Honda Civic 2018

iRage · April 29

5 hours ago, RWD said:

I would like a a 2025 civic with the 1.5 motor but don't think any have been imported to SL yet. Saw an ad where they can get it down for 19MN.

I saw a blue colored one being posted on the local FB groups claiming to be the first one imported in to SL. Seemed like a LX trim (not sure there weren;t many pics..just a front three-quarter view with the owners standing in front of it).

The new Civic is a nice car. Feels more refined than the Corolla, as well as roomier. Handles much better than the gasoline Corolla (I would say on par with the Hybrid Corolla due to the suspension differences between Hybrid and Petrol as well as the weight). The interior feels dark, just as in the Corolla (thanks to modern design elements) but it feels more spacious. What I didn't like about the Civic was the plastic-ness of the knobs and the mesh like thing on the dash/vents. Earlier, the EX trim came in both manual and auto but with the introduction of the RS the manual is offered only in the RS. I would say go with the RS, but that costs about 600,000yen more than the EX. But with the upgraded suspension, it handles nicer, and with the manual transmission, it is actually nice to drive. In Japan, the car has a reputation for being finicky as the engine is perceived to be hyper-sensitive and requires diligent maintenance, but as far as I know there hasn't been any significant number of reported (catastrophic) failures.

misnad · April 30

Yup, really glad I didn’t get the timing belt issue so far, but was advised to get it changed by 80k km given it’s a wet belt. Was thinking of switching to something else like the 1.5L version, but don’t see too many of those around on sale. The alternative is a newer Corolla, however it goes at like 19Mn recon, which is insane. In any case, I’ve decided to switch to something more reliable.

iRage · May 1

20 hours ago, misnad said:

The alternative is a newer Corolla

Here is the thing....all the Corollas in the country for sale (and actually all the new Corollas except for 3) are petrol variants. With the facelift Toyota vastly changed the petrol from the hybrid (the petrol doesn't even share the same/traditional chassis code as the Hybrid variant). The petrol Corolla is not bad..however...

1. The rear suspension sucks. Good for city crawling but go on the highway or drive through the corner the rear becomes quite bouncy thanks to the torsion beam setup. After the Civic you will hate it.

2. DIrect-shift CVT...the physical first gear is fine but from there onwards it is a droney @#@! After the Civic you will lose all passion for driving with this.

3. In JDM Civic is only a hatchback while the Corolla is a proper sedan. You don't get much more space in the Corolla.

Moral of the story...go for the Corolla Hybrid (eCVT is not that much better though..but atleast you get more power and torque) or go for the new Civic. There is one already in the country and a trusted source stated that a few others are on the way. New Civic vs. Corolla....Civic.

misnad · May 1

4 hours ago, iRage said:

Here is the thing....all the Corollas in the country for sale (and actually all the new Corollas except for 3) are petrol variants. With the facelift Toyota vastly changed the petrol from the hybrid (the petrol doesn't even share the same/traditional chassis code as the Hybrid variant). The petrol Corolla is not bad..however...

1. The rear suspension sucks. Good for city crawling but go on the highway or drive through the corner the rear becomes quite bouncy thanks to the torsion beam setup. After the Civic you will hate it.

2. DIrect-shift CVT...the physical first gear is fine but from there onwards it is a droney @#@! After the Civic you will lose all passion for driving with this.

3. In JDM Civic is only a hatchback while the Corolla is a proper sedan. You don't get much more space in the Corolla.

Moral of the story...go for the Corolla Hybrid (eCVT is not that much better though..but atleast you get more power and torque) or go for the new Civic. There is one already in the country and a trusted source stated that a few others are on the way. New Civic vs. Corolla....Civic.

Damn, I thought the hybrid version was worse w.r.t pulling power compared to the petrol variant. Should do more research on this. W.r.t the Civic, doing a bit more digging into it before I make the leap. Got an offer for the City RS, but no way am I taking it. That BYD Seal is looking quite neat too

BTW, guess what? A day after the compressor change, the AC gives up again, so it looks like it wasn't the compressor alone after all. Took the car to another AC place close to home (the one named after a Japanese flower) and they've ripped the whole dashboard apart to change the Evaporator coil (leaky). Also, apparently the condenser that was previously fitted in wasn't meant for this car (it had 30 rows of fins vs. the correct 45 rows)... however, there wasn't a leak there. I think if I just change the engine and CVT, I'll have a brand new car! 😖

iRage · May 1

1 hour ago, misnad said:

Damn, I thought the hybrid version was worse w.r.t pulling power compared to the petrol variant.

The 5th-gen Hybrid system is surprisingly good. The gasoline has 120 hp and 145 Nm of torque vs the Hybrid's 140HP combined and 142 Nm of torque from the gasoline engine, plus the electric motor has 180ish Nm of torque. Now, because of how Hybrid systems work, although HP can be combined, torque necessarily cannot be (because it varies on if the car is running in EV mode, non-EV mode or combined mode). So interestingly, the Hybrid does pull better.

It will be interesting to see how Toyota's next-gen petrol engines will do.

Granted, the petrol variant does feel lighter, which is a blessing and a curse. A blessing as it feels more nimble. A curse, because it makes the car feel a bit bouncy/bouyant.

Either way, as much as the Civic is not my favorite car, it is a nicer car to drive than the Corolla (as it should be).

2 hours ago, misnad said:

BTW, guess what? A day after the compressor change, the AC gives up again, so it looks like it wasn't the compressor alone after all.

that is sad. Sadly this seems to be the biggest frustration of taking care of a car in SL. The garages are ever willing to fix the symptom and get you out the door but are not taking the effort to identify and solve the underlying cause.

Hyaenidae · May 1

3 hours ago, misnad said:

BTW, guess what? A day after the compressor change, the AC gives up again, so it looks like it wasn't the compressor alone after all. Took the car to another AC place close to home (the one named after a Japanese flower) and they've ripped the whole dashboard apart to change the Evaporator coil (leaky). Also, apparently the condenser that was previously fitted in wasn't meant for this car (it had 30 rows of fins vs. the correct 45 rows)... however, there wasn't a leak there. I think if I just change the engine and CVT, I'll have a brand new car! 😖

matroska · May 2

On 4/30/2025 at 12:37 PM, misnad said:

Yup, really glad I didn’t get the timing belt issue so far,

Would come at a higher mileage I guess.

On 5/1/2025 at 2:07 PM, misnad said:

? A day after the compressor change, the AC gives up again, so it looks like it wasn't the compressor alone after all.

The A/C issues in this generation of Civic is well documented and usually it's not the Compressor. Leaky evaporators are the usual suspect. When you replaced the evaporator last time was it OEM or third party? Did the technicians make sure to have the same gas when refilling?

On 5/1/2025 at 2:07 PM, misnad said:

W.r.t the Civic, doing a bit more digging into it before I make the leap. Got an offer for the City RS, but no way am I taking it.

@iRage and I just discussed on another thread of the potential difference between the City RS and the FK6 - and yes I doubt the City RS being the newer car will still manage to meet your expectations after the Civic. Herein lies the problem - I also fail to see a potential 'replacement' that will not feel like a downgrade for the Civic hence sticking around with it.

23 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

I think if I just change the engine and CVT,

I mean you *could* go for a recon 1.5L Engine do a swap and presto you have no wet-belt fears a good old 1.5 L car with more powaaaaaah... a rising Honda joint in Yakkala were promoting that they can do this upgrade -and in fact the owner runs a swapped Civic as I remember.

fiat fan · May 2

I know a guy in Rathnapura that has 3 Alfa Romeo cars. Even he spends less money and more sleep than you guys!

But for me the reliability winner is my 37YO Delica. They dont make them like they used to!

Hows the new Vezi? Very popular locally.

iRage · May 3

7 hours ago, fiat fan said:

Hows the new Vezi? Very popular locally.

In Japan it is doing okay. No significant issues apart from a few service campaigns and minor recalls. Although it was popular at launch sales have been dipping since the launch of the Corolla Cross and upscaling of the Yaris Cross (mostly thanks to Toyota marketing).

In SL....I think we are still yet to see how it will do. Right now, the ony reason it is popular is its 1.5L engine (thus lower import duties) thus greater value for money compared to its competitors.

RWD · May 3

New vezel also has a CVT instead of the previous generation dual clutch so should prove more reliable apart from the usual wear and tear.

iRage · May 3

On 5/1/2025 at 5:37 PM, misnad said:

I think if I just change the engine and CVT, I'll have a brand new car!

K swap it !!!!

Noobdriver · May 4

On 6/1/2022 at 1:33 PM, tinyman said:

Stafford put 10W30 oil at the last service. I'm clueless on the oil type to be used. mine had about 40k on ODO.

I got an FK6 (EX) about 2 weeks ago, and I saw this thread and decided to give this a read thinking it might help with the everyday maintenance. I'm now terrified to run it after reading @misnad's misfortunes. Dude you sound like me with the Vitz, except in my case, I had an engine overhaul too. Transmission and AC were the only two untouched parts.

misnad · May 4

On 5/2/2025 at 5:45 PM, matroska said:

The A/C issues in this generation of Civic is well documented and usually it's not the Compressor. Leaky evaporators are the usual suspect. When you replaced the evaporator last time was it OEM or third party? Did the technicians make sure to have the same gas when refilling?

This was the first evap replacement and it is an after-market one with a 1yr warranty. The previous times, it was the condenser and that was a Malaysian-made aftermarket unit. Got that changed to an OEM one this time even though it didn't have a leak, purely due to the fin count difference - it could strain the new compressor as cooling efficiency would reduce with the lesser fins. Was running with 134a for the past 2-3 years since the last original compressor repair. Still using 134a on the new system.

Before that, I had the original condenser replaced with another aftermarket unit, but was filled with 1234yf. During my regular service, the dealer decided to top up the refrigerant by mixing 134a and said that's their usual process - immediately noticed the drop in cooling efficiency. Under high pressure and a little stone damage, it leaked out unfortunately, leading to me going with a full 134a replacement and newer condenser (the one with less fins).

Lesson learnt: go with 134a entirely while making sure the right compressor oil is used and never take the dealer's word as gospel truth.

On 5/2/2025 at 5:45 PM, matroska said:

I mean you *could* go for a recon 1.5L Engine do a swap and presto you have no wet-belt fears a good old 1.5 L car with more powaaaaaah... a rising Honda joint in Yakkala were promoting that they can do this upgrade -and in fact the owner runs a swapped Civic as I remember.

wouldn't that screw me over with the DMT since the registration goes for a 1L Civic? That said, given how finicky the FK6 is, I wouldn't dare touch anything else unnecessarily.

On 5/2/2025 at 5:45 PM, matroska said:

@iRage and I just discussed on another thread of the potential difference between the City RS and the FK6 - and yes I doubt the City RS being the newer car will still manage to meet your expectations after the Civic. Herein lies the problem - I also fail to see a potential 'replacement' that will not feel like a downgrade for the Civic hence sticking around with it.

I did just check out the BYD Atto 3 and Seal. The Atto 3 is floaty like a balloon, but its acceleration is pretty amazing; also faster 0-100kph compared to the FK6. Only thing was that there are like huge gaps under the trunk where the motor and wires are (battery ventilation no doubt) that the rats would consider them as welcome mats to their new crib!

misnad · May 4

4 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

I got an FK6 (EX) about 2 weeks ago, and I saw this thread and decided to give this a read thinking it might help with the everyday maintenance. I'm now terrified to run it after reading @misnad's misfortunes. Dude you sound like me with the Vitz, except in my case, I had an engine overhaul too. Transmission and AC were the only two untouched parts.

Welcome to the club! See, with the FK6, when it works, it does work really well - that driving pleasure is unmatched in its class; even compared to the Audi A3 and Q2 (Premio and Allion may be exceptions though, but they look prehistoric inside). I would highly recommend you take the car over to the Car Check-ing place down Pepiliyana as they're the ones who really found out a bunch of underlying issues with my suspension.

On the other hand, this thread has almost every single issue with the Civic recorded now including possible resolution steps

Hyaenidae · May 4

20 minutes ago, misnad said:

I would highly recommend you take the car over to the Car Check-ing place down Pepiliyana as they're the ones who really found out a bunch of underlying issues with my suspension.

@Noobdriver And get the timing belt inspected too. If the car is between 60K-80K mileage get it replaced for your peace of mind (The previous owner might have done it already so check beforehand)

Edited May 4 by Hyaenidae

Noobdriver · May 4

4 hours ago, misnad said:

Welcome to the club! See, with the FK6, when it works, it does work really well - that driving pleasure is unmatched in its class; even compared to the Audi A3 and Q2 (Premio and Allion may be exceptions though, but they look prehistoric inside). I would highly recommend you take the car over to the Car Check-ing place down Pepiliyana as they're the ones who really found out a bunch of underlying issues with my suspension.

On the other hand, this thread has almost every single issue with the Civic recorded now including possible resolution steps

Hey, I did a Car-Check inspection before purchasing the vehicle, it was 66k run, and 98.5% on CarChecks. There's a few flags raised by them; radiator coolant level needs to be checked and tapet cover has some oil stains; the seller showed me a bill dating less than 4 weeks ago from the agent showing they got the turbo cleaned and tapet cover repair done. I called Stafford to verify and they told me they'd fix free of charge if it was still the case but would also encourage me to bring it in so they can clean it and run it for a bit to verify if it is actually leaking or just not properly cleaned.

But by reading all you've mentioned, I don't think I'll goto the agent after this initial work is done and will stick to Hybrid Hub, which is where I maintained my Vitz and got the overhaul from (Only gripe - 18% VAT on everything including spare parts, and it pisses me off).

Noobdriver · May 4

3 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

@Noobdriver And get the timing belt inspected too. If the car is between 60K-80K mileage get it replaced for your peace of mind (The previous owner might have done it already so check beforehand)

Yes, I wonder what kind of cost it takes to do this. The previous owner did not do it. Might enquire on this too when I goto the agent for the radiator coolant check plus the potential leak on tapet cover. Been bed-ridden due to a disc slip, so haven't been able to do much.

misnad · May 4

7 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

Hey, I did a Car-Check inspection before purchasing the vehicle, it was 66k run, and 98.5% on CarChecks. There's a few flags raised by them; radiator coolant level needs to be checked and tapet cover has some oil stains; the seller showed me a bill dating less than 4 weeks ago from the agent showing they got the turbo cleaned and tapet cover repair done. I called Stafford to verify and they told me they'd fix free of charge if it was still the case but would also encourage me to bring it in so they can clean it and run it for a bit to verify if it is actually leaking or just not properly cleaned.

But by reading all you've mentioned, I don't think I'll goto the agent after this initial work is done and will stick to Hybrid Hub, which is where I maintained my Vitz and got the overhaul from (Only gripe - 18% VAT on everything including spare parts, and it pisses me off).

The coolant level issue is most likely due to the coolant reserve tank having a leak; yes, it’s another defect with the FK6, so you’ll need to replace it - get that done outside since the dealer rips you off on the price for that.

As for the oil tapet cover situ, I wouldn’t go with the Hub and I’d trust the dealer with it. The reason they said they’ll check and fix any issue on it for free is due to their warranty on repairs; I’d make sure that’s intact and stick with the dealer there.

Trick is that you’ve got to be selective with your visits to the dealer. They’re good for some stuff like engine issues (I’d never give my car anywhere else apart from the place in Yakkala for that and the transmission) and electronic stuff plus genuine parts, however for things like AC, suspension repairs, diagnosis of failures, etc., you’re better off with other places.

Oh and 2 more things:

1) Check what refrigerant is in your car’s system and if the previous owner changed it to R134a if it was R1234yf (the original type will be mentioned under the bonnet). Reason? The dealer and a few others see no issue in mixing refrigerants if you happen to run an AC service; in fact, it’s disastrous on your entire AC system if mixed without fully vacuuming the other gas out.

2) Install a rat guard at the dealer. There are 2 access points on this model (the Hub only does 1). I just saw the gaping vent slot in the firewall after my entire dashboard was removed (due to the evaporator replacement) and that’s more than enough for Rattimus Prime to waltz its way through. Good thing I had a guard mesh fixed there.

Noobdriver · May 5

10 hours ago, misnad said:

The coolant level issue is most likely due to the coolant reserve tank having a leak; yes, it’s another defect with the FK6, so you’ll need to replace it - get that done outside since the dealer rips you off on the price for that.

As for the oil tapet cover situ, I wouldn’t go with the Hub and I’d trust the dealer with it. The reason they said they’ll check and fix any issue on it for free is due to their warranty on repairs; I’d make sure that’s intact and stick with the dealer there.

Trick is that you’ve got to be selective with your visits to the dealer. They’re good for some stuff like engine issues (I’d never give my car anywhere else apart from the place in Yakkala for that and the transmission) and electronic stuff plus genuine parts, however for things like AC, suspension repairs, diagnosis of failures, etc., you’re better off with other places.

Oh and 2 more things:

1) Check what refrigerant is in your car’s system and if the previous owner changed it to R134a if it was R1234yf (the original type will be mentioned under the bonnet). Reason? The dealer and a few others see no issue in mixing refrigerants if you happen to run an AC service; in fact, it’s disastrous on your entire AC system if mixed without fully vacuuming the other gas out.

2) Install a rat guard at the dealer. There are 2 access points on this model (the Hub only does 1). I just saw the gaping vent slot in the firewall after my entire dashboard was removed (due to the evaporator replacement) and that’s more than enough for Rattimus Prime to waltz its way through. Good thing I had a guard mesh fixed there.

Hey, thanks for the valuable insights. The radiator coolant tank does not have any leaks, as confirmed by CarChecks. Apparently, they weren't able to properly measure the "high-pressure tank" as they do not have the special tools required. They said they're flagging it for that reason.

Yup, since I have warranty on the repair, I wouldn't want to pay for it again, lol.

Agreed, electronics are pretty complicated on Civic, might stick to them for those. But for the engine, I might trust Hybrid Hub more. Edirisinghe brothers are the biggest engine repair specialists. I got them to repair my Vitz.

1) I'm trying to find a contact number to the previous owner, sadly I bought it from a car sales guy (famous civic seller) and he was on open papers.

2) Thanks for flagging this, wonder what kind of cost this would be?

Edited May 5 by Noobdriver

matroska · May 5

23 hours ago, misnad said:

that driving pleasure is unmatched in its class; even compared to the Audi A3 and Q2 (Premio and Allion may be exceptions

Did the civic hear you say this? That the Premio and Allion has better driving pleasure than it? If so your Civic is probably venting out it's anger on you

On 5/4/2025 at 7:58 AM, Noobdriver said:

. I'm now terrified to run it after reading @misnad's misfortunes. Dude you sound like me with the Vitz, except in my case, I had an engine overhaul too. Transmission and AC were the only two untouched parts.

I think Misnad's Civic is a bit of an exception after it heard him say the Allion/Premio has better driving pleasure than it - "hell hath no fury..." and all that.

On 5/3/2025 at 1:33 AM, fiat fan said:

Even he spends less money and more sleep than you guys!

Eesh... just run the Civic Like a regular jap car. Don't wanna jynx it -but mine's only been acting up in the A/C department.

matroska · May 5

On 5/4/2025 at 11:59 AM, misnad said:

wouldn't that screw me over with the DMT since the registration goes for a 1L Civic? That said, given how finicky the FK6 is, I wouldn't dare touch anything else unnecessarily.

I think an engine swap within 500CC is allowed. You would need prior approval from DMT

Noobdriver · May 5

3 hours ago, matroska said:

I think an engine swap within 500CC is allowed. You would need prior approval from DMT

As far as I can tell, I don't believe my 1L Turbo Civic is a 1L, it feels like a 1.5L Toyota. 😂 Cars like GP5 must have insanely higher performance.

Edited May 5 by Noobdriver

iRage · May 5

5 minutes ago, Noobdriver said:

I don't believe my 1L Turbo Civic is a 1L

I saw on the internet that it needs only 3 gears to go fast like a rocket
Just encountered one of those Civic boys on the road who was being an a$$ and tried to drag the Toyota paddy wagon

Noobdriver · May 5

4 minutes ago, iRage said:

I saw on the internet that it needs only 3 gears to go fast like a rocket
Just encountered one of those Civic boys on the road who was being an a$$ and tried to drag the Toyota paddy wagon

Lmaoo, what I meant was that I didn't expect the acceleration to be this good. But I would never push the limits of my car or start comparing my car to other cars and go: My car is faster! For me, it is about going on long drives (Galle Road is my favorite for a weekly long drive). Acceleration is decent enough for me to overtake and go at a fair speed.

Also yeah, the guy who raced bought Lasa's FK7 conversion (1.5L Manual).

Edited May 5 by Noobdriver

matroska · May 5

56 minutes ago, Noobdriver said:

it feels like a 1.5L Toyota. 😂 Cars like GP5 must have insanely higher performance.

Yes it does. @Dee Jay and I many years ago did a 0-100 test in a Premio and my Civic. The Civic was a tad quicker to 100 Km/h. [Speaking of Toyotas - the Civic could not hold a candle to my 1.3L 4EFE swapped EP71 though. That thing was scarily fast since we were running an engine designed for much heavier cars on a tiny tin-can of an 80's car. I sometimes get carried away when I drive it, hence I sold it to a 19 year old boy. I really do hope he drives responsibly]

The GP5 is a very very peppy car, it also has a Dual-Clutch transmission so it's at a whole different level compared to the kill-joy CVT on the Civic - very engaging to drive.