7th gen civics and their common problems...

[sentbacktothesu]

Originally Posted by fondahonda after going thru this thread and reading I know I got a good car. OK here are my problems with my 01 ex 96,000 mi seat belt holder thingy fell off. rear deck rattles with new stereo wind noies( Louder stereo helped that one) inside trunk lever lock broken and just now the pass window motor died fondahonda my passenger window motor takes forever to go up and sounds like its shitting the bed. 03 46,000 miles

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[eviee1973]

simple solution for the rocking seat, go to recyclers and get a fixed seat base, and throw away stock height adjustable seat. Had stock seat base changed once and bushings changed twice. Bought a matching fabric seat for $60. Canadian, cleaned and installed used seat, no problems since then. For the noisy sunroof Honda Canada Inc. had squeak reduction tape which was applied between the moon roof and the roof panel.

[PolishNProud]

oh wow ... didn't know that our civics had this kind of problem too :O

[lipstix lesbian]

I have had a few concerns come up lately on my 02 ex 5sp,
I had to get a bushing on the shifter leading to the tranny replaced because it felt like 4th had glue in it and if you used 4th it would spread to the other gears. (10$ part , 300 in labor)

then there is the loud popping noise coming from the front right it turns out to be another rubber bushing, visible on the bottom right in front of the tire?

next up is the crackling in one of the rear speakers that caused me to buy new speakers, the popping continues...

last but not least is the puddles of water found in the trunk that rusted my new jack?

if anybody knows how to fix the leaky trunk i'd love to know, thanks...

[gearbox]

there are a few good threads about leaky trunk. you basically need to climb in the trunk when its raining or have someone spray water with a hose or car wash. either you will see the water coming in (from taillight foam gaskets or the main trunk seal), or you will see water coming from inside the body work. in which case, its prolly coming from the rear side window molding. you can pull it off and fill some rubber sealer in the hole where the clip goes into the car body. ofcourse you need to remove all the interior trunk parts first like the carpets and side pieces.

[Awjvail]

I've got a squeaky clutch and a rattle coming from under the car somewhere.

It only happens when I'm not moving anywhere and only at certain RPMs (it will go away if I rev the engine a bit).

[jamesd058]

Originally Posted by Jrfish007

What year is your car? They had a kind of like what you might call a quite recall on the 01 and early '02 struts. But I know a few people with those models years have had their strtus replaced for free by Honda.

Could you please elaborate on the "Quite Recall" for '01 and '02 Civics? I had front shocks diagnosed leaking at 80k, and Front Struts replaced at 84k. I seriously questioned that they should go so soon and the service guy hummed and hawed like something was up! The son-of-a-gun knew! I even payed for the 7 year/160k Extended "Comprehansive" warranty, and they swore not covered by warranty, when all the time there is a recall; the buggers still screwed me.

They tried to screw me right now on the "Door Lock Acutator' ('03 CR-V) and again, swore it wasn't covered. Then when I found my Warranty Doc's and showed them, they acted as if I hadn't even asked before! These Dealers are all crooked. Time for a Honda Canada case; again!

PS. I had the rocky driver seat in my [wife's] 2001 Civic LX. Reported sometime before 50k, well within original warranty. They said not covered, and I had to pay for the new "Seat Link Bushing!" I opened case with Honda Canada and they were not too sympathetic. I pressed and argued (calmly) and became a bad smell to them! They finally did it (at 50k) as a Goodwill gesture; but I bet there was also a recall on that!

Please someone get me info on Strut/Shock recall so I can go after Honda once again! One day I'll post my '96 Accord Exhaust System story; they lied about problem for over a year, and when I found out, Honda Canada said too bad! I got laywer to send one letter and voila... Honda replaced entire exhaust system as a "Goodwill" gesture!

So much thanks to all who monitor and contribute to these forums! Wish I followed earlier!!!

[gearbox]

most shocks, even aftermarket, are only rated to last 50k miles. if yours lasted more than that, you should be happy. the people getting them replaced free had them go out at 10-20k miles. shocks are a wearable item (like brake pads, tires, etc) and are normally not covered under warranty unless there is a defect in workmanship.

there was a TSB (tech service bulletin) on the rocking seat, not a recall. there are actually only a couple of recalls that honda is required to fix out of warranty. any TSB you wish to have fixed for free must be done during the 3 yr manufacturer warranty otherwise it will be considered for good will after that. and a side note on the bushings, that is not even a complete fix. i did it myself, and a few weeks later the chair was rocking again. its due to a faulty height adjustment mechanism on the EX. ive never heard of an LX having this issue but i guess its possible and maybe new bushings would fix the problem.

[jamesd058]

Thanks Gearbox!

I appreciate the info; 50k miles is about 84k km's. I guess I got my money's worth from the shocks. I might also point out this is my wife's car which gets a lot less driving. Today, it only has 101,194 kilometers (63k miles) on it at nearly 10 years old! Only 6600 miles per year (not hard driven!) So I guess I expect the higher end of the scale when it comes to how long things should last!

I just had it in for the Airbag "Drivers Inflator" replaced under recall, and I know they didn't even look at anything else. There was a day when they looked for things needing repair and would advise you; try to make a sale, or cover it under warranty just to build your loyalty and respect. But now that quality is waining [a bit!] they don't want to look as Warranty work "costs" the dealerships Profit! But to lie about what is covered is a breach of the contract you have with Honda, especially when you buy [expensive] extended coverage!

>rant-on<
At 61,000 km's I was told by a dealership (in Pickering, Ontario) my 1996 Accord "extreme vibration nosie" was a known problem and if reported before 60,000 km it would have been covered by original warranty. The B@#*%#!'s at the Dealership (Toronto) where car was purchased "lied to me from 13,000 km when I first reported it! They said, "Don't worry, we'll fix it!", and sprayed something with a heavy "WD-40" type lubricat. Noise went away for a couple of weeks, then back! At 33,000 km I had an arguement with Service Rep to actually write problem done to "inspect and report." He said NOT Necessary, they would fix it! When I got angry and asked for Service Manager, he found a space on Service report (paper days!) and wrote it down. When I went back to original Dealer where car was purchased, and showed them I had reported the problem, they refused to cover, and insisted it was too late as I was now at 61,000 km. EVEN THOUGH DOCUMENT SHOWED REPORTED AT 33,000 KM! Arrogant SOB's. Then, Honda Canada agreed with them!!! I had proof it was reported at 33,000 km, but now they were saying I should have complained to them before 60,000 km's passed. I almost freaked!!! But got a lawyer involved instead.

Guess what? They replaced entire exhaust system as a Goodwill gesture! The fix required the removal of a "hanger" and all new parts. I guess there really was a recall ot TSB on this problem, and it was only covered during original 60,000 km warranty period! But why did they lie to me? Because, they don't get paid full markup on hardware and don't get full "flat rate" labour charge from Honda Canada! IMHO, It was in fact a breach of contract as I fully reported problem when it was covered. But I guess cheaper than engaging in a court battle, which I was all fired up for!
>rant-off<

Sorry for that! All I can say is I'll be watching/reading the forum more, taking full advantage of all the expertise and generous sharing of same, and I will try to contribute whenever I can! No more rants!!! Thanks for all your great input and advise. Your time is greatly appreciated!

[gearbox]

its always like this dealing with companies. they want to sell you the car and then make money off repairs. altho, at least in the usa, warranty work is a guaranteed paycheck for the dealer from corporate. so they should love to do warranty work. alot of times ive noticed ppl who work at dealerships are just lazy, they get these types of problems and people coming in all the time complaining, and it gets old after a while. dealers here are so overpriced, i hardly ever go anymore. i can usually do the work myself for 1/10th the cost lol.