Happy New Year, All -
Thought I’d share my impressions after owning a new 2017 LX for 3 years and 49,000 miles and see how much I have common with other 10th Gen owners. I live in the Boston area and have a Lunar Silver LX.
THE GOOD:
SOLID RIDE – Rides like an Accord from 20 years ago. The Civics have grown and I guess the Fit now plays the role the Civic once did. I had a 2014 Corolla LE Eco prior to the Civic (it got totaled which is why I was in the market for a new vehicle) and the ride is dramatically different. The Civic feels heavier, more solid and has more power. The 17 Civic feels a like half-vehicle-class upgrade compared with the Corolla even thought they are supposedly in the same class. Maybe the newly redesigned Corolla is better.
AWESOME HIGHWAY MPG – I consistently get 47-49 MPG on all-highway driving, which amazes me. In all-city driving however, I do WORSE than the rated MPG, getting only 27-29 MPG. So I do better than it’s rated for highway driving and worse than it’s rated for city driving. Strange but I like it. I try to remember to use the Eco mode but don’t always do that. I keep the stock Hankook tires inflated at 35 PSI, 3 lbs higher than the 32 lbs recommended pressure and check and adjust it monthly. The tires, btw, still have 6/32” tread on them, so I am going for one more Massachusetts winter with them.
ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE – My driveway is a sharp incline, so I had some concern that it wouldn’t always grab tightly enough to hold. But so far, at 49K with the original brakes, it consistently holds securely.
THE BAD:
Majorly bad:
AC CONDENSER PREMATURE FAILURE. It failed this year after the warranty was past and it cost me $802.22 to replace it at a dealer. I contacted Honda in Torrance and they declined to pay for it even though we all know a condenser should not fail this early. I was considering joining a class action law suit or taking them to small claims court but – lo and behold – Honda came out with a bulletin admitting that condensers in some 10th gen Civics were defective from the get-go and they would accept applications for reimbursement. I have done this and it looks they will be reimbursing me. It’s in process, they say, and that I am approved. Still waiting for a check. As many of us agreed, the argument that rock or pebble damage was the cause just didn’t stand up.
STEERING SLOPPINESS – This appears to be a problem just with my car. I found it wandered too much and was hard to keep on center. The alignment was fine and I felt it just had looseness compared with three other LX’s I drove for comparison. I went to three dealers about this and got nowhere with Honda and just learned to deal with it. It still irks me.
WEAK STOCK HEADLIGHTS – I fixed this and it’s the best thing I’ve done to make this Civic better to drive. The stock H11 bulbs are simply too weak. I replaced them with H9’s which I modified to fit, using instructions online and on YouTube. A pair of Philips H9 bulbs cost less than $15 on Amazon. BTW, I had tried a pair of fancy, expensive LED bulbs, which fit easily with an adaptor but which were not good. They illuminated about 20-30 feet in front of the car just fine but had no “throw” beyond that, not light to the sides of the road and were useless in rain. Modifying H9’s to fit is the way to go and Honda should have used these as the stock bulb.
NO LOW WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID INDICATOR LIGHT
This is a safety issue, not a luxury item, and Honda should not have cheaped out here. My Corolla had an indicator. If you’re driving in snowy, sleety or muddy conditions, you may need to use your washers frequently to see. You don’t want to run out of fluid. I now carry extra fluid in the trunk, so I will always have some if/when it runs out. Hope I can pull over safely in that situation. Honda, are you listening?
Minorly bad:
CRAPPY FLOORMATS – The driver’s side floor mat had a hole in it after a year and was pilling as well. Not only that, the carpeting behind the pedals is also falling apart. Why Honda would use such cheap materials here is beyond me. I have taped up the mat with heavy black tape meant for gutters but now the tape is failing too, so I need to come up with another solution. I would buy ONE carpeted mat for the driver’s side but they only sell pairs or sets of four, which I don’t need.
WEAK RADIO – again, I can compare to my 2014 Corolla and the Civic’s radio reception sucks. Lots of flup and static, which the Corolla did not have, and I am taking about in Boston and Greater Boston, not the hinterlands.
REAR WINDOW GLASS WAVINESS – I totally got used to this after week or two but right after I got the car, I noticed that if I looked through the rea window via the rearview mirror,, the glass had waviness to it. Maybe because it is raked at such a low angle. Anyway, I did get used to it, so no prob.
MOMENTARY SHIFT DELAY – This is a minor issue but it is an oddity. When I shift in to drive or reverse, I have to wait a couple of seconds until it settles into the gear before touching the accelerator. This is different, I think, than all previous cars I've had. It’s a little annoying but usually don't think about it.
WASHER JET AIM – Sometimes the pssenger side seem to go too high and also too much on the side view mirror. It doesn't seem like there’s any way to adjust the aim. The windows get clean, so not a major issue, just a small annoyance.
Miscellaneous (not good or bad)
I change my own oil and filter, as I always have. The aluminum panel with 10 fasteners that must be removed was a surprise but I got the hang of it after the first two changes. I do it on the street where my car is on a slight incline. I park facing slightly uphill and jack up only the right front wheel to get access. I find I am putting in 4.5 qts. of oil, along with a filter at each change. I’m using Mobil 1 AFE 0w20 full synthetic and the Mobil 1 M1-110a filter and changing at about 7,500 miles, which is what the Maintenance Minder tells me to do and I’m fine with that. I do a combo of highway and city driving.
For two years in a row, I have used Michelin Guardian wiper blades, which are working out great. They were on sale at Costco. I have tried a couple of other brands but none are better than the Michelin Guardians for me.
That's it. Comments?
Thought I’d share my impressions after owning a new 2017 LX for 3 years and 49,000 miles and see how much I have common with other 10th Gen owners. I live in the Boston area and have a Lunar Silver LX.
THE GOOD:
SOLID RIDE – Rides like an Accord from 20 years ago. The Civics have grown and I guess the Fit now plays the role the Civic once did. I had a 2014 Corolla LE Eco prior to the Civic (it got totaled which is why I was in the market for a new vehicle) and the ride is dramatically different. The Civic feels heavier, more solid and has more power. The 17 Civic feels a like half-vehicle-class upgrade compared with the Corolla even thought they are supposedly in the same class. Maybe the newly redesigned Corolla is better.
AWESOME HIGHWAY MPG – I consistently get 47-49 MPG on all-highway driving, which amazes me. In all-city driving however, I do WORSE than the rated MPG, getting only 27-29 MPG. So I do better than it’s rated for highway driving and worse than it’s rated for city driving. Strange but I like it. I try to remember to use the Eco mode but don’t always do that. I keep the stock Hankook tires inflated at 35 PSI, 3 lbs higher than the 32 lbs recommended pressure and check and adjust it monthly. The tires, btw, still have 6/32” tread on them, so I am going for one more Massachusetts winter with them.
ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE – My driveway is a sharp incline, so I had some concern that it wouldn’t always grab tightly enough to hold. But so far, at 49K with the original brakes, it consistently holds securely.
THE BAD:
Majorly bad:
AC CONDENSER PREMATURE FAILURE. It failed this year after the warranty was past and it cost me $802.22 to replace it at a dealer. I contacted Honda in Torrance and they declined to pay for it even though we all know a condenser should not fail this early. I was considering joining a class action law suit or taking them to small claims court but – lo and behold – Honda came out with a bulletin admitting that condensers in some 10th gen Civics were defective from the get-go and they would accept applications for reimbursement. I have done this and it looks they will be reimbursing me. It’s in process, they say, and that I am approved. Still waiting for a check. As many of us agreed, the argument that rock or pebble damage was the cause just didn’t stand up.
STEERING SLOPPINESS – This appears to be a problem just with my car. I found it wandered too much and was hard to keep on center. The alignment was fine and I felt it just had looseness compared with three other LX’s I drove for comparison. I went to three dealers about this and got nowhere with Honda and just learned to deal with it. It still irks me.
WEAK STOCK HEADLIGHTS – I fixed this and it’s the best thing I’ve done to make this Civic better to drive. The stock H11 bulbs are simply too weak. I replaced them with H9’s which I modified to fit, using instructions online and on YouTube. A pair of Philips H9 bulbs cost less than $15 on Amazon. BTW, I had tried a pair of fancy, expensive LED bulbs, which fit easily with an adaptor but which were not good. They illuminated about 20-30 feet in front of the car just fine but had no “throw” beyond that, not light to the sides of the road and were useless in rain. Modifying H9’s to fit is the way to go and Honda should have used these as the stock bulb.
NO LOW WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID INDICATOR LIGHT
This is a safety issue, not a luxury item, and Honda should not have cheaped out here. My Corolla had an indicator. If you’re driving in snowy, sleety or muddy conditions, you may need to use your washers frequently to see. You don’t want to run out of fluid. I now carry extra fluid in the trunk, so I will always have some if/when it runs out. Hope I can pull over safely in that situation. Honda, are you listening?
Minorly bad:
CRAPPY FLOORMATS – The driver’s side floor mat had a hole in it after a year and was pilling as well. Not only that, the carpeting behind the pedals is also falling apart. Why Honda would use such cheap materials here is beyond me. I have taped up the mat with heavy black tape meant for gutters but now the tape is failing too, so I need to come up with another solution. I would buy ONE carpeted mat for the driver’s side but they only sell pairs or sets of four, which I don’t need.
WEAK RADIO – again, I can compare to my 2014 Corolla and the Civic’s radio reception sucks. Lots of flup and static, which the Corolla did not have, and I am taking about in Boston and Greater Boston, not the hinterlands.
REAR WINDOW GLASS WAVINESS – I totally got used to this after week or two but right after I got the car, I noticed that if I looked through the rea window via the rearview mirror,, the glass had waviness to it. Maybe because it is raked at such a low angle. Anyway, I did get used to it, so no prob.
MOMENTARY SHIFT DELAY – This is a minor issue but it is an oddity. When I shift in to drive or reverse, I have to wait a couple of seconds until it settles into the gear before touching the accelerator. This is different, I think, than all previous cars I've had. It’s a little annoying but usually don't think about it.
WASHER JET AIM – Sometimes the pssenger side seem to go too high and also too much on the side view mirror. It doesn't seem like there’s any way to adjust the aim. The windows get clean, so not a major issue, just a small annoyance.
Miscellaneous (not good or bad)
I change my own oil and filter, as I always have. The aluminum panel with 10 fasteners that must be removed was a surprise but I got the hang of it after the first two changes. I do it on the street where my car is on a slight incline. I park facing slightly uphill and jack up only the right front wheel to get access. I find I am putting in 4.5 qts. of oil, along with a filter at each change. I’m using Mobil 1 AFE 0w20 full synthetic and the Mobil 1 M1-110a filter and changing at about 7,500 miles, which is what the Maintenance Minder tells me to do and I’m fine with that. I do a combo of highway and city driving.
For two years in a row, I have used Michelin Guardian wiper blades, which are working out great. They were on sale at Costco. I have tried a couple of other brands but none are better than the Michelin Guardians for me.
That's it. Comments?
