Hello everyone!
This is my first post in the Team BHP forums (amazing community btw!).
A few months ago I purchased a used 2007 Honda Civic that had close to 1L km on the odo from a local second hand dealership; you could say it was the first car I officially "owned" (used to haul around a handful of cars, but didn't really think about buying one as a mainstay till this point); it was a very impulsive purchase as I desperately, urgently needed a car for some work which I had at the time, and I thought got it at a relative bargain...
Here's where the story starts to go downhill.
A few weeks went by with the car; as I was extremely busy at the time I hardly had time to notice anything else, but once the rush subsided and and I was able to start using the car under normal conditions, I started to realize there were a myriad of issues with the car; the experience has since degraded into a nightmare of sorts with one problem cropping up after the other. The people at HASS weren't really helpful, and every single mechanic I've went to churned out his own essay full of colorful ideas and solutions (all of them eye-wateringly expensive, and some even bordering on hilarity). I've listed out a few of the issues below and hope the folks at the forum can help me out!
1. The biggest perceived problem so far. I picked up the first anomaly through the clutch action; depressing the clutch turned out to be a chore, and the car shudders like anything when I lift it up to the biting point. I realized the clutch may be nearing the end of its life (maybe the previous owner had a habit of riding the clutch...?). Further more, slotting into first while decelerating is very, very difficult and requires quite a bit of force to wrestle it into gear. Not only that, sometimes it refuses to slot into the reverse gear and I find myself having to push it into first and wait a while before yanking it into R and pulling out of the driveway.
I'm thinking of overhauling the clutch assembly with a Daikin-Exedy set I believe is used by these Civics, but I'm not sure what to do about the flywheel. Is it safe to skim the flywheel? Replacing the wheel is going to burn a whole in my budget and I'd much rather avoid unnecessary expenses on this... Also, what do I do about the master and slave cylinders? Could they be the reason behind the rock-stiff gearshift down to first (shifting into first from standstill is fine; it's only while driving do I really feel the heat), or is this problem caused by some sort of wear or fault with the synchro rings (which would be a much worse prospect, as it would mean ripping apart the transmission assembly, possibly?)?
HASS is blaring out an insane 30-50l (quoted by HASS officials of varying audacity) for the clutch overhaul, and I don't even want to ask them about the other issues I've faced. Can anyone suggest a good OEM parts distributor and mechanic for replacing the clutch assembly, and give me some advice on the clutch status?
2. Another major problem seems to be with the battery; owing to the poor state of the clutch, a few of my friends, and even I myself noticed a very serious issue with the battery to this day.
Occasionally, when the car stalls (having gotten used to the clutch this problem doesn't occur anymore as I micro-manage the biting point to stop the car from dying on me, but still a very serious issue nonetheless that pops up without warning), it fails to turn over. It definitely doesn't seem to be an issue with the starter as there is no clatter of the starter motor when I turn the key; there is simply silence, and no response, which may be a battery issue.
I cleaned up the terminals and wiped off the corrosion buildup after the problem recurred a couple of times, and the problem has subsided greatly since then; but still the issue pops up every now and then when I deliberately stall the engine to see if it pops up. What could be the solution to this? I've had trouble recreating the issue at the service center as the car acts all immaculate whenever the service advisers are keenly monitoring the car. It's only at the most critical traffic junctions the car refuses to start up.
3. Another critical issue that was bugging me for a long time;
After getting the car I sent it off to HASS for a major service (better be safe than sorry) that cost me close to 10k. The service list was illustrious, but I sadly couldn't inspect the status of the service owing to the frantic rush back then. The bill included the major oil changes, suspension tuneup, power steering tuneup and lubrication, filters replacement (air, fuel), throttle body cleaning, the airbag replacement mandated by the Takata recall (free of charge), and the likes of such.
Problem is, around a month later, while cruising along the expressway and slowing down to pull out into a slip road, the engine abruptly died on me; I didn't even realize it until I felt the steering had locked up. Immediately I fired up the engine again and continued on my way.
Over repeated commutes, I was able to replicate the issue on isolated areas; the engine would flutter out quietly as soon as I depressed the clutch. This was an alarming issue, as it could affect the safety of other road users, not to mention myself! I really wasn't sure what the source of the problem was, but it could have been anything, from the fuel pump, or the throttle body (which had been "completely cleaned" by HASS barely a week back). I took the car to a mechanic I knew (didn't want to go back to Honda as they'd simply charge a few grand on the bill without really caring much for the details) and told him to drive it around and see what the problem was about after explaining the situation to him.
Funny enough, he couldn't replicate the issue after driving it around for a few dozen kilometers. He sprayed some lubricant on the engine bay connection terminals, and told me to keep driving as the problem seemed temporary.
Alas, on my way back the problem repeated, and I took the car back to him and asked him to clean up the throttle body along with a few other things. The problem had disappeared since then, and I hope it doesn't happen again....
4. Whilst I was at the workshop with the mechanic, I happened to come across a LOT of black soot buildup inside the exhaust tailpipes; I was surprised, as the exhaust was clean when I'd bought the car. Upon having the workers rev the engine, I could visibly see faint traces of black smoke shooting out the exhaust. I was already distraught with the stalling issue, so I told them to do something about it, and they responded by replacing the spark plugs.
The problem didn't really get better post-replacement, but the car developed a nasty habit of thudding irregularly (very sparsely) at neutral. I noticed a few days after the replacement, as I was sitting on the idling car in the morning. Almost like arrhythmia... is this a serious issue? What damage could a faulty spark plug install do to the engine...?
And what about the black soot and light black smoke? I don't suspect the filters as they were replaced only a short while back. Could there be an issue with the fuel injector or something?
5. The aforementioned stalling issue led to the development of another recurring nuisance; one night while returning from work, upon slowing down to cope with the buildup of traffic, the engine decided to go AWOL again. Naturally the power steering locked up, but as there was another car right in front of me (and I was barreling towards him with the engine dead), I yanked the steering wheel to one side to steer clear of him as I turned the engine over with the other free hand.
When the car came back to life, I immediately realized something was off with the steering--it had become slightly heavier--but figured it must be my imagination, and continued on.
A few weeks on, and now it's evidently clear the steering wheel had become much harder to turn than before. I understand an issue with the steering rack or power steering is going to be a major investment. I've checked my fluid levels and they are fine... what could be the culprit behind this, and is this going to cost me a fortune?
6. It rained a few weeks ago. Heavily. I got in my car that morning like everyone else, and incidentally raised my hand and ran it through the roof lining on my driver's side A pillar.
To my horror, water had seeped into the fabric; and it was spreading with the falling rain. It took quite a while to dry off after the weather cleared... How do I rectify this one?
Those are just some of the issues I am explicitly concerned about, at least with the internals of the car. Not to mention the neighborhood dogs dancing atop my car every evening (Just mine; I guess the low hood and swept back silhouette makes it a canine favorite to climb onto) and slowly turning my Civic into a mobile abstract art exhibition (the paintwork costs alone are giving me headaches); the condensation on my headlamps; the mysterious failure of my windshield washer nozzles(one stopped altogether while the other one was gnawed on--now it shoots water away from the windshield and into the asphalt!), the rather unpleasant smell emanating from the cabin through the old fabric, and other such oddities...
I frankly don't know what I did to deserve this, considering I take care of my cars as best I can and have never had such an appalling experience prior to this Civic!
Apologies for dragging out the essay into a spewing off complaints, but I'm seriously disturbed by this current crisis with this automobile and am desperately looking for constructive help from this cabin. Having finally found some free time, I'm looking to resolve most of the major issues before mid-April...
Please help!