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Hello, long time lurker, first time poster here.

I drive a 2004 Honda Civic LX, it is at about 85k miles (I got it from my uncle at around 70k).

Recently, I started to hear a noise almost like water rushing rushing to the front of the car when I come to a stop. It comes and goes, and does not seem to be effected by engine temperature. Also, I only hear the sound on the passenger side.

I'm not sure if it is related, but the only noticed the sound after I change my pads/rotors of the car (I did the work myself). I had a friend of mine listen to it as well, and he said that he has heard it in many civics/hondas before, but hasn't been able to figure it out.


I would really like to diagnose the problem myself, I recently took the car in for a diagnostic (not a sucker, promise) before I was aware of the noise. These were the results then:

• Uneven tire wear b/c of misalignment; I then got 4 new tires mounted, and having them aligned Monday
• Pads/Rotors worn; I have since installed EBC pads/rotors recommended for my driving style
• Cracked Engine Mount; haven't gotten around to this one
• Dirty brake engine fluid; getting it flushed Monday
• Recently, had the ATF changed, and the car is due for an oil change (been about ~5k miles on conventional)

Any help would be appreciated;Thanks

 
Rep Power: 811

the only thing that causes this noise is usually air bubbles in the engine coolant (specifically the heater core behind the passenger side dash). try turning the heat control dial to full COLD, which will shut off the heater coolant valve to the core. if the water rushing stops, you know its air in the coolant. now if you just had the coolant changed, its likely someone did not bleed out the air properly. if nothing was done to the cooling system (no thermostat repair, water pump, etc)then you may have a blown headgasket causing combustion gases to get in the coolant. check the overflow tank level, it should be at max when car is cold. if not, add more to bring it up. if the level drops again, you have a problem.

 
Rep Power: 517

That's not diagnosis, that was a safety and maintenance check. Those are also "gravy money" jobs for the shop.

For the water noise, make sure the floor carpet padding is dry underneath (you have to lift it up and get underneath it) and there isn't water in the trunk area. There is a bulletin for water leaks around the wheel well areas, but these leave water in the interior.

Check inside the door(s) for standing water. Poke the trash out of the drain holes at the bottom of the doors along the seams so it can drain.
If no water there, then it is probably in the rocker panels below the door sills. (I have seen this before on other cars, but I can't remember where the drains are on a Civic right now...) There is probably a drain hole at the front and rear of the panel that got plugged up. Or along the pinch seam at the bottom of the rocker (where several panels meet and where the jack pads are).

How's water getting in there? Got rust? Been damaged or bodyshopped?

 
Rep Power: 290

My mom complained of water-like noises when I had my Hawk pads
Those pads were noisy as hell

I'd check if the noise was audible outside the car