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2003 Honda Civic Lx Coupe 5 Speed Manual, Mechanic's Special on 2040-cars

Year:2003 Mileage:159985
Location:

Laurel, Maryland, United States

Laurel, Maryland, United States
Advertising:

2003 Honda Civic 2 Door LX


This car is a mechanic's special.


It is a tough decision to sell this car because I have otherwise kept all service up to date and it has been an excellent vehicle. However, this car has a few critical issues that aren’t cheap to repair but if done will definitely get the car to 300,000+ miles.


It was driven regularly (~150 miles / week) until I parked it about 10 months ago. Since then, It has been driven about 500 miles. It starts on the first crank and has a new battery.


*Alternatively, if you are local to Baltimore/DC and want to fix this car for an awesome price, I’m all ears.*


Body & Interior

The body and interior are in decent and solid condition though it’s not winning any awards. It has lived in the city for 7 years and has all the typical bumper scuffs that go along with that. The left front fender and headlight were repaired from a minor city scuff-up about 2 years ago.


The back seats fold flat allowing for so much hauling. The little beast has hauled 14 8-foot 2x4s with the trunk closed on one occasion and 4.5 bicycles with 3 occupants on another. These are incredible little cars.


Mechanical

Aside from the issues which are outlined below, the car is in good mechanical condition.

Clutch is new with about ~9k miles and shifts well and with incredible ease, just as you would expect from a Honda.

The catalytic converter is less than 15k miles old, the tires have lots of life left, oil always changed on time.


Now for the bad...

  • An internal engine issue is causing the car to burn about a quart of oil / tank of gas and to also return poor fuel mileage. It currently gets about 27 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway. Low compression in #3 cylinder at about 70 psi. All other cylinders hit between 120 and 130. I tested dry and warm after taking the car for a quick spin. I did not do a wet test. The car does not smoke at all but must be burning enough oil to foul a replaced o2 sensor shortly after replacement. This issue could be bad piston ring or valve seal though i’m leaning towards piston ring. I’ve never seen it drip oil.

  • Transmission - Bad input shaft bearing. Rattles a good deal when the car is cold but usually goes away after warm-up. This should be addressed before catastrophic failure. Transmission is very strong otherwise.

  • Brakes - Strong but pull to one side. This issue appeared after being parked for some time. I suspect that a caliper piston is the culprit which is a very straight-forward repair.


The Other.


Passenger window glass is fine but low quality,

Used OE replacement in great shape included in sale.


Sale and Pick-Up

  • 25% deposit at close of auction with balance due within 7 days of close of auction.

  • I am confident that the car is capable of making a several-hundred mile trip if the new owner preferred to drive the vehicle away. I can pick you up at BWI airport or at any local train station or other location between Baltimore and DC.

  • Car must be claimed within 30 days of purchase.


Recent Service History

Date
Mileage
Service
6/7/2013155,672Brake Rotors, Brake Pads, Brake Fluid
1/8/2013151,962Rear main seal
1/4/2013151,823clutch service, rear main seal
10/3/2012148,995exhaust manifold, 4 new tires (Yokohama avid), high side hose
8/3/2011131,180replaced cam plug, cleaned degreased motor tech
5/27/2011133,762rear brake shoes, timing belt, water pump, seals, coolant, engine mount (front)
8/19/2010119,827oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket

Auto Services in Maryland

Walter Jays Collision Ctr ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting
Address: 3826 N Point Blvd, Halethorpe
Phone: (866) 595-6470

Tire Hall,Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Brake Repair, Car Wash
Address: 6127 central ave, Landover-Hills
Phone: (301) 333-8473

Tire CITI ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tires-Wholesale & Manufacturers, Tire Recap, Retread & Repair-Equipment & Supplies
Address: 8391 Washington Blvd, Fort-Meade
Phone: (301) 617-2500

The Body Works of VA INC ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Automobile Parts & Supplies
Address: Brunswick
Phone: (703) 777-5727

TCI Towing LLC ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Towing
Address: Odenton
Phone: (301) 699-5200

Sterling Transmission ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Clutches, Transmissions-Other
Address: 45759-A Elmwood Ct, Germantown
Phone: (703) 263-2011

Auto blog

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Tue, Nov 3 2015

Honda is recalling 35,406 examples of the 2016 Pilot in the US because the vehicles' warning lamps might not activate immediately. Specifically, the campaign covers two-whee-drive models with build dates between May 4, 2015, and September 8, 2015, and four-wheel drive versions from between May 7, 2015, and September 4, 2015. Due to this issue, if there's a malfunction in aids like the tire pressure monitoring system, anti-lock brakes, or electronic stability control, the corresponding warning light might not immediately illuminate on the instrument panel. When the ignition is turned off and then back on, the alerts do appear. Still, the fault puts the Pilot out of compliance with federal rules. Beginning November 27, the fix will simply be updated instrument cluster software for the affected Pilots. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF): "As of October 8, 2015, Honda has not received any warranty claims, field reports, injuries or crashes related to this issue." Related Video: RECALL Subject : Improper Software to Module FMVSS 126,135,138 Report Receipt Date: OCT 16, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V668000 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected: 35,406 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) HONDA PILOT 2016 Details Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) SUMMARY: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to September 8, 2015 and 2016 Pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured May 7, 2015 to September 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic stability control systems", number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "Tire pressure monitoring systems". CONSEQUENCE: If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at at increased risk of a crash. REMEDY: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge.

Check out the orange McLaren-Honda racecar that might actually win a race

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Following the announcement that Fernando Alonso, two-time F1 world champion, would drive a McLaren-Honda IndyCar in this year's Indianapolis 500, we now get to see the car. Naturally, being a McLaren, it's painted in the company's official orange hue. It's actually even more orange than the company's Formula 1 cars, which are two-tone: orange and black. The reveal of the car's livery comes in conjunction with Alonso's first testing day at the Indianapolis Speedway, which you can watch live, here. Alonso has never participated in the Indy 500 before, nor has he been behind the wheel of Indy cars. That doesn't mean he can't win, though. Fellow Formula 1 racer Alexander Rossi took home the win last year, and that was his first time at the 500. Rossi also won in an Andretti-backed, Honda-powered car, just as Alonso will this year. So it isn't unreasonable to think Alonso could win, or at least place well. Certainly his odds are better than driving one of the beleaguered McLaren-Honda F1 cars at Monaco that same weekend. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Honda promises all-new Ridgeline within two years

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