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2008 Honda Civic

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Comments

  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Not a sandman specific question here...

    But,

    My folks have a 2007 Civic EX Sedan, early build probably (Jan 2007 purchase). Would it possibly be included?
  • cuysecocuyseco Member Posts: 45
    I bought my Civic 08 last september. I am getting 34 MPG..Is that ok?? Will it improve later??

    Thanks
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    Check with Honda to see if your folks vin number is included. I got a notice in the mail from them.

    The Sandman :)
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    I"m sorry to tell you but I have two friends who bought 08's. Their millage is just about what yours is.
    My 07 gets 41 hwy loaded with the air on. I asked the salesman why that is and he told me the gov't just changed how they rate the MPG's on new cars.
    That doesn't explain the actual numbers you and I are coming up with on the road.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Considering the fact that you didn't give any details on your driving style, and where you drive, its really hard to say how good that is. Assuming a mix of city and highway, I'd say that sounds great (considering the car is rated for mid-20s in town and mid-30s highway), you're beating the estimates.
  • jpcanaverajpcanavera Member Posts: 33
    I have an '07 Civic EX. I use it in a mixed mode for city and highway travel. Dependent upon the weather (AC on or extremely cold) the mileage runs as low as 33 mpg and as high as 37. The car has about 12,000 miles on it and I've owned it since Feb. this year. In most cases I see 35 mpg as my norm.

    Jack
  • Batta011Batta011 Member Posts: 3
    I have Honda Civic, LX, model 2009
    Gas millage of this car is overall a DISASTER: 260 miles so far, 20.8 MPG, city ride mostly. I was not pushing the gas pedal to hard, neither was accelerating to fast, never went over 2300 RPM. With my old Honda Civic 1994 I managed to get 32-35 MPG pure city drive and 41 MPG mostly highway. I understand that the car is new I that the MPG might get better after couple hundred or thousands miles, but I don’t believe it’s going to get so much better than this. If I was not careful enough I am quite sure the millage would be 18 MPG or lest, which is the millage of a middle size SUV.
    Did you have any experience like this with your brand new car or you had good millage straight from the dealer's lot.
    Thanks
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    The 41 plus MPG highway that I am getting on my 2007 Civic is the same now at 35,000 miles as it was last year with ten miles on it. ?????
  • Batta011Batta011 Member Posts: 3
    I hope it's gonna improve ones I get to 10K milles, but I hate this car already. Even if that happens I am going to get rid of it. Damn liers from Honda.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Hey buddy, would you mind telling us what kind of driving (where you live, your commute distance, etc) you do?

    Also, I'm not sure where your comment about Honda's "liars," but if it is with regards to advertised fuel economy, take note that the EPA is the one with the testing procedures - not Honda.

    Best of luck, and keep us posted!
  • Batta011Batta011 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks a lot for your reply,
    I am sorry for my typos or spelling/grammar mistakes, I hope you'll understand what I want to say. In my understanding, EPA assigns the regulations, does not perform tests, but I might be wrong.
    I live in Pittsburgh, PA the area is far from being flat (don't know if you are familiar with this part of the States), but still I think I am far bellow what I was supposed to get of a gallon of gas.
    As I said, I always try to get as much as possible from the gallon, I do not accelerate a lot, never went over 2300 rpm.
    I am now at my second tank of gas, so I'll keep you informed if the gpm is going to improve over next couple hundred miles
    Again, thanks a lot for finding time to reply on my post.
    Cheers
  • camble94camble94 Member Posts: 15
    Do any of you current owners have any experience to relate regarding how the Civic performs in snow? Are you happy with the handling and feel secure?
  • fdd008fdd008 Member Posts: 2
    I just got a 2009 Civic EX AT and it made 29.5 MPG on the first tank. I do half city / half highway.
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    I have an 07. I spent the entire last winter in Florida and can tell you that the car hydroplanes like nothing I've ever seen when it rains. Florida has downpours but I would seriously feel the car moving sideways on the freeway. (scariest feeling I think I've ever had while driving) Now I am in Wisconsin and we've had a few good snows this winter so far and now the roads are icy and snowpacked slippery. In snow the car seems fine. I have not tried to go through deep snow yet but as far as slippery frozen roads, it has been fine.
    I think part of the reason for the great gas mileage is the fact that the car is so light..........light cars, however, do not do well in snow when they have wide, low profile tires.
    If you look back into earlier entries on this blog there was discussion about the Civic in snow and tires were a factor. There was even a recommendation as to a replacement tire that works great in snow on the Civic.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    I spent the entire last winter in Florida and can tell you that the car hydroplanes like nothing I've ever seen when it rains

    Isn't that a product of the tires, not the car?

    Also, you referenced how light the car is; I'd like to point out that it weighs about as much as my '96 Accord, thanks to extra airbags, safety systems, and overall size compared to previous Civics :) . Amazing how cars grow, isn't it?
  • dantzdantz Member Posts: 49
    "I spent the entire last winter in Florida and can tell you that the car hydroplanes like nothing I've ever seen when it rains"

    "Isn't that a product of the tires, not the car?"

    It's mostly a combination of the tires and the driver. Here's a short list of things that will increase the likelihood of hydroplaning:

    1) Underinflated tires. This allows the center of the tire to run slightly concave, and this entraps a small pocket of water which prevents a significant portion of the tread from contacting the road.

    2) Worn tires, of course. That's what the grooves are for.

    3) Excessive speed through standing water, especially if the road is not grooved. (And doing this while traveling downhill will make the situation much worse if you do end up hydroplaning.)

    4) It's true that wider tires will hydroplane sooner than narrow tires, and the Civic tires are definitely a bit on the wide side.

    I haven't noticed any hydroplaning tendencies in my 2008 Civic LX Sedan, but maybe that's because I tend to play it safe in the rain. About 30 years ago I had a major hydroplaning incident in a VW Beetle and it scared the living cr*p out of me, so now when it rains heavily I slow down, especially if there's any standing water on the road.

    During a full hydroplane there is a complete loss of control. The car becomes completely unresponsive to steering and brake inputs and goes wherever it wants, generally at high speed. When it happened to me I almost ran smack into a rock wall on the side of the highway, but luckily there was a grassy strip fronting the wall that allowed two of my tires to get some much-needed traction so I could turn away.
  • cuysecocuyseco Member Posts: 45
    I have a Civic LX sedan AT 08 and I wonder if I need to warm up the engine every morning in the winter. I live in Texas and sometimes we have 32 F in the mornings.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    The best warm-up is to gently drive the car until it reaches normal operating temps. I have two Honda 4-cylinder sedans, and typically give no more than 10 seconds warm-up before I hit the road. I just try and keep revs in the 2,000-3,000 RPM range until the car is fully warmed-up.

    I live in AL, and we've already had some mornings in the upper teens and low 20s. I crank the car, then put on my seatbelt, find Rick and Bubba on the radio, lock my doors, and go... in that order. Gives the car a sec or two to get the oil moving.
  • hickorychickoryc Member Posts: 25
    New May 28. Wife's car. A tire started losing air. Brought it to Sears Auto Center, a Bridgestone dealer. Cause undetermined. Applied rim seal and reversed tire on rim. No help. Brought it to Bridgestone Tire dealer who submerged tire with rim. Bubbles appeared on rim interior, right about in the middle. Spot on rim appeared to have a crack. Tire dealer put red circle around area and red arrow on tire pointing to the source of the air leak. Brought car to selling dealer, Premier Honda New Orleans. Explained that car had defective alloy wheel and all details. Also first oil change and rotation. Called that car was ready. Servicewriter stated it was a tire problem. She also quickly stated they could not duplicate the other 3 issues. Emailed dealership yesterday and did get a very prompt response that they would take another look at it but no apologies for their initial ignorant stance.
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    Good luck getting this replaced gratis from Honda. Mazda wouldn't replace our damaged rim three months after purchase as they blamed it on us and not on the rim. Was pretty pissed but had to replace the alloy. Will be interested to see how honda handles your situation.
    Good luck!

    The Sandman :)
  • summer24summer24 Member Posts: 1
    I'm also having trouble with my Honda Civic 2007 handling in snow. If there is any ice or slick roads the back end goes back and forth. Even at 25 mph. My car has 40,000 miles on it. I have had to replace the tires and have upgraded but it still does it. I was told by the dealership said it is with the new design. And that the car is light that is why it does it. Told me to buy snow tires. I just bought radials snow/ice tires.
    I believe there is something wrong with the car. I need something safe living in WI. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
    Summer24
  • waiwai Member Posts: 325
    What brand and model of tire do you used as replacement?
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    I used my 2007 Civic to drive to Seymour yesterday........the roads had some slick spots on them. I was going about 40mph and it did exactly what you said yours did.
    I had zero control over that car and then I slowed to about 30mph and it was the same thing. Every time I hit some slippery roadway the car (front and back) would move from side to side like the wind was blowing it and it was going to fishtail and then go in circles. I was scared to death. The same thing happened to me last summer in Florida when it rained hard. I love the car and don't want to part with it but if it means being safe and not scared to drive it then i will have to trade it in I guess. I thought the new tired would help.
    I have a friend who owned a 2008 Civic and he just traded it a few weeks ago for a Jetta wagon. What a great little car with lots of room. It does'nt slide all over when it snows. I am going to test drive one and then buy it.
  • jpcanaverajpcanavera Member Posts: 33
    Between snow plows and trucks dropping blocks of packed snow and ice on the Interstate, I avoid driving the Civic during periods of significant snow. The front end on the Civic is low and is subject to damage if a solid block of snow or ice hits it.

    I once had an old Chevy Vega (ugh!) that was low to the ground. I remember having to navigate some deeper snow that the plows left by driveway. Embedded in that snow was a packed block of ice which promptly tore off a stainless steel pipe that went from my muffler to the catalytic converter.

    Now if it looks like we are getting more than 4 inches of snow, I'll opt to drive our CRV and leave the Civic in the drive.

    Jack
  • pelegrinpelegrin Member Posts: 3
    I have had the same problem with my 2007 Honda Civic. I have gone round and round with the dealers in the area and the Honda consumer hotline. They refuse to believe there is a problem with the car. When it snows the snow accumulates in the wheel well and causes extreme vibration and handling problems simular to how a flat tire would cause the car to act. It is very dangerous to drive and I know it is a design flaw. I have owned several cars in my life and have always lived in snow country and I have never come across a car that handles like this thing in the winter. I will never buy a Honda again. I suggest Toyota, Ford, or VW. My Audi handles the winter weather great but it is exspensive to work on. What we need is a class action lawsuit to get Honda to take care of this problem. In the mean time I truly believe there will be several major accidents because of this problem. Drive safe and leave your honda at home in he snow or heavy rain!!
  • kevin07kevin07 Member Posts: 1
    I have owned a 2006 Civic LX and now have a 2008 Civic SI. I had the problem with my 2006 and found the vehicle to be dangerous on Icy roads. I took it back to the dealership and they checked the rear allignment which was out my 2.5 mil. This fixed the problem. The 2008 models were to have been fixed but I had the same problem with poor handling. I took it back and they realligned the rear wheels and the car handles perfect now. I live in Edmonton where we have extreme winter conditions with temperatures hitting minus 37 f. Tell your dealership to check the rear camber and allign the wheels. The problem is only noted on snow and Icy roads but this will even cause poor handling on dry conditions. Rear tires will wear faster. A fellow worker just had the same problem I had and had it fixed yesterday. He had the 08 EXL Civic and hated the car because of the poor handling on Icy roads. Honda will fix the problem. You just may have to educate the service rep.
  • zoozeekzoozeek Member Posts: 32
    DO SIDE WINDOW DEFLECTORS REDUCE WIND NOISE?

    My 2008 Civic LX four-door has much too much wind (and/or road) noise with the front windows rolled down (and I enjoy driving with the windows down quite a bit, here in San Diego). Has anyone had experience with side window deflectors? If yes:

    1. Do they reduce wind noise? Significantly?
    2. Do they also reduce wind noise when the window is closed (rolled up)?
    3. Do they have any drawbacks? (Do they come off? Do they inhibit the view?...)
    4. What brand(s) are best?

    Thanks greatly for your advice.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    I have them on my Toyota truck, so the issues should be the same.

    1. No, not at all, in fact I'd say they increase wind noise.
    2. Noisier with the window down slightly.
    3. Mine have come off in one of those automatic car washes and I had to reinstall them. They have not inhibited the view at all.
    4. Not sure what brands are best as I bought them on ebay.
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    The service bulletin number for the alignment problem is 08-011.
    I went to the dealer as a result of a discussion in another blog about handling problems on slippery pavement. Mine was so bad I had started looking at buying a new//different car.
    The dealer will replace the rear upper control arms which (originally) were designed to "tilt" the wheels allowing for better handling. Only problem with this great idea is that it causes uneven tire wear (a prerequisite to having the dealer replace the parts and to do an alignment on Honda) and lack of control on slippery pavement.
    Mine was fixed yesterday. My fingers and toes are crossed cause I love this little car and want to keep it.
  • zoozeekzoozeek Member Posts: 32
    I can't believe it: I just took my 2008 Civic with 12,000 miles on the odo to the dealership for vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds and they found that my front brake pads are down to 20%!!! After 12,000 miles!!! I've never replaced brake pads before 40,000+ miles on any other car I've owned. So, my questions:

    1. Has anyone had such excessive brake pad wear in a Civic? At what mileage do front brake pads usually need to be replaced in the new Civics?
    2. I'd like to upgrade: What brake pads do you recommend? What rotors?

    Thanks greatly for the advice.
  • ken2116ken2116 Member Posts: 2
    We have a 2006 LX (same car) that was helpless in the slightest snow, absolutely no traction when cornering or accelerating. None. In our case the problem was solved by replacing the tires with Michelin Pilot Exalto AS (chosen after reviewing Consumers Reports tire test results) made a great improvement in both snow/ice on our last trip to the Sierra. Good snow tires should be even better, but there's lots of variation between brands and models. The Pilot Exaltos also are good in rain - on roads with a small amount of standing water the car stops almost as fast as on dry pavement, much better than the OEM Bridgestones.
  • ken2116ken2116 Member Posts: 2
    As a point of reference, I just checked my 2006 Civic LX pads at 31,000mi and they have about 1/3inch of lining remaining and almost no wear on the discs. I do drive very smoothly and mostly on level roads and have a manual transmission, so the brakes lead an easy life. Sometimes a cylinder problem will cause brakes to drag and wear pads, but with this one would expect wear to be different at each wheel.

    The high carbon content OEM pads on our 1994 Volvo wear out in ~ 10,000 mi - we've replaced them with Raybestos pads and do much better.
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    Just a quick follow up to having the dealer replace the upper handling bars on the rear tires to slolve the handling problem on slippery pavement...............PROBLEM SOLVED !!!
    I had the parts replaced about 2 months ago and we've had lots of snow since then and the car handles perfectly every time now. (same tires, they did an all wheel alignment but the alignment wasn't far off at all either).
    I highly recommend the procedure and Honda pays for it if the service department determines excessive tire wear due to the original parts that were tilting the wheels inard.
  • bearcrkrdbearcrkrd Member Posts: 167
    We had a lot of snow for this neck of the woods (Seattle) this winter. I had a build up in the wheel wells and the car vibrated really bad. After the build up cleared, I noticed a slight vibration. Also didn't like the handling in wet grooves at hiway speeds, so at 24,000 miles bought new tires. Expensive tires, Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge. For handling, and hoped to get a little less road noise. Probably a lot more tire than the car will ever need, but what the heck. Helped, but still felt a vibration. Finally today went back and got the tires re-balanced. Helped some, but no miracle fix. Went to the delaer where I bought it and got a 4 wheel alignment. It was out. Funny thing is the Right Rear was the one out-of-spec. The others were just tweaked to a finer adjustment when finished. Feels better.
  • dndcollectdndcollect Member Posts: 7
    stupid question here, but my wife ran over a nail I think and I am wondering if that is covered under warranty? I think they are goodyear tires, so i imagine the warranty is through them. do you know how i would go about getting this fixed under warranty, if thats even covered? also, she had the flat on the highway, she pulled over immediately and noticed some smoke coming from the flat, is that normal or no good? thanks
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    The tire manufacturer isn't at fault that you ran over a nail, so no, the warranty wouldn't cover it. Just like the bumper-to-bumper warranty from Honda won't cover you in a hailstorm.
  • bobby97zbobby97z Member Posts: 1
    I also have had spoiler issues. i have an 07 civic coupe with 40,000 miles. The dealer has replaced 4 spoilers and the ends keep getting loose. The 5th time they decided to take it to a local body shop who placed extra double sided tape on the sides, and again it started coming loose after ~2000 miles. This is so annoying. It doesn't look as streamlined as the car should look while decent sized gaps being noticed

    What ever happened to your civic, was your dealer ever able to resolve the issue or did you just let it be and deal with it. I wish they could put some heavy duty cement on the edges to hold it down :) The manager at my dealership said if this didn't work then he would get me in-touch with the regional service manager which im thinking they might try to offer me a cash settlement, but honestly I just want if fixed. Any luck with yours??

    thanks, Bobby
  • bim29bim29 Member Posts: 1
    I had some problems with my front bumper such as it wasn't stable and falls off on the right side of the bumper. I tried to stick it in somehow but it happens again sometime. Then earlier today I accidentally crushed my front bumper on the left side. Does Honda Guarantee program going to cover that for me or not??
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    I am wondering if anyone else has this problem and if there is a solution.
    The position of the wiper blades when shut off is below the area on the windshield that heats up from the defroster blowing. When there has been ice and/or snow and the car has been shut off. The only way to get the wiper blades free is to "chisel" them loose. There I am chopping at the delicate rubber with a giant, hard ice scrapper. There is no way for the car to heat them up so they just come loose by themselves without suffering any damage.
    I cannot believe that someone who has been designing and manufacturing cars for as many years as Honda has would create such a huge problem and be o.k. with it.
    These are basics people. As they say, "not rocket science".
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    They sit where they do so as to be below the air-stream over the vehicle, increasing fuel economy due to lower aerodynamic drag. I've always heard of people up north (I live in Birmingham, AL) leaving their wipers up after you arrive at home as if you were cleaning the windshield to prevent this from happening. Simply put them down when you're done scraping the next morning.

    It's not rocket science. :) Hope this solution works for you.
  • nsteevonsteevo Member Posts: 18
    rocket science. what would answering me have to include sarcasm?
    Mr. Alabama, obviously you don't have a clue what I"m talking about.
    You cannot leave the wipers in the up position. If you do, when you start the car to warm the windshield up the wipers will try to go thier resting position and you wiill ruin the wiper blades and maybe even the motor because they will not move.
    So you see, one can either bust them free in the resting place or up further on the windshield.
    You have to run the engine to warm the windshild to free the wipers.
    ???????????????????
    And I didn't know about the aerodynamic thing. Thanks for the info.
  • jet10000jet10000 Member Posts: 656
    Mr. Alabama, obviously you don't have a clue what I"m talking about.

    You're the one without a clue. Maybe when someone is giving you advice you could actually listen to what they're saying instead of acting like you're a know it all.

    thegraduate said:

    leaving their wipers up after you arrive at home as if you were cleaning the windshield to prevent this from happening.

    Have you ever cleaned your windshield? If not, you may not know that the wiper blades, have a pivot joint that permit the blade to be lifted off of the windshield. The advice is, with the wipers off and in the resting position, you grip the wiper and raise it on the pivot joint.

    When you start the car in the morning, it will not try to get the blades into the resting position as you claim because as far as the car knows, the blades ARE in the resting position. It has no sensor to know that the blades have been bent upwards on the pivot joint. If you don't believe me, put the blades in the cleaning position and start the car. You'll see no movement.

    Anyway, you warm up your windshield, clean off your glass, and then lower the blades back into position.

    It's simple, it's not rocket science---at least to most people.
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