insert option using Koni struts inserts. I only did the front and have been pleased with the results, still running original stock struts on the rear. At the time (maybe now too, I haven't checked) Koni was one of the few options available other than Honda parts. I was leery of Honda struts, not certain they had the problem fixed.
I had used Honda maintenance for all of the service intervals up to that point. Before starting work on the struts, I purchased the factory maintenance manual and have done all the scheduled maintenance since the strut replacement.
Other than the struts, I have not had any other unscheduled maintenance.
I am still on the original front brakes, with about 1/4 inch of pad left. I haven't bothered to pull the hubs to check the rear brakes, based on experience with other cars, I expect the rear drums will last longer than the front disk brake pads, but remain attentive for any abnormal noises. I do downshift, but not aggressively. I row down through the gears, at a leisurely pace, slowly letting out the clutch in each gear.
I still average 35 to 37 MPG. My driving is mostly interstate with a round trip commute about 190 miles each day. The speed limit is 70 mph for the majority of the distance and I set the cruise at 76 mph.
I have the normal squeaks and rattles that most people report. The rear deck is rattling again, after 2 "repairs" under warranty by the dealer. It is fine on smooth roads but fairly noticeable on rough surface roads. Fixable, but it hasn't bothered me enough to tackle the job.
I have had a trim rattle since new around the sunroof interior trim. Again, only on rough surfaced roads. Probably an easy fix with screwdriver but I haven't bothered.
It seems like the doors and sunroof may be a little looser in their frames now. I mention this because I can hear some movement of the weather-stripping against the body as I go over bumps. Then again, a good spray of silicone may eliminate this.
The front end of the car has taken the most beating. The paint has been sandblasted, bugblasted and has a few dents from flying objects. I was not able to avoid a truck retread recently and ran over it down the center of the car. It pulled part of the rubber fairing under the front lip of the car loose and busted a couple of the plastic fasteners that hold the splash guards in place under the car. The only other damage was knocking a muffler hanger loose from it's support. No damage there, just replaced the hanger back on the support. All of this has been restored.
My next maintenance interval will be 105,000 miles. I am debating how much of the scheduled items I will do at that interval. I will probably pull the spark plugs and check them. I have no reason to believe they need replacing at this point due to smooth idle and gas mileage that is the same as new. I will probably wait until the coolant interval change to change the timing belt and water pump. Again, no reason to believe there are any issues here, but will pull the cover from the belt at 105K to check the condition.
When I purchased this car new, I needed a car that would give me good service for 5 years, in my case 250,000 miles. At the time, I thought this was the right car for the job and still believe this today. I have driven the car and cared for the car with that goal in mind.
This is not the perfect car for everyone. It is sporty in the coupe trim, but not a sports car. It drives and rides well. It rides better with groceries in the trunk than it does with me by myself. I'm not surprised at this. The last Honda I owned was a 1979 Civic wagon, that indeed rode like a wagon unless there was a load in the rear.
Remember, these are economy cars, depending on the trim level you choose, fairly nice economy cars. These cars are not for everyone, no car is. It meets my needs and hopefully will for some years to come. Should you pay the premium for one over the equivalent Hyundai, etc.? For me it made sense based on my goals and the reputation for quality that Honda has. If it takes me to 250,000 miles without a major maintenance incident, it has been worth it for me. If it makes it further, so much the better. Your needs may be different than mine, evaluate them and buy what you believe will meet them. At the same time, don't buy this car, turn it over to your teenager and expect the same results that I have had.

john361

Honda has a list of recommended maint. items eg. oil change, emergency brake adjust,inspect belts and hoses,adjust valves etc. I am of the opinion that this is mostly a money grab for the dealer. I asked to just have the valves adjusted and the oil changed. They then told me that if I didn't have all the recommended work done, that I would have to sign a "waiver" Oh I forgot, this is the 48k km scheduled or recommended maintenance. Anyone with any advice? they want $350. to do all the recommended work. Help!

bd21

Look in the owners manual that came with your car. It clearly spells out the only maintenance required to keep your warranty. For the most part, as long as you have proof you have changed your oil and filter when required, your warranty is covered. There are some inspections and filter replacements that you can do yourself or pay about 50 bucks to have a local shop do to take care of all warranty criteria. If the valves aren't making noise, they do not ever need adjusting. Just do what your manual says to do and document it with receipts. Your car never has to go back to the Honda dealer for any maintenance, except to replace something faulty for warranty work.

dudka

Car manufacturers are in the business of selling cars. If they build a car that is good for 30 years, then in a couple of years no one would be buying new cars. What if the scheduled maintenance is there just to keep the car running until the warranty runs out? And then, if the car breaks down and costs too much to fix, you will be looking to buy a new one.
When you are close to your loan end, you get a thing in the mail suggesting that you should see your dealer about getting a new car. I am starting to think that all car manufacturers want is to have you buy a new car every 3 years or so.

Personally, I stick with the "severe" schedule in the manual when performing services on the vehicle. But in the back of my mind I always wonder if that is what "they" want you to do.

john361

In the Honda warranty guide page 28 I found an ominous statement,"Keeping your Honda's maintenance on schedule also keeps your warranties valid." By this I would assume if I don't change the auto tranny fluid as recommended in the maintenance schedule, they could refuse to honour the warranty on it! Any comments?

rivertown

Could they refuse to honor the warranty? Yup!

Dunno what you're thinking, but
Honda designed the car, and
they tested the car, and
they have a good idea, IMO, about what it takes to keep the car going smoothly.
So, following their recommendations about maintenance makes great sense.

mrowens42

The manual for my 2001 Civic EX states oil should be changed every 10,000 miles. The dealer first said every 5,000. Now they say every 3,000.Since Honda builds the cars and must stand behind them, shouldn't their reccomendations be followed? Of course the more changes the more money in the dealer's pocket as follows based on 100,000 miles: 10x$25.00=$250.00
20X$25.00=$500.00, 33x $25.00=$825.00

rivertown

Well, you know dealers.

Good thing the car comes with a manual, owner's and tranny.

mdriver

mrowens42, I think you answered your own question.

theracoon

Actually, your owner's manual recommends either 5,000 (Severe) or 10,000 (Normal) mile service intervals based on your driving conditions.

The 3,000 mile interval suggested by the dealer just puts more money in the dealer's pocket, as you noted.