Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

dalaw · August 2003

Many people say it is illegal to apply tint to the front side windows, but some says it is legal. Well, as long as you don't tint it super dark in the front, and the cops can see the profile of your body, they don't really care about your tint. I drove by police cars and lots of times already and they never pulled me over. After all, they got better things to do than pulling over cars with illegal tint. I think you can tint the back windows as dark as you want in CA. I tinted my front with the 32%, which is the second lightest shade (out of 5 shades). My back windows are one shade darker than the front.

vocus · August 2003

You all in CA are lucky. We are stuck with a 35% limit here in MD. If it's darker, they will pull you over. A friend of mine had her tint stripped off the car when they pulled her over for it.

I actually got to ride in my friend's 03 Civic LX (now with 26K miles) the other night for a good 20 miles. I was really surprised how comfortable the car was. The LX has enough head room for me, unlike the EX (I am 6'3). I also like the look of the interior and especially the gauges. Too bad ABS isn't available in the LX model. Had it been, I might have test driven one and may have one right now.

jimsxn · August 2003

I don't know if it's been asked before...do indulge me.

Thanks.

isellhondas · August 2003

Personally, I hate the stuff for a couple of reasons. Of course, in Seattle it doesn't get very warm.

Be sure to find a QUALITY shope to do the work. A lot of cheapie places have jumped into this.

The cheap stuff scratches easilly, bubbles and turns purple.

Cops HATE window tint. They can't see what's going on inside the car. They even hate the "legal" stuff.

grindstone · August 2003

I'm considering a 1994 Civic for my daughter with 190,000 miles. Good overall condition from a dealer. Would should I expect regarding repairs over the next several years?

backy · August 2003

On a ten year old car with 190,000 miles, what you should expect is that anything could break, at any time. Even on a Honda. One thing to check on is to see if the timing belt has been replaced recently, as it should have been at about 180,000 miles. Also see if there's records on other parts replacements, e.g. has the catalytic converter ever been replaced? When was the muffler last replaced? How's the engine compression? And so on. Good luck!

sadad · August 2003

For the 2003 Honda Civic - Nothing i've seen here leads me to believe that anyone here in this Edmunds Honda Civic Sedan message area knows that the 2003 Honda Civic is actually on a Lemon List.... I just found out myself....

my information is from - http://www.lemonlaw.com/lemonlist.html

they say their material is taken from the "National Highway for Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Each year, thousands of Americans call their government to register complaints about their vehicles. The federal government collects this information but has never released it to the general public. The complaint index is based on a ratio of the number of complaints for each vehicle to the sales of that vehicle. NHTSA can only rate vehicles whose models haven't changed since 2001..."

rivertown · August 2003

Cool link! TY.

My take -
They're drumming up business, but
there's a bunch of good consumer oriented info anyhow.

plaue · August 2003

Hi Ya'll-

Personally, I think that so-called "Lemon List" does not have much merit at all. My advice is to always take what you read on the Internet with a grain of salt.

First of all, unless I'm misunderstanding something, their "ratio" doesn't make much sense at all. In fact, their language says that it "is based upon a ratio of the number of compliants to the number of vehicles sold." I find it actually very interesting that they *aren't* listing how they come up with that number. For all you know, they could take some ratio of compliants to sales, multiply by a factor of 105 if you're an automaker that starts with an H, 205 if you're an automaker whose name starts with an S, etc. It's still "based" upon a ratio!

Second, look at that list of cars! There's no mention of any Korean automaker--this comment isn't to incite any Hyundai vs. Honda debates, but I just find the list peculiar. Here's the real kicker: When I clicked through the links to the "Car Book 2003 Best Bets", the Honda Civic is listed as one of the BEST BETS for the compact car segment (along with the Elantra). Hmm, apparently the Civic is both recommended and detested at the same time!

Lastly, this so-called "lemon list" is based upon a complaint index! Anyone who has ever worked in any retail environment knows about the vast array of complaints you'll get. People don't understand why design decisions are made or sometimes have unreasonable expectations. That doesn't necessarily translate to a safety or design defect qualifying a car as a lemon.

One final observation is that many of these vehicles on this last are popular vehicles. And this Web site is for a law firm advertising for business.... Hmmm..

Like I said, a grain of salt...

gsenthil · August 2003

I am in the market helping my friend buy an EX or LX.

EX vs LX: She is in favor of LX because she does not give a lot of importance to moonroof and ABS. Living in Seattle, a sunroof is nice to have, and I am paranoid about safety so would really want something with ABS. The question is- is a moonroof and ABS worth paying 1700 extra? Is there anything else I am missing?

Colors: Deicing between Silver and Red and Leaf green (rare) colors. Pros and Cons?

Side Airbags: I would really have wanted to got for something with side airbags- esp because they are just about $200 extra but they seem to be difficult to come by. Also given the "clearance", we pretty much have to pick from what is available on the lot.

Pricing: TMV for Seattle seems to be about 100-200 below invoice. Any help would be appreciated. If anyone has any comments about the dealerships (Bellevue/Kirkland) let me know

Accessories: What should I buy from the dealer? What should I buy online or install on my own afterwards.

College Grad: Does Honda have any college grad program?

Tires: All of them come with Firestone rubbers and I have heard negative comments about them esp on wet roads. Is it possible for the dealership to put in new/different (any recommendations?) tires and deduct the difference? I bought my car with Goodyears which were a piece of !@#$ that I replaced at 30k with Michellins. If I had known earlier, I would have installed them during purchanse.

Thanks in advance

rivertown · August 2003

for a 'ratio' without a demoninator, LOL. The list stinks, IMO; but the rest of the site has some good advice for buyers, IMO - II.

mdriver · August 2003

If the 2004 Civic LX comes with ABS (don't know yet, but doubt it), I would forget the Civic and look at a Corolla which you can equip with ABS as a stand alone option on a model without the sunroof. Oh, I think the Corolla is a much better car anyway. For starters, it has 130hp standard, more than the much hyped VTEC of the top Civic EX model. And you don't have to get the sunroof to get it!

slickracer · August 2003

I had the crappy FR680 Firestones exchanged for the much better LH30 at my local Firestone store for $139

ghorag · August 2003

Hi, I have also posted a similar message on Honda Civic Problems message board, & would like to get a wider audience by also posting it here.

I have recently bought a new a 2003 Honda Civic EX 4 Door Sedan Automatic (my first new car and first Honda) after a decent amount of research.

I had read about plastic like interiors & sound quality issues & had reconciled with them, given the high reliability rating of the car & the solid mechanical quality that Hondas are reputed for. I have driven it for only 200 miles so far, & am beginning to doubt if the car is the best value for the money.

1) I have noticed a marked lack of acceleration particularly when I try to go over 50 mph speed and even during the slightest climbs (as low as 10 degree gradient). The engine quickly revs up to 3000 - 4000 RPM even at speed as low as 30 - 40. I wonder if this is something normal for a Honda Civic - automatic in particular? Is it because the car is still so new and these things would improve with time or there is need for some adjustments to be made on it? I would like to know what the experience of other Honda Civic 2003 owners is in this regard.

2) After buying the Civic I got a chance to drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla (with 10000 miles on it) recently - and I found the overall acceleration, response & stability of that car much superior to the Civic.

3) Finally are there any particular precautions / care that I need to take during the first 1000 miles of driving?

Shall look forward to getting useful comments / suggestions from other present and past owners of Civic.

Ghorag

dalaw · August 2003

I think its normal for your engine to rev high during uphill because the transmission is downshifting to a lower gear and the engine has to rev faster to get more power. My 03 civic lx (non-vtec) does rev to 3000-4000 rpm during normal acceleration from a stop, and consistent 3300 rpm when maintaining 40 mph on steep hills. The civic engine does rev faster than my other cars. My 00 camry v6 rarely goes over 3000 rpm under any situations. I guess the civic reqires short gearing to match the small engine.

canadaman · August 2003

I heard a rumour from a Honda dealer that the Civic LX will have the V-Tec engine and that Acura might drop its rival product 1.7 EL (and only in Canada, pity?) from its lineup.

Colour: Magnesium will replace Galapagos Green in the Honda sedan lineup

Has anyone heard anything else about the 2004 Civic Sedan?

mattpdx · August 2003

Canadaman: Look at my previous post labled 2004 Honda Civic Coupe

I have a picture there for you guys.

Matthew

ghorag · August 2003

Hi Folks

I am about to finish the first tank of fuel on my brand new 2003 Civic EX automatic  the fuel gauge indicator shows very close to E  may be a gallon or 2 still left in it. The miles driven are 275. This works out to about 25 miles to a gallon as against the 30/38 specified by Honda for an automatic. The driving has been a mix of city and highway with the AC on approximately half of the time.

I am trying to figure out the reason / cause behind this low mileage per gallon (combined with the lack of acceleration which I have reported earlier) and would welcome comments on this aspect of the Civic.

Ghorag

vocus · August 2003

Fuel economy shouldn't really be calculated until a car has at least 500 miles under its belt, if not more. New engines need time to break in, per the owner's manual, and tend to use more fuel in that time.

micweb · August 2003

I have owned a couple of automatics and several stick shifts from various manufacturers in the past few years - all econoboxes. The automatics never hit their posted mileage, they were 5 miles under, while the sticks all got BETTER mileage than rated.

Also, if you think the Civic has poor acceleration, the odds are you are using more than 1/3 throttle to accelerate, so that it will hurt the mileage too.

sandman46 · August 2003

On my 2003 Sentra, I had this complaint also. The service advisor told me to wait until at least the 3k mark to see better mileage figures. Others have told me to wait until the 5k mileage figure.
Just be patient and let the engine seat a bit longer and hope, as I do, that our mileage will improve!

The Sandman :-)

crazygrrrl · August 2003

You'll have to consider: the terrain (uphill or downhill or just plain flat lands), the way you drive (pedal to the metal, old granny style, or somewhere in between), A/C or not, # of passengers/luggage/extra weight, correct air pressure in tires, and list goes on and on.

With my 2003 4-door Civic LX automatic, the lowest mpg I got was 30. I had the A/C on at full blast and I was speeding from traffic light to traffic light. The best mpg was 42. This was when I took a long road trip on mainly flat lands with the cruise control on 70. No A/C. My usual stop and go commute on hilly roads usually get me 35-37 mpg, depending on how I drive and if I use the A/C.

dunworth · August 2003

I have a 5speed 2003 Civic and get at least the rated gas mileage up here in Toronto, but the car does drink more if you do lots of city driving or drive over 120 kmph/ 75 mph on the highway.

The standard engined Civic auto is slightly underpowered. This is why our automatic car is a Corolla. It has an extra 15 hp on tap which makes all the difference.

BTW the ac works very well but you need to run it at 3/4 rather than 1/2 on most cars.

What car did you have before that you are comparing this with?

ttlttlttl · August 2003

My 01 Civic EX auto just recorded 38.8 mpg last tank. I notice the engine gets smoother after the 10k mark and even smoother after the 20k mark.

dcd · August 2003

My 03 Civic LX Auto sedan now has about 17,000 miles has consistantly gotten 33-38 MPG, depending on conditions. I don't consider my slightly lower hp a disadvantage when compared to the Corolla, as I test drove them back-to-back using wide-open throttle up the same steep hill. The Corolla was slightly quicker, BUT much noisier. Overall I liked the Civic MUCH better.

#noname · August 2003

I prefer my Civic as well. While my Corolla is beautifully made and a fine small car, it is not terribly engaging to drive. I think this is a basic Toyota DNA. My whole family drives Toyotas (Avalon, Camry, Tercel and Corolla) and I have driven them all. The Tercel and Echo are just cheap and cheerful while the rest are better as highway cruisers. I prefer the driving dynamics of most Honda products over the competing Toyota models.

Regarding mileage, my Corolla auto beats my Civic 5 speed on the highway by 2 mpg (imperial gallon) but he Civic beats the Corolla by 3 mpg in the city. Either way, both of these cars are very economical to drive.

Mind you if you want fuel economy you can't beat my 2001 Saturn SL which could get up to 56 mpg (imperial gallon) or 46 mpg US

mdriver · August 2003

Calculating your mileage after one tank of gas with any degree of accuracy is just about impossible. The reason? The oddly shaped gas tank makes for huge variations in "top off" level when refueling. The only way to tell accurately what your mileage is, is to average a number of fill-ups using the same gas station and same gas pump every time. That will reduce the error caused by variation in fill-up level.

Another myth: mileage will increase after the break-in period. Yes, if you do a scientific analysis and put the car on a treadmill. But in the real world, the increase is miniscule. Dealers love to tell customers complaining of low MPG this myth to get them off their backs.

micweb · August 2003

My recent cars often run a little smoother after 10,000 miles, but I haven't seen mileage go up either. What you start with is pretty much what you get, maybe one mpg difference.

It is possible to see mileage variation if you start out with the new ca with a "lead foot" and then settle down. Conversely if you start out babying it and then become more aggressive the mileage can go down.

dunworth · August 2003

I got the posted mileage on my Civic on my first highway trip. Keep in mind I was using breaking driving techniques (varying the speed, no sudden acceleration etc). Mileage may improve slightly but not that much after breaking. I have 16,000 km/10,000 miles and mileage is similar to new. I also do not expect it to degrade with age that much either. My 1992 Saturn gave excellent mileage during the entire time I owned it. It was getting over 50 mpg (imperial gallon)/42 mpg US even after 215,000 km/135,000 miles on it.

frankiejr101 · August 2003

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows of any or a place to find, codes to setting things to your preference in Civics (specifically if it matters, '01 civics)? I know the one for turning off the maintenance light and something about be able to control the A/C while the defroster is on, but anyone know of any others?
Thanks!!

vocus · August 2003

I saw my mileage on about every car I have owned go up after the 1000 mile break-in period actually. Usually about 10-20% actually.

rfruth · August 2003

You might check the 7th gen Civic site http://www.7thgencivic.com/ for any secret codes. Rob (whose MPG hasn't changed much ((thank goodness)) even after the break-in period) Fruth

blackbean · August 2003

Hello,
My wife has 2001 EX 5sp that has had some sporadic speedometer problems. The first thing to happen was the speedo read about 40 MPH over actual speed (and very slowly dropped after she was stopped!). Mechanic replaced speed sensor (but wasn't able to reproduce problem). Problem came back a week later AND a minute later the car stalled and wouldn't start for 5 minutes. I was not in the car at the time, so can't comment on whether it got flooded, had vapor lock etc... No fault codes were stored by computer - so no help there.

What do you think the problem might be? If the stalling and speedo error are related, I suspect the ECM. The speedo is all elctronic - not mechanical - correct? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Matt

frankiejr101 · August 2003

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!!

gsenthil · August 2003

Bought a Civic LX AT w/ side airbags (Silver) for 300 below invoice. Paid $100 for mats, door piping and wheelwell trim. This is in Seattle (Bellevue). Where do I buy the trunk net from? Also need to install remote lock and security system; probably foglights too. Any advise is appreciated.

rivertown · August 2003

http://www.partscheap.com
http://www.hparts.com
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com

anonymousposts · August 2003

http://www.handa-accessories.com is pretty cheap.

dudka · August 2003

http://www.fairhondapartsforyou.com

They are an actual dealership here in CT

lngtonge18 · September 2003

There is a picture of the new 04 Civic EX coupe in the October issue of Car and Driver. The headlights now closely resemble those of the 02-03 Lancer, 03 Corolla, and 98-02 Accord. In fact, the whole front end looks similar to the last gen Accord coupe. The 5 spoke alloy wheels (possibly 16") are very sporty looking. It's a definite improvement since it helps make the car look a little more upscale. I think those that are on the sidelines about buying a Civic should wait for the 04.

dalaw · September 2003

I am kind of angry at Honda for making so many changes to the Civic for 04. I bought the 03 Civic LX sedan in October 02 because of the changes to the interior, tail lights, and wheels. I thought that was it, that was the Civic's mid-generation freshening. But now Honda is installing a totally new and better looking nose to the Civic that makes my 03 look old (so as my 14 inch wheels, which will be replaced by 15 inches for the LX). I should've waited until now to buy the Civic.

mdriver · September 2003

Should've waited or bought a Hyundai Elantra in '02 which had 15" wheels as standard. Michelins too! Unless, the government has halted the sale of there tires because they're made by a French company

Unlikely the wheels are 16" on the '04 though. You don't want the Civic and more upscale RSX to wear the same size rims. But they are a vast improvement in style.

Saying that the front of the 04 looks like the Lancer might be true, but Lancer styling wouldn't look out of place 10 years ago.

Regardless of these minor improvements, the Civic's rear still has a disproportionate over hang compared to the front. I've actually taken a side view of the coupe and using my computer, cut off about 3 inches from the back - what an improvement. But, there would be less trunk space. Cab-forward it's not. And at a time when Saturn puts 145hp in its cars, the Civic EX's 127hp is rather embarrassing, not to mention the 115hp of the LX. When will Honda take the lead instead of always being in catch-up mode? Wasn't always this way.

dudka · September 2003

I don't think Honda ever lead. Honda is known for taking what sells and just perfect it. Honda is too small of a company to take risks and put out a product that will not sell. I am very surprized that Honda released the Element, before Toyota had a chance to prove whether Scion sells or not.

A 2006 Civic will probably have more HP and whatever is new this year. This is the way Honda operates, it took them 6 years to come up with an SUV, but they perfected it. Took them a while to come up with a mini-van, but it is the best mini-van out there.

seaf · September 2003

I'm planning on changing the engine coolant in my 99 civic soon. In the manual it says to drain the coolant from the drain under the radiator. But in the service manual (I bought one for about $65 a while back), it says to also drain from a bolt on the left side of the engine oil filter. I was wondering if there's any difference if I just drain from the radiator and not the engine itself. Thanks.

lngtonge18 · September 2003

Yes, there's a difference. Draining from the bottom of the radiator will only get the water located in the radiator. The other bolt is used to drain the water that is already sitting in the engine block. Draining from the radiator will only get about half of the water so to do a proper coolant change you need to open both drains.

seaf · September 2003

I thought the procedure "turn key to ON position, set heater to max, take key out" allowed the coolant to flow freely so draining from the lowest point will drain it all? Also why wouldn't this be mentioned in the regular car manual's maintenance section and only in the shop repair manual?

lngtonge18 · September 2003

Not quite sure why Honda did it, but the shop manual is the more comprehensive repair manual, so I would trust what it says. The regular manual just gives very basic maintenance suggestions whereas the shop manual tells the way a Honda repairman would do it. The water stuck in the engine block has no way to get past the water pump so to do a complete coolant change, you need to use both drains. My dad's 92 Accord was the same way and quite a bit of water came out of the engine block drain (he did the radiator first).

zhyuan · September 2003

Hi. I am new to buy a car. I got an offer on 2003 Honda Civic 4door auto transimision LX. The out door price is $15200. I am living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Is that a good deal? If it is good, I am going to buy it this week. I appreciate any of your advice and suggestion.

seaf · September 2003

for your help lngtonge18, I'll probably drain both, just one more hassle though since I'd have to raise the car to get to the drain bolt. Oh well, will do it with my next oil change.

gsenthil · September 2003

zhyuan: Yes thats a very good price assuming out the door price includes TTL (Tax Title & Licensing).

I bought the same car( w/ side airbags $250 extra) for my friend and paid $15000 + TTL= 16600 (@9.1% tax in WA)

Security: I figured out the LX has factory security. Do I need to install an additional alarm beyond this?

How much is a good price for remote lock alone? How much with car alarm?

dalaw · September 2003

Zhyuan, I just want you to be aware that there is an 04 Civic coming out, with new front end, improved sound insulation, better stereo, and 15 inch wheels + standard floor mat + keyless entry on the LX (got the info from vtec.net). $15200 is just about close to what I paid for my 03 Civic LX back in October 02, and that is a pretty good price. Maybe you can get it down further by the fact that the 04s are coming out.

Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

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