Predatorytrep

Hey guys,

Girlfriend's family surprised her with a 2005 Honda Civic Coupe EX the other day, and I had a few questions about some of the things with it. Im completely new to foreign vehicles, with the exception of a Mazda, which was basically a Ford anyways. lol.

- The airbag light was on. Took it to the dealership, and they wanted $400 to repair it. Wasn't with the g/f when she took it, so I'm not what they told her needed to be done.
I have a Dodge Intrepid, and I know on my car if the airbag light is on, the airbags won't deploy period until its fixed.. Is this the same for her car?

- Heater doesn't seem to work except under throttle. Checked coolant level and it was fine. Any type of bleeder valve that I can use to get any air out of the system that might be in there? And what else could cause this other than a bad heater core (would like that to be a last resort fix)?

- Lastly, the car seems to pull kind of hard to the right. From what I understand, these cars don't have adjustable alignment like I do, and if its pulling a certain direction, its usually b/c of the tires, and not the car itself. Is this true??


Thanks guys, and I hope to have a great time with the car and on the forums!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

1. yes the airbags will not work with the SRS light on. You may want to have an independent shop look at it, because in many cases the light gets tripped by something stupid like a dead battery and just needs to be reset. if it is related to seatbelts (the buckle and sensors) its free for life. the airbags usually dont go bad, so i cant see what else it would be other than a wiring issue.

2. if there is no heater, first check to make sure the temp dial is working. open the hood and look for the heat hose valve at the very back of the engine bay where the heater hoses go into the cabin. there should be a small lever and a cable (usually blue). have someone turn the temp dial from full cold, then to full hot a few times. watch to make sure the valve is opening and closing. if not, thats the problem. if it works, next guess is thermostat not opening fully. after driving the car for 30 mins in the summer, feel the lower radiator hose. it should be very hot, about the same as the upper hose. if the lower hose is cold or only warm, its the thermostat. you can try air bleeding, but usually thats not an issue unless the coolant was just changed. warm the car up by driving, shut it off, and open the radiator cap very carefully with towels wrapped around it to catch hot coolant. start the car and let it idle, while the heat is on hot and fan is max. watch for any bubbles coming from the coolant in the radiator. heater cores hardly ever go bad.

3. every car should have a way to adjust the alignment and that is prolly all it needs if the car pulls to one side.

Predatorytrep

Wow. That was a quick response, and thanks for all the info gearbox. And Ill be sure to let my g/f know about the sensors/seatbelts being free for life. I knew it was kinda rare that airbags go bad, so I wanted to make sure it couldnt be something else.

And thanks for the info on the coolant system as well. Will check the hosing as you suggested and give you an update.
Her parents own a tire shop, so Ill have them check the alignment and such.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

may as well check the tire balance as well. its rare, but sometimes unbalanced rims and unevenly worn tires can cause pulling.

Predatorytrep

Alright, been a while since I updated, but I got everything fixed.

The tires were brand new, but were actually unbalanced when put on, and the car was out of alignment.

So thats fixed.

Also, the airbag light was actually a failed passenger airbag. At least thats what the sensor was telling my mechanic. Oh well. Its fixed.

Heater is also fixed. It was the valve that you had suggested. It was stuck closed.

Thanks for all the info gearbox. Definitely appreciate it.