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Honda Civic Care and Maintenance
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Comments
This estimate does not include the recommended timing belt change. The estimate for that is $499 + tax.
I am unfamilar with other good mechanics in town, and wonder anyway if they would replace components/fluids with Honda-authorized materials.
Are these fair prices? Should I call around? I appreciate any comments.
I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX with 107,000 miles on it. The "malfunction" light came on yesterday and so I read the manual about possible problems. Of course, it wasn't a loose gas tank cap. But anyways, I've talked with a few people and they seem to suggest that it's probably the O2 sensor. Today, while driving home from work, I was at a stop sign, upon accelerating the car felt as if it was going to choke and die. Did you experience the same kind of "symptom"? Just thought I'd ask to try to get more information and see if everything leads to the O2 sensor problem. I too am not a big mechanic but with the economy these days, i'd be willing to put in some hours to try and fix it myself. Did you end up doing it yourself Plasdom? Thanks for your time and discussion!
Go to Auto Zone and have them read the code, it is free. It will tell you if the O2 sensor is gone. I am not sure what mileage the extended emission warranty expires at, but check the owener's manual for that. You may get a free replacement from Honda, either through emission warranty, or just as courtesy if you call Honda corporate. Just tell them how much you like the car and that you bought it because of the reliability image Honda projects. Chances are they will either cover it fully, or split the cost with you. If you are willing to get dirty, ask them to pay for the sensor and you will provide the labor to replace it. If they say no, you can buy a replacement sensor from AutoZone (hence the free code reading). Almost all of sensors are made by Bosch, they contain Platinum and thus the high cost.
Good luck
If I bought a used vehicle, I would have budgeted some money for a tuneup and needed service. However, $900 is probably a lot more than you expected to have to pay.
Regarding going elsewhere, if you know a mechanic that you trust, no reason not to have the work done by them. My problem here is that I don't know a good mechanic.
Mick
$400 for a 90,000 mile service is high. Did the dealer say they were doing the recommended services, or did give you a list of the services they were going to perform and you checked the list they gave you against your owners manual? Find out exactly what services they will be doing and check it against your owners manual. Only have the services performed that are in the owners manual.
I checked the owners manual for our '02 Civic (which probably has less service due at 90k than your '95) and it was oil & filter change, air filter change, cabin A/C filter change, tire rotation, and inspections. That's not $400 worth of work. Even if a tune up were included at 90K it's still not $400 IMO.
Good luck.
Thank you very much.
Rock
I don't yet own a Civic, but my 2004 Accord's Owner's Manual Maintenance Schedule (for four-cylinder Accords) states:
Replace engine oil Every 5,000 miles (8,000 km) or every 6 months, whichever comes first
Replace engine oil filter Every 10,000 miles (16,000 km) or every year, whichever comes first
These are from the Severe Conditions chart. The Normal Conditions chart shows much longer service intervals. Since you asked your question using kilometers, I presume that you reside in Canada. The Maintenance Schedule section of my Accord's Owner's Manual states Canadian Owners - Follow the Maintenance Schedule for Severe Conditions.
You seem to be concerned about three months. What does your Civic's Owner's Manual say?
Dave
1998 Honda Civic Hatchback DX
any solutions?
Ignore the dealership's solicitations to do unnecessary, very profitable (for them) services. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations on the Maintenance Schedule in your Owner's Manual. After all, Honda designed, tested, built and warrantees the vehicle.
Follow the "Normal" schedule, using the Honda-specified type of oil, and you'll be fine.
1.The SRS light was on when I bought it. I'm fairly confident that this car had not deployed its airbags, but I can't be certain. I have heard that this light can come on for a variety of reasons. What should I do? From what I have read, sounds like I should take it to dealership and have them check it and reset if its nothing serious. But I hear that can be $65-100. Any other routes I could take besides this one?
2.One thing that concerned me but currently is not a problem is the check engine light came on. I bought the car, drove it 2 hours on interstate, then ran it through an automatic carwash and a couple of things happened. First, even though the car was in park, the green light for drive on the guage cluster started flashing a few times, then after a sequence of flashes and no flashes it stopped(about1-2 minutes elapsed, this happened while I was in the bay getting washed). Next when I pulled out, the check engine light came on, then after a few minutes of driving, the speedometer dial started bouncing around erratically. I have read a few posts where this may be attributed to a harness around the manifold rubbing. Is that the case here or not? Now the second part of this. The next day I drove and picked up a new air filter, installed it and took the car to have new tires, oil change and have corrosion taken off the battery posts. When I got back in the car, check engine light was off and speedometer now works. So I wonder if disconnecting battery cleared it or if something else caused it to go away? After 20 minutes of driving, stopping and another car wash(first one did a crappy job!) drove on home still with no light on and speedometer working. I'm hoping it doesn't come back. And back to the transmission issue, it hasn't happened again in the 1 day that has elapsed since. Transmission seems to shift ok, the only thing that felt different to me while I have had the car is that it seems to be geared low or possibly taking to long to shift out into OD. It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes I notice after letting off the gas from mild accelaration, it takes a second or two for it to shift out. My transmission mechanic friend via phone told me if the lockup wasn't working properly the check engine light would be one. But of course, that light came on under different circumstances and now has went back off. Any ideas?
3.The maintenance required slot or whatever it is on the guages cluster is red. What does this mean and how can it be reset. I assumed this probably come on after 100,000 miles or something. Anything to be worried about?
4.I know I need a new timing belt because it has not been changed yet. What will this cost me on average? I hear anywhere from $300 to 500. Are there any other maintenance items I should be doing at 117,000 miles? I have bought this car for commuting so I hope to get another 100,000 miles out of it at least. I hope with diligent maintenance and care this can be accomplished. I have always wanted to own a Civic and I'm excited to have one now. In just two days, I love it even with the issues I have mentioned. I hope none are too serious. Thanks for any feedback guys!
One other thing, I guess if the sticker for the car(yep it was still in the glove box!)says it didn't come with keyless entry then I probably can't add a remote and program it right? I would need to install a system? Just wishful thinking I guess!...
First of all, ask the seller for the OWNER'S MANUAL!
You should have asked the seller to fix that. Even though it may not be a deployed air bag, an air bag module can cost $600.
2.One thing that concerned me but currently is not a problem is the check engine light came on. I bought the car, drove it 2 hours on interstate, then ran it through an automatic carwash and a couple of things happened. First, even though the car was in park, the green light for drive on the guage cluster started flashing a few times, then after a sequence of flashes and no flashes it stopped(about1-2 minutes elapsed, this happened while I was in the bay getting washed). Next when I pulled out, the check engine light came on, then after a few minutes of driving, the speedometer dial started bouncing around erratically. I have read a few posts where this may be attributed to a harness around the manifold rubbing. Is that the case here or not? Now the second part of this. The next day I drove and picked up a new air filter, installed it and took the car to have new tires, oil change and have corrosion taken off the battery posts. When I got back in the car, check engine light was off and speedometer now works. So I wonder if disconnecting battery cleared it or if something else caused it to go away? After 20 minutes of driving, stopping and another car wash(first one did a crappy job!) drove on home still with no light on and speedometer working. I'm hoping it doesn't come back. And back to the transmission issue, it hasn't happened again in the 1 day that has elapsed since. Transmission seems to shift ok, the only thing that felt different to me while I have had the car is that it seems to be geared low or possibly taking to long to shift out into OD. It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes I notice after letting off the gas from mild accelaration, it takes a second or two for it to shift out. My transmission mechanic friend via phone told me if the lockup wasn't working properly the check engine light would be one. But of course, that light came on under different circumstances and now has went back off. Any ideas?
Flashing "D" light is an indication of a problem with tranny. Bouncy speedo is an indication of bad wires or faulty speed sensor in the tranny.
3.The maintenance required slot or whatever it is on the guages cluster is red. What does this mean and how can it be reset. I assumed this probably come on after 100,000 miles or something. Anything to be worried about?
You should ask the seller if the maintenance was performed and they forgot to reset the indicator. The owner's manual would tell you how to reset it.
4.I know I need a new timing belt because it has not been changed yet. What will this cost me on average? I hear anywhere from $300 to 500. Are there any other maintenance items I should be doing at 117,000 miles? I have bought this car for commuting so I hope to get another 100,000 miles out of it at least. I hope with diligent maintenance and care this can be accomplished. I have always wanted to own a Civic and I'm excited to have one now. In just two days, I love it even with the issues I have mentioned. I hope none are too serious. Thanks for any feedback guys!
The owner's manual would tell you what to do at what mileage.
One other thing, I guess if the sticker for the car(yep it was still in the glove box!)says it didn't come with keyless entry then I probably can't add a remote and program it right? I would need to install a system? Just wishful thinking I guess!...
LX did not have remote keyless entry. The EX had remote keyless entry built into the stock radio.
Does anyone think it will come with 18"? the exhaust mounted in the middle?
The gas effeciency is really bad. The car is spect for up to 36mpg in city and 44mpg on freeway, I get only about 29 in the city and the exost pipe has black powder build up on it, if I clean it the black stuff comes back in about a day or so. So I guess the fuel/air mixture is way to rich, I don't know why and what to do.
I checked the computor readout for any false codes and nothing came up. Added some carb cleaner inthe gas tank and ran some water through the engine to get rid of any build up on the valves and stuff. Nothing seems to help,
Any ideas???
I have near 145 000km on it.
Does anyone know what the light came on?
I looked it up in my driver's manual. Now coming to think of it, I think the problem is when I went to put in some gas, which was last Sunday (July 31), when i closed the gas cap, i only turned it 2 clicks. In the manual, it specifies at least 3.
Last night, (6 days after i put in some gas), while driving the indicator lamp came on and it's still on. Is this normal?
Today, I went to put in gas again, this time I closed it with about 4-5 clicks on the gas cap. I noticed on the gas cap, it says if you don't close it with at least 3 clicks, the engine light may come on------and it did. but after 6 days?
Now that i have closed the gas cap properly, I'm hoping the light will disappear!
In the manual, it says tightening the cap will NOT make the indicator turn off immediately, it takes 3 driving trips. One down, and 2 to go!
If anyone has experienced a similar problem, it would be cool if you share your experience! thanks!
Steve
any solutions?
If you are unable to open from the outside you have more problems than the child locks. They only prevent someone from the inside trying to get out not vice-versa.
Good Luck.
when it is wet outside, or it slightly cold, my windows tend to fog up very quickly. not only do they fog up quickly, but it gets so bad that i cannot see anything. is there a remedy for this? i have tried applying an anti-fog coating to the windows, but that doesn't seem to help. any ideas? thanks.
I think my bolt joints are for changing, but understood, that just the labor for that is about $300?!? :surprise: I have plan to buy them and change by myself! Is it possible and can you give me a link to see how to do. :confuse:
I' m not sure that things are BOLT JOINT or BALL JOINTS?!? :confuse:
What's the difference?
Thanks in advance!
I just bought a ’01 Honda civic coupe, automatic with 60,000 miles. This is my first car, so I’m a little concerned about how to care for it. My most immediate concern is rust. The car has been in California for its entire life and I’m about to drive it out to Massachusetts/New York, where it will be parked outside in the snow all winter (I probably won’t drive it more than a couple times a week.). I’ve been reading about undercoating and rust-proofing in general on another forum and the posters were evenly split about whether it’s necessary. Does any one know how Hondas in particular hold up in the New England winters and whether my ‘01 Civic would need any treatment before I introduce it to snow and salt? I’ve also read that I should rinse off the undercarriage of the car about once a month and was wondering how to go about doing this. Is it as easy as bending over and spraying under the car with a hose for a couple minutes, or do I need to lift up the car, crawl underneath it, and spray the parts carefully?
Also, there are a couple of scratches and nicks in the paint. Should I put a primer on those spots or wax the entire car? Any brands would you guys recommend? Finally, is there anything else (snow tires, perhaps?) that I should get or be concerned about or keep my eye on, especially in regards to transitioning it to the northeast climate? I have close to no experience with cars, so any tips, advice, or warnings would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Lizzy
Skyler
Skyler :confuse:
If I were you, I'd locate that information in the Maintenance Schedule section of my Owners Manual. It's probably in your glove compartment.
Thanks for you help
Honda recommends every 60K but I'm worried given Hondas reputation for transmission failures. Some people say do it every 15K, but thats seem way too frequent. 30K?