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Honda Civic 2005 and earlier

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Comments

  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    This discussion has been reopened in accordance with this post: Sylvia, "Forums Software! Your Questions Answered..." #3319, 12 Nov 2006 2:43 pm. :)
  • bishopk99bishopk99 Member Posts: 11
    Hello everyone,

    I just spent over 780.00 on trying to get my check engine light to go out on my subj Civic. The final answer is "you have a bad computer" and to replace will cost 980.00. Well, if they ran diagnostics on it in the first place to correct a temperature Hi/Lo sensor and a transmission part (which makes the car run excellent now) how can that be. I found one on e-bay with 40K miles on it, but the numbers do not match up.

    I own a car made in Japan, with a JHMED VIN...

    it ststates on the computer:

    37820-PM5-A550
    601-139748
    8 B
    with a manufacture date of 87-12-24

    Many are available, I am hearing that any from the 88-91 years will work.

    will it be compatable? Cost for the computer is less than 100.00. Is this something I can just swap out myself?

    I bought this car new in 1988, it has over 178,000 miles, it drove me to 5 ships and 5 shore stations and will be featured in my retirement ceremony after I get to 25 yrs in the Navy. Everyone hates it but I loove it. It is my baby blue car!

    Happy thanksgiving!

    Kevin, Senior Chief, Unitied States Navy
  • cnu_gurlcnu_gurl Member Posts: 2
    Hello,

    I am looking for any kind of help or suggestions that I can get. My 98 has recently been giving me problems. It looks as if the battery is going. But we have checked that and it seems to be fine. I will be driving and the whole thing will shut down [no sputtering just shuts down]. I will try to start it back up and I get nothing. It wont even turn over. The radio and the clock have reset [which is what led me to believe that it was the battery]. Once I jump start the car it works just fine. This has happened about 3 times now, and seems to happen when I am low on gas. I am not out of gas.. just on the low side. Which makes no sense. And I dont see how the two can be related, unless it is just some sort of freak accident.

    Also, and I have no clue if this is part of the same problem.. I will drive my car for quite a while [ about an hour drive seems to be where this happens].. and then stop somewhere. If I get back in my car to start it up with in 15 min.. it will not start. But if I let it sit there for about 30 min or longer it will start up just fine.

    Someone suggested starter for the second problem, but I have nothing on the first. I will take any suggestions that I can get [besides just taking it to the junk yard, as many have suggested already].

    Thanks!!
  • sopmansopman Member Posts: 46
    I thinking about buying a 2007 LX Civic. Could someone please send me the link for this forum?

    Thanks
    Sopman
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Thanks pulgo! :)

    Here's a link to the same discussion that goes directly to the last page: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ef337c8/. It's probably easier to start there.
  • mcatmcat Member Posts: 3
    I was using a portable air compressor plugged into the power outlet of my 2004 Civic EX (auto.)and the plug would not come out. After about an hour of trying to get it out, I was finally successful. However, the outlet socket is slightly loose in the dash console now and it does not provide power. Not sure if it is just a loose wire or needs complete replacement. Any ideas on how to remove it or access the back to check the wiring? Also, I could not find the part when searching on the Honda parts website, any links?

    Thanks!
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    I have a 1999 Honda Civic Value Package (111,500 miles) that I'm hoping to hand off to my son (who'll be driving very soon) and lately the car has been leaking oil. It leaked quite a lot, and I took it back to Jiffy Lube where I had the last oil change done at 110,400ish miles, where they said there was something loose, which they tightened.

    Well, today, I noticed some small spots of oil on a piece of cardboard I had placed underneath the car, so it is leaking again, but not as much as it did last week.

    I'm wondering if a switch back to High Mileage Oil (I had used it for a while, then switched back to conventional oil) would solve the problem, or if there is something else that needs to be repaired.

    Thanks in advance for any insight into the problem :)
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Is it possible the oil dripped on something on the car before it was repaired, and that's where the spots on the cardboard came from? I had a car once (can't remember if it was a Civic) that dumped oil onto a suspension part when I took the filter off.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    It's possible. I'll see if there is additional oil tomorrow. If there is none, then I guess the problem is solved :) But if there is then I'll probably put up another post.
  • dewaltdakotadewaltdakota Member Posts: 364
    If the dripping appears to be coming from the oil pan, it's possible they tried to re-use the oil drain plug gasket. It's a crushable soft-metal washer.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    ok. So the next time I get an oil change this should be resolved? (assuming whoever changes the oil changes the oil drain plug gasket)
  • dewaltdakotadewaltdakota Member Posts: 364
    If that is the case, then "yes", changing out the gasket (it looks just like a metal washer, but it's of a softer material), will resolve it.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Ok. Thanks! If the problem continues I guess I'll come back and post another message :)
  • thingamugigthingamugig Member Posts: 1
    I have a '95 Civic DX with 158k. The radiator and fan failed and it over heated. I replaced the radiator and fixed the fan by replacing the ECT sensor. It then began running poorly (sounded like it was missing a cylinder) so I changed the plugs and wires. It now runs poorly intermittently and is pouring white smoke from the tail pipe. It did not overheat when I drove it but when I let it idle for 20 min it began to overheat again. There is no water/coolant on the oil dipstick but I have the feeling it is burning coolant. Does anyone know if this is most likely a head gasket, cracked head, cracked cylinder/block, or something else? It is quickly becoming the money pit, but I would like to fix it if I can get a final resolution to this series of problems without too much cost. Thank you!
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Hi, welcome to CarSpace. While you wait to see if someone here can help, I'd suggest you also cross-post in the Got a Quick, Technical Question? discussion. Those folks may be help as well.

    Let us know what happens.
  • mcatmcat Member Posts: 3
    I was using a portable air compressor plugged into the power outlet of my 2004 Civic EX (auto.)and the plug would not come out. After about an hour of trying to get it out, I was finally successful. However, the outlet socket is slightly loose in the dash console now and it does not provide power. Not sure if it is just a loose wire or needs complete replacement. Any ideas on how to remove it or access the back to check the wiring? Also, I could not find the part when searching on the Honda parts website, any links?

    Thanks!
  • ricardocalricardocal Member Posts: 9
    mcat,

    The closest instructions for your power outlet that I could find are at

    www.cheaphondaparts.com

    Go to "Interior", "Ashtray & Lighter", scroll down, and then click on the ashtray instructions for your year. The first part of the instruction shows how to remove/access that area.

    The best Honda parts website that I know of is San Leandro Honda.

    www.slhondaparts.com

    I think your part is the "socket assy", but there may be other parts involved. You can search by VIN. After setting the pulldown for "Transmission" to "4AT", you'll want to use "Interior Bumper" and then "Instrument Panel Garnish (Passenger Side)". There is a "VIEW THESE PARTS" button at the top that may work for your Civic.

    By the way, I purchased alloy wheels, a fog light kit, and a nose mask for my '02 Civic EX from Cheap Honda Parts at really good prices. I installed the foglight kit and the nose mask myself using Cheap Honda Parts instructions.

    Good luck!
  • civic_05_ownercivic_05_owner Member Posts: 1
    Folks,
    I have a 2005 Honda civic EX. When I turn the key, sometimes the car makes a very annoying crackling noise :cry: . I realized after some experimentation that this noise particularly comes when I turn the key before the gas-indicator reaches a stable mark. However, in the last couple of days I realized that this is also not always true. Even after waiting for the gas-meter to stabilize, sometimes my car makes this crackling noise when I turn the key to start the engine.
    Has anyone else experienced such a problem, and what is the solution to this problem?
    My car has only 7700 miles on it and is still in the warranty period. Would such a condition be covered and fixed by my car warranty or would I have to pay to get this problem fixed.

    Thanks in advance!
  • 4x4toy4x4toy Member Posts: 10
    I regularly tow with a 96 civic LX Manual transmission. Throw a motorcycle on the trailer and go. believe it or not it has pleenty of pep. would not attempt with an AT, i'm sure without a transmission cooler you would overheat the transmission going through the mountains as i do.

    Happy Towing!!! :shades:
  • annchelleannchelle Member Posts: 2
    I drive a 1999 Honda Civic LX, and I've never had any major problems. However, lately, when I back out of the driveway, or when I start to accelerate, the car makes a little bit of a squealing noise. Once I lift my foot off the gas pedal, it stops making that noise. Once I get going on the highway (start to go a lot faster), I don't hear that noise. I only hear the squealing noise when I'm going at slower rates of speed. Any idea what the issue might be?? Does the timing belt need to be replaced, or is it something else? Any help is greatly appreciated. :confuse:

    Also, what is the difference between a transmission fluid "flush," and a "drain and fill" of the transmission fluid??

    Thanks!
  • andysdandysd Member Posts: 87
    It's good to see some owners of high mileage Civics plan to keep them and deal with the eventual little problems.

    Our '04 EX silver auto sedan is still like new, and I can't find any excuse to look at new cars - even the upcoming all-new '08 Accord.

    I dressed up our Civic with the medium burl Exotic Wood dash, which makes quite a difference, the Honda leather steering wheel cover, and the Honda exhaust tip.

    (I bought 17" wheels and 215 Kumho sport tires, but have put the originals back on and don't know what to do with the 17"s.)

    Like the wheels, I'd never get the money out, but my dealer quoted $1,200 for an all-leather interior,(I guess aftermarket). That's something I could do down the road. For now, the gray cloth interior also looks like new. (I Scotchguarded it when I bought it.)

    Good luck to Senior Chief Kevin, now and in retirement.

    Just for fun, anyone care to say how fast they've driven their Civics? Are they electronically limited? I know 115 is very stable.
  • andysdandysd Member Posts: 87
    I'll bet a nickel it's a grounding problem. Start with the main negative battery connection. Please let us know when you fix it.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Well I only have 1 Civic, but I like it a lot. It's been able to take quite a lot of wear and tear over the past eight years. I was on the brink of selling it when gas prices skyrocketed past $3.00, so I kept it. It runs well, and I plan on driving the thing to 175K miles and beyond, hopefully :)
  • dudleyfdudleyf Member Posts: 10
    Has anybody taken apart the dashboard on a prev-gen Civic sedan? If so, any instructions or hints on how much work it is?

    When going over a bump recently apparently something dislodged inside my instrument cluster and is partially blocking the light path for the instruments. Now at night the left side of the speedo and right side of the tach are totally dark! Kinda hard to see how fast I'm going at night when speeds are under 50 mph.

    Thanks!
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Make sure you didn't trip the fuse. That would be highly likely if you were twisting a plug back and forth inside the socket.....causing a short and blowing the fuse.
  • mcatmcat Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the tip. I have not checked the fuses since everything else seemed to be working properly. I guess that outlet may be on its own circuit and should have checked it out. Thanks again!
  • podunk503podunk503 Member Posts: 45
    i have a few questions about my civic. my gas pedal is kinda stiff. it is a manual so shifting isn't all that pleasant when i can't feather the gas pedal. any ideas to fix? also i hear like a whine it's prominent pulling out as such, i back up then in moving forward i put it in 1st and start to pull the clutch out and this whine comes. so i don't think it's the wheels or anything like that cause it's not there in movement more so when i engage the clutch. hope it's not a tranny problem. any help is appreciated.
  • jodar96jodar96 Member Posts: 400
    Just drove my sister's Civic back from Arizona to Indiana on a 1900 plus mile trip to sell it up here. It is four door and 5 speed. I have driven her car before but not to this extent. She went from 1993 Tarcel to 2001 Civic to 2005 RX330.

    Fit, finish, and feel are excellent for a small car. The interior colors, fabric, and contrast in colors are tastefully done. The feel of switches are excellent. The gas mileage was as high as 43mpg.

    Dislikes:
    Road noise; nothing a good sound deadning/ rust proofing and set of new brand-name tires could not improve.

    Light/flimsy feel of the doors when shutting. Honda should have benchmarked 1999-2004 Jetta for door shutting feel (and VW should bench mark Civic's gear shift feel). It gives the car a very cheap feel. I know the Civic is not a cheaply-built car. I had 84 and 94 Accords, and I am familiar with Hondas. They are great cars.

    I regard Hondas and Toyotas top notch cars with the rest of the Japanese cars trailing behind. This may not be fair since I have not owned any other Japanese cars beside these two brands.

    Joe
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    If you hear a whine when you are putting in your clutch, it would mean the clutch throw-out bearing is bad. The face of this bearing, contacts the pressure plate, which when continued to press in allows the pressure plate to release it's grip against the clutch plate. At this point, your engine is now dis-engaged from the transmission.

    If you allow this to continue squealing, you may end up damaging the fingers on the pressure plate and have to replace that as well (a much more expensive part).

    Throw out bearings go bad, if you ride with your foot on the clutch pedal, or the clutch isn't adjusted correctly. Normally the bearing only has to spin when you put the clutch in. If your clutch is misadjusted, then it could be too close to the pressure plate and forced to spin all the time.
  • mpwbwmpwbw Member Posts: 7
    My fiancee has an 04' Civic and recently I noticed that the automatic floor shifter doesn't have any lighting. She said that yes it used to be lit, but there is no mention of anything in the owner's manual. I'm thinking that it has to be a fuse, but they looked fine. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks..
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Hi guys. I am getting ready to take a trip in my grandparents' Civic Sedan. It's an LX Sedan, with about 110,000 miles on it. When I drove it over the weekend, I noticed the lights dimming and then going to full brightness. The headlights and dashboard lights did it, at the same time. They dimmed to probably 80% brightness, and then would go back. It happens very quickly, and as many as 10 times in 15 seconds. I would normally chalk it up to A/C cycling on and off, but the A/C was not engaged.

    Any ideas what it could be? My granddad said its been doing it for awhile now, so he didn't think it was the alternator because the battery probably would've died by now.

    Any thoughts are welcome!
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Take it to an autoparts store (AutoZone, PepBoys, etc), where they can do a free alternator & battery check under load.
  • wsustudentwsustudent Member Posts: 35
    Could be a burned out or loose bulb. At least with my Honda experiences, dash bulbs have the tendancy to either come loose from the connection or burn out. My parents have replaced their clock bulb at lease twice and the light that illuminates my sun roof switch only intermittently works.

    Of course you want to make sure that there even is a light for the gear shift selector.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Good idea.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    What price should we expect to pay? I'm getting quotes that seem awfully high, but I want to see what prices you think would be fair.
  • wsustudentwsustudent Member Posts: 35
    My sister just had her alternator replaced on her 99 Escort and I believe she paid around $210-$230. Last time I had one done was in 2001 on my old 89 Accord that ran me $350, but the guy had also replaced all belts, and did a full tune up including new plugs, wires, valve adjustment and valve cover gasket. You should be able to find a good reputable garage that can do it for under $250.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Ok. Our quote was approx. $375 so its a little high it would seem.
  • podunk503podunk503 Member Posts: 45
    it's just the opposite. when i pull the clutch out to start driving. the noise is very noticable in the right as if the right front wheel. the drive axles were replaced 4-5 months ago with remans but the noise was there before that too. any ideas? any suggestions on my gas pedal?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    So is the noise related to the clutch (sound changes when you push the clutch in or let it out), or is it related to the vehicle wheels and their movement?

    If the car isn't moving, and you are in neutral, and you depress the clutch and let it out...do you hear the noise?

    If you have the engine off, transmission in neutral, and you begin coasting the car down a slight grade.....do you hear the noise? If so, is the noise frequency consistent with a rotation of the wheel? Have someone else coast the car and you walk beside it if you have to.
  • podunk503podunk503 Member Posts: 45
    good idea. however not related to wheel movement so much. i let the clutch out to "engage" i suppose, and i can hear it before and during the movement of the wheels. if i push the clutch right back no noise. so ya know how you can pull the clutch out barely and the car will start moving at this point the noise comes primarily on the passenger side. also and i mention this cause i believe it's related in driving and taking a right turn while accelerating there is a similar noise only in right turns. thank you.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Almost sounds like it might be the CV constant velocity joint. Is the boot around the CV joint cracked?
  • podunk503podunk503 Member Posts: 45
    not sure but i had the cv's replaced a few months ago with remans and that noise was there before that too. so i haven't a clue and of course a shop wants to charge just to look at my car.
  • careyjcareyj Member Posts: 1
    I have the same prolem with my 94 Prelude. Mine is a RRRRRRRRing noise. It's very inconsistant but mostly happens from a dead stop in reverse or 1st gear while I let up on the clutch. Sometimes there is a dragging noise when the car is stopped, in first, while the cluch is pushed all the way in. It sounds like the clutch might be dragging. I've taken it to two garages and they both say they can't tell if it's the clutch or transmission until they crack it open. Any help would be appreciated
  • crv16crv16 Member Posts: 205
    In the past 3-1/2 years, I've put on 100k miles on my 2003 Civic EX 5 speed. It still runs great. The only problem I have had was a bad front wheel bearing. I still get 40 mpg.

    My question is - how long should this car last? 200K? 250K? More?
  • pulgopulgo Member Posts: 400
    With good maintenance (regular coolant, engine oil, fluid replacement, ETC.) you could exceed 300k and more without a doubt.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    If you maintain it regularly, and keep all the fluids in check, I would say that you could easily toss 300K miles on it and still have it drive like it did in 2003.
  • amunityamunity Member Posts: 5
    I am looking to reconfigureing the ignition system to start the car useing a computer but one question is on my mind before I begin messing with the wires.

    I was told that the ignition system consists of two wires in the key lock. When the key is turned the wires touch and cause the motor to crank the engine. This was told to me by a friend who if familliar with 80's cars. Does the '02 have this same interface? I relaize that I will need to have the key near the sensor for the microchip to be detected.

    Thank you in advance.
  • kenlwkenlw Member Posts: 190
    No disrespect intended, but based on your lack of understanding of how this works, I seriously doubt you should attempt this. This is not a job for the inexperienced.
  • street911street911 Member Posts: 3
    Does it make financial sense to repair the vehicle?

    I currently own a 1993 Honda Civic Coupe (170,000 miles). Last week, I had the vehicle checked for noise. The Midas technician asked if this vehicle had been involved in a collision, and pointed to a cracked frame in the passenger rear side. I told him no collision or accident whatsoever. The only possibility I can think of are pot holes, rust (due road salt in Michigan) and road constructions.

    The technician recommended having the vehicle serviced by Honda. Is it worth the investment to pay for repairs ? Is a cracked frame repairable ? Is this a safety concern ?

    This is my first vehicle and have been extremely pleased especially with the mileage.

    Thanks.
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