Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

miester_v · July 2004

I have the same problem. 04 Civic EX auto. I scheduled an appointment at the dealership to check this out. I hope they have healthy ears, cause it's not something that's too obvious. But I do think that it is annoying and it takes away the enjoyment of driving a new car. It sounds like something's wrong.

mredwardaa · July 2004

How do I turn off check engine light? Thanks.

blueiedgod · July 2004

How do I turn off check engine light? Thanks.

by fixing the problem that caused the light to come on in the first place. Auto Zone will scan the codes and reset the light, but it will come back on again if the problem is not fixed.

steve6 · July 2004

Yes, similar. I had a '90 Mazda Protege that, at about 60,000 miles, starting idling WAY heavy. And I mean heavy. Two dealers could do nothing despite days of diagnosis (and rental-car expenses for me). One said it "could" be the "smog backflow" system, whatever that is, but they couldn't be sure. I finally traded it in.

edt · July 2004

First, flush your cooling sytem and replace with new HONDA non-silicate coolant, also replace with a new radiator pressure cap and new thermstat. If it still overheats then it could be false reading from the temperature sensor, does your "Check Eengine" light come on ?

edt · July 2004

Tell the mechanic to check the speed sensor located on the transmission casing, if the needle on the gauge doesn't move it is that sensor @$142

gido · July 2004

Hi,

I have a new car, 300 miles, and the front passenger door rattles. It sounds like it is coming from where the door and the dash meet. Anyone have this problem? Any luck with dealer repairs? It rattles most of the time and drives me crazy.

Thanks

holenone79 · July 2004

ours also rattles in the same place. we have had it for about two months. its my wife's car and she does not hear it. I do. It is only noticable if the ac and radio are off. we live in arizona and its over 100 every day so the ac is always on. is your car made in Canada?

jrock80 · July 2004

I have about 7500 miles on my Civic EX 5 speed. Has anyone noticed that when the car sits for a day or two or when its cold out the gear box becomes real tight? The clutch is real grabby and when you go to shift it isnt smooth at all. Feels real notchy. But when it warms up after about 2 miles it is perfect again. Smooth shifts and smooth clutch engagement. I told the dealer about it and they said that couldnt duplicate the problem and just changed the gearbox fluid to appease me I think. Didnt make an ounce of differance.

ncampbell2002 · July 2004

It is normal for a manual gearbox to feel stiff for the 1st couple of minutes until the tranny fluid warms up especially on a cold morning. Fluid cold = less viscous = the more work you have to do to move the fluid through the system. You have nothing to worry about. I believe it even says something about that in the owners manual somewhere.

gido · July 2004

I have an 04 civic ex manual and I too have the high pitch sound. Do you have the rattle in the front passenger door/dash as many others have? Let me know what your dealer says about the whine. It is a bit unsettling.

gido · July 2004

Other than the rattle everything seems OK. I think I'm going to make an early appointment at the dealer. The roads here in San Francisco are terrible. The rattle is getting worse.

I have no idea if it can be fixed or not. Car was made in Canada.

ylee · July 2004

I have a 2001 Honda Civic EX(Auto) with about 34k(warranty expired). Recently I had a airbag warning light ,which wasn't disappeared even after I turned on the car, on and some part had to be replaced. I had to pay $360. I am wondering if someone else had a same problem like I did.

miester_v · July 2004

No, I don't have any rattles in the passenger side. I just have the high pitched engine noise.

And to update on the service appointment - I was told by the technician whom I test drove my car with that the noise I was hearing is apparently normal in 04 Civics. I kinda already knew that was going to be the impression, as the noise itself is somewhat subtle, not overbearing. Oh well. Maybe I'll try another dealership if/when I have the energy or the optimism. More than likely, I'll just have to live with it.

edunnett · July 2004

I want to jack my vintage civic up to work on the front wheels and brakes and related parts. I have four very small jack points - one near each wheel. If I use the jack point to mount the car up then there is no room to slide the jack STAND under that part of the car while I go to jack up another corner of the car. Does anyone know where else I can safely jack the corners of the car up so that I can put the jack stands under the jack points?
Thanks in advance,
Elissa

weav727 · July 2004

Water in the fuel was my first thought as well, but this problem has gone on sporadically for several tanks of gas. I've been very selective about where I fuel up now, but the car still acts up every now and then. Every time I take it into the dealer, they tell me it runs fine. Can water in the fuel be a continuous problem, like some kind of leak?

Actually, Keenan Honda, where I bought it and take it for service, said it COULD be a coil, but they were not sure. They basically said they could start replacing parts and see what happens, and I said no thanks. It seems to me that they should be able to troubleshoot this, and they aren't bothering because I have an extended powertrain warranty. I'd take it elsewhere, but I don't want to void the warranty...

marcus_west · July 2004

Ive been having that hesitation during acceleration problem also, but additionally I feel a "hestitation" or "bucking" feeling while driving especially in the city. It occurs like a split second after I let my foot off the gas. It seems like maybe the transmission, or whatever controls gear changes, is "lazy" or confused". I know it isnt bad gas because I have gone through several tanks of gas. I bought some fuel injector cleaner, but i dont know if it will help. Does anyone have any advice?

edunnett · July 2004

I'd take it elsewhere, but I don't want to void the warranty...

I don't know why so many people think that they will void their warranty if they take their car to a reputable mechanic other than the dealer they bought the car from. All you have to do to maintain your warranty is have it serviced according to the maintanance schedule. That could involve going to any dealer for maintenance, going to any auto repair shop for maintenance or doing the maintanance yourself. Although I advise you to keep very good documentation if you do either of the last two options. Especially if you do your own maintenance - you should keep a log of work done with dates and mileage and keep receipts.

However, if you want warranty work done on the car - then I think you are obligated to go to a dealer for that. Honda will reimburse the dealer for warranty related work but won't reimburse Joe's Auto Repair.

My recommendation: if you really want the diagnosis and your dealer refuses to do it, get them to document your complaint and document that they will not diagnose it, save a copy of that invoice. Go to another Honda dealer to see if they will diagnose. Failing that, go to a reputable repair shop for a diagnosis only - a shop that has the codes and software for your car and model year. If they find a problem, bring proof of diagnosis and proof of the dealers' refusal to diagnose back to the dealer for a covered warranty repair and I'd even go one step further and try to get your diagnosis fee paid by Honda - since you'll have proof of the problem and of the refusal to honor the warranty by running a diagnostic on it. Good luck with that though, I'm sure they'll never reimburse you, but at least you can stick it to that lazy dealer by telling on them.

Maybe you can avoid all that just by asking to see the service director?

Elissa

tom · July 2004

Hi,

My 2004 Civic LX transmission is getting a loud 'tick' sound, when stop and move the transmission to from 'Parking P' to 'drive D' or reverse. It is not usually happened, but it is very loud when parking in down hill, moving between them.
Is it normal? What is the problem? Please advices.

Thanks.

haydee · July 2004

Hi,
I just purchased a 2004 Civic VP a few weeks ago and there is a sound I have noticed from day one. When I park, kind of like a tick (I am so bad at describing sounds, not sure the difference between a ping, knock, etc) this only happens after I have been driving for a while, and it continues for about 5 minutes while parked. Sometimes if the trip is VERY short then it wont happen. Sounds come from under the hood.

I took it to the dealer and they said that this is normal, something about the metal contracting. The sound was not as loud when he heard it, though. This doesn't sound right to me, I haven't seen a car do that before, though I admit I dont know anything about cars. I have done searched on the internet and cant really find any discussion about this. Was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Thanks for any help. I am so happy I found this website.

badgerfan · July 2004

Most likely it is the exhaust system making ticking sounds as it cools off. Metal expands when heated and contracts when cooled, and the shields around the catalytic converter and other exhaust components can make this noise. A lot of cars make these sounds and it is nothing to be concerned about. With a very short trip, your exhaust system is likely not heating up enough so you will hear less of it if the system doesn't heat up completely.

edunnett · July 2004

I want to get at my PCV Valve and my aux fuel filter to replace but am not really sure what to detach to get the air filter assembly out of the way and am not really sure how much work i'm biting off here. Has anyone done similar work before on their vintage carbureted Civic?
Elissa

jclx04 · July 2004

Hey people. Just bought a 2004 Honda Civic LX 5spd. It's a nice car and all, except when I seem to accelerate from stop and shift between 1st and 2nd, there seems to be a squeaking kind of sound. Even when it is just idiling in neutral, and I were to give it a little gas, between 700 - 1000 RPM's the squeaking sound makes it's appearance. What do you think it could be?

shiyang100 · July 2004

just bought it last week. When I drove for a 2-hr trip yesterday, I notived a noise from front (tire?) at the speed say over 40mph. The noise is like sth rubbing the surface. not so high, but I can hear it because I am very sensitive. I cannot tell whether it is a normal tire noise. What do you think about it?

dalaw · July 2004

Every car makes that ticking sound after shut off. It's the metal contracting.

shiyang100 · July 2004

What's this sound like? From engine or some other places?

carguy000 · July 2004

I have a 2001 Honda Civic EX 2 door with 41,000 miles. It's been a great car, with a few minor first-year problems (rocking driver's seat, etc.).

Now, however, for the first time, I'm noticing that the fan speed of the blower for my A/C tends to change while driving. For example, when I go to apply the brakes during a stop, with the a/c on high, you can hear the fan actually speed up as I apply the brake, and once I stop, it seems to slow down. There is also fan speed fluctuation when I hit a bump in the road, which I find very weird.

Does this mean my alternator is going bad, or anything like this at all? I'm going to be selling the car in the next six months anyway, but I'm curious to know if anyone else has experienced similar problems.

Thanks for your help.

aln1972 · July 2004

Have a 98 Civic. Exhaust pipe was rusted and broken. Been to Midas done a lousy job by putting a pipe for $25 and labor $85.
I need to get that replaced. Is there a suggested place I can get the exhaust pipe with Resonator + installation, any recommended place? How much should it be costing.
Also since my car has 82,000 miles on it, i want to replace the timing belt. How much is that going to cost?

Thanks v. much

blueiedgod · July 2004

My 2002 Civic Si has been like that from day one. The fan at highest setting would respond to engine RPM.
I belive it has to do with Honda's approach to alternator powering up the battery. The car basically runs on battery alone when it is 90-100% charged. And alternator is taken out if the circuit to reduce the load on the engine.

blueiedgod · July 2004

you are looking at part 18 on the diagram, assuming you have the car with catalytic converter. If not then it is part 2

The cost is: MSRP $146, online dealer $110.

aln1972 · July 2004

Have a 98 Civic. Exhaust pipe was rusted and broken. Been to Midas done a lousy job by putting a pipe for $25 and labor $85.
I need to get that replaced. Is there a suggested place I can get the exhaust pipe with Resonator + installation, any recommended place? How much should it be costing.
Also since my car has 82,000 miles on it, i want to replace the timing belt. How much is that going to cost?

Thanks v. much

blueiedgod · July 2004

Have a 98 Civic. Exhaust pipe was rusted and broken. Been to Midas done a lousy job by putting a pipe for $25 and labor $85.
I need to get that replaced. Is there a suggested place I can get the exhaust pipe with Resonator + installation, any recommended place? How much should it be costing.
Also since my car has 82,000 miles on it, i want to replace the timing belt. How much is that going to cost?

Thanks v. much

The reply# 3069 was for you.

shiyang100 · July 2004

I just bought a new 2004 CIvic LX last week and have 300 miles on it. I noticed two problems now:

1) I can hear some annoying humming noise on the highway, say above 45mph. This noise is like sth rubbing the road surface. Looks like it is still there whether I press the gas pedal or not. I suspect tire noise? anyone has same experience?

2) Gas pedal vibration, not always, but it happens now and then when speed is above 70 mph. It is possible related with problem 1.

Other problem I found on this forum is "gurgling noise" I have no such a problem

Thanks

edunnett · July 2004

I assume you put the 300 miles on the car and you didn't buy it used from a dealer? If it was pre-owned I'd ask if you ran a car fax on it first to insure it wasn't in a previous accident. But other than that, have you tried taking it to the dealer to ask if they can check the alignment and balancing? Sounds like maybe some tire issues.
elissa

isellhondas · August 2004

I think you are just hearing normal Civic road noise. Civics tend to be a bit noisy and you are probably not used to the change from your last car. Honda, for some reason loves using tires that last forever but are noisy. A lot of much quieter replacements out there!

Gas pedal vibration?? Never heard of such a thing. If it's in your steering wheel it's wheel balance.

shiyang100 · August 2004

Thanks for your advice. I bought this car with only 5 miles on it. It is brand new. The noise is really annoying. Something like humming, or something like scraping each other. I am not good at describing the noise. I am a little disappointed with Honda Civic. The sound is from under the hood. Do you think other possiblities besides tire?

andyman73 · August 2004

I never realized that Civics were noisy. But then again I had aftermarket intakes and exhuast on all 3 of mine. Now, my '85 325e Beemer had a 2.7l I6, and that was noisy, in a good way. Of course if I could afford a car that came with higher levels of NVH dampening, I might notice how noisy Civics actually are. Hmmm, mother-in-law's Lexus is pretty quiet, now that I think about it.

Andy

thundershock · August 2004

Hi,
Does anyone know what might be wrong with my car? Everytime I am at 2000 rpm in second gear or sometimes 3rd gear, it makes a little odd noise. It didn't do this until recently. I have a 2000 honda civic lx 5 speed.

mauto · August 2004

Yes, Civics are pretty noisy as I discovered after driving a friends 02 Hyundai Elantra. That car is considerably quieter.

If anyone is considering the Civic LX or EX, you may want to check out the Elantra. I've seen them advertised for a loaded model with auto (same eqpt. as LX) for about 11K. And with the variable cam 138HP engine, side airbags, maintenence free timing chain, 5/60 b to b warranty (like many luxury cars) and high JD Power quality scores, it's hard to go back to the Civic.

mauto · August 2004

Does anyone have a problem with the front bumper rubber strip falling off. This is located just under the front bumper and seems to serve no purpose other than possibly areodynamics. I keep tearing it off when reversing out of a parking space. I'm thinking of just removing it entirely as I'm tired of frequently having to reattach it. Your thoughts?

mike372 · August 2004

where the PCV valve is located in a 2000 Civic. I looked all over but cant find the damn thing. The check engine lite wont go off and its probably emission related. The plugs are pretty new, autolite platinum, but maybe I should switch back to NGK's. I checked the fuel cap, took it on and off a few times, but that did not work. Any suggestions?

blueiedgod · August 2004

Stop by Auto Zone and have them read the code.

shiyang100 · August 2004

I took my car to the dealer today. I was told it might be hubcap problem, and causing some wind noise. it's ridiculous. Honda guy said there are some complaints about Civic hubcaps. Never heard of this. my car still has noise on the highway speed say 60mph. But looks like to be in and out. It's hard to be heard above 70. The guy checked the brake, bearing and suspension, said all are OK. so I don't know what causes the noise. Wind? Tire? or Road? I only can hear on the driver's said, Honda guy thought it's because of the existance of many hoses on the left side. Anyway, confused.

isellhondas · August 2004

????

shiyang100 · August 2004

in fact, I exchange the front two tires yesterday, the noise is the same.

mike372 · August 2004

I am going to Autozone today. Hopefully there is someone who knows what he is doing. The guy on the phone could barely speak English. Thats the problem with these superstores. But I will try and if no success I will bring the car to Honda.

aln1972 · August 2004

hi
i had posted earlier regarding the engine check light. i had taken to dealer, he replaced, spark plugs wires, rotor etc.. ($300). The engine check liht appears again. this time around I took to dealer again thinking it is under warranty. He says i have to do a servicing! that didnt sound logical to me.
I went to autozone and read codes P0300, P0301, P0303, and P1399. basically much of it is cylinder misfires. anyone has any idea of the solution..

Also my coolant is emptied every month. i have to fill it up. else temp guage goes to red hot all the time..($70 spent already to replace thermostat etc)

any suggestions.. thanks agian..

edunnett · August 2004

aln1972 - it's not looking good for your civic. In fact, it's looking REALLY REALLY bad. You said in post #3032 that your engine used overheat repeatedly - several times into the red while driving and/or at a stop light. You never had that repaired I guess, kept driving it and now you have a check engine light and cylinder mis-fires and no coolant.

Here's what I think happened. You had a cooling system failure some time ago - maybe your cooling fan went out (that causes overheating when you're sitting at a light and will get worse in stop and go driving). When you let the engine overheat you do tremendous damage to the engine, the more you let it get in the red, the more damage. So, initially you might have been low in coolant ($5 to fill) or had a bad fan motor ($300 to replace) but you let the problem persist. Temperatures in your engine got so hot that your head gasket likely got warped ($1000 to rework or replace), causing hot spots on the cylinders which worsened the heat problem, causing your cylinder head to crack ($2000 to replace - there's no repairing this) which in turn let's coolant leak into the combustion chamber and lets oil leak into the coolant. I'll bet you anything your car's exhaust is blowing white smoke indicating that your coolant is being burned in the combustion chamber. All that coolant and water in there is causing the misfire, but the misfire is HARDLY your biggest problem. If you drained your coolant (if you have any in there) it's likely got some oily residue or white chunky crap floating in it indicating head gasket and cylinder head failures I'll bet. You're probably also rusting your engine out but that's just a wild guess.

THE SOLUTION?!?!?! Ha! New cylinder head, new head gasket, re-build the engine - $6000 if you're lucky... uhm, you'd be better off actually donating the car, taking the tax write off and buying something that hasn't been driven in the red for months.

Lesson learned: NEVER continue to drive your car when the temp gauge shows anywhere near the "H" or red mark. Ever. A $50 tow to a good service station is cheaper than the new engine you need now. I can't believe the shops you took it too couldn't have told you this. This won't be covered under a warranty because it's negligence really. My theory on how this started? Your fan motor probably went out. Next time you drive it and it gets to normal operating temperature, let it sit and run at idle, as the temp gauge climbs, get out of the car and look under the hood, I'll be your cooling fan is not running; but it should be.

I'm really sorry to hear about this happening. Civics really are great cars but they do have a little thing with the cooling fan motors going. And no car is immune to burning itself into a firey ball of metal when the cooling system fails. I really hope I'm way wrong here and/or you have the financial resources to deal with this. Good luck! Please let me know if I'm right here or way off track. Please take it to a professional immediately.

Elissa

edunnett · August 2004

I always use NGKs in Hondas but Nippon Densos are also OEM. I don't like anything else in a Honda Engine. Did you gap them correctly? Screw them in to the proper torque? Could there be a problem with the plug wires? You should replace those at the same time too - maybe you yanked on them too hard from the wire when removing them - that will rip the connections inside and cause a mis-fire. Maybe the wires are not routed to the proper number on the distributor? You should take it to a professional to read the code for you otherwise you will be looking for a needle in a haystack forever! Get a Chilton or Haynes manual to find the PCV valve. It should be between the air intake manifold and the crankcase. Not really easy to find since it's likely buried in a hose. Also they don't need to get replaced until after 60K miles so I doubt that's your issue.

andyman73 · August 2004

if you're posting on Edmunds, you must have some emotional attachment to cars. At 6Gs we should be guiding this unfortunate soul towards an upgraded engine swap. The Civic is a lovely little car that begs for an engine upgrade. Many choices such as 160hp Si motor in 1.6 or 2.0 guise. Perhaps a 1.8 Integra motor with 140, 170, or 195hp trim levels. Even the 200hp 2.0 from the RSX would do. What is the cheapest alternative? A rebuild, stock replacement, upgrade, or all together different vehicle? Lots of options. I wish you the best with your '98. I'm on my 3rd Civic, and the previous 2 had over 160K without cooling fan failures. Currrent is a '94 with 106K.

Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions