Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

carguy62 · April 2002

In cases like this a garden hose may be used to see if you can pinpoint the leak. If it were me I'd go to another dealer if that is an option.

manualtrans · April 2002

I am a proud owner of a new 2002 Honda Civic EX. Upon reading the owner's manual, I came upon the maintenance section which said NOT to change the engine oil until after the first 3750miles. Is this correct? Or is it okay to change my engine oil earlier? I've heard that it's good to change the engine oil at around 1500 miles for the first oil change. Any Suggestions?

thirdhonda · April 2002

After reading a few posts, I see that my car has a few common problems: noise coming from the front end at low speeds, 2 gear sticks, and the handling/steering is getting worse. some folks have mentioned bad struts, and i think that might explain why my '02 has clicking/popping/ noise from the front end, and perhaps why the handling (which was very tight and easy to steer) is now loose. i'm also having intermittant problems with shifting up or down into 2nd: first gear "pops" out while shifting, even at low RPMs, and its hard to shift into 2nd. if anyone has had these problems, please let me know. thanks.

tayalynn1 · April 2002

We have a 2001 Honda Civic. Both of the front struts have leaked out all of the oil. Here's the kicker....Honda struts are on back-order. The dealership has NO IDEA how long it will be and there are not other struts that fit the civic. Has anyone else experienced this? By the way if your front end is making a clunking noise I suspect you may have the same problem that we do. Have I mentioned that Honda Customer Service totally sucks? Just mentioning it.
Taya

devore · April 2002

2nd gear "popping": I noticed this on my Civic when I first got it, but later on determined that it was operator error (me), and not the car. It turned out I was _slightly_ tugging on the stick to go from 1st to 2nd before fully depressing the clutch - when I did this, the stick felt like it "popped" out of 1st. I'm not saying that this is for sure what's going on in your case, but something to consider.

Loose steering: I felt like my steering got _much_ "easier" to steer (looser) after a recent alignment. Did you have the car aligned recently? I believe that wheel alignment can have some effect on how "easy" it feels to turn the wheel.

Struts: It seems ridiculous that Honda has replacement struts on backorder. Aren't the vehicles being damaged by driving them around without any oil in the struts? I would expect Honda to compensate me for damage incurred to my vehicle as a result of their inability to provide fixed parts.

bwilkins · April 2002

My 2001 civic coupe has no heat coming out of the floor registers. The heat on all other settings is over 120F but out of the floor it is in the 50's on a cold day (buffalo NY).

It's been to the dealer twice and they say it is normal and have shown me two other hondas with the same problem.

I contacted Honda USA and they say it is normal.

Anyone else have heat? Or is there a workaround.

devore · April 2002

Do you really mean "no" floor heat, or just very little floor heat? I've noticed that the amount of heat delivered to the driver's floor is less than I would like it. But there's definitely SOME heat.

I can't imagine the dealer saying that "no" floor heat would be normal. I mean, there's a vent there. If there's absolutely no air coming out of it, something's broke.

You can increase the flow of heat there by partially closing the passenger and driver's side air vents - when you engage the heat, a LOT of air comes out those side vents. Actually, air ALWAYS goes out those side vents, no matter what "mode" you're in. I think Honda made it this way since the side vents can be manually opened or closed.

bwilkins · April 2002

Yes, there is a bit of air flow coming out of the floor vent. But the temp of it is cold. I even brought in a high speed digital themometer to the dealer and we went over every vent. Top vents and dash vents over 120F. Floor vents (side vent closed or open - doesn't matter) is about 10 degrees above the outside air temperature.

FYI, the other civic they had on the lot did the same thing.

I went over all of it with Honda USA and after a couple of calls about it they left a message on my answering machine saying the car was working as designed and they considered my case closed.

devore · April 2002

I don't think it's your particular car, because my vent "works" as you describe, and I've seen this complaint come up before. I would agree with you that the heat coming out of that vent isn't sufficient.

Like I said, the workaround I've used is to set the vent dial on "floor" and to close both of the side vents. This forces all of the hot air to come out of the passenger and driver's side foot vents. That's worked well enough for me up in Wisconsin, but maybe things are colder in Buffalo.

bwilkins · April 2002

Yes, there is a bit of air flow coming out of the floor vent. But the temp of it is cold. I even brought in a high speed digital themometer to the dealer and we went over every vent. Top vents and dash vents over 120F. Floor vents (side vent closed or open - doesn't matter) is about 10 degrees above the outside air temperature.

FYI, the other civic they had on the lot did the same thing.

I went over all of it with Honda USA and after a couple of calls about it they left a message on my answering machine saying the car was working as designed and they considered my case closed.

mseals · April 2002

civic_rcr:

the rpm's of the 99-00 Si's is rather high. It might seem strange at first but you do get use to it. I drive based on feeling not rpm's so it might have been a little easier for me. You have to first realize that the power in the lower cam lobe is around 3500-4500 rpm's. I believe that the performance cam kicks in around 5000-5500 depending on speed, throttle position and gearing.

To answer you question, I would have to say that 3500 rpm's at 60 mph is about right. A formula that I came up with is ((speed/2)*100)+250=rpms so ((60/2)*100)+250=3250, does that sound about right.

mseals · April 2002

I wouldn't be too worried about engine wear. This is a well designed engine that has been un use for a long time and with regular maintenance, this engine should be able to easily give you 200k. This engine has been in use here in the US since 92 I believe. It was in use in Japan a few years before that. It is also considered the chevy 350 v-8 or today for tuners. This engine has consistantly been modified to put out an extremely larger amount of HP and torque, thus putting more strain on its components. I would almost go as far as to say that it is very similar to a sport bike engine. Running at 5000 for a consistent amount of time is no big deal for this engine. I also happen to have a CBR600 F4 and the engine similarities are numerous. The bike obviously runs at much higher rpm's but it also has a red line of about 14500 rpm's, not 8000. I run my engine hard once in a while, I consistenly do 80 on the freeway with no complaints. I get my oil changed every 5000 miles and have had nothing but regular maintenance. Oh yeah, I have a 00 that I bought Jan. 4, 2000. I have 48500 miles on it today.

beegreen · April 2002

My new 2002 Civic LX Sedan (500 miles) has a problem with the accelerator pedal. When driving, the pedal vibrates (like an unwanted massage). This is especially noticed during freeway driving. My foot feels numb when I'm finished driving!
I have returned the car to the dealer twice.
Both times they have stated that there is nothing wrong.
This is my fourth Civic ('93,'96,'99) and have never had any problems such as this in the past.
I can't see this as being "normal".
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bill

lawtimes2 · April 2002

Help-I have a 99 Civic EX and the car starts ocillations at around 40 mph. Feels like going over a series of railroad tracks. Have new tires and wheels balanced. It only occurs around 38-42 mph and I think it is the transmission. Any help?

racer11 · April 2002

if you have a hatch back i recently had the problem and fixed in an hour.

mikemw1 · April 2002

water is usually coming around tail lights.

stknight · April 2002

This is the same problem as experienced in posting #1189.

My '98 Civic EX has just had it's tranny flushed and the linear solenoid replaced to the tune of $450 and it still shifts VERY harshly. It only has 28,000 miles on it and the next step on Honda's list is to replace the transmission on my bill at $4000. The car is out of warranty but I've heard this exact problem with several people so it's obviously a design issue. Does anyone have any feedback, advice or experience on how to proceed??

britton2 · April 2002

I had an auto '86 Civic - now, I realize there are alot of years between my '86 and your '98 - but mine shifted very harshly too - there's wasn't anything wrong with it -just the way it was - last year I sold it and bought a '01 Corolla - the smoothest-shifting automatic car I've ever driven or ridden in for that matter - I honestly think it's a design issue

alyssazmom · April 2002

I purchased my 2002 Honda Civic EX Sedan (Blue) in January. Everything has been fine until the past two weeks when the back right passenger door would not open from either inside or out. Took it to the dealer and they said a part broke and instead of repairing it, they wanted to replace the part. So while waiting for the part to come in, they fixed it enough to atleast open it from the outside.

I pick up my car, go to put my daughter's booster seat in her spot (back right passenger side) and the seat belt is locked and won't give any slack. I'm in too much of a hurry to go back into the service area (hungry child) so I install her booster seat on the left side but I do call them when I get home.

Service says that it sounds serious, to not use the belt and when my door part comes in they will check it. Three days later the part is in, I get the call about my seat belt. The ball bearings in the seat belt broke and can not be repaired, again, the part has to be replaced which of course has to be ordered. I'm told that under no circumstances to use that belt b/c it will not hold my daughter (or any passenger for that matter) in an accident.

I'm still waiting for the part to come in but am a bit concerned over what has happened. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit but I sold my 1997 Ford Escort for the Honda Civic Sedan so that I wouldn't have to put up with repair problems again (My Escort had constant problems which became to costly after the warranty expired).

I'm hoping after this there won't be any more problems but my warranty does end at 12 months. Should I have gone with a 2003 Toyota Corolla or 2002 VW Jetta instead?

Also, has anyone else had any problems with chipping paint? Around the door handle (used and non used doors) and the gas cover is all chipped around the edges, it looks awful.

I love my Civic but am disappointed. I was hoping that other than normal maintence and the usual upkeep after so many miles, that my Civic would be problem-free...

Thanks,

Carrie

stknight · April 2002

Reference: #1189 and #1221

My dealer contacted American Honda and they have agreed to cover the cost of a new/rebuilt transmission if I cover labor. This is BIG news since a)I bought the car used through CarMax b)it is completely out of warranty. By the time the problem is solved, I will be out $450 for replacing a solenoid/tranny flush and now 7 hours labor for installation of the new tranny at roughly $700. It's expensive and shouldn't have been a problem but my kudos to Honda for fessing up to the problem and helping to cover what could have been a $4000 repair bill.

bjk2001 · April 2002

manualtrans:

Don't change your oil at 1500 miles. If you call Honda customer service they will tell you to keep the original oil in there as long as possible. Factory oil has special additive for break in period. I learned this when I purchased my 01 Odyssey and read it thru threads.

bjk

devore · May 2002

Hey folks,

I've seen a few posts here about Civic struts leaking/losing the gas inside them, and that they make a "clunking" noise when this happens.

I've noticed that my struts have started "creaking" when I push down on the rear or front right of the car. It's not a "clunk" and I don't hear anything when I drive, but it doesn't seem like the struts should be "squeaking" or "creaking" at this stage (23K miles). Has anyone else experienced this?

ronin_88 · May 2002

Your paint should not be chipping so badly. But that should be covered by your warranty too. I have a 01 EX coupe and the paint is still fine even after a harsh winter up here.

And why is your warranty up after only 12 months? Your bumper to bumper warranty should be 36 months.

ronin_88 · May 2002

Yes, the front struts for the 2001+ Civics are on backorder all over North America. My left front one was leaking, and I had to wait 6 weeks for the part to come in, but they finally fixed it.

devore · May 2002

Thanks for the info - but were your struts "creaking" or "clunking"? I'm not sure if my problem is the same as the ones I've been hearing about. I don't hear any clunks, but when I press down on the car, it creaks and squeaks pretty loudly. It might just be a lubrication issue - I do wash my wheel wells pretty vigourously.

iluvhondas · May 2002

My civic (1995, 105K miles) is overheating.

Radiator cap and thermostat has been changed. No visible leaks. What I have noticed is the radiator seems to be pushing coolant into the overflow tank after the car has been driven for a while (~20miles). This should only happen when the pressure exceeds the rated pressure of the cap (16lbs). The odd thing is the system isn't pulling back the coolant from the overflow tank when the engine cools and the pressure reduces. Therefore, I'm "manually" doing this myself.

My theory is the head gasket is beginning to crack allowing combustion gases into the cooling system. This would raise the pressure thus "popping" the rad cap. But why wouldn't it pull the coolant back? Any theories?

ronin_88 · May 2002

My one strut (front left) was making all sorts of sounds when going over bumps or potholes. Thuds, gurgles, squeaks, clunks... you name it.

A good way to tell is by going over a speed bump at very low speed. After the front end lands on the other side, if you feel the shock-absorber "bottoming-out" (i.e., a "thud" that you can actually feel), chances are you have a leaking strut.

Regardless of the sound, you should get it checked out, since it is covered by your warranty.

alyssazmom · May 2002

Thanks for posting

Honda looked at the paint around the gas cover and door handles, buffed the paint chips off and did a bit touch up paint. Lo and behold the paint looks fantastic. They aren't sure why it started to chip since I have had it waxed once since I purchased my Civic in Jan. '02. Just like the door and buckle, no explanation could be given.

My Civic is once again back at Honda service because they had installed the belt buckle wrong. I just want my Civic back! :0) Despite my recent problems with it (which thankfully haven't been electrical or worse) I would definitely buy my 2002 Honda Civic again in a heartbeat- although maybe in green or silver

As for my warranty, where I had purchased my Civic just informed me incorrectly. My warranty IS the standard 3 years or 36,000 miles. Now I'm not sure WHAT 12 months/12,000 miles warranty he was talking about. Maybe parts and labor from the time of service?

Anyway, I just want my Civic back!

ronin_88 · May 2002

Glad to hear your paint is back to normal.

As for the 1 year/12,000 mi warranty, yes, that does sounds like warranty on new parts and service done on your car, but ONLY IF it extends past your original warranty period... meaning if you get some servicing work done after just 1 year of ownership, the warranty on that new servicing work should still last another 2 years under the original bumper-to-bumper warranty of your new car.

igloomaster · May 2002

howdy. weird thing just started happening.

my gas pedal will stick a bit when starting off or after backing off of the pedal completely and then reapplying pressure.

for example -- i will apply the normal 'gentle' pressure to get going, and the pedal doesn't want to move. the only way i can describe how it feels is that of an unlubricated door hinge. it takes more muscle to get it to do it's thing.

adding a little more pressure than i am comfortable/familiar with gets the pedal to work, but results in too much of a burst in speed due to the pressure needed to get the pedal to go down.

i tried to grease up the joints on the pedal itself, but that didn't help at all. any ideas?

alcan · May 2002

Try an aerosol throttle body cleaner and old toothbrush to clean the throttle plate and throttle body bore.

igloomaster · May 2002

thanks for the suggestion, but where is the throttle plate and throttle body bore? i'm pretty much a novice when it comes to this stuff. are these parts easy to see if i squeeze myself under the car?

copyed1 · May 2002

I have a 1998 Honda Civic, which has something new to me -- a "shift lock release" beside the shift. It's a little slot that you press a key into.
More than half the time, when I use the key to turn off the engine, my key will not complete its turn, so I can't get it out. (The engine does go off.) The shift is also stuck at this point.
I then press another key (I have to keep an extra key in the car) into the shift lock release. I can them shift out of park, shift back into park, and then my key will complete the turn so I can take it out.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution?

auburn63 · May 2002

soundsa if your shift position indicator is bad. Does the park light light on when you are having this problem?

rangers_f · May 2002

Hey guys:
I have a 2000 Civic EX coupe. For a few months now, I'v been banging my head trying to find out where an annoying rubbing like noise was coming from. It sounded like two piece of rubber/plastic were rubbing against each other whenever I would run over a bump. Now when the weather gets hot, the noise goes away. I finally figured out that the noise was coming out of the sun roof. I opened the sun roof and ran over the same bumps that I would hear the noise from when close, and nothing. Has anyone run into this same problem? I hope its not much of a problem, would anyone have a clue? Thanks alot.

Art

auburn63 · May 2002

Honda has slip tape available but it is just as easy to pick up some Shinitsu greese from honda and lube the seal when needed. Just apply it all around the sunroof seal and the noise will go away..

alcan · May 2002

The throttle body is on top. It's the part which the air intake ducting from the air filter attaches to.

igloomaster · May 2002

i just had an oil change and asked the mechanic to look at it; the mechanic said the all of those throttle parts were dirty as hell...
he cleaned everything up and we're back to normal.

thanks for the tip!

copyed1 · May 2002

Good idea! In fact, the Park light and the Drive light are BOTH on. What do I need to do about it?

auburn63 · May 2002

when first turning on the ignition switch they both can come on but if you are saying that they both stay on once the car is idling then you should disconnect the shift position switch and see if they go out if they do then maybe your switch has gone bad..

ronin_88 · May 2002

Yes, this is a very common problem on Hondas. Although other makes of cars have this problem too. You will notice that if you push very gently on the closed sunroof, it will move very slightly, and make that squeaking sound, if your rubber seal is dry. It was driving me nuts whenever I went over bumps. Took me 3 months to figure out where it was coming from.

Dealer just lubricated the rubber seal with something called Kleen-Slip and cured it.

bazil · May 2002

I have a 1999 Honda Civic DX with 22000 miles on it, have babied it from the start, and my check engine light has come on! I have done the gas cap routine and it is still on. I read that you can download the trouble codes, and access the LED display to find out what is wrong, but the display is supposed to be somewhere under the carpet on the passenger side of the car, and I can't find it. I also can't afford to take it to be checked, because they charge 1 hour labour here just to take a look.

Any suggestions?

auburn63 · May 2002

Are you out of the normal warranty period. Here in the US it is 3 years 36,000 miles, is Canada differant? On the right side under the glove box frame you should find a few connectors one of them being a 2 pin white or blue connector. That is the one you want to jump the terminals together in order to get a blinking code. However the best way is with a scan tool. When you first checked your gas cap was it loose? If so, then you probably fixed your problem and now need to reset the light.

anilsingh · May 2002

I have a 96 civic Lx with 75K on. The first and second gear shift hard so i took it to the dealer, they said it was the transmission and it need to be rebuilt or replace. I had it replaced with a used one, but the check engine light came on also the the D4 gear selector light on the dash keep flashing; the Guy that changed the transmission for me said I need to get the codes from the old transmission earase and that will solve the problem but the used transmission is still doing the same thing (shifting hard and making a tumping noise). Any idea. I need help please.

rickinnj8 · May 2002

I have a '96 Civic EX coupe with 83K on it. For the last two years I have noticed raised areas on the front section of the sunroof weather stripping. It appears to be from rust collecting under the rubber. I have an extended warranty, but they only cover the sunroof motor. I have noticed this same thing on lots of other Civics, so I know it's been a problem for many owners. I even noticed that there are TSB's on this subject.

Has anyone had any luck getting Honda to admit it is a problem and had them fix it? I did get a quote from a local dealer of over $400 to replace the entire sunroof, but before I go that route, I want to see what others think.

bazil · May 2002

Yes, we have the same warranty, unfortunately mine had just passed the warranty period of 3 years two months ago. I almost wonder if it is some sort of conspiracy! I'm not sure if the gas cap was loose, it didn't seem to be, however, I did have my oil changed about two weeks previously, and wonder if that was the problem, but everything seems fine on that front. As for the location of the LED, when you say under the glove box, do you mean when I take out the glove box, or the square metal box that is under the plastic on the passenger side footwell?

beachlover · May 2002

What I need to know is how to shut off my daytime running lights on my 1990 honda civic hatchback.Anybody have any ideas??TIA

gdkarma74 · May 2002

Hello all,

I have a 2002 Civic LX sedan that was purchased in October 2001. I have about 9500 miles on it but I am having a few problems with it that I am finding upsetting. I sold my 1990 Civic DX to buy this new one and it had 189,000 miles on it, so I expected a lot of my new car.

I have to say that I have baby'd this car and have had only oil changes to this point as far as maintenance is concerned. At about 8,000 miles I started to notice that the car was hestitating when I started in the morning or after it had been sitting for a while. I live in northeast so most of the times when it would sit it was cold, so I thought maybe the warmer weather would change things. I was wrong the problem only got worse.

In addition to the starting issue, I have noticed that the car seems to rev extremely high before the automatic trans decides to shift gears. Also the exhaust seems to be getting louder. Cosmetically I have 2 bigs paint chips right down to the sheet metal on my hood and many on the front grill, not to mention that my factory brand new windshield wipers actually scratched my windshield! Aside from the tell-tale 88-91 body rust that my old civic suffered from the paint was never chipped like it is on my new car??? I am wondering what has happend to Honda's quality?

The car has been at the dealership for 2 days now while they try work out all these problems. They are replacing my windshield acknowledging that the wipers caused the damage. They have told me the starting problem was been present in Accords but mine is the first Civic they had seen. They contact Honda Engineers and were told that the starting issue is due to the valves being too tight?? SO they have adjusted the valves and are holding the car overnight to test the start in the morning. They still have no answer for me as to why the engines is revving so high before shifting or why the exhaust is loud.

I have to say that I am not pleased with the list of problems I am having so early on in this cars life, I was planning on having this car for 6-10 years thining it would pass the test with flying colors. I am also having problems with my local dealerships because I didn't buy the car from them. Has anyone else been having these issues. I went 45 minutes away so that I could get the car for $200 over invoice plus $60 application fee, none of my local dealers would budge. I still thought I would get good service but it doesn't seem to be the case. I was thinking of contacting Honda corporate about this.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to know if anyone else has been having these problems and what your dealerships have done for you.

Thanks for any info.
Gdkarma74

gasguzz · May 2002

"why the engines is revving so high before shifting"
Honda's "normally" have high-rev engines, that's where the power is. Where is it shifting exactly (in gears/RPMs)? It will also rev higher in the a.m. until it warms (thank you EPA).

rangers_f · June 2002

Hey
If you go to the Honda web page, you can put in your VIN number of your Honda and it will tell you whether your specific car has a recall on it or not. When I first bought my car, the dealer gave me this service booklet that I "should" follow. The booklet is following the severe driving conditions servicing. At first I went by the thing, until I looked at the owners manual. I am almost at my 22,500 service and the dealers booklet tells me to have the mechanics check out all this BS and the only real service being done is an Oil Change and Tire Rotated. Check this check that. Like they are really checking that crap. So unless you guys are in "severe driving conditions" watch out to the dealers BS servicing. The dealers mechanics are the same crooks as anyone else. They just hide behind the "honesty" of the Honda dealers name. What a joke.

Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions