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Honda Civic: Problems & Solutions
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Now all of this came from a previoulsy Pro Honda customer, happily driving them for over 20 years. Too bad they aren't listening.
Good Luck
TOKYO--Honda Motor Co. is recalling 52,297 Civic compact cars, including more than 8,200 in the United States, produced last year for faulty fuel-pipe tubing.
The Japanese carmaker said Wednesday it is also recalling at least 100,571 additional vehicles sold in Japan for a defect in wheel bolts.
Honda said the metal bands on the Civic fuel-pipe tubes were not tight enough, possibly leading to fuel leaks. The problem was detected during assembly work, and there have been no customer complaints or accidents related to the recall.
Affected are 24,203 Civic cars in Japan, 8,205 in the United States, 4,883 in Great Britain, 2,093 in Australia and 12,913 in other nations.
Also recalled were 100,571 vehicles involving 19 models sold in Japan for weak bolts that were manufactured earlier this year.
Some of the models, including the Civic and Accord compacts, were exported to the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and other nations. But Honda said it has yet to determine which models and how many exported vehicles need to be recalled.
Honda said 37 cases have been reported in Japan of the bolts that could break, possibly causing the wheel to fall off. There have been no accidents related to that recall.
The only thing I don't like about my civic is its transmision is so harsh. It gets better a bit when the car gets warm. Sometime, I can even feel that it hesitates to shift. It is too harsh that when my sister testdrove it, she was scared and decided to buy to Toyota instead.
Talked to tech several time about the problem, they said that's normal!!!!
Anybody here has the same problem ?
hai_from_ya, I might expect girls being scared from high RPMs before shifting, but not a skilled, experienced driver. Hondas use RPMs for power so you can get away with a lower displacement engine and get great mileage when driving more conservatively. People who've owned Hondas for a decade or more know that high-RPMs do not necessarily mean less durability.
--- Bror Jace
Never replaced clutch and I have 155k
Just got a new head gasket though, ugh.
I still dig my civic, but I might have to begin the hunt for a newer one if this keeps up (1100 in repairs in last 5 months).
Any word on alternator troubles would be great!
Also, I have noted the following recurring 1990 Civic Sedan problems:
1) They all seem to have condensation in the headlamps (funny clips to try to unhook the glass cover from the plastic, but what do you do to separate them after you get the clips off?
2) Almost all have rear taillights that fill up with water after the seals go bad around the lights.
3) Trunks usually leak
4) CV joints go out after 100k miles
5) Axels require replacement after 100k miles (at different times)
Any additions?
Yeah I have heard that Honda's rev high and the RPM's will climb high before the auto tranny shifts. My 2001 Civic seems to do this but I have never thought it was a problem, it just felt normal and the engine purrs beautifully. So all Honda's hit high RPM's before they shift in Auto? This clears up an argument I had with a friend who said it hurts and destroys the engine. I told him yeah..that must be why all you see is old Honda's on the road.
I also did quite a bit of research before buying, comparing Civic to Mazda Protege, Nissan Sentra, and Hyundai Elentra. Even though Civic is the most expensive one in the group, there were other considerations that were particularly important to me personally,
1. Sentra - could not find one with ABS. The dealer even tried to bad-mouth ABS.
2. Elantra - dealer was unfriendly. Also, Service department does not open on Saturday.
3. Protege - Again, does not offer Saturday service.
To me, safety, reliability and convenience are the most important factors. I think we all have our own criteria in deciding what car to purchase. Hopefully, the decision will be correct.
then works fine again can any body help me??
honda says they can't check it unless it is stopped when they check it!!!
I wouldn't put too much faith in the survey. I think the buying public is more a testament to "quality". Sure, no car is perfect. Before deciding on the Civic, I looked at the Sunfire, Echo, Focus. Out of all of those the quality in the Civic was the best. It was the most refined.
The only complaint I have is about the fuel gauge. The empty light comes on when there is still around 10-12L of gas left.
If you like to purchase cars based on a survey, fine. I would rather test-drive and look at cars myself to decide what I want to buy.
The proof will be seen in about three to five years when the Civic proves it's problems were assembly line glitches and the others problems were engineering defects.
582- You could have been hit by a rock or someone may have got you with a pellet gun.
snowman-A 2K Neon is a 2002 Crapon. You'll be lucky if it's still running and it won't be worth fixing if it's not.
I am disappointed with the latest Civic when compared to its predecessors (I have a '95 Coupe). I'll be keeping my eye on the Civic as I'm thinking of buying an RSX in the next year or two. For those that don't know, the RSX (formerly Integra) is based heavily on the Civic.
When looking at JD Powers' surveys, keep in mind the manufacturers pay for them so JDP can make them say anyhting they want to. They are merely awards-for-hire.
--- Bror Jace
Maybe it's the battery or the wiring and NOT the alternator. Usually when I need to change out the alternator I find that the battery has been damaged.
Massage, the problem I had with the odometer is different than yours. The speedometer worked fine. It was the mileage counter that broke. It stopped increasing the count. I could choose not to bring it to the shop for a while but my conscience didnot allow me to do that :-)). So I decided to bring it back to the dealer and they replaced the whole odometer (that's I was told).
Because the law doesnot allow to manually set the mileage counter, the tech had to put my original mileage on the door jamp, and let the new counter started from 0. So now, everytime I want to know my current civic's mileage, I have to do the addition myself. It really sucks!!
In short, don't let the RPMs bother you. If you had a 5-spd, you'd ENJOY winding the little motor out. Your automatic is merely doing the same thing.
I have a '95 Civic DX and that thing is HOWLING at 80mph with my aftermarket intake and exhaust on it. I don't know how many RPMs I'm turning but I bet it's around 4,500 ... and I'll drive like that for an hour or more at a time. I use synthetic oil and continue to drive it like that. It has 102,000 miles on it and if it blows up in another year or two (unlikely) I'll just get another, better one.
I BEGGED Honda for a 6-spd transmission for the last decade and they are only now coming out with one ... on selected models like their new RSX. I only hope that the top gear is tall enough for efficient, highway-speed cruising.
--- Bror Jace
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/nafl/automotive_motor_oils_fs.htm
Most Chevron products are pretty scarce in these parts but I'm sure that's not the case with all of you folks.
--- Bror Jace
http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/dai/june/20010607_dai_recallcivic.xml
I have a 1993 Civic Coupe and have been relatively happy with it.
I have replaced the head gasket twice already and it has just gone again...
1)Any suggestions as to how I can solve this problem for good?
2)I have heard this is a problem with these cars, so I also wanted to know if anyone has been successful in getting Honda to cover the costs?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Clack
Back in December I traded in my '95 EX for a '01. I'm pleased with it overall (although I did love the 95). Anyway I'm due for an oil change, so before I go to the dealer, I was wondering if anyone has similar issues.
Radio: I've read about the troubles many are having, and although I've never had to reset it, I notice it is very staticy when I have the rear defroster on. Also the scan/seek does not accurately work with the defroster on.
On certain rough roads, the front passenger dashboard (or something) is rattling.
I also noticed that when my headlights are on and I close the windows when they are already closed, everything dims. (Is that normal?)
I think that's it for now.
Thanks for your help!
Any ideas ?
I'd guess it is leaking oil somewhere, that would be my guess.
Is this normal for Civics? Could it be condensation from the AC compressor?
I find it odd to have water dripping from the car's engine bay. This is the third time I have noticed this on a Civic.
Another problem is the dreaded "piston slap" which is a knocking sound only when the car is cold ... and the colder it is the louder it gets. This goes away as the aluminum piston expands when warm.
aim1121, those sorts of body squeaks and rattles are almost always particular to a car and have to be diagnosed locally.
Puddles of plain water under an AC that has been in operation is very normal for many brands of cars.
sobers, I wouldn't allow anyone to weld up a shadetree solution on a brand new car that's leaking oil. I'd make them replace the oil plan.
Lastly, for what it's worth, I saw Pennzoil 5W20 in an Upstate NY K-mart.
--- Bror Jace
1. It must be reasonably warm outside--and the hotter it is, the more pronounced the problem.
2. If it is really hot outside, and the car has been in the sun awhile, it may not start. More commonly, it happens after you run the car for awhile, stop it for 5-10 minutes -- say to go into a store, and then try to start again.
3. If you let the starter turn over 5-6 times, then stop if the car doesn't start, then wait 60 seconds, most of the time it will then start. Sometimes, particularly if you have let the starter crank for 10-15 times, it may take up to 10 minutes letting the car sit before you can get it to start.
The first time I asked the dealer to fix it, he said he couldn't find anything, but thought it might be a leaking fuel injector. The next time I came in the repairman said that couldn't be it, and offered about 4 other possibilites but did nothing to investigate.
This car otherwise is great. It gets 35 mpg and everything else is fine. Does anyone have any ideas?
I have a friend with the same problem in his Civic. I should ask him how much the fix was for his car ...
--- Bror Jace
We had a similar problem with our Civic and a new set of plugs and wires cured it instantly.
Worth a try if you haven't done it...it's a cheap fix if it works, and if it doesn't, no harm done.
Over the weekend, a friend of mine told me about an acquaintance who was involved in a head-on crash going 35+ MPH in a new Civic in which, again, the airbag did not deploy.
Both of these are admittedly second-hand accounts, but to hear two of them in a short period of time has me worried that the SRS system on the Civic may be unreliable. Unreliable really isn't good enough for something like an airbag that must be depended upon, obviously.
Has anyone else heard of this happening? Has anyone heard of the airbags in a new Civic deploying properly in a crash in the real world?
Regarding airbags - the SRS light came on in my car, after only 2 yrs and
(yeah high) 46k miles. I get to pay $200 to fix it. After reading comments
here about declining civic quality, I'm less surprised.
Mazda has 36mon/50k mile warranties on the Protege, and that's something
I'll keep in mind if I go that way. I'm selling the civic...and clearly a 2001
civic is not for me.
Search for a circuit to power the buzzer (parking/tail/license-plate/dash-instrument lights). Install the buzzer between this (+) feed and the (-) DS door trigger line. Use a relay for maximum safety and efficiency.
73ZX4756N LIGHTS-ON ALARM Each 6.99
You decide on the quality.
Are the late/new Civic engines interference or not (in reference to breaking the timing belt)?
Let's hear it.
I dunno...somehow, after driving a car 46,000 miles and having to spend a lousy 200.00 to fix something doesn't seem like such a big deal to me.
Did you expect a perfect car?
I'm not trying to start trouble I'm just curious.