10 year old Civic problems?
Hi folks -
I'm shopping for a reliable long distance commute vehicle and I think I've settled on a Civic. Will stick to an LX or EX for the extras like cruise control. Probably going to pick up something in the 95-98 range with 100-150k miles on it. Anything that commonly goes wrong with these vehicles that I should be watching out for? Still undecided on manual vs automatic transmission. Anyone have problems with the "moonroof" leaking? Thanx for any feedback ... jim |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
JeB wrote:
> Hi folks - > > I'm shopping for a reliable long distance commute vehicle and I > think I've settled on a Civic. Will stick to an LX or EX for the > extras like cruise control. Probably going to pick up something in > the 95-98 range with 100-150k miles on it. Anything that commonly > goes wrong with these vehicles that I should be watching out for? > > Still undecided on manual vs automatic transmission. > > Anyone have problems with the "moonroof" leaking? > > Thanx for any feedback ... jim I'd make sure that the timing belt has been replaced around 90K or so. That's an indication that the previous owner took good care of it. |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
I think one of the best things you can do for a Honda with
100-150k miles on it that you're thinking of buyin is get documentation of when the timing belt was last changed. If it's about due, then figure that's going to cost you around $400-$600. Other problems that come up with these Civics tend to be nickel and dime stuff, though the more documenation you can get on maintenance, the better. This assumes the car has been maintained and not driven hard. As you may know, the best way to verify this is through a test drive and to have a mechanic look it over. "JeB" <no@spam.org> wrote > Hi folks - > > I'm shopping for a reliable long distance commute vehicle > and I > think I've settled on a Civic. Will stick to an LX or EX > for the > extras like cruise control. Probably going to pick up > something in > the 95-98 range with 100-150k miles on it. Anything that > commonly > goes wrong with these vehicles that I should be watching > out for? > > Still undecided on manual vs automatic transmission. > > Anyone have problems with the "moonroof" leaking? > > Thanx for any feedback ... jim |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
I would be looking at the front axle CV boots with the steering wheel
turned to full lock. Also run the AC after the car is warmed up to verify the AC operation. I would feel the inlet and outlet pipe of the compressor (carefully). One side should be ice cold and the other very warm or hot. Good luck. |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
duckbill wrote:
> > I would be looking at the front axle CV boots with the steering wheel > turned to full lock. Also run the AC after the car is warmed up to verify > the AC operation. I would feel the inlet and outlet pipe of the > compressor (carefully). One side should be ice cold and the other very > warm or hot. Good luck. With regards to the AC, you should also check for the presence of bubbles in the system's site glass which, if found, could indicate a leak in the system. Eric |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
"Eric" <say.no@spam.now> wrote in message news:440E9FCE.24F6DFB1@spam.now...
> duckbill wrote: >> >> I would be looking at the front axle CV boots with the steering wheel >> turned to full lock. Also run the AC after the car is warmed up to >> verify >> the AC operation. I would feel the inlet and outlet pipe of the >> compressor (carefully). One side should be ice cold and the other very >> warm or hot. Good luck. > > With regards to the AC, you should also check for the presence of bubbles > in > the system's site glass which, if found, could indicate a leak in the > system. > > Eric Although a 95-98 would have R-134a, and probably no sight glass. (I don't know why no sight glass with R-134a... but it behaves enough differently from R-12 that I don't feel familiar with it.) Mike |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
I'd take a good look in the radiator. See if the coolant is dirty. give
the hoses a squeeze. Check for water in the oil. Drive it at 65 M.P.H. for a half hour and watch the temp gauge. bob |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
Michael Pardee wrote:
> > Although a 95-98 would have R-134a, and probably no sight glass. (I don't > know why no sight glass with R-134a... but it behaves enough differently > from R-12 that I don't feel familiar with it.) > Thanks for the clarification. I haven't dealt much with the R143a systems and couldn't remember if they had a sight glass or not. Eric |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
Eric <say.no@spam.now> wrote in news:440F3314.AB050FE2@spam.now:
> Michael Pardee wrote: >> >> Although a 95-98 would have R-134a, and probably no sight glass. (I >> don't know why no sight glass with R-134a... but it behaves enough >> differently from R-12 that I don't feel familiar with it.) >> > > Thanks for the clarification. I haven't dealt much with the R143a > systems and couldn't remember if they had a sight glass or not. > > Eric > My 94 Integra GSR AC has R134a and I believe it has a sight glass. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
"N.E.Ohio Bob" <rgstroud@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:EYAPf.16396$9I5.10130@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com. .. > I'd take a good look in the radiator. See if the coolant is dirty. give > the hoses a squeeze. Check for water in the oil. Drive it at 65 M.P.H. > for a half hour and watch the temp gauge. bob Good points. I once ignored traces of rust in the radiator because I was lusting for the car. What a mistake. Mike |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote
> Good points. I once ignored traces of rust in the radiator > because I was lusting for the car. What a mistake. What happened to the car? |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:AZMPf.4145$6I.4000@newsread3.news.pas.earthli nk.net... > "Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote >> Good points. I once ignored traces of rust in the radiator because I was >> lusting for the car. What a mistake. > > What happened to the car? > There were three points of corrosion that made me crazy. One was a freeze plug, of course, which I ended up patching by JB Welding a quarter into it because I didn't want to pull the engine. The other two were coolant fittings on the alloy intake plenum and on the head that were too eaten away to seal. I fixed one other leak by replacing the thermostat housing with one from a wrecking yard. What was really crippling about the leaks was that as I drove coolant would continually seep out, and when I parked it would suck air back in rather than recover coolant from the overflow. The result was that I could drive maybe two hours before it would overheat, then I had to wait for the engine to cool enough to put more coolant in the radiator. That was an '84 Nissan 300ZX. It had something like 105K miles on it when I bought it, and under 160K when I traded it in on our Toyota. I had been looking for a mid-life machine to replace my long-gone Lotus Europa, and I confess the abominably maintained Nissan still was more reliable than the Lotus... but it wasn't nearly as much fun to drive. Mike |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote
> "Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote >> "Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote >>> Good points. I once ignored traces of rust in the >>> radiator because I was lusting for the car. What a >>> mistake. >> >> What happened to the car? >> > There were three points of corrosion that made me crazy. snip but all comments read Good story; important tip for used car buyers. Folks should definitely test drive I guess at least half an hour, and definitely monitor the coolant quality and level before, during, and after. |
Re: 10 year old Civic problems?
On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 20:56:26 GMT, JeB <no@spam.org> wrote:
>Hi folks - > > I'm shopping for a reliable long distance commute vehicle and I >think I've settled on a Civic. Will stick to an LX or EX for the >extras like cruise control. Probably going to pick up something in >the 95-98 range with 100-150k miles on it. Anything that commonly >goes wrong with these vehicles that I should be watching out for? > >Still undecided on manual vs automatic transmission. > >Anyone have problems with the "moonroof" leaking? > >Thanx for any feedback ... jim > Thanks for all of the replies. Lots of good browsing tips. No luck so far in finding something in my price range that i'd be willing to own but still working on it. - jb |
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