I think you can check the condition of the belt by removing the top plastic cover on the timing belt. If you can see the side of the belt it will tell you alot. If it is cracking and ragged looking it most likeley has not been replaced. If memory serves me right, on '92 the timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles. So, the previous owner, if he/she is the original owner, should have replaced the belt twice by now. If the previous owner insists that the belt was replaced, have him/her sign a notarized affidavit that it was performed at what shop, and when. That way, if the engine is messed up due to timing belt filure, you will have a legal foot to stand on. If the previous owner refuses to sign a notarized affidavit, you know the belt was not replaced. I think if I was to pay $500 to have the belt replaced I would make sure I saved the recipt, seems like the owner was pretty meticulous about other minor maintenance recipts, but failed to save the one that cost the most.
Seems like the post was deleted, but good observation TheRacoon. Yes, the new CR-V has i-VTEC as well. How is your red CR-V doing? It's got to be over 100,000 miles by now. Goldie got stolen, read about it on the "other" site. I got a the new Si in January 2003.
That's a 90,000 mile belt and it CAN be checked without taking the engine apart.
It's about a half hour labor to remove enough stuff to enable the mechanic to pry the cover back enough to get a good look at it. If it's only 20,000 miles old it'll look new.
Usually, once it's apart, the other belts are replaced simply as a matter of smart caution. Same with the water pump. It's just dumb to not replace those things since it's apart anyway.
So...it seems to me that there may be three possibilities here.
1. The shop is trying to sell you belts that aren't really in need of replacement.
2. The timing belt was never replaced
3. The previous owner was a cheapskate who refused to have the belts done when the timing belt was replaced.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I called the dealer and they quoted $625 to have timing belt, all of the accessory belts, water pump, valve cover casket, and coolant replaced. Seems like a better price than the independent shop quoted. I guess I do live in an expensive part of the country.
I hadn't heard about the theft. I'm sorry to hear that. My CR-V's running fine, but only about 62,000 miles on it to date. Since my work either has been on an airplane or working from home, I don't put many miles on it.
Your profile says you're in Rochester, NY. I used to live there, actually in Webster. I didn't like the Honda dealers in town, but Ontario Honda in Canandaigua always treated me well.
Thanks for the advice. I live in East Rochester and planned on going to Dick Ide Honda just down the road. I've had no experience with the local dealers. What was it you didn't care for? It might make me consider the 20 minute trip over there.
The people at Ontario Honda, both sales and especially service, were nicer and seemed more knowledgeable. For example, when my CR-V needed the 30,000 mile service I asked about changing the fluid in the rear differential. There had been some reports on the internet that the recommended change interval was too long. The Dick Ide service department said it didn't need to be changed. Ontario Honda said that they had heard there were some reported problems, and were recommending to their customers that it be changed every 30,000 miles. The service department also has a free vehicle loaner program, you just have to fill it up with gas before you return it. Just ask about a loaner when you make the appointment for the work.
I'm only sorry I don't live in the Rochester area anymore, as I'm not nearly as happy with the Honda dealers here in Indy.
Dear folks, I need your advice on this. Please read along I’d greatly appreciate it. On 02/21/2004 I bought a 2004 Civic sedan. It has some cosmetic problems. It has been a month & 3 days and I have already paid the dealership 6 visits .problem still NOT solved!!
The next day I bought the vehicle I found a dent on the trunk lid (actually only looked like a dent because it feels smooth turned out to be caused by impurity in paint), and at the right rear door, there is an uneven color spot. Quite large, about 2/3 of palm size. It looks like a haze area and is much whiter than the silver body color. It was in the evening when I purchased the car. But in the sunlight the blemish is very noticeable.
Then there are my 6 visits to the dealership (and all the time I wasted):
1st time, I took it back for a clean-up the next day (because the clean service is closed when I bought it). I showed the sales the problems. He said come back later to get the “dent” fixed and the blemish was already “buffed out” in cleaning.
2nd time, back to adjust car alignment (turned out to be unbalanced tire pressure). Blemish still there. Dealer said come on a Monday to fix “dent” and “blemish”.
3rd time, went on a Monday. Dealer said a Honda representative came on Thursday and asked me to come back on Thur.
4th time, a Thursday. Dearer said they will take the car to body shop for repaint and polish. BUT, it will take 3 days and they can’t cover rental car bills at weekend. Asked me to come back on Mon.
5th time, this Monday. Dropped my car and got a rental car.
6th time, today. They said the car is ready. The “dent’ on the trunk was repaired but the blemish is STILL THERE! Although the dealer said they’d fix it!
I spent half an hour arguing with the dealer (talked to service manager) on this issue .and missed my afternoon class. They dodged the responsibility. They said it is a problem between me and Honda .nothing to do with them. They said the Honda representative would come again in 3 weeks and I need to take the car there AGAIN to have them look at it. They also said even if the door is repainted, it may not look the same as factory paint. Basically they just want me to live with it! They knew the problem from the very beginning and promised to fix it but never did. Now after I wasted all the time and energy, they are in complete denial. They said they’d do nothing about it and also wouldn’t offer any kind of compensation: “Go to Honda if you want compensation”! I paid full price for a BRAND NEW car and expected it to be flawless ..now I ended up with one with a defect, not to mention all this hassle. Is that fair?
Now seems I have no choice but to wait 3 weeks and drive 20 min to the dealer again, when the Honda people are there. They may repaint it or not. And as the dealer said, the door may look different even after repainting. Either way I ended up with a defect car. And it is not like a computer or clothes that you can just exchange when there is a defect. It is a vehicle.
I was angry and now very unhappy. It has been a very unpleasant and tiring experience dealing with the Honda dealership. Where can I complain about this? BBB? But I still have to go back to the dealer in the future and don’t want that they might give me trouble later. Should I wait 3 weeks or contact the manufacture myself now? Can I ask for compensation from Honda?
I feel frustrated. Could you guys please give me some advice? Please. Thank you very much! And thanks for reading this far.
Great news, if you have a "gurgling" sound on new civics, like I did, there seems to be a solution. When I took it to the dealership, they "bled" the coolant system of air bubbles. It didn't seem like this solved the problem at first, but the noise has subsequently went away. Hope this helps anyone else with the same problem. Other than a couple rattles, one in the sun roof, one on the left dash, and one in the seatbelt anchor, my '04 Civic is great. I guess you can't expect the world out of an economy car, so I'm happy.
Forget about compensation from Honda or the dealer, that will never happen. However, the dealer should have easily had whoever does their body work repaint your door without having to go through a Honda Rep to make it happen. Any good body shop should easily be a able to match the paint, so that really shouldn't be a big deal. Call Honda direct and report your trouble, but know that Honda can't force the dealer to do the repair. If the color problem is that obvious, just take it to another Honda dealer to have the repair done there. You don't have to have it repaired where you bought it and your dealer sounds like a lost cause. Good luck!
Sorry to hear that you're not happy with your Civic or the dealership. There are many ways of "pursuading" a dealership to make good on their promise.
The first thing would be the threat of bad publicity. I'm sure your state or city has a news/consumer help line. Here in the SF CA bay area we have TV news programs called "Contact 4" (KRON) and "7 on Your Side" (ABC network TV). You can write, e-mail, or call the TV news media and tell them your story. I'm sure that the dealer would rather pay to have your whole car repainted than to risk bad publicity and the loss of business.
Another thing you can do is to report the problem to the BBB.
If your state has a Department of Consumer Affairs, you might want to call them and see if they can help.
Last, you can contact the Office of the Attorney General of your state and file complaint against the dealership.
If there are other dealerships near you, maybe you can ask them if they could help you. Sometimes another dealership will try to please new customers to win their business.
Good luck to you.
By the way, there are quite a few people on this board with silver cars that have bad factory paint. The color on the body panels don't match up. Some parts are light and others are dark or patchy. I've seen several silver Civics at my local dealership with bad paint. That's why I changed my mind on buying a silver Civic and bought a navy blue one instead.
I hope your experience, as bad as it is, doesn't go beyond poor service. Let me share my experience which might help.
In December 2002, I purchased one of few last remaining NEW 02 Naples Gold Accord EX-L Auto. I liked the car, but I noticed many subtle things that raised some red flags. 1) The squeaks didn't sound like loose interior trim or wires, but sounded like it was a result of structural/frame problems. It squeaked not on a bumpy road, but on a surface with incline. 2) Aftermarket wheels on car. The dealer did disclose that the stock alloys were stolen from dealer lot, but car suffered no damage. 3) Louder road noise than LX, even though EX should have more sound-deadening material 4) Dusty engine bay 5) Car had 65 miles on odometer 6) Almost a year passed between manufacture date and date of sale
I should have questioned more when the dealer told me the stock wheels were stolen. But my old car broke down, and I rushed to buy a new car. But after the sale, I researched further by asking the body shop that inspected the car after the robbery, and also asked an unsuspecting cashier for pre-sale service records on the car. What I found was a body shop estimate of $3500. But the salesmen told me there was no damage.
I researched California laws regarding car sales, and found that while the dealers don't have to disclose certain things, damages to suspension, frame, and other specified areas would have to be disclosed. The body shop estimate revealed damage to the shocks - suspension. I drafted a letter of complaint, and sent a copy to dealer management and American Honda. American Honda was mostly toothless and basically said that the dealer was an independent business and that Honda would be limited in forcing the dealer to take action.
Fortunately, the dealer management acted swiftly. I'm not sure if it was because I was able show what laws they broke, or because of my subtle suggestion of a lawsuit, the dealer offered to give me full refund (even after 31 days of use and 5000 miles on the odometer) or work out another alternative. Looking back, I wish I would've kept the car and asked for lower price. But I bought a Civic EX coupe instead.
Sorry it had to happen to you, but i have two words for you "Lemon Law" You can file the suit your self and as soon as Honda is served they will do everything possible to avoid buying the car back. Another possibility, take it to a very good body shop and have them repaint the door and trunk lid or what other visual defects you saw. make sure they inspect the car and give you written estimate of "Factory defects" then take American honda and the dealer to small claims court and sue for the job. You will not get compensation for the time lost and hassle, but it will cost the dealer and honda more money as they will have to have a lawyer there and pay him/her $150-$250/hour. You, as individual, don't need a lawyer to fight in small claims.
Thanks a lot for the input. I just called American Honda's Customer Relations. The CSR lady said she could only send an email to the dealership to urge them to accelerate on this issue. But she was even not sure that they'd respond. And she basically said the only thing I could do is to wait for the Honda representative's visit. But actually the representative was here just last week and the service manager said the problem is reported and would be resolved. What made me angry is that they promised they'd get it fixed, never did and pushed me around. I felt fooled. Anyway, I asked the CSR to request the dealer to respond by tomorrow. And I said I am prepared to file complaint via fax to Honda, Sonic Automotive (The dealership is Crest Honda in Nashville Tenneessee, a division of Sonic), and local BBB.
Again, thank you all for your kind advice. I will update later.
Hi all. I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX. I haven't had a problem with this car until last week when I started hearing this "gurgling" sound. I took it to the dealer and they said I had a cracked radiator (how did that happen??) and they replaced it under warranty. So I was happy thinking it was fixed. The gurgling noise, however, is still there. I took it back to the dealer today and I'm hoping that they can fix it. Perhaps the coolant systme does need to be "bled" out. I just hope the sound goes away. I don't really like the sound of water moving in my car!
When does it gurgle? I can only hear mine do it when I first hit the gas in the morning after the vehicle sitting all night. I don't hear it at all after that. I wanna say that a previous poster had the same problem and they purged the air out of the coolant system to fix it.
It gurgles when I first hit the gas in the morning. It also gurgles whenever I come to a complete stop and then start to accelerate again. The other day I drove on the highway and when I came to a stop after that, it made its gurgling sound again. It doesn't matter if the fan is on or not or on how long it's been running, etc.
Well the dealer told me that I had an air pocket in my coolant system and that they bled it out. I didn't hear the gurgling sound today, so hopefully that is a good sign. Time will tell.. Had some bad experience w/dealers before so I'm weary about trusting what they did at times (namely did they tinker with anything else).
i have a 02 civic ex i have had the front struts replaced once and i believe they are going to need replaced again soon i have had 2 motor mounts replaced and the air conditioner hose replaced twice the car only has 27000 miles on it and now its leaking antifreeze so back to the honda dealer again
Tough luck man. It sounds like you got some kind of a lemon. I would start looking into your state's lemon laws, however I think in most states it has to be the same problem over and over again, whereas you have a car that develops a new problem every time.
I have a 93 Civic DX and just recently the car would not start. The engine would flood and there is a strong smell of gas coming from the engine bay. I removed the spark plugs and they are soaking wet with gas. I have replaced the coolant temp sensor and still the car won't start. Please help!!
My Honda Civic '95 Hatchback has little car seat problem i.e., driver seat. I would like to remove it from car and fix it. Can anybody help me with how to uninstall instructions.
I would suggest you buy the manual either at auto store or online and helmsinc.com if you areplanning on doing some work on your car. The autstore manual, either Chilton or Hayes are decent, but do not compare to Helms manual. Helms manual is pricey though, about $70, but you can find one for under $50 on ebay. Chilton and Hayes are about $20. Before I had Helms, I thought Hayes was better than Chilton, but Helms is the best. That is why Honda dealerships use Helms, or Helms is Honda's official manual, either way it is worth the money if you do the work your self. Seat removal should be straight forward 4 bolts holding the rails down to the floor pan. There might be a plug for the seatbelt buckle, and you have to find the coupling to un-do it.
My brother has a 99 Civic LX(67,000 KM) and the emission light keeps coming on. He has had the cellinoid replaced, the computer replaced and the shop just had it for a few days to replace something else. And lo and behold the light came on again. Fortunately he only had to pay for the Cellinoid (Cad300). Do you know if there were any secret waaranties on this problem or what might be causing it. Also his rims are rusting like crazy. has anyone else had this problem? Thanks
I have a 94 civic dx with 110,000 miles on it and the engine will not start. The engine will turn over but, the spark plugs wont spark. I replaced the spark plugs two months ago. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
Sounds like a classic case of a bad rotor and distributor cap. This is a very easy fix you can do yourself and the parts should be under $50. Most auto stores will have these in stock. If you have questions on changing these, let me know.
I just bought a 2004 Honda Civic (approx. 500 miles now, and it had 8 when I pulled it off the lot) and the other day, I noticed that the coolant level when the car was cold was beneath the "MIN" level. Do Honda's burn coolant that fast! I've owned a Chevette, Hyundai Excel and Protege and I've never seen anything like this. Also, I hear a ticking sound when I turn the car off. It ends gradually after a few minutes. This is my first Honda. Is this normal?
Honda's do not burn coolant that fast. The people that prepped your vehicle may have gotten lazy and forgot to check the level or you have a mild leak somewhere. The ticking sound when you turn off the car is most likely your exhaust starting to return back to its normal diameter after its experienced some thermal expansion while driving. That is normal. My 95 did it as my current 03.
Thanks for the web site. My thought was the ingnitor to so I took it out. A good friend of mine who has been a mechanic for over 20 yeas is helping my, but he usally dones't work on hondas. His bet was that it was the ignitor to, but he wants to get it tested first because it is a $200 dollar part. Do you know of a place that we could get the Ingitor tested? He has also found out that there is no injector drive along with no spark. Thanks
I just bought an 04 Civic EX Couple and I love it!! Its so much fun to drive with the 5 speed. I had the gurgling sound but since I have put a couple hundred miles on the car it has gone away. No other rattles or problems to report of at this time. I am pleased with the car in every way. I just had my first fillup the other night and so far I am getting 31MPG around town. I heard that after the motor gets some miles on it the fuel economy will slightly increase as well. I cant wait to take a road trip and see what kind of mileage I really get. I did notice on thing, at 80MPH in 5th gear the engine revs about 4000RPM seems a little high, the automatic coupe I drove before was only at around 3000RPM at the same speed. Is this normal? The engine seems perfectly happy at this speed and is peppy and doesnt require downshifting to pass people. The other question I had was about the durability of the 5 speed transmission. I have only had 1 other manual transmission car before, and I really love the Civic in a 5 speed. I am doing my best to start off and shift smoothly. I never gind the gears or rev it excessively high starting off the line. Anyone know how long a clutch in these usually lasts? This was my biggest fear in getting a stick, but the auto just didnt seam as enjoyable to drive.
I am glad you are enjoying your Civic with a manual tranny. It is such a rarity these days to see people who actually drive stick. Majority of people cite traffic as the reason they don't want to drive stick, this is inline with the excuse fat people have, blaming the food industry for making them fat. You made the right choice. I drive from CT to NJ everyday and see lots of traffic, I have yet to be bothered by the manual in traffic, I had much more difficulty driving an auto in traffic. It was slower to shift, it did not have the immediate pick up, and only my right calf was getting a work out. With the manual, i can drive in traffic at 5 mph without clutching, shifting, or using brakes. I just play with the throttle. But I have an Si, which is geared much lower than regular Civic.
Anyway, Honda manuals are probably the best manual transmissions out there. They are the best manuals in the economy car category. The closest is BMW manual, but it comes with a more expensive car. With regular maintenance a Honda manual will last a very long time, over 300,000 miles. a clutch will give you about 200,000 miles before it would really need replacing. But the clutch longevity is dependant on the driver. Clutch replacement at Honda is probably $400-$600, but one can do it it home. If you can bench 100 lbs (most people who work out can easily do that) you don't need a tranny lift. The clutch itself is $50-$80 part with the appropriate replacement hardware.
My dad had a '92 Civic, and the ignitor failed, but it had just become the subject of a recall by Honda. I'm not sure if it applied to your year Honda as well. Couldn't hurt to give the dealer a call to check.
As far as testing, I'm sure there is some way to do it - you'd need to look in one of those Helms/Chilton books for testing procedures.
My friend who is a mechanic referred to "no injector drive" as meaning that there is no fuel injected into the engine and their is not any power at the injectors. That is what I understand by it anyway. I ended up calling a repair shop that speaciliizes in hondas and they said that it is most likely the ingnitor or the whole distributor. They said we can't figure out the exact problem without the code readers and testers for honda's, which they have. They can't get at my car until next week so I will see what they say when they take a look at it.
I have 2002 Honda civic and it has about 22,000 Miles. Recently i started hearing humming noice when i drive the car. Dealer checked it out and said, i need to replace all four tires and it is going to cost aroudn $350. I just feel that, replacing 4 tires after 22,000 is two early. Just wanted to check what others have experienced with Civics. Also if i have to replace the tires, are there any recommendations?
The owner manual teaches you how to check the tires. Did you follow the manual to rotate tires on scheudle? If they really need to be replaced, don't replace with the original RE92. There are dozens of brand and model better than the RE92.
They are very necessary and must be replaced every 2 years or your airflow will be affected. I pulled mine out at exactly 2 years with less than 24,000 miles and they were pretty dirty. I live in a low dust area, so I can only imagine how bad they can become. Try to buy the filters at Autozone or Discount Auto. I paid under $15 bucks for the exact same filters, but if you aren't mechanically inclined, it's not a job you should try on your own.
How do you adjust the headlight aim on a 1997 Civic? I just replaced both headlight assemblies because they had become yellowed and hazy, but now the headlight beams are all messed up. Thanks!
Qoute #2879 of 2882 Civic pollen filters by mredwardaa Apr 16, 2004 (11:38 pm) In my opinion Honda pollen filters are pricey. Dealer price $26.oo. HandA are $19.50. but shipping is $7.00. How necessary are they? Any solutions?
If you feel that $25 for two micron filters is alot, take them out. I think they are worthy, I replaced mine after a year and it was black (it is white to start with). I'd imagine that without the filter all that soot would have been in my lungs.
Driving with the windows down, kind of defeats the filter though. But I almost never drive on the highway with the windows down. I have seen what a pebble kicked up by a truck can do to a person's head through an open window.
Driving with the sunroof open is fine, the negative pressure created by the roofline draws the air in through the micron filter and cleans it.
Changing the micron filter in the Si is a 5 minute job and described in detail in the manual.
I just bought a 2000 civic ex coupe with 40k miles and didn't notice this till I was on the drive home...
The volume control to turn the stereo down seems to be messed up. If i try to quickly turn up the volume it doesn't go up at all, and I have to turn it slowly for it to go up. When I try to turn it down I have to sit and play with it carefully turn it down, and I still haven't figured out the correct way to do it, as simply turning it left quick doesn't have any effect on the volume. Is it just broken or is there something about the honda stereos that I don't know?
Thanks for the input. I appriciate the good word. The only thing I did notice is that it is sometimes hard to get it into 1st or reverse. Like it doesnt just glide in you sometimes really have to force it. My main concern though is that when I am driving and shift, even with the clutch all of the way in, when I go into any gear you can feel it in the shift knob that it is almost grinding a little bit. You can hear it a little bit too. I talked to my service manager and he said that this was normal as everything starts to wear and break in. Only got 1200 miles on the car, just seems odd to me.
Comments
If the previous owner insists that the belt was replaced, have him/her sign a notarized affidavit that it was performed at what shop, and when. That way, if the engine is messed up due to timing belt filure, you will have a legal foot to stand on. If the previous owner refuses to sign a notarized affidavit, you know the belt was not replaced. I think if I was to pay $500 to have the belt replaced I would make sure I saved the recipt, seems like the owner was pretty meticulous about other minor maintenance recipts, but failed to save the one that cost the most.
Goldie got stolen, read about it on the "other" site. I got a the new Si in January 2003.
Take care
Dave
It's about a half hour labor to remove enough stuff to enable the mechanic to pry the cover back enough to get a good look at it. If it's only 20,000 miles old it'll look new.
Usually, once it's apart, the other belts are replaced simply as a matter of smart caution. Same with the water pump. It's just dumb to not replace those things since it's apart anyway.
So...it seems to me that there may be three possibilities here.
1. The shop is trying to sell you belts that aren't really in need of replacement.
2. The timing belt was never replaced
3. The previous owner was a cheapskate who refused to have the belts done when the timing belt was replaced.
I'm only sorry I don't live in the Rochester area anymore, as I'm not nearly as happy with the Honda dealers here in Indy.
On 02/21/2004 I bought a 2004 Civic sedan. It has some cosmetic problems. It has been a month & 3 days and I have already paid the dealership 6 visits .problem still NOT solved!!
The next day I bought the vehicle I found a dent on the trunk lid (actually only looked like a dent because it feels smooth turned out to be caused by impurity in paint), and at the right rear door, there is an uneven color spot. Quite large, about 2/3 of palm size. It looks like a haze area and is much whiter than the silver body color. It was in the evening when I purchased the car. But in the sunlight the blemish is very noticeable.
Then there are my 6 visits to the dealership (and all the time I wasted):
1st time, I took it back for a clean-up the next day (because the clean service is closed when I bought it). I showed the sales the problems. He said come back later to get the “dent” fixed and the blemish was already “buffed out” in cleaning.
2nd time, back to adjust car alignment (turned out to be unbalanced tire pressure). Blemish still there. Dealer said come on a Monday to fix “dent” and “blemish”.
3rd time, went on a Monday. Dealer said a Honda representative came on Thursday and asked me to come back on Thur.
4th time, a Thursday. Dearer said they will take the car to body shop for repaint and polish. BUT, it will take 3 days and they can’t cover rental car bills at weekend. Asked me to come back on Mon.
5th time, this Monday. Dropped my car and got a rental car.
6th time, today. They said the car is ready. The “dent’ on the trunk was repaired but the blemish is STILL THERE! Although the dealer said they’d fix it!
I spent half an hour arguing with the dealer (talked to service manager) on this issue .and missed my afternoon class.
They dodged the responsibility. They said it is a problem between me and Honda .nothing to do with them. They said the Honda representative would come again in 3 weeks and I need to take the car there AGAIN to have them look at it. They also said even if the door is repainted, it may not look the same as factory paint. Basically they just want me to live with it! They knew the problem from the very beginning and promised to fix it but never did. Now after I wasted all the time and energy, they are in complete denial. They said they’d do nothing about it and also wouldn’t offer any kind of compensation: “Go to Honda if you want compensation”! I paid full price for a BRAND NEW car and expected it to be flawless ..now I ended up with one with a defect, not to mention all this hassle. Is that fair?
Now seems I have no choice but to wait 3 weeks and drive 20 min to the dealer again, when the Honda people are there. They may repaint it or not. And as the dealer said, the door may look different even after repainting. Either way I ended up with a defect car. And it is not like a computer or clothes that you can just exchange when there is a defect. It is a vehicle.
I was angry and now very unhappy. It has been a very unpleasant and tiring experience dealing with the Honda dealership. Where can I complain about this? BBB? But I still have to go back to the dealer in the future and don’t want that they might give me trouble later. Should I wait 3 weeks or contact the manufacture myself now? Can I ask for compensation from Honda?
I feel frustrated. Could you guys please give me some advice? Please. Thank you very much! And thanks for reading this far.
The first thing would be the threat of bad publicity. I'm sure your state or city has a news/consumer help line. Here in the SF CA bay area we have TV news programs called "Contact 4" (KRON) and "7 on Your Side" (ABC network TV). You can write, e-mail, or call the TV news media and tell them your story. I'm sure that the dealer would rather pay to have your whole car repainted than to risk bad publicity and the loss of business.
Another thing you can do is to report the problem to the BBB.
If your state has a Department of Consumer Affairs, you might want to call them and see if they can help.
Last, you can contact the Office of the Attorney General of your state and file complaint against the dealership.
If there are other dealerships near you, maybe you can ask them if they could help you. Sometimes another dealership will try to please new customers to win their business.
Good luck to you.
By the way, there are quite a few people on this board with silver cars that have bad factory paint. The color on the body panels don't match up. Some parts are light and others are dark or patchy. I've seen several silver Civics at my local dealership with bad paint. That's why I changed my mind on buying a silver Civic and bought a navy blue one instead.
In December 2002, I purchased one of few last remaining NEW 02 Naples Gold Accord EX-L Auto. I liked the car, but I noticed many subtle things that raised some red flags.
1) The squeaks didn't sound like loose interior trim or wires, but sounded like it was a result of structural/frame problems. It squeaked not on a bumpy road, but on a surface with incline.
2) Aftermarket wheels on car. The dealer did disclose that the stock alloys were stolen from dealer lot, but car suffered no damage.
3) Louder road noise than LX, even though EX should have more sound-deadening material
4) Dusty engine bay
5) Car had 65 miles on odometer
6) Almost a year passed between manufacture date and date of sale
I should have questioned more when the dealer told me the stock wheels were stolen. But my old car broke down, and I rushed to buy a new car. But after the sale, I researched further by asking the body shop that inspected the car after the robbery, and also asked an unsuspecting cashier for pre-sale service records on the car.
What I found was a body shop estimate of $3500. But the salesmen told me there was no damage.
I researched California laws regarding car sales, and found that while the dealers don't have to disclose certain things, damages to suspension, frame, and other specified areas would have to be disclosed. The body shop estimate revealed damage to the shocks - suspension. I drafted a letter of complaint, and sent a copy to dealer management and American Honda. American Honda was mostly toothless and basically said that the dealer was an independent business and that Honda would be limited in forcing the dealer to take action.
Fortunately, the dealer management acted swiftly. I'm not sure if it was because I was able show what laws they broke, or because of my subtle suggestion of a lawsuit, the dealer offered to give me full refund (even after 31 days of use and 5000 miles on the odometer) or work out another alternative. Looking back, I wish I would've kept the car and asked for lower price. But I bought a Civic EX coupe instead.
Another possibility, take it to a very good body shop and have them repaint the door and trunk lid or what other visual defects you saw. make sure they inspect the car and give you written estimate of "Factory defects" then take American honda and the dealer to small claims court and sue for the job. You will not get compensation for the time lost and hassle, but it will cost the dealer and honda more money as they will have to have a lawyer there and pay him/her $150-$250/hour. You, as individual, don't need a lawyer to fight in small claims.
I just called American Honda's Customer Relations. The CSR lady said she could only send an email to the dealership to urge them to accelerate on this issue. But she was even not sure that they'd respond. And she basically said the only thing I could do is to wait for the Honda representative's visit.
But actually the representative was here just last week and the service manager said the problem is reported and would be resolved. What made me angry is that they promised they'd get it fixed, never did and pushed me around. I felt fooled.
Anyway, I asked the CSR to request the dealer to respond by tomorrow. And I said I am prepared to file complaint via fax to Honda, Sonic Automotive (The dealership is Crest Honda in Nashville Tenneessee, a division of Sonic), and local BBB.
Again, thank you all for your kind advice. I will update later.
i have had the front struts replaced once and i believe they are going to need replaced again soon
i have had 2 motor mounts replaced and the air conditioner hose replaced twice
the car only has 27000 miles on it and now its leaking antifreeze so back to the honda dealer again
Thanks
Seat removal should be straight forward 4 bolts holding the rails down to the floor pan. There might be a plug for the seatbelt buckle, and you have to find the coupling to un-do it.
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/electrical/igniter/igniter.htm
Anyway, Honda manuals are probably the best manual transmissions out there. They are the best manuals in the economy car category. The closest is BMW manual, but it comes with a more expensive car. With regular maintenance a Honda manual will last a very long time, over 300,000 miles. a clutch will give you about 200,000 miles before it would really need replacing. But the clutch longevity is dependant on the driver. Clutch replacement at Honda is probably $400-$600, but one can do it it home. If you can bench 100 lbs (most people who work out can easily do that) you don't need a tranny lift. The clutch itself is $50-$80 part with the appropriate replacement hardware.
As far as testing, I'm sure there is some way to do it - you'd need to look in one of those Helms/Chilton books for testing procedures.
What does it mean by "no injector drive"?
I have 2002 Honda civic and it has about 22,000 Miles. Recently i started hearing humming noice when i drive the car. Dealer checked it out and said, i need to replace all four tires and it is going to cost aroudn $350.
I just feel that, replacing 4 tires after 22,000 is two early. Just wanted to check what others have experienced with Civics. Also if i have to replace the tires, are there any recommendations?
Thanks
ANil
Dealer price $26.oo. HandA are $19.50. but shipping is $7.00. How necessary are they? Any solutions?
In my opinion Honda pollen filters are pricey.
Dealer price $26.oo. HandA are $19.50. but shipping is $7.00. How necessary are they? Any solutions?
If you feel that $25 for two micron filters is alot, take them out. I think they are worthy, I replaced mine after a year and it was black (it is white to start with). I'd imagine that without the filter all that soot would have been in my lungs.
Driving with the windows down, kind of defeats the filter though. But I almost never drive on the highway with the windows down. I have seen what a pebble kicked up by a truck can do to a person's head through an open window.
Driving with the sunroof open is fine, the negative pressure created by the roofline draws the air in through the micron filter and cleans it.
Changing the micron filter in the Si is a 5 minute job and described in detail in the manual.
The volume control to turn the stereo down seems to be messed up. If i try to quickly turn up the volume it doesn't go up at all, and I have to turn it slowly for it to go up. When I try to turn it down I have to sit and play with it carefully turn it down, and I still haven't figured out the correct way to do it, as simply turning it left quick doesn't have any effect on the volume. Is it just broken or is there something about the honda stereos that I don't know?