Hello
I have a 2012 Honda Civic, with only 4500 miles on it. When slowing and turning i have a hesitation. It does this about 6 out of 10 times. When pulling into traffic, this can be scary. I have asked the dealer about said problem, but told it’s just because its new and will get better when i get some miles on it. No way do i believe that. Not sure where to turn. I would hate to have an accident and hurt someone or myself. Have any other of you civic owners had this problem I might add this is an automatic transmission. Thanks for any help anyone can give me.
You need to find another dealer. Whoever told you that a problem will get better with use is a moron. Keep all records of anything that is done to your Civic. You may need them in case the little Honda turns out to be a lemon.
No, this is not something that will go away with more miles, and I think that the dealership is just hoping that you will go away–until the warranty expires.
Instead, I think that this problem is more likely due to the very low usage that this car gets.
I would suggest that the OP take his car to a reliable independent mechanic, and have the throttle body and Mass Air Flow sensor cleaned. If this does not help, and if the dealership’s service department continues to stonewall him, then the OP should contact Honda of America at the corporate level, via the toll-free phone number listed in the Owner’s Manual. The folks at the corporate level can almost always light a fire under recalcitrant people at the dealership level.
And…I really hope that the OP is maintaining his car on the basis of elapsed time, rather than on the basis of odometer mileage. Even though the car has less than 5k miles on the odometer, the oil should have been changed a few times so far.
The minimum for oil changes is every 6 months, so–depending on how many months the car has been in use–the oil should have been changed anywhere from twice to perhaps 3 times so far. Failure to do this will lead to major engine problems in the future, and these problems likely would not be covered under warranty.
Chk Eng lite?
Assuming no CEL and all the routine maintenance is up to date. This could be any of a dozen different things. For the most part I’d expect whatever it is to be minor repairs or adjustments to fix it. But when I read your description, my first thought was the power steering. In many cars – not entirely sure about yours, but probably - when you turn the steering wheel the car’s idle speed is supposed to increase a wee bit, to compensate for the load on the engine due to the power steering pump in operation during a turn. Usually it works like this: there is a pressure sensor in the power steering pump which activates a path around the throttle valve, effectively the same thing as if you pressed your foot on the gas pedal a bit. I’m guessing something has failed in this power steering/idle speed linkage function. You might ask your mechanic to check it out.
Another thing you could try is see if pressing your foot slightly on the gas pedal while ou are turning like when it happens eliminates the problem. If so, that would be consistent with the power steering/idle linkage.
And as said by the posters above, no, this is definitely not normal, and whether my guess is right or not, it needs to be addressed.
The car is well maintained, even though it has low mileage. I have talked to the dealer about this problem offered to leave it for days if needed. They tell me that they can not find anything wrong… I however know there is something wrong since i drive it daily. I think it could be the transmission not shifting down properly. I did tell the dealer that, that is meet with a blank stare. I may be old but not stupid. The only reason i do not go to a local garage, is that this is a new car. The hesitation is like when cars had a bad accelerator pump (only old people need to smile). I;m going back to the dealer again next week. Thanks for the help.
Here’s what you might want to do:
Go to the dealer and sit down with your regular service advisor
Tell him that the car is still acting up
Toss the keys on his desk
Stand up
Tell him to not bother calling you until the car’s been fixed
Walk away
Have a friend/spouse drive you home
If they call you with some BS “can’t duplicate” story, tell them you’re not picking it up until they call and say it’s fixed and what they did to fix it.
Open your owner’s manual and look for the regional Honda office number(should be a 1-800 number), call it and explain your situation.
While I know you’re frustrated, be calm when talking to the person on the phone, maybe throw in a “I bought a Honda because I heard they were the best cars out there, but I think I may have gotten a Monday morning car or something”. With any luck, they might send a rep out to the dealership to meet with you and work with the dealership to fix your problem