Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

birdsi · March 2002

When I picked up my new 2002 Civic on 10/31/01, I didn't realize it was haunted. Quite a few times during the first week I had it, it acted like your are describing. When you put the key in and went to start, it wouldn't turn over or anything. The dash lights would come on but no juice to the starter. If I tried it again, it would usually start right up although sometimes you had to try several times to get it to turn over. I guessed it was something to do with the antitheft stuff in it but the manual says that the antitheft would allow the motor to turn over but not to start. About a week later, I had to go back to the dealer about some paperwork and I mentioned this problem to the sales rep. He of course didn't believe me. When I went out to leave, it acted up. I went and got the sales rep and knew that it would work fine but it wouldn't start for him either. He went and got a service tech who came out and of course it started right up several times. In fact, he was so goooood with the key, that it has never acted up since. In fact I had forgotton about it until I saw your post. I don't know what was wrong but since that first week, It hasn't done it again and I now have almost 10K miles on it.
Good luck.

civic_rcr · March 2002

Does anyone here owns a '99 Civic Si? If so, I recently bought my '99 Si, and noticed that the RPM is around 3500 while going 60 mph on freeway. I took it to the dealership and they said that it's normal... somehow I doubt it. Can anyone help me with this? Is it really normal for the RPM to be that high while going 60 mph? The technician also told me that the 99 Si doesn't have overdrive. That's why the RPM is that high. Is that true? Thanks for those who will respond.

5spd1 · March 2002

civic_rcr, I happened to test drive a 2000si yesterday and absolutely loved the car. I noticed that as I approached 75mph that RPMs were well over 4000 but dont remember the exact number. Based on that 3500 at 60 sounds in line. I know these cars are designed to run high RPMs but I plan on putting on 200k plus (65 mile RT commute, all highway) and it does make me wonder about engine wear. Does 15k for a car with 24k miles sound reasonable? Dealer is sitting tight on this number as I am sure there is lots of interest.

anichols1 · March 2002

Looking at buying a 1996 Civic LX that has 160,000 miles on it. Body integrity and interior is very good. Mechanically seems good except owner says we need to check idle when car heats up a little; tach registers a little low when at a stop. Could this be just a minor timing adjustment needed or could this be an indicator the timing belt is about to break? Owner doesn't think timing belt has ever been replaced, only a "major" tune-up about 70,000 miles ago. Owner asking price is $3,995 which is great price considering KBB pricing for "fair" ($4,805) or "good" ($5,525) condition. Comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Especially from Honda-lover mechanic(s).

cookster · March 2002

I have a 97 Civic EX with the 14" steel rims. The rims seems to have accumulated a noticable amount of surface corrosion over the past six months.
Is there any product out there that will remove this? Would a rust paint stand up on these rims?
Or would I be better of just to get new rims?

Thanks

isellhondas · March 2002

The idle has nothing to do with the timing belt. If you buy this car, have it replaced immediatly...it's long overdue!

That is a TON of miles but the price is excellent.

Pay the money for a used car inspection at your Honda dealer.

bostont · March 2002

I've just developed a rattle in what sounds like the passenger door of my new 2002 Civic EX with barely 1,000 miles on it. Someone else was talking about a problem like that but I can't remember which discussion. Has anyone else had this and is it something the dealer should be able to cure? I wanted to ask before calling the dealer and going over there since it's about 50 miles away. Thanks.

gr8batman · March 2002

The Si is geared for performance, and as such, is matched up to the higher reving Si engine. I noticed this right away, as my son had a 97 Civic EX when I purchased my '99 Si. As an older driver, (over 50) I preferred the gearing in the EX, but I wanted the "limited edition" model for resale purposes. I commute on the freeway 62 miles everyday at normal speeds of 75+, and get 27-29 mpg on premium fuel. This could vary depending on your gasoline. Several years ago when CA changed their fuel formulation, mileage on my Harley dropped considerably. I used to go 150 miles before I hit reserve; now I only get to about 120 miles. My Si now has 15K miles on it, and I use a synthetic oil in the engine and the transmission. The tranny shifts better when cold, and I believe the synthetic oil is superior when it comes to engine longevity also. Regular oil changes also help. We had 280K miles on our '85 Buick Century, and it still used less than a quart of oil between changes at about every 4K miles. We never used synthetic oil in it either. '99 Si's in my area of CA are advertised at $18K+ at the dealers, even with more than 24K miles on them. I have mine on the market for $16.5K, so I think that $15K sounds reasonable for one with 24K miles in excellent condition.

tco2634 · March 2002

On cold days when using the clutch the first time and pulling out the car jerks. Mileage is 63,000 and looking at the fluid in the clutch reservoir looks dirty. This has been coming on very slowly for the last couple of years and has got to a point where now it is time to do something about it. When it warms up the problem goes away. Does anyone have a answer ?

fxashun · March 2002

Fluid does absorb moisture over time. There is a replacement interval on it. I don't know right off hand though. Drain and flush the system. Might wanna do the brakes too while you're at it.

pvilla · March 2002

Hey Sgrd0q,post#1158, i put up a post about the very same problem,in early Jan
I took my 2001civic ex to the dealer when the car had 10000 miles and they performed
the 7.5k service check for $100.@ Paragon Honda in NYC. It turns out my struts were leaking.
They have changed the passengers side strut and i still have to go back to put the other one in since they had to order it, but the knock is gone. The service guy told me that it had been a common problem with the new civic. I'm not sure if its because of the redesign or because
i drive on real NYC crap roads,but in any case i was surprised they went that early.Other than that the car is great....
I blew away a Toyota Matrix on the Grand central Pkwy, Poor guy can't handle the 180HP
i killed w/my 127HP ex...ha

fxashun · March 2002

Is at the top of the tach above 6000rpm. Otherwise it's just a big ole slow box. I don't know what they were thinkin when they put a sports car engine in what is essentially a station wagon with attitude.

ronin_88 · March 2002

I've got a leaking strut too, on my 01 EX coupe... front driver's side, after 9000 miles. Part is on backorder, and I've been waiting 3 weeks now. Starting to get annoyed... but except for some knocking and gurgling sounds, the car still drives pretty well. I can be thankful for that at least.

pvilla · March 2002

hey Ronin_88, check w/the parts dept, I was waiting for them to call me too, i fiqured
that wasn't happening after 2wks. They should'n take that long to get it. The Matrix looks like a fun car to drive but really didn't feel confortable with the way Toyota does business. Before i got my 01 civic i was really interested in getting Tacoma Double cab pick-up. But they force u to get
the options which IMHO, should be on a car. All of a sudden, a $17000 truck becomes $24500
, this is BS man! I realized they do this with all Toyota, anyway I prefer Honda's.At least the engines&tranny's are still built in japan.

carguy62 · March 2002

Don't they build the engines in Ohio? At least for the domestic Accord and Civic.

ronin_88 · March 2002

I've been calling my dealer each week to check on that part. I finally called Honda Canada Customer Services and they started a file for me. That part is on back order cuz so many people have had problems with it. Apparently, all dealerships are waiting for that part (in Canada at least).

ronin_88 · March 2002

I'm pretty sure all North American Civic engines are built at the Ohio plants, like Carguy said.

raywicoff · March 2002

Honda had my 2002 Civic EX for a week. Finally,
after a few days they got it to not start. The bottom line is they discovered a "bad immobilizer
receiver" which they replaced and now things are
OK. During this time, I received a rental car
(no charge). If more details are desired by
anyone, I will can provide them. Thanks for
replies I have received!

raywicoff · March 2002

Honda had my car for a week and after a few days got it to not start. The bottom line is that it was a "bad immobilizer receiver" which they replaced and now things are OK. I received a rental car (no chg) during this time.

sgrd0q · March 2002

pvilla - thanks. I will check the struts with the dealer. The car started handling a little weird lately. I posted in the RSX topic.

hmpower · March 2002

I have a really annoying rattle in my 99 Ex coupe that seems to come from the point where the seatback and the lower cushion come together - it only shows up when the seat is empty, and I cannot track the source down - it sounds like a loose bracket of some type, but I can't find anything loose or hanging off underneath or around the hinges on the seat - anyone else ever have this problem?

bostont · March 2002

hmpower, I had a rattle/vibration in my 2002 EX that sounded like it was coming from the passenger DOOR that lasted less than a day and went away. Have no idea what it was. For all I know the door will fall off in the future or the window will stop working.

zoomzoom79 · March 2002

I just bought a 96 Civic EX. I have the remote that came with the car but it's not working. I replaced the battery in the remote and it still doesn't work. I happen to have the remote off of my 2001 Accord EX V6 which I sold ... so my question is can the Accord remote be programmed to work with the Civic? If not, what could be preventin the Civic remote from working?

gasguzz · March 2002

"I just bought a 96 Civic EX"
Did they replace the car battery? Anything goes in a used car.

"I replaced the battery"
There's the key - lost program.

"can the Accord remote be programmed"
Do you know how to program the remote, why don't you try it?

carguy62 · March 2002

Any links? I have some from an Accord that I would give to my brother to use on his Civic. Thanks.

gasguzz · March 2002

Try this:

http://www.handaaccessories.com/crv/keyless.gif

carguy62 · March 2002

My brother is a technophobe though, it will take some convincing to get him to use it.

auburn63 · March 2002

I am not for sure off hand if the remotes are the same or not I will try and check tomorrow as for the remote not working I have seen them go bad to the point they cant be reprogramed. The above link is a good programing mode so give it a try to see if it lost its program..

mgreene8 · March 2002

Hello to all and thanks for any/all help/suggestions. And my apologies for the length of the post. I've got a `98 Civic LE. Almost 46k miles. NO major problems or issues until March25. All scheduled maint. and oil changes have been done by the Dealer, I haven't missed a one. Car is not abused, no harsh or crazy driving. There are no stains or leaks showing up on the pavement underneath and I check on a regular basis. He's got great get-up-and-go when I need it on the interstate, but I don't drive there every day. Of late, he's parked more than he's going as I am not going as much.

On March25, 1st and 2nd gear start changing VERY harshly. This was after driving for about 30-45 minutes. 3rd gear was almost normal. I was out of town and checked with the H dealer there and they suggested a 'trans' flush or replacement of a solenoid valve. Either way, travel was finished and had to return home. On March26, took car to my dealer (no appt available on 25th), and problem still existed. They flushed and refilled 'trans' fluid, didn't help. They made other adjustments, didn't help. They called Honda proper, and they suggested what had already been done. The final analysis and diagnosis was to replace the 'trans',,,,,,which, at this point, is scheduled for next week. HOWEVER, on March27, I had errands to do and the 'trans' shifted SO smoothly that I had to watch my tach to make sure it was shifting. I know from experience - toyota and chevy - that transmissions do not heal themselves. Has anybody had this problem before and what did you do?? Thanks!!

p.s. I'm the 2nd owner and March25 was his 2yr 'anniversary.' He had just a little over 20k miles when purchased.

mgreene8 · March 2002

Hello to all!! And thanks in advance. To avoid repetition of my original post, I have outlined my transmission problem over on the ""Honda Civic Problems"" board. Post #1189. If this has happened to anyone else, I'd greatly appreciate knowing how you and your mechanic/Dealer solved the problem. I'm almost to the point of thinking that there is some unseen force involved. Again, thanks for your help!!

auburn63 · March 2002

chances are that either the flush got things in motion for the cure or that whatever was stuck in the valve is no longer stuck. They should have been cleaning and or replacing the linear valve(sometimes called the cpc valve) and flushing the transmission 3 times. Now as far as what to do that is your choice, there is the chance that it will never clog up again but there is an equal chance that it might. There is also a chance that the unit you have installed may end up with a problem. Since there are no gaurantees other than the warranty on it the choice is yours. My opinion
is that if they are going to warranty you a reman trans for free, you may as well start out with a new reman transmission since you already know that you atleast had a problem with the trans that is in the car now. Good luck with your choice..

clasdius753 · March 2002

I have a 93 civic LX automatic. Lately, the gas mileage seems really bad (20 mpg, town) and it has no power up until 3500-4000 RPM. I know it is a 1.5 liter and doesn't get peak power until that RPM, but it seems like my friends 93 LX has more power than mine. Someone told me that a faulty distributor may be to blame. Would this cause loss in power and gas mileage? Has anyone else had this problem? The repair is $400, so if it is just an illusion that is is losing power, I won't get it fixed. Thanks

gasguzz · March 2002

The remotes may be the same between 2 years of the same model, but they are not between different models. For one, the Civic does not have a power trunk release as the Accord may have.
The key is the FCC-ID, the CIV has its own relative series numbers (as is the Accord's).

carguy62 · March 2002

Use an Accord fob for a Civic?

On a side note, I have new fobs for my CR-V and I noticed they were slightly different than the ones I have from the Accord. The Accord's (made in the US) fobs seemed sealed, although I think there is a way to open it. Whereas the CR-V's (made in Japan) have an easily accessed way to replace the battery.

On another side note, what's a Civic LE?

osum02 · March 2002

I just bought a 2002 Honda Civic LX Sedan w/automatic trans. on March 8, 2002. It now has 800 miles on it. The car is great and I really like it a lot, but I have one concern. I've noticed when I first start the car in the morning or for that matter, just start the car for the first time on any given day, it cranks fine but has a bit of hesitation just prior to turning over. I used to work swing shift getting off at around 10PM and it would do the same thing then. These incidents have been when it's either relatively cool or it's been cold like in the 30's or 40's in outside temperature. I took it into the local Honda dealer and they did an "electrical system" evaluation and found that everything was normal and within specs. This included the battery, alternator, etc. I spoke with another Honda dealership service dept. manager and he says that this is a "characteristic" of this car. He explained that he has 3 fleet 2000 Civic's and when he has gone out to start one of them in the morning he also has experienced this same type of hesitation. He says it's mostly due to the fuel having drained completely out of the fuel injectors and into the fuel tank. Interestingly enough, this didn't happen when I left work the past couple of days around 5PM when it was still daylight and around 75 degrees and it sat for 9 hours straight without being started. This issue has got something to do with it sitting for a long time when it's cold or cooler. Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this? Is it really a characteristic of Civic and/or Honda's in general? Thanks for your input!

mgreene8 · March 2002

To auburn63, thanks for the input. That's the consensus so far; trash that was stuck came out of where it was and is now, hopefully, in the filter. Since Wednesday, March27, trans shifts extra smoothly; No problem. One thing that was suggested to me was "maybe" the Dealer has some information re this problem or model year and that was why `total replacement` was so quickly given as the answer to the problem. Sometimes things just shouldn't be this difficult, but I digress.

To carguy62 the Civic `LE` should have been a Civic LX. His owner has had a *very* bad week and just didn't catch the typo during edits. And if I could post an `embarrassed` face, I would.

auburn63 · March 2002

osum02
The problem could be that the fuel presure is bleeding off and needs to re-presurize before the start up. The sun still out in the 5pm start could have kept presure in the tank through the radiant heat. Try turning the key to the run position and waiting for 5 secounds before trying to start and see if the start up is better. This will presurize the system.

ronin_88 · March 2002

I have a 2001 EX coupe and never had any problems starting it. Cold weather was never an issue either. Even when my car sat outside all night in sub-zero temperatures, I had split second startup. Coldest morning we had this past winter was around -8 fahrenheit, and again, it gave me split second startup. No block heater either. Very reliable little car.

cokane5227 · April 2002

the starting problem is happening to my 02 accord too. but mine started happening after i hit 8,000 miles, not 800.
i'll try the method auburn63 has told and hopefully it'll start up fine so at least i know that the fuel pressure thing is the problem.
and good luck to u too.

cokane5227 · April 2002

i tried the method auburn63 told and it worked perfectly, so it is the gas pressure thing. is it a major problem? is there any simple way to fix it? or should i juz leave it alone?
cuz tonite when i started it without waiting for 5 secs in "on" position, the hesitation appeared again, it's not that bad but it's noticable.
any suggestions would be appreciated.

dtownfb · April 2002

cokane5227: This starting issue is fairly common on many different cars. I have a Malibu and it does the same thing int he morning or other cold starts. Normally mine jsut takes 1 to 2 seconds to turn over during these type starts (yes, it does sometime feel like 5 seconds). But i just dow as auburn suggested, turn the key to the "on" position, wait a couple of seconds then turn the car on.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. Now if it did it after you'v been driving around, then I would be worried.

spokane · April 2002

If anyone objects to the "5 second wait", a wait of only two seconds will pressurize the injector fuel rail just as well as in five seconds. A timer causes the fuel pump to run for the first two seconds after the ignition circuit is activated. This is sufficient time to build normal pressure. The pump stops after two seconds because of the possibility that that the operator might leave the ignition "on" without cranking the engine. In that situation, it would be undesirable to circulate fuel through the pump relief valve for a long period of time or to place such a load on the battery.

carguy62 · April 2002

Thanks to auburn that is a normal part of my starting procedure. I find it especially helpful when the gas is low---must be less pressure anyway.

mgreene8 · April 2002

Found out today that my dealer discovered a "bulletin" when they inquired last week about the problem I was having with my trans. ((even though it has been shifting extra smoothly since 03.27)) I don't know the specifics, but apparently it can be an intermittent problem and Honda's solution is a complete replace. I get my wheels back tomorrow.

mdriver · April 2002

Does anybody know how to turn off the 10k mile service light on a 2002 Civic? Probably disconnecting the ground at the battery would do it, but I don't want to have to reprogram my radio presets every 10k miles.

jbollt · April 2002

It's very easy, the instructions are in the manual...something like turning on the ignition, and holding in the reset button for the trip meter...but I don't have the manual in front of me now, so please verify before you do it.

zoomzoom79 · April 2002

IF it's the same as it was in my Accord you have to hold that reset button down for the trip meter while you turn your key in the ignition to the "ON" position and hold it there for 10 seconds or so. That's what reset it in my Accord but I would suggest checking your owner's manual.

h1vc · April 2002

Can anyone tell me how to change the dash light bulb in a 83 civic? Thanks.

leakintrunk · April 2002

I have a 1999 Honda Civic. Everytime it rains I have water in my trunk. I have taken it to the Honda dealership I purchased the car from several times for repair, but they seem to be unable to find the leak. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so did you have any luck? Any suggestions are welcomed.......

leakintrunk · April 2002

I have a 1999 Civic with leak in my trunk. I have taken it to the dealer I purchased the car at five time over the past several months, and they can not seem to find the leak. Everytime it rains I have water in the trunk. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so was it fixable? Any suggestions.......

Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions