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-   -   Honda Civic : Maintenance, Service Costs and Must dos (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/47997-honda-civic-maintenance-service-costs-must-dos-330.html)

Hi guys, I am having a minor problem with my Civic and would like to get some help from you. My car is a 2008 S (Manual Transmission). Done approx 45,000 kms. About 8 months ago the engine started making some whining noise while running hot for some extended period of time (say 1-2 hours) and the noise stays till the engine gets cooled down / next day. This is especially more while climbing hills. I have got it serviced a few times, each time the dealer finds nothing wrong but does some "general repair/ torque correction"(that's what they say) and the noise disappears. But it again starts after a month or so of use. It does't seem to have any effect on the power or vibration or anything else. The noise is somewhat pronounced (similar to in a muted older Autorickshaw) enough to be noticed by the occupants. We have another Civic in family with similar miles and it doesn't have any problem like this. I'm thinking about changing the service dealer. Is it worth it? One of my friend suggested replacing the clutch belt (I'm not even sure what's that). Can one of the experts give an opinion. Thanks.

Are you / dealer sure its not the engine mount problem?

Found today that my Civic like most also lacks a Dust & Pollen Filter. Any mail order sources?

I had a similar whining noise once on the hills and it vanished after the power-steering-fluid was topped up. So check the PS fluid level.

Will an engine mount problem give rise to similar noise? I'm not an auto / mechanical guy and therefore not sure. May be I'll ask the dealer next time. Thanks for the tip.

Standard trick. Extended warranty is not available only for plastic parts - if at all I'm to believe the HASS I visit. They tried to pull a fast one on me using this line last year but I fought back with evidence and they had no recourse but to honour my warranty claim. And all this for a pathetic little 1850 rupee part called the "air mix motor". There's no way steering rack and pump can be plastic, so they have to heed your claim. And please fight for it. Being an expensive part, both Honda and HASS will try their best not to foot the bill. It'll greatly help if you have serviced the car regularly as per their recommended schedule and maintained your copies of every service record and can produce them at will. That's what helped me.

The fuel level indicator doesn't refresh itself instantaneously. This has happened once or twice with me. In a few minutes, or after a few hundred metres of driving, the indicator will show the correct status.

Note that if you fill immediately after the yellow light comes on, you should be able to pump in 37.5 litres until auto-cutoff if hot air has escaped from the tank. That's because the reserve is 12.5 litres and the car has a 50 litre tank. However, since the indicator doesn't always update instantaneously it's possible that the yellow light comes on some time after there are only 12.5 litres left. In these cases you'll see more than 37.5 litres going into the tank up to auto-cutoff.

I have driven up to 60-70 kms after the yellow light coming on and even then the tankful reading was less than 45 litres. A TBHPian (Ace355) had once managed to go down to as low as 48.2. Of course, a few kms after auto-cutoff all the indicator bars go out and the only tool you have is the odo reading when the yellow light came on, and then you'll have to trust your judgement. Did the light come on at exactly 37.5 consumed or more? That will determine how much you can push your luck. I would say the safe limit for my car is 90 kms (10 litres * lowest sustained avg I recorded till date) after the yellow light comes on. On the highway I can stretch that to 120-130 kms potentially. HASS typically advises 70 kms max but they consider 7 kmpl as the average Civic's F/E.

My empirical estimates seem to indicate that each bar on the fuel indicator corresponds to 2 litres of fuel, because the bars typically go out around 18-20 kms of in-city driving after the yellow light comes on, in most cases. Sometimes less, sometimes more, but the difference between those two events is typically 18-20 kms and I get around 10 kmpl in-city. There are 20 bars, so that's 40 out of the 50 litres for which you get visual indication. This has mostly been corroborated in my experience with actual recorded tankfuls.

Even if this is possible, I would be wiling to try it out only on a Toyota or a Honda, and that too not mine. :)

12-13k would be the limit for me on a Civic. I'm not too worried about the 5k interval as the 5k services cost only around 1000-1100 give or take.

Regards,
spadix

Can you give us the source of this information, as to clarify a thought about the linearly reacting fuel sensor readings!

There have been times when, after showing a drop in the number of fuel bars, an additional fuel bar gets lit..especially after I drive sedately. For eg: after a little spirited driving yesterday, the number of lit fuel bars came down from 7 to 6. Thereafter, I drove sedately and after a while, the bars again showed 7 lit. Has this ever happened with anyone? And there wasn't any incline or anything. Does the fuel bars depict expected fuel efficiency too? I don't know.

I have noticed this behavior quite a few times, especially in the 2-4 bar range, where the fuel gauge is probably not that accurate. Not sure about the 6-7 bar range though.

+1

Most typically seen in the 2-3 bars range, but usually there's an incline involved. Even in those cases where the level has changed after overnight parking (and in some cases the yellow light goes out as well) it's been because the car was parked on a slight incline with nose higher than tail.

Regards,
spadix

Hi Laluks,
The data on the fuel bars was derived from some calculations made on couple of long distance runs and validating against the logs. Plus cross referencing the findings with various discussions we had in the forum, plus, sites like 8thCivic and the owners manual details (For fuel tank capacity, reserve capacity etc)

Calculations are basically done in simple way.
Would always fill in as soon as it is just some 3-4 bars from empty and will not the amount of fuel taken(me going tank - tank most times helps). This I had repeated some 4-5 times and averaged out the results.

Please let me know, if you are looking for anything specific, and If I could help.

You are spot on Spadix!
Civic's fuel sensors are also, the normal floating type ones.
So, like others, if the car is facing down slope, the indicator will show lower reading, and if the car is facing uphill, the indicator will show higher reading.

Yes, I have noticed this as well. Happens on and off. Hope someone can throw light on why this happens.

Today, I started my Civic, pressed the clutch pedal to engage the first gear and disaster. The clutch pedal remained depressed..after little tinkering it came back to its original position. So now I've got a clutch pedal which gets stuck. Is this an issue with the slave cylinder or the spring for the pedal? My car has run 81k so I've braced myself for other issues. Taking it for service today, and let's see what these guys say about the clutch.

Just checked about the Dust & Pollen Filter for the AC. It is not even listed. The page graphic shows items 1-13. The filter was No.13. When we looked for the part number it was not there (Jinxed No.13!!) . Any advice, esp about source and price.

Professor, are you referring to the filter that is accessed by removing the glove box compartment? If so, I remember the topic coming up in this very thread some 15 months or even before that. I do recall one TBHPian having ordered it through ebay and having commented that it didn't make too much of a difference. Need to search for the thread/post though.

EDIT: Please check this link if you haven't already - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...r-car-too.html