I have a 2006 Civic which has been a great car but in the last 2 months I have replaced the tires and aligned the car (ok), had the wheels painted because they were rusting (not ok), replaced the visor because it fell apart (not ok), replaced the engine block because it was cracked (way not ok) and then had a “clunk” noise which resulted in first having a strut replaced and now a wheel bearning (both not ok).
I would think nothing else can go wrong, but I’m seriously worried about what could be next. Is it time to move on?
I have a 2003 Civic and I’ve only had the bad strut which was covered by warranty at about 13K miles. I’ve got 90K on it now.
If I’d had the issues you’ve dealt with I’d consider selling the car and getting something else. You’ll take a hit on depreciation but either your car has a lot more problems than the norm, or Honda isn’t building the Civic like it used to.
You didn’t give the mileage on the car. If you like the car, I’d have to hope it should hold up for a while without more problems. Your concern however is understandable given your history with the car to this point.
Not fun. I’m curious, how did the engine block get a crack in it? Between that and the suspension issues, it sounds like you ran over something? Is there some more back story here?
I agree there has to be a story behind this and tires, alignment, rusted wheels, or even a strut or wheel bearing problem is not a cause for concern. That’s the cost of driving and it applies to every car.
That bit about a cracked block is the one that sounds suspect to me.
They said that some engine castings were just bad…?? I have about 38,000 very well maintained miles on the car. I was driving past the dealership one day and the air went hot and it started to overheat…no other explanation but I could see where the antifreeze was leaking out.
The car has 38,000 very well maintained miles on it…all service at the dealership and I’ve been happy with it till lately. No accidents etc. I am out of warranty but did buy the extended warranty but now they are saying that the noise from last week is not related to the noise this week even though it was there when i picked up the car and I called it in immediately and only drove 5 miles between visits.
I’m hating cars right now.
Glad to know your Civic has held up well.
Find someplace else to service your vehicle…
First off…if what the dealer says is true (bad casting)…then they should replace this for free. That’s a manufacturing flaw.
There have been unscrupulous dealers/mechanics out there who will charge you for services…but never actually perform them. I ran across two in my almost 40 years of car ownership. Back in the 1980 I bought a new Datsun Pickup…and took it in for it’s 10k (required checkup…many manufacturers had these back then). Part of the “required checkup” was to do an oil change at a cost of $30. A couple days after I picked the truck up I opened the hood for some reason (probably to add washer fluid)…and I could clearly see my Bright Orange Fram filter…I was furious…Moral of the story…unless you actually see them doing the service…don’t assume they did it.
You are either being taken to the cleaners by a crooked dealer or you have a genuinely defective car which should be covered by warranty, as others point out. Go to another dealer and at least get at the truth. A Honda with that few miles should have no problems whatsoever!
Struts last a very long time even on a cheap car. Agree that it’s possible you hit something. That would not be covered by warranty, but your insurance might cover it.
I would be very curious to learn how much the OP was charged to allegedly replace the engine block. I say “allegedly” because I believe that no work of that nature was actually done, and that something far simpler like hose replacement, radiator replacement, or…at an extreme…perhaps replacement of the head gasket was done, even if the OP was told that the engine block was replaced.
If you got 38K miles from your original tires you did much better than I, mine were shot at 23K miles. The rusting wheels is odd, but not a major mechanical problem. The visor, strut, and engine block were fixed under warranty?
At 38K miles your brakes may show signs of wear. I got about 70K out of my front pads and haven’t needed rear brakes yet. The brakes could be making the noise if the pad wear indicators are touching the rotors. This new noise could be a wheel bearing too. If it is the brakes that could be normal wear and tear. The wheel bearing shouldn’t go bad this soon, but it isn’t unheard of either. Fortunately new wheel bearings are not too expensive and perhaps covered under your extended warranty.
Next step?
wrap it around a tree, report it stolen and collect insurance money.
All kidding aside, dump this thing ASAP
Thank goodness the car is under warranty. I would investigate whether this situation is covered under your state’s lemon law.
Read the OP’s follow-up post. It is NOT under warranty.
I am still wondering about that allegedly cracked engine block, and whether that purported defect was repaired under the terms of the warranty.
Glad you’re on top of things VDC! There was mention of an extended warranty - that’s what I meant.
If the extended warranty is from a 3rd party, the OP would be lucky if it covered ANY thing
There is one way of verifying whether things are on the up and up.
Locate the serial number on the engine block and then determine if that number was fitted to the car originally.
This info could possibly be gotten from the Honda regional office but any mention of any potential fraud should not be mentioned at this time.
Another possibility might be to take the engine serial number and hit the Honda parts department up. They may have a cross reference to determine if that serial fits that car.
Did you buy this car new or used? Clean title or rebuilt title? This sounds like a car that maybe has been pieced together from other vehicles.
“but I could see where the antifreeze was leaking out”
Where was the coolant leaking from? Please describe in as much detail as possible.
Also–even though the original warranty coverage is now apparently over, it sounds like the allegedly cracked block occurred while the factory warranty was in effect. Was this problem covered by the Honda warranty?
And–As bscar says, below, if the extended warranty is from a 3rd party, rather than from Honda, it will likely not pay for any repairs on your car.