Powerarranger

Hi, new here, just bought an '08 Civic EX-L sedan a little over a month ago with 174,000 miles on the odo. It's been very well kept, you'd think it was new. Runs like a champ and averages 40 MPG in mixed city and highway. I'm lovin' the car so far - it's a nice step up from my beloved Saturn SC2!

Been surfing your excellent forum and learning a lot about Hondas in general, being somewhat unfamiliar with them. A buddy of mine has an HX (wow!) which I have driven many times - it was my great experiences with that car that helped me decide to buy this one.

So after a month, I have a couple of questions….

Timing Chain: is there a service interval on this item? Couldn't find any information on this. The chain guides appear to be plastic, from what I've read and seen in pictures. I can hear the whine of the chain on the guides when driving - it reminds me of a worn power steering pump. Is this normal? A mechanic my buddy sent me to said it should last the life of the car. At 175,500 miles, I'm going to ask anyway.

Come to think of it, I should probably check that pump, too…

The second thing - I'm beginning to discover that drive-by-wire and manual transmissions are a bad combination, at least for me. I've always owned a stick and never had an issue except a cracked pressure plate on a Subaru back in '85. For the life of me, I can't seem to start smoothly from a dead stop in this car. Maybe the throttle (pedal) is overly sensitive? Finding the sweet spot with the throttle to match the friction point on the clutch is very difficult, like it's different every time. It reminds me of Bill Cosby's line, "…1st gear was not my best friend in the world…"

I have hundreds of thousands of miles experience with manual transmissions, from compact cars with 4 speeds to big trucks with Eaton Fuller 13's. Am I missing something, or is there a way to adjust the accelerator pedal sensitivity by flashing the ECU or swapping the sensor?

Thanks in advance for your help!

ezone

No maintenance interval. They are expected to last the life of the car.

Oil neglect causes chain wear and stretch.

The people that seem to have the biggest problems with it are the ones that let the oil changes go far too long, and/or use the cheapest oil/wrong oil. The Wallymart and JizzyLube crowd seem to have the biggest problems.
So far those are the only ones I have had to deal with, none of our regular customers have issues so far (I work at a dealer).



You could remove the accessory belt and run the engine for a few SECONDS to see if the noise goes away. If you remove the belt, the water pump will not turn, so be careful with this.


No, there is no way to change the go pedal response characteristics.

Practice?

HTH

Powerarranger

Ezone, thanks for the insightful replies.

The previous owner took the car in for regular dealer service, so oil quality was never an issue. The sound I described is not loud at all, I notice it mostly when driving slowly with the windows open next to a building. The sound of the car reflects back, so it may have been more paranoia. Thanks for the clarification.

When I get a NY minute, I'll check the PS pump with a stethoscope or pull the belt as you suggest.

I'll be using Mobil1 synthetic at the next oil change. The engine is extremely clean for one with such high mileage. The oil is clean/clear and the plugs (original) looked new, which blew my mind. I checked the gap and put 'em back.

Haha, like the guy who asked, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" I'm getting better, but I must always watch the tach when starting off. I think that this engine runs so smoothly and quietly compared to what I'm used to that I can't depend on its sound or vibration to tell me where the RPMs are.

I'll get plenty of practice in downtown traffic pretty soon. It's just kind of embarrassing when I mess it up!

Thanks again for the help!