ILJohn

Title says it all. 2006 Civic Coupe EX. 270k miles needs a new clutch (around $1200). Car has been in the family since new, most of the miles on the highway. My son is currently driving it at school. Has had regular maintenance, only non-routine items were new power steering pump and alternator. Body and interior are in good shape. Brakes, shocks, tires, etc are good. Does not lose any oil between change.

2 shops we trust have seen the car and consider it in good shape. I was wonder if anyone had experience as to anything else to look for a on high mileage 8th gen.

Appreciate your thoughts.

ezone

All the regular maintenance that got the car this far along, keep it up!

With mileage that high, it's just about impossible to predict what might go bad at any given point in time.
Best to do regular inspections and take care of any problems as they come up.


If it needs a clutch, that better get done ASAP before it's completely gone and has to be towed to a shop. A tow truck isn't cheap, especially if the car has to be picked up on a highway.


Rust is always a factor as you probably know (you're in the rust belt).....where are the college and car located?

ILJohn

My son is at school in Madison WI, we live about 3 hours away in central IL. I met my son half way last night and traded vehicles with him. He has a Ford Ranger (the Civic is better in snow). The car is sitting in my driveway 2-3 miles from the shop that would do the work.

With 2 kids and older vehicles we have always had towing insurance. It will pay local tows (usually $75 in our area) or a tow to the nearest shop if on the highway. We did have a couple $300 bills when the kids go stranded in the middle of nowhere.

ezone

I see a couple of those cars on a semi-regular (random?) basis, one stands out in my mind, it's a black 2007 LX coupe with a manual trans and around 300k on it....you would never guess the high mileage, the owner keeps it nearly immaculate.
I first saw it maybe 4-5 years ago shortly after it had some body work done (hit a deer).
Last time I saw it he had me fixing stuff most people probably wouldn't care about, like repairing a rear seat back release cable and replacing all the light bulbs in the heater control panel.

-----

Did you buy the car new?
Did it ever get a block replaced?

If yours isn't burning oil and the body isn't rusted badly yet, I think it's probably doing good.

The manual trans, if it isn't noisy and is kept full of clean Honda fluid, should be darn reliable. (If it is noisy, the time to fix would be while it is removed for the clutch job)

Have all of the recalls been completed? Airbag inflators? (see links below)

ILJohn

Appreciate your thoughts. Yes, we have owned since new and has been garaged up until the last year. I have a 100 mile daily round trip Interstate commute and that is where the vast majority of miles came from. In 11/15 I got a great deal on a 2013 Accord from a coworker that was moving out of county. Due to the age, miles, minimal resale value and the fact I have 2 kids plus niece/nephew that have older vehicles, we decided to keep it as a spare vehicle. My son has had it at school the last year (he needed the front wheel drive and I had some projects where I needed his Ranger pickup).

We never had the block replaced, the transmission is smooth and quiet. Does not burn oil. No leaks, rattle or visible rust (guys at the quick change oil place say the underbody is very clean for a car that age in our area) and the only marks on the body are some front hood rock chips you'd expect from that many highway miles.

All the recalls have been taken care of except the air bags. Assuming we keep it that will be the stop after the transmission shop.

ezone

Sounds like it's a decent reliable and well cared for car with a lot of potential life left in it.

I'd do the clutch job....and if you decide to sell the car later that's an extra selling point ($).

Please get the airbag recall taken care of no matter if you decide to keep the car or not.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

I'd replace the clutch and keep it. Sounds like a car that has been well taken of so it should offer you more years of reliability. Yes the alternator will go, starter, radiator and the like but really think if you keep an eye on things it will be ok. Yes it might leave you stranded if the starter fails at a bad time but that can happen with any car at anytime really.

ezone

Manual trans + push start = WIN

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

That is very true, forgot it was a manual.

How about alternator fails and leaves you stranded

ILJohn

Thanks for all the replies. Got some bad news from the shop. Said clutch was shot and they could hear bearing noise in the transmission, suggested replacement. They found a salvage unit for $900 plus install. The also identified some front end work. Would be $2700. At this point, I'm thinking may just need to sell the car fo parts for $1000-$1500.

Bad timing, local dealer had an '08 EX coupe manual with 80k miles on it. Was beautiful not a mark on it, clear bra, has been sold.

Reverb2005

Seems like you already have your mind set on getting rid of this car. Why bother taking care of it so well if you just want to junk it at the first sign of a problem?! You don't think problems won't arise on a similar aged car?

So what about a bad bearing, that happens all the time; get it fixed and move on KNOWING the history of your car's maintenance.

Why does the shop want to swap out the entire transmission? You can just get the bearring pulled?

How does a clutch job snowball into $2700!? What is this "front-end" work that "needs" to be done anyway?

ezone

Wait wait wait just a gol-dern minute......

You took it to a transmission shop for the clutch job, you said it shifts good and does NOT make noise,.... and they claim a noise and want to replace the transmission ----- instead of diving inside and fixing it?
This deal smells rather foul right now. (AAMCO tactics in play there)


Assuming no obvious shifting problems (crunch noise when going to 2nd or 3rd is common), I'd split open the trans and just replace the noisy input shaft bearing(s), not replace the entire thing with a used unit of unknown history.
But you said it didn't make noise (though an experienced professional might notice things you don't)


Front end parts worn at high mileage isn't unusual....but is anything super critical dangerous yet? Can it wait until later?

Second opinions can be valuable. I might suggest 3rd and 4th opinions as well...if it's not too late.

ILJohn

Thanks for the comments.

The transmission shop is a local operation, been in business 30+ year same ownership and gets good local reviews. I've had work done there before and have been very satisfied. Total bill would be 2700 parts and labor for clutch assembly, resurfacing flywheel, used transmission (they identified excessive bearing noise in the transmission), lower ball joint, alignment.

They quoted the used transmission as most likely the lowest cost alternative. The part was from a car with 60k miles on it. They are capable of rebuilding as opposed to replace as they were going to rebuild the tranny in our 2003 Odyssey van until we got the dealer to work with the factory for a policy warranty repair. There is a bit of a whine I can hear, thought it may be from the drive belt.

I still have the car. Took it to the Honda dealer for the air bag replacement. After it comes back, will get some other opinions.

oragex

While the car has been gently driven (highway) and properly maintained, you can surely expect repairs to be needed at 270k miles. It is good to see the car did last this much with original axles, fuel pump, radiator and so on. Now, having this car driven by a teenager makes for a whole new equation. Clearly the reason why the clutch went, as with only highway miles the clutch must have been still in excellent condition. You may sell it to someone who will use it gently/few miles and put some money in repairs.

ILJohn

Actually my son is 28 and has had 2 other manual transmission vehicles so he knows how to drive one. He was only driving it for about the last 10k miles. He moved to an area with more snow and needed something other than his RWD Ranger pick-up.

Anyone know what the typical life a clutch is supposed to be?

oragex

I can talk about clutch life, but I'd rather say first about brake pads life. My own car I drive it very gently with few exceptions in mostly city driving, and my brake pads simply last forever. Same goes for the clutch. Even in mostly city driving, when used properly ,a clutch disk can over last a typical 200000 miles life of a car. However, if someone makes the clutch slipping more than needed when taking off, the plate may not last 100000 miles. Also, a 'weak' point can be the clutch release bearing, if the driver has the habit of keeping the clutch pedal depressed while waiting at a light the bearing may give up well before 80000 miles.

ezone

There is no 'typical' lifespan. The lifespan of a clutch depends entirely upon the driver.

I've seen clutches last anywhere from 10 seconds to maybe a million miles.

If I see one that slips before 100k I just assume a driver never learned good clutch habits. A ride with the driver usually confirms this and oh man sometimes it's tough to keep my mouth shut LOL

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

That would be my dad teaching me at 15 on my soon to be 88 Accord. He watched my left foot like a hawk. Once I got the up shifting part he taught me how to do a proper downshift SCCA style :-)

Wouldn't a hilly area cause it to wear faster? The clutch naturally "slips" into gear but if you are starting off on hills and stopping and starting a lot (city folk) wouldn't it wear faster?

ezone

IMHO if proper technique is used then wear increase should be negligible to minimal.


Plus, if you have hills that go UP, wouldn't you have a roughly equal amount of hills that go DOWN? If each uphill takeoff is followed by a downhill takeoff, wouldn't that average out to .....maybe the same wear that would be expected on flat land? LOL

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Yea you are probably right. Maybe in extreme cases like San Fran it would make a difference but it should still last 100k miles if driven properly. My Civic had 200k on the clutch. First 100k was in hilly PA then the 2nd 100k in flat DE. Still felt like it had a good life left in it.