[golden_brown]

So, I signed up on the forum very recently without having a Civic
(my car is actually a 7th gen 2.4 Accord)

Today, without me knowing, my son has bought an FN1, 2007, 66k miles

Its last dealer service was in 2009 !!!
No other service stamps since then. apart from a stamp a couple of days ago by the trader who sold it to him

I've been out in it, and it seems ok, but the clutch pedal does feel a bit heavy as it goes down (especially compared with the clutch pedal in my Accord).

The clutches in the Accord do suffer from early failure, the pedal in mine went heavy around 70k miles, but luckily I got that done on "Honda Happiness" (it's a big job in the Accord).

Questions
1. do the clutches in the FN1 suffer from similar problems ?
2. is it a big job (in the Accord the subframe has to be lowered to get the gearbox out) ?
3. if the oil has not been regularly changed, or someone has been chucking cheap oil in it, should I be expecting him to have early issues with the oil pump and god knows what else ?

 

[Grayfox]

If i were to get a used car.
First thing i would do on it is a service.

Change oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid and spark plugs(even if they are still with in the OK period)

This way you know when the next service due for pretty much everything.

 

[golden_brown]

good advice but that could be like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted

what I want to know is, has the horse bolted, are these cars "bomb proof" even in the face of appalling neglect ?

 

[Grayfox]

Honda engines are quite strong, but nothing will last forever.

Modern cars have alot of electronics and elelcronics are stupid as well as expensive if they need replacing.

A modern car is less likely too have issues compared to an older car though so there is that.

But use genuine honda parts.
Use good oil
Use iridium spark plugs

And you should be fine.

 

[golden_brown]

I've got a Honda HDS and everything checks out ok on his FN1, apart from a DTC fault on the motor for the air mixture control on the driver's side, which I know can be the hot-air/cold-air flap to be stuck. The DTC comes back after clearing. He says that he can live with that, he'll have to, considering how difficult it is to get to those motors.

As I say though, I am more concerned about the absence of any servicing stamps since 2009, and no receipts either. Fingers crossed that the engine oil was changed regularly, if not then there could be potential issues in the engine on the horizon. Do the VC's on the R18 engine ever need adjusting btw (they do on the K24 in my Accord) ?

Clutch also feels heavy, but that is only relative to my Accord, no idea what the clutch should feel like on an FN1.

 

[Syx]

What was the mileage on the last service stamp?
Not sure what the clutch should be like in the FN1 but I wouldn't call it "light" in my FN3.

 

[Grayfox]

I have a FK2 which has the same engine as the FN1
But I have never driven many manuals to know how light it is to other cars.
It does need more force than a 99 Hyundai Getz manual.

It does not need much force to push down but I dont have a way to test the torque needed to push down on it

 

[deni.babe]

you can check what sort of mileage the vehicle as done each year by checking the mot's with direct gov, it will also tell you if any advisory's have been issued... that's the first thing i do when purchasing a used car..

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

 

[stuey88]

I have an FN1 , first thing I'd do is a complete service oil oil filter air filter spark plugs etc , tne R18 engine is pretty bullet proof if well looked after but in your case history is unknown . Does the engine idle and sound ok at idle on ? If it's a bit noisey could need valve clearance adjustment mite be worth getting done anyway at over 60k miles

Clutch can seem a bit heavy compared to other cars , check for clicking or squeeking when using clutch pedal with engine running , gearbox and engine on these are well built

 

[golden_brown]

I've heard of that MOT check before, this is the first time I've used it, very very useful

From a couple of scraps of paper. and the service book, and the MOT check, I've got the following history

------------------------------------

First Registered 24/07/2007

Honda Service 17/10/2008 17,794

Honda Service 15/07/2009 29,902

Car sold: 11/09/2009

MOT 26/08/2010 38,926

Car sold: 02/02/2011

MOT 30/07/2011 45,304

MOT 18/08/2012 54,504

MOT 13/08/2013 62,744

MOT 30/08/2014 66,436

------------------------------------

and that is it.

A few months ago my son was thinking of getting a car, he wasn't sure what to get, but eventually decided on a Civic, 8th gen. At the time he asked if I would go with him to look at any he might be interested in, and I certainly said YES. Then everything went quiet.

Then yesterday he turned up at my house in the car, really happy. I took it for a short drive, and apart from me thinking that maybe the clutch felt a bit heavy, it all seemed ok. Then I looked through the paperwork, pointed out the complete lack of service history, and asked him "if I'd have been there and told you to walk away from it, would you have done so?" ....to which he said "probably not". I didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, so I said that it will probably be ok. Then I came onto the forum LOL.

As I say, I have an HDS (chinese clone from ebay), nice toy, so I hooked it up and apart from the heater DTC, no other DTCs, and all the engine and body electrical tests are fine. He's now gone back to his own place (50 miles from me), happy with it.

Hopefully I'm worrying over nothing ...but I would never buy a car that had such a weird and mostly absent service history.

 

[golden_brown]

I have an FN1 , first thing I'd do is a complete service oil oil filter air filter spark plugs etc , tne R18 engine is pretty bullet proof if well looked after but in your case history is unknown . Does the engine idle and sound ok at idle on ? If it's a bit noisey could need valve clearance adjustment mite be worth getting done anyway at over 60k miles

Clutch can seem a bit heavy compared to other cars , check for clicking or squeeking when using clutch pedal with engine running , gearbox and engine on these are well built

My post crossed with your post, which is why I'm quoting it.

He's coming back at the weekend, we'll start on it then. I use Castrol Edge 0w30 on my K24, got loads of it, so we'll do a filter and put Castrol Edge in for a start, and check the plugs.

Engine idles ok, but yes it does sound a bit "tickety" ...so VC's will go onto the to-do list. I have a Honda workshop manual on DVD for my Accord, he says that he wants to keep this Civic, so will have to look on ebay for a DVD for his car LOL

 

[deni.babe]

all looks good

 

[Grayfox]

Service Manuals how to adjust Valve Clearances
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1bvjwohjef6otn/R18 Valve Clearance.zip?dl=0

 

[golden_brown]

^ magic
looks straightforward

 

[Grayfox]

Had to edit it since the original manual will only work with IE and you cant just copy the webpage since it is all java and activeX based.

 

[Jon_G]

Is the 1.8 Civic engine much different to the 2.0 Accord engine Brian?

 

[golden_brown]

Had to edit it since the original manual will only work with IE and you cant just copy the webpage since it is all java and activeX based.

I wondered how you'd got it into an html + folders that opens with all the numbers on the diagrams, if you try to save the page direct from IE all the numbers and words are not on the images because, as you say, each page is assembled by javascript.

 

[golden_brown]

Is the 1.8 Civic engine much different to the 2.0 Accord engine Brian?

I think that it is very different Jon, it's capable of achieving very good mpg with a decent top-end power .....the R18 seems to achieve what was always promised by Honda VTEC but never really delivered

I could be wrong though opcorn2:

 

[Syx]

Service history is always a bit interesting, because it doesn't give you any indication of potential problems with the vehicle or how it's driven. My motorbikes are a prime example; neither have had a service stamp for years but they are extremely well looked after, garaged, and maintained to a higher standard than a lot of machines out there that get looked at only once a year. Same goes for cars in many cases.

I'd probably still want one for piece of mind, but I wouldn't let the fact that one is missing throw me off buying a great vehicle.

 

[golden_brown]

^ I kind of agree, and I certainly don't believe that a dealer service history is any guarantee of a good purchase. The only thing I would want is some evidence of regular oil changes with the correct type of oil.

The car has had 3 previous owners, the first owner seems to have spent a lot of money on a brand new car and then done nearly 18k miles in 15 months before getting it serviced !! He got rid of the car after having had it for just over 2 years, the impression I get is either someone who works in "sales", or a chubby boy-racer who has a rich mother LOL

My son bought the car from a "trader", so what condition the car was in, and what the "trader" paid for it, is anyone's guess. My son just does not realise that, if you buy a car, you make sure that you negotiate the price downwards based on "bad" things, and if the "trader" cannot provide counter-evidence but will not go down in price even if you walk, then you know that he has a low margin, so you go back a few minutes later and buy it if you still want it. But you don't just arrange a test drive, fall in love with it, and hand over the cash !!

AFAIK that's what he did, he paid the asking price without any attempt at delving into its history or any attempt at negotiation, being told that a 3-month warranty will cover any issues !! But it's only a "bronze" warranty, which only covers engine and transmission, not much chance of those failing in the next 3-months. He was also told that the body was still under Honda warranty, but he didn't realise that if it hasn't been regularly serviced at a Honda dealer, then that's just more hot-air from the mouth of a "trader" :facepalm:

Fortunately he doesn't know that I'm on this forum