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Honda Civic UK (2001 - 2005)

What's Good

Good looking, long wheelbase 5-door 'Swindon' Civic hatchback launched at September 2000 Paris Motor Show and sold in UK from January 2001. 14' 1" long by 5' 7" wide (3-door 13' 7" long) and weighing from 1,200kg. Dash-mounted gearchange, flat floor and very spacious 'walk through' interior ideal for mothers with babies and small children. Front seats recline fully into single beds if required. Fascia-mounted gearstick. New 90 bhp 1.4 litre non-VTEC and 110 bhp 1.6 litre VTEC-II engines. Already met Euro 2005 emissions limits. 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic options in all but base 1.4iS. Electric power steering, ABS with electronic brake distribution and air conditioning in all models.

Achieved five stars in American National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration tests and four stars in Euro NCAP crash tests. Also got the highest pedestrian impact safety score ever recorded at the time.

2-door coupe from April 2001 (separate entry). 3-door hatch followed in September 2001 priced £1,000 less model for model than 5-door.

Range broadened to include six-speed 2.0 litre chain-cam 200PS 3-door Type R priced at a reasonable £15,995 (a/c a £800 extra on this), which rapidly became a cult car (separate entry).

Three year, 90,000 mile manufacturer warranty.

Range deservedly became very popular. 60mpg, 100bhp twin-cam common rail diesel launched at September 2001 Frankfurt Show, in UK from early 2002. CO2 just 134g/km. Badged 1.7CTDi, the Isuzu engine features high pressure common rail injection and variable vane turbo. Power output is 100bhp at 4,400rpm and torque 220Nm (162 lb ft) at 1,800rpm. This takes the 3-door model to 60mph in just over 11 seconds and on to a top speed of 113mph. Combined fuel consumption is 57.7mpg and CO2 emissions 134g/km which easily qualifiies for the lowest £110pa VED bracket for diesel cars. Prices from £12,995 for 3-dr SE and from £13,495 for 5-dr S. A/c standard on all diesels. On UK sale May 2002.

130mph 160ps Type-S 5-door from January 2002 at £14,995. Nice smooth 2.0 chain cam engine revs to 7,000, does 70 in second, has unfashionable 195/65 x 15 Michelin Primacy tyres that give good combination of ride, quietness and handling.

Front and rear facelift for 2004 model year (last photo, red Type S), on sale in UK from 1-11-2003, includes "significant ride, handling and steering improvements", bigger boot through adoption of spacesaver emergency wheel, bigger headlights, better acceleration from Type R, Type S gets 'Vehicle Stability Assist' and 16" wheels with 205/55 tyres and all models have standard airconditioning. (Photo shows 2004 3-door.) 2004 Type R and Type S have indicators in mirrors and chain-cam conventionally rotating engines (others reverse rotating belt-cam). Lesser models now on 60 profile Dunlop SP300 or Michelin Primacy low rolling resistance tyres.

2004 figures and prices: 1.4E 3-dr top speed 110, 0-60 11.6, mpg 44.8 combined, price £10,000; 1.4E 5-dr top speed 109, 0-60 11.8, mpg 44.1 combined, prices E £11,000, SE £13,500. 1.4 5-dr SE auto top speed 103, 0-60 14.7, mpg 39.2 combined, price £14,400; 1.6SE and Sport 3-dr top speed 116, 0-60 10.0, mpg 42,8 combined, prices SE £12,000, Sport £13,500. 1.6SE 3-dr auto top speed 113, 0-60 11.9, mpg 39.8, price £12,900; 1.6 SE and Executive 5-dr top speed 115, 0-60 10.0, mpg 42.8 combined, prices SE £13,000, Executive £14,000; 1.6 SE and Executive auto top speed 109, 0-60 12.1, mpg 39.2 combined, prices SE auto £13,900, Executive auto £14,900; 1.7 CTDI SE 3-dr top speed 113, 0-60 11.0, mpg 56.5 combined, price £13,000; 1.7 CTDI SE 5-dr top speed 113, 0-60 11.2, mpg 56.5 combines, price £14,000; 2.0 Type S 5-dr top speed 130, 0-60 8.2, mpg 37.7 combined, price £15,000; 2.0 Type R top speed 146, 0-60 6.3, mpg 31.7 combined, price £16,000 (now including a/c).

Type S uprated from May 2004 as Type S VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) with 205/55 x 16 tyres at £15,513. 0-60 8.4, top speed 130, combined mpg 37.7, CO2 179g/km. Base 1.4E model comes with CD radio player and original console-free flat floor giving access between the front seats to children strapped in the back.

Eighth most reliable car in 2001 Fleet News Survey of 620,000 fleet cars mostly under 3 years old. 10th from top for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. Base model 1.4iE 3-door cut to £9,995 in April 2002. 1.4i Vision 3-door with a/c £9,995 from June 2002; Vision 1.4 5-door with a/c £10,995; Vision 1.6 auto 5-door with a/c £11,995. See separate road tests of both 5-door and 3-door models on this site. Joint 2nd top make in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002. 13th = overall in 2003 What Car? J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. 99% breakdown free in 2003 Which survey. Came 12th from top in 2005 JD Power/What Car Survey of 23,000 cars reg Sep 2002 to Aug 2003 with satisfaction score of 83.2%. Hondas generally 8th lowest average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 67.27 v/s lowest 31.93) Exemplary rating of fewest breakdowns, problems and faults in 2003 Which survey, making it a Which 'Best Buy'. 28th from top car out of 137 in 2003 Top Gear survey. Cars up to 2 years old 99% breakdown-free over previous 12 months in 2004 Which? survey. Which? Best Buy 2004. Honda 2nd top top of Reliability Index for 2004 combining low average cost of repair of £263.17 with low 19.62 failures per 100 Warranty Direct policies. Civic top in 2006 Reliability Index. Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk 2001-2005 Civic 9th most reliable car in 2007 Warranty Direct Reliability Survey with 10 faults per 100 cars.

Last 200bhp chain cam Type Rs identified by rear privacy glass, Recaro seats and Momo steering wheel. Priced £16,950, or £17,950 with a/c.

Road test original 1.4 and 1.6 5-door at www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=3

Road test Civic 1.7 CDTI at www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=55

Road test Civic 3-door and Type R at www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=29

Haynes Manual now available at £18.99 (hardback) from www.haynes.co.uk

Last updated 20-10-2009

What's Bad

1.6 can be a bit noisy on the motorway due to harmonics of its flat floor (1.4 seemed to be better). Doesn't handle in the same sporty fashion as the Ford Focus.

Body not electro-galvanized so only has a six year no perforation warranty.

To keep the price down to £15,995, air-conditioning is an £800 extra on the Type R.

From March 2003, all 3-door models, all Type S and all other 5 doors have cubbyhole consoles "due to popular demand" so lack the walk-through practicality of earlier 5-doors.

Apparently, the body retains rainwater around the hatchback so if the hatch is opened after the car has been standing in a shower the retained water cascades into the boot.

Mystery battery leakdowns can be through the starter switch.

What to Watch Out For

More feedback welcome.

Problems with noisy manual gearbox bearings.

One complaint of a strange problem with the headlamp load height adjusters on a 2002 car.

Complaints of fault in 5 year old key/immobiliser causing intermittent starting problem. The problem is likely to be a faulty immobiliser coil (the thing that reads the chip inside the ingnition barrel). Not available separately so have to buy the whole ignition barrel kit. Costs about £350 fitted.

By 2007 reports of various problems with the electric power steering were starting to emerge. These include loose racks, failed racks, stiff steering with no 'feel' and failed steering column top bearings. By 2009, further complaints of steering column bearing/bush failure costing £657 to replace.

Make sure a/c blows cold. A/c problem on circa 2001-2004 Civics. Vanes of aircon condenser prone to dropping allowing coolant leaks. Honda has extended the warranty on the a/c because of this. Later cars not affected.

Check for extensive rusting around chrome finisher above the number plate on the rear hatch.

If frequently carwashed the seal around the stubby aerial gets broken and water will enter the rear of the car.

On 1.4 and 1.6, timing belts can come off before the official life of 72k miles or 6 years, but the engines appear to be non interference so if the belt comes off valves do not hit pistons and it is not a major disaster.

For the Type R, the only correct tyre is Bridgestone 205/45 R17 84w. These are made specially for the car. Note '84w'. '88w' are not suitable.

Problems with a 2002 Civic Type S purchased at 14 months old and 7,500 miles in 2004 have been:-

20,000 replaced nsf shock absorber ( bushes worn out )
32,000 replaced osf shock absorber ( bushes worn out )
36,000 replaced all four alloy rims ( corroded )
36,000 replaced both rear discs ( worn below minimum thickness on the rear)
41,000 replaced nsf anti-roll bar drop link (bushes worn out )
41,000 advisory on MOT -driver's seat securing bolts loose !!

Currently at 54,000 in September 2007: overheating osf wheel - told it's because front discs worn near limit - but might need new calliper, so Stuart Graham Honda (Crewe) are replacing both front discs (£215), and if that's not the problem, a new calliper will need fitting, but they passed vehicle for MOT anyway

Both headlight adjustment motors are constantly on (switch ignition on and listen by each headlight for 'whirring' noise)

Still have noise from front over potholes, which I discovered was loose battery retaining strap, and small amount of movement to bonnet retaining mechanism shock absorbers, drop link and alloys were replaced under warranty extended warranty.

Recalls

7-6-2001: (affects 9,000 cars Worldwide): Make sure circlip on brake pedal pivot is properly positioned to hold the clevis pin in place. Make sure clip holding fuel filler pipe to tank has been tightened sufficiently. 16-6-2003: On 288 Civics and CRVs tyre inner sidewall may have been damaged during production. Inspect and replace as necessary.