Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

blane

Are both sides of your rear folding seatback(s) properly latched? Are your jack and spare tire secured? Are your rear license plate and bracket firmly attached?

All of the above can cause the type of "rattle" that you've described, hot or cold.

monkeyboy64

I have found that my mp3/cd player has a similar problem. So far it only skips when I am listening to mp3s, but it might on CDs too. I have found that the skipping seems to have to do with the length of the mp3. I had a lecture in mp3 format that was over an hour long that continually skipped. When I broke it down into shorter mp3s 8 - 15 minutes in length, it didn't have the problem as much, and then it only had the problem on a few of the 15 minute mp3s. I am thinking it is a problem with the "read ahead and buffer to prevent skipping from jostling" software in the cd player. Have you found a solution to the problem yet?

goose

The seatbacks are latched. Its definitely coming from the rear deck. The rattle has been there since before my vehicles license was installed. It gets worse as the cars interior cools off. After the AC is on and cools things off or first thing in the morning. When the vehicle is in the sun and the interior is hot the rattle is gone. So it a plastic fit issue changing as the temperature changes.

goose

I noticed that the skipping happens sometimes when I step on the brake and I have been stopping and starting the engine. Like when you go from one shopping center to another. I'm thinking the electrical system on the car or the electrical system in the player is the problem. I'm interested in knowing if the car monitors the voltages as part of the cars computer system. It would be interesting to see if the voltages are fluctuating or if spikes/drops are occurring. Anyway I'm very close to connecting a digital volt meter to the aux power jack and monitoring the electrical system.

dparadise

I have the same rattles/ creaks in my dash. It is very annoying. What did they do when you brought it in? Was it corrected?

needurinput

I just purchased a 98 civic dx for my daughter and there are two issues I have questions about.

1. It is intermittently vibrating heavily between 40 to 50 MPH. The vibration only occurs once in a while for no more than 5 seconds and disappears. The last time it occurred I felt the wheel and it doesn't come through the steering wheel. It seems to only occur when coasting. Not during acceleration or deceleration.

2. It also has a slight steering wheel movement. It shakes back and forth a little.

Can anyone suggest some possible solutions.

alcan

Shifted belt on a front tire or a bent front rim.

trini89

Just bought a 2006 Civic DX. Have about 685KMS(424miles) on it and now there is a rattling sound coming from the front area. Sounds like its coming from the fenders on both sides. Rattling occurs when you reach around 100km/h(62miles/hr), the noise even happens around 80kms/hr(49miles/hr)at times. Almost sound like there is something stuck under the vehicle.
The dealership has attempted to locate the problem, so far without any solution.. :confuse: Vehicle is in the shop again today, will let you know what and if they find anything.. :sick:

Does this sound like the same issues some of you are having with your 06 Civic??

vix4

The dealer said the usual "unable to duplicate concern". I got the same response on my transmission problem.

The rattle happens on almost every rough road and even on some smooth roads, so I think the Honda dealer just isn't very interested in solving the problem. Its inside the dash board so they probably don;t want to mess with taking it apart to fix the problem. :sick:

vinnyc

I also have the similar problem. Mine started between 60 to 70km. It has been some discussions about this issus form the other owners. I have sent mine in last week, but they couldn't locate the problem. Now, the noise is getting more worse. I wish Honda can do some about it. :mad:

rumans

Is it in the dash or outside? The RSX forums talked about some sort of popping noise with their front suspension. Could it be similar to that?
Could it be the brake pads shifting in their housings? I have heard about this causing rattling from the front on some vehicles.
Could it be the hood that needs to be adjusted? The rubber stops may not be adjusted properly and causing the hood to rattle at speed where the air flow will causing it to vibrate.

Just some idea's

trini89

Rumans might be on to something there. The rattling sound on my Civic does sound to me like its being caused by air flow. Sometimes I think even when a cross wind passes over the vehicle on the highway it gets worse and the pitch changes.

To the best of my hearing ability, I believe the sound to be coming from the outside, although sometimes I swear its coming from under the dash area, nearer the engine wall.

What ever the problem is, I just want to FIXED..I love the car and this is annoying to say the least.

Thanks for your input Rumans.

rumans

No problem, just some idea's from problems I have read about for other types of vehicles. Since the Civic is so new, it could be anything at this point.

Keep us informed on any results or fixes.

vinnyc

This problem seems like a common problem to all the new 06's model. The noise/vibration sounds like coming from the transmission at round 1500rpm. It usually happens when it is being accelerated. I hope Honda can come out with a solution for this problem soon. :sick:

Check this out.
sheldo1, "Honda Civic Sedan 2006+" #3081, 14 Dec 2005 2:33 pm

trini89

Well, my 06 Civic has been at the Honda dealership for 2 days now and they have just informed me that they still have no idea what the problem is. They have sent an email to Honda tech line and will call be perhaps by next Wednesday when they get a response. Then I will have to drop the vehicle off to them again. :mad:

I mentioned to the dealership that other 06 Civic owners appear to be having the same, if not similar problem and they seem to believe me so far. Hence their reason for emailing Honda Tech. Line... :P

Will keep you folks informed if they ever figure out the problem... :confuse:

trini89

Hi folks,

Just got my 06 Civic back from the dealership, they didn't figure out the problem, however I think the problem has actually gotten much better. This time I didn't start hearing the rattling until about 130KMS/HR (80.6miles/hr.), this is a vast improvement to say the least, at least until the root of the issue is actually solved....

manueltrans1

Hi, I do need some ideas of how to deal with this problem.

I have a brand new 06 Civic EX with Mt and Navi 4 door sedan. Three times I parked in a mid town garage in New York City because I was on an early morning task.

I found some vague evidence that the car was tampered with twice, because some of the settings in the car was changed. And the touch screen of the Navi System had fingerprints on it.

The settings of the Navi System also changed. It was zoomed way out. I was very annoyed.

Can anyone give me some advise as to deal with such car jocky problems. I know that this is probably not an unique problem. Fancy car owns probably experience it all the time. I guess a new Civic 06 EX with Mt and Navi is attracting some attension also.

Thanks. Manny

blane

Manny,

You've got to be kidding. How can anyone possibly offer you advice about how to prevent a parking attendent from touching your car in your absence... when you've given them your keys?

Take the subway, or find a place where you can park and lock it yourself.

z71bill

A few months ago the local TV station (in Houston) put a camera in a car & then let several parking attendents park it.

The car they used was just a normal looking 4 door sedan - nothing fancy - but most of the attendents managed to squeal the tires more than once. Most of them also looked in the glove box & in the center console and even opened a brief case that was left behind.

They also had a small cup full of change (toll booth change) about 1/2 of the time they took the change - sometimes they just took the quarters and left the dimes & nickels.

It was fun to see the look on these jerks face when they showed them the tape - Even when caught RED HANDED putting the money in their pocket they would still say - I didn't take the money! You have it wrong!

manueltrans1

Z7bill:

When I returned to the garage after taking care of early morning business, the security guard in the garage said to me, just wait here, they will get the car for you soon? Yours is a Honda Right?

This guard was not there when I gave the jockey the keys. Now I know several of them was messing with my car.

Manny

A couple of friends told me that I should file a complain to management. What do you think of this idea? I did not do it because it could bleed resentment and worsen the retaliation.

manueltrans1

Blane:

I wish I could find a 'park and lock' or park on the street.

This is not an option in midtown Manhattan, in New York City, on a week day morning.

This is a garage that I often use over the years, and all the faces are familiar.

What is evening more annoying was that I often tip the young guy that brings the car to me. When I had my old car, I did not care. But a bland new car like the Civic 06 EX 4 dr. Sedan with Navi has a lot of gadgets in it.

It took time to change all the gadgets to the original setting.

Manny

let31257

Hello, I have a 96 civic that keeps locking the doors all the time while driving or sitting still. I've unplugged the door lock switch and it makes no difference. Anybody have any ideas where the problem is?

Thanks------ Larry

civicboy

I have an 06 Civic DX coupe. I also have an excessive rattle comming from the front end. My car only exhibits this problem when the engine is cold and sitting at a light when the car is in gear. It doesn't make this rattling noise when its warmed it, or when its not in gear.

blane

Manny,

Check the park & lock lot on 42nd west of 9th. I've used one under Lincoln Center too. There must be lots more.

rumans

Sounds like some part that expands and fits snugger when heated. When cold it may be a little loose in it's housing and vibrates. Hmmmm. Muffler piping, heat/splash shield? I am no mechanic, so what underneath, in or around that area may heat up with the engine and then stop rattling?

manueltrans1

Blane:

I know about that park and lock. But I go to the East Side of Manhattan New York near 70th Street a lot. I could not locate a park and lock near there. Those Park and Lock places you mentioned are too far for me. And I am often in a hurry.

Since I have brought up this problem, friends of mine have told of stories of guys driving true luxury cars like Mercedes Benz giving warnings to car jockeys when they park their cars. One guy always tells the parking attendant, " I want to find the car in the same settings as I left it."

It seems to work for him. I might try this. Writing a letter of formal complain to the management of the parking facility is another.

This problem of mine also showed how fascinating this 06 Civic is to the public. Well, the car jockeys like it so much that they want to play with it. It made me feel that I really bought a lot of car for the money.

I do not know if I should laugh or cry.

Manny

djm2

You are dealing with "CAR JOCKEYS," need I say more??????? -------Dwayne

manueltrans1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

As you know, I am bothered by the garage attendants in Midtown New York playing with my new 06 EX Civic Mt and Navi.

Actually I am giving up. I will let the garage attendants do whatever they want with me car as long as they do not damage it permanently.

I just heard that it is routine what they do within the garage. I heard that they burn tires too, if they get their lands on a rare sportscar like the Ford GT or Dodge Viper.

I will continue to tip the garage attendant, and I will tell the one that smiles at me most to be careful with my car. And do not let people mess with it.

It is interesting, that this question I posed elicited only a few responses.

Trying to get more answers I posed this questions of car jockeys messing with cars in their car in the BMW forum, and in the High End Luxury car column.

My post was altogether ignored in those columns.

I can only guess that people who can afford high priced luxury cars do not park in public garages, they have chauffeurs that wait for them at the street curbside. This problem does not even exist for them.

As for Honda Civic 06 owners, probably few have an EX with Navigation. It is the Navigation System that fascinate these 'car jockeys' or 'garage attendants'.

I will just have to live with this problem.

Any comments would be welcome indeed.

Manny

PS: for djm2 thanks for your comment.

blane

Manny,

Even if the Navigation System fascinates someone, once the ignition is turned off and then back on again, they have no way to use it inside a garage. If the GPS antenna can't "see" a satellite, the Navigation System won't operate.

If the ignition is not turned off, and you are driving through a tunnel or building, the Honda Navigation System will continue to track your position gyroscopically by "dead reckoning". But once the power is off, it needs to fix on a satellite to determine its position.

shinduja

I just bought a 02 EX Coupe and the dealer has already washed his hands off the car. I noticed a bright light, a blue coloured LED indicator that comes ON every time I step on the gas to accelerate the car. The light, even though unnoticable in the day, is very bright and irritating during the night time, specially when it comes on and goes off regularly. There is a small sticker on top of the light which reads "VTEC". This light is just next to the 12 amp socket below the AC control panel. Any idea what this light may be and if it is standard equipment? Thanks in advance.

greg25

The dealer could not get the car to rattle. They did not attempt to locate a rough road. The dash is quiet when it is warmer outside. When it is below 20 degrees F it starts to rattle or creak. Both sides of the dash have rattles now at 3000 miles. I plan on returning to the dealer in colder weather and drive the tech around until we can duplicate the noise. Like the car but hate rattles.

goose

Well folks I took my 06 Coupe into the dealer yesterday for a rattle and possible suspension issue. They claim the rattle was from the back seat release cable and placed a foam sleeve over the cable. Guess what, the rattle is still present. The dealer is so busy that I didn't expect them to spend all day looking for a rattle. Actually I didn't expect them to find the problem. Unless they remove the rear deck on my car and compare it to a rear deck on a different car I wouldn't expect a technician to spot the offending problem. Not in 1-2 hours of work. Anyone now where I can get directions on how to remove the rear deck? I'm going on a rattle hunt.
Oh, I noticed my vehicle was unstable at 80 MPH. So I asked them to look at the suspension. I was told they "fine tuned my suspension". Some fine tuning, the car handles so much better now that a fine tuning doesn't make sense. Another thing, previously when I went over a crack in the pavement I would hear a loose sounding noise from my right front wheel area. That sound is now gone. Maybe when the technician torqued everything down after the "fine tuning" he fixed the loose piece of suspension. Just a guess.
Still love the car though.

user777

one would think there was a procedure to pswd protect your settings, or otherwise "lockout" access to the NAV.

blane

The lockout procedure is limited to the retention of your key in your pocket or pocketbook.

user777

is the same true, valet key or not? i would have thought Honda would have considered valet key means no access to the trunk AND no access to personalized settings on the NAV. since I don't have a vehicle with NAV, i can't comment, but it would be something reasonable to expect if there were no password protection at the user interface.

can you try it? it's a point of curiousity now, but maybe worth a suggestion to Honda Development. who knows, maybe they read these forums...

you should be handing over the valet key. say they misplace your key. you still want to get home don't you?

bullnose

Were any 2005 Honda Civics plagued by the same sticking thottle problem or has anyone experienced a "sudden" acceleration problem at highway speeds?

blane

In my 2004 Accord, when the ignition is on, the Navigation System can be activated, using either key. The only "personalized settings" are just a list of previous destinations (if you choose to let them accumulate), addresses saved (in a kind of address book), and the degree of zoom last used. I have my "Go Home" address password protected.

I believe that the 2006 Civic works the same way.

mcap

I have experienced the rumbling at 1,500 rpm that everyone has noted. However, I am also getting a different noise. Does anyone else notice a quite pronounced growl or rumble (hard to describe) on idle when first starting the car. The noise seems to resonate in the exhaust as well. The noise goes away after a little driving. And then, on idle at stops still stays away. What gives?

ricardocal

Hello. Do you mean the "Maintenance Required Indicator"? When my '02 EX indicator light came on after I had it serviced, I reset it myself by following the Owner's Manual instructions under Indicator Lights, Maintenance Required Indicator (pg. 65 for me). You may be able to download an Owner's Manual via the Honda web.

davpea

I have the same problem. And I am shocked that everyone that drives this car doesn't have the same problem. I would say the seat is extremely uncomfortable. The problem is too much lumbar support. IMHO this cannot be fixed with cushsions or anything external. I am currently trying to figure out how to disassemble the seat to see if anything can be done internally. If this can't be fixed I have the sell the car ASAP. Good luck hopefully Honda issues a TSB or something on this.

blane

davepea,

I wouldn't be "shocked", as you are. My wife and I spent at least an hour and a half test driving various 2006 Civic models at a Honda demonstration test drive event in NYC a couple of months ago. We both found the driver's seats in all of them to be extremely COMFORTABLE. Sorry that you are having issues with your seat, but everyone's butt is shaped differently.

By the way, is your user name davepea, in any way related to your sensitivity, as in The Princess and The Pea?

isellhondas

I don't think your post was ignored. It's just that you have a tendency to ask the...well...type of questions to which there is no answer.

In an earlier post, you asked how to prevent people from damaging your new car when you park it on the streets??

Now this??

Seriously, you may want to consider trading it in on something you don't care about.

There are no "good" answers to the kind of questions you ask!

davpea

Go ahead buy it,

I'm 5'10" and weigh 145 lbs. I have driven in Honda Civics from the 1980's to a 2003 which I bought for my mother a couple of years ago. The 2003 Civic has a near ideal seat, and it really has nothing to do with the shape of one's "butt". If you go and look at this seat carefully you will find a protruding lumbar. By the way unless you think that a 1.8L engine should spend most of its time at 1500rpm I would caution you about this car. Hey did you check out the windshield wipers? :lemon:

Good luck

crissman

I suppose this is not so much a problem as a characteristic. I've noticed that it is impossible to open the driver's (and I guess the front passenger's) window more than about a half inch when it's raining without having water almost pour in. It doesn't seem to be a problem with the rear doors. I guess the stylists forgot to consider venting in the rain. But, if this is all I find wrong, I'll still be happy.

hangaralf1

someone in one of the other forums mentioned this rear deck rattle problem, and he/she said that it came from the brake light hitting the rear windshield. they said they put a pad or foam or something between windshield and the brake light and it stopped.

in reference to the vibration at 40 to 50 mph, check your alignment. I know in past cars that i have had, that alignment problems manifest themselves right around 50 mph.

another way to check if you have alignment problems is by running your hands hands over the tread. if they are bumpy (relative to the tread), faulty alignment can cause that.

btw, for the guy with trans issues, when you change your trans oil, make sure that the new oil is Honda spec trans oil, they have an oil with certain additives. you can buy honda trans oil, or buy regular trans oil and put in the additive package.

schlotkins

There seems to be some coolant leaking onto the driveway in the middle of the front of the car - my guess is the radiator has gone on my wife's '96 Civic LX w/ 120k. I live in CT - any ideas on how much a replacement should run?

Thanks.

manueltrans1

Used to be when I drive at night, the cab drivers would pull along side my car to peek at the navigation system which is very bright. But I have discovered the night mode and now people cannot see the navigation system outside the car at night, it is much better.

Another thing I have not figured out is why does not everybody opt for a Navigation System if they can? It is not that expensive. And what good is a car that can go anywhere if you do not know where you are going or coming?

The latest is that the car jocky where I parked seems to have gotten used to the new navigation system. Of course they are placated by the tip I give them too.

Also there are some real new and expensive cars being parked there now. But I am very satisfied with this Honda Civic EX MT with Navi.

I do not understand why some people would pay double for a similarly equipped luxury car that rank lower in the Motortrend test for the best car of the car. Even if I have money to burn I would not buy a car like that.

Manny

hangaralf1

depends what you want - i assumed automatic and 1.6L - nopi has a good performance one for $330.00 and another place www2.hondiscountparts.com (i think) had a couple for just under $100.00 - google it.

there are places that will fix the radiator too - but i wouldn't know how much they charge, i'm of the philosophy of "if it breaks, it's time to upgrade".

just in case -if you haven't done it yet, you probably want to replace hoses too - since you're in there.

rockthompson

I got rid of my 2003 Nissan SE-R because I was getting 22 MPG in town and 31 on the highway. We got a new 2006 civic ex that was suppose to be 30/40. First tank was 29 mpg.... then 25...now we are consistently getting 23..... HELP!
the dealers says it's the cold weather and break in period. I say that is crap!!!! I have been driving for 30 years and have had plenty of 4 cyl. cars that don't crap out in the cold as far as MPG's.
I love everything about the car but this. The mileage is why I bought it in the first place. This is my first NEW CAR since 1988... I am highly disappointed.

yef

I’ve bought my Honda Civic LX 2006 a month ago. I have made 1000 miles on it and it seems to me that the engine does not have 140 horse power ? I do not feel a corresponding acceleration when pressing gas pedal Car feels dumb. Fuel consumption is high : city~22ml/gal, highway 28ml/gal. Should I run more miles before I’ll get 30/40ml/gal as sticker says? How much. Any suggestions
Thank you