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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-671.html)

Safe margin for upsizing is to keep the % increase in diameter <3%.
In addition to what CzechItaliaMto rightly said, upsizing tires will add pressure to the power steering.
Our Civic's hydraulic steering system is not one that can take abuse, so need to keep it safe as well to prevent leaks from occurring.

Hi sarathlal, the upsize I mentioned is approx 9% increase in diameter, so got it , it's a big no-no! And steering pump is an achilles heel for our Civic. Thank you sarathlal for your input :) between where are you in Trivandrum? I'm staying in Kulathoor/Kazhakkoottam, maybe we can catch up.

Sure, will definitely catch up :)

The Civic turned 15 this year(read thread here, and coincidentally hit the 90k mark at around the same time! Decided to drop in at Engineering Exponent, Whitefield for its routine service.

Things that needed to be done -

1. Oil change
2. Air filter and oil filter replacement
3. Radiator upper hose replacement(Slow leak/bubbling from one end)
4. Brakes service
5. Driver-side fender liner replacement
6. Engine checkup
7. AC gas top-up

We drove to EE along with these items-

1. Amsoil Signature Series 5W-30 engine oil(courtesy of TeamBHPian and friend @eccentric)
2. Denso Cool Gear Air Filter
3. Honda OE Oil filter
4. Honda OE radiator hoses
5. Honda OE camshaft plug(Part number - 12513-P72-003)
6. TYY(aftermarket) RHS fender liner

We were told that the car would be done by late evening, next day. However, much to our horror, they said our engine was misfiring pretty badly(we kind of knew about it, but we were suspecting the wrong things). The misfire needed more investigation so the car was left at the garage for a couple of more days.

Car being worked on at EE-


New radiator hose fitted-


Condition of old air filter(also Denso Cool Gear)-



After a couple of days, the guys at Engineering Exponent told us that 2 out of the 4 ignition coils are failing! We knew this was coming, since there were problems during cold start and the performance had reduced over the months after the previous service.

Since 2 of them were already gone, we decided to replace all 4 of them in one go as suggested by them since the other two may be on their way out as well.

The Honda ignition coils cost around 7-8k each, which is daylight robbery in my opinion. Decided to hunt down dealers and distributors for the same Denso ignition coil that was made for the Civic. The part number is 099700-1010/1011. I found an official Denso distributor through their website who were based out of Bangalore, and immediately contacted them. They said that they had only 1 in stock, but could get 3 more in another 8-10 days if we ordered them. So we did. Total cost for all four coils was around 11k.

The shop's name is Nippon Auto Electricals in JC Road, Bangalore. They have been in business for 25 years plus, as they say. I highly recommend this place because of their customer service and their supply of genuine Denso parts - you even get wiper blades, air filters and cabin filters for a whole variety of cars. This is not a paid promotion, I am speaking solely based on my experience at the place, after facing multiple rejections with around 10 shops in JC Road, searching for the same parts.

Picture of the packaging of ignition coils -


In the meantime, more problems arose with the Civic. As I was waiting for the coils, the guys at EE called us up and said that the starter motor has stopped working, and the car was not cranking. I saw this coming as well, as I could hear a grinding noise once in a while whenever I tried to start the car, mostly during cold starts. The starter motor was overhauled and put back together.

I delivered the coils around 10 days after the car was given for service. They said they would fit them, check spark plugs and give the car for wash before delivering. They also said they would test the car for a whole day before giving it back.

I finally received the car on Monday. Bill for all the repair work and service was around 15k, more than reasonable in my opinion! When I went for a test drive, I could immediately feel the difference! The acceleration and low end grunt had improved, the engine had also become quieter! The jerkiness in the cabin and intermittent stalling while in gear had also gone away! I thanked Engineering Exponent for everything(a top job done by them), and decided to leave with the car.

Hopefully, this is the end of it when it comes to putting money into the car this year. I think it will be, but let's see what it has in store for us! It never fails to put a smile on my face every time I drive it :loveit

A parting shot of the car just before delivery -


Thanks for reading!

OT for this thread, but wanted to share this with you all. :)

Brought home a White Bear for the White Tiger's company!

Congrats on the new car but I hope you will be retaining the Civic. It is not a easy car to replace. Combination of power, safety, comfort and reliability is hard to find and you will be paying a lot of money to get all of these in the same package. Only downside to Civic as per $ is concerned is that it's parts are freakishly expensive at times.

Thanks a lot!

Yes, Civic is still with me and would like to hold onto it as much I can. I kind of adore it so much that people think I am crazy lol:

Parts are getting more and more expensive, and time taking as well. Last time, had to wait for close to 4 weeks for the AC pipe to arrive (It developed a small leak, but luckily saw it earlier).
But still, its a very easy going car and more importantly, immensely engaging and fun to drive.

By the way, replaced all four tires with the Continental UC6 last week.

And here is the Kodiaq's review thread in case interested to read through :)
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...hite-bear.html

Recently been getting some work done on my 14-year-old Civic with over 1.27L on odo.

Replaced front and rear struts with TRW ones. They seem to be doing great so far.

Replaced front strut mount and bearing with Technix ones. It was a big mistake, the bearing seized within a week and spring has started to bind. The mount itself looked very low quality with improper cut hole. Will be replacing the mount and bearing again. Sourced OEM bearing and Autoequip strut mount with kit.

Had replaced the engine main mount and transmission mount with Technix mount a little over a year ago. Sadly, the main engine mount has collapsed and failed. The transmission mount appears on its way out with some life left. Ordered Autoequip mounts for both.

The quality of Technix parts I believe is very poor and I would not recommend it to anyone. The rubber quality looks very cheap and will barely last. In comparison, Autoequip appears to be a far superior aftermarket brand with rubber quality appearing to be far superior to Technix almost close to OEM and the same parts are manufactured in Thailand and imported here. Will post a review after replacing the motor mounts and strut mount with Autoequip.

NOTE : I was unable to source the new OEM strut bearings, so got two used ones from junkyard. Had to regrease the bearings. It's quite simple to regrease them, you need a good lithium grease approved to be used to automotive bearings, 200ml of petrol, silicone spray and a screw driver to open it up.

Open the main plastic cover by gently prying with the screwdriver in between, be VERY CAREFUL WHILE OPENING to not to spill the bearings, clean the old grease with petrol thoroughly from all the parts and let it dry. Spray silicone spray on all the plastic parts and rubber seals. Carefully arrange the bearings, regrease it back and gently fit it.

A quick update on the parts replaced recently.

Autoequip strut mount, engine mount and transmission mount installed. Previous poor quality Technix parts have been swapped which all failed very quickly.

The problem appears to be solved and looking at the quality of new parts, they will probably last a long time.

In case anyone is looking to replace these parts , you can consider getting Autoequip aftermarket ones if OEM is too expensive. I sourced these from an online retailer named Sparebros , they don't seem to be available elsewhere.

How I Got My Hands on a Genuine Set of Honda Accord CL7 EuroR Wheels!

As tradition goes, every year for my birthday, I treat myself to something special for my car. Last year, it was the OEM Modulo body kit, which stands out from the fugly CRZ and wide body kits Civic owners are into these days. But this year, I was on the hunt for something even better – wheels that would make my car one of a kind. My inspiration? The legendary DC5 Integra in white on white.

I had been scouring forums, classifieds, and social media for months, looking for that one-of-a-kind set of wheels that would not only upgrade my car's look but also give it a piece of JDM history. My existing tyres were nearing their end, giving me the perfect excuse for this upgrade.

One random day, while I was scrolling through Facebook, something caught my eye on the Civic owners group, a for sale post with a set of genuine OEM Honda wheels. I did a quick Google Lens search and found out that these were from an Accord CL7 EuroR. I doubt the seller knew what he was holding, and I have no clue how these ended up in the country. I reached out right away, and the negotiation began. It wasn’t easy – a back-and-forth that stretched on for three months. But finally, we agreed on a price, and in two days, the wheels were on their way to me. The tyres they came with had to go, and I also had to sell my stock alloys as I had no place to store them. I managed to sell the old stock 15 inch set with their tyres for 18k, and the tyres that came with the accord wheels for 8k.



When they arrived


With that taken care of, I wanted to do something I've thought about a lot even with my previous car, but never ended up doing; painting the brake calipers. I’ve always loved the look of painted calipers peeking through the spokes of sporty wheels. So I DIY'd the callipers red following the proper steps I learnt on Youtube; prepping and priming the surface before paint, and using high temperature spray paint





Next up: Tyres. After some research, I settled on Michelin Pilot Sport 4s in 205/50 R17 (Got a great deal on them). I could immediately tell the difference between comfort tyres and sporty ones. The grip levels were definitely a huge upgrade, the handling way tighter.



Attaching some images of the wheels (Before I decided to paint them white)












But I wasn’t done yet. The DC5 Integra had always been my muse, and to truly complete the look, the wheels needed to be white. After 3-4 months driving around with these and after hours of making Photoshop renders, imagining my car with white wheels, I knew I had to go for it. I dropped the wheels off for a full repaint. When I saw them in white, it was everything I hoped for.

There's just one trade off: Brembo brakes love to shower the wheels with brake dust. So, yes, I end up cleaning them almost every weekend. They look quite awesome when they're clean, but god awful when they're dirty. I don't think I would get white wheels on any other car, so this was a first and last.

Attaching some pictures I shot for Madras Driven

The wheels look sexy! would love to see it in person on the next Sunday cruise.

The Alternator of my Honda Civic Petrol 1.8 V AT, 2008 model needs replacement, the local Honda workshop in Jaipur says that a new one will cost Rs. 65,000 but is not available with Honda. Can anyone please help me to source this. The car is running well and I wish to keep it. Thanks

Take it to your trusted FNG and ask him to overhaul the alternator from a car electricals shop. Usually these fixes last for a good amount of time and not much can go wrong with an alternator that it needs replacement but the dealerships always follow replace and not repair policy.

Otherwise, You should contact some scrap dealers in UP from the Honda Civic India Owners group and they will be able to source a used alternator in relatively good shape for a fraction of the cost.

The alternators available on motrparts.com, etc are aftermarket and I don't trust them, since it is a critical component of the car.

Thanks for your prompt help. In fact the Alternator was repaired in may 2024 by a mechanic who used to work at Honda. The car stalled last week at a traffic signal and had to be towed to Honda Workshop, there they first asked for a relay which was probably fixed during the Alternator repair, when I was not able to source this relay they said the Alternator has to be changed. I am looking for the relay photos attached. As regards the Alternator the plate giving details of the Alternator is full of dirt and number etc. not readable. We are trying. Thanks once again.

With my limited knowledge of car electricals, I don't think this relay has anything to do with the alternator. A quick Google search shows this is used for dual horns or dual headlamps etc. One more thing I found bizarre, the Honda guys are asking you to source the part? That's a first.If indeed that relay was causing a problem, the Honda guys should have replaced it with an OE part.

Please find a competent car electricals shop in your city and get the car out of HASS. The alternator replacement should be your last resort before trying other alternatives. Good luck.