Author Topic: Advice on repairs for civic  (Read 6007 times)

FeelTheRain

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Advice on repairs for civic
« on: February 28, 2016, 10:14:24 AM »
My 2010 civic recently crossed the 100k mark. When I took it for an oil change to the honda dealer, they pointed out that since the car just passed 100k, I would need to replace the timing belt, water pump and spark plugs. In total they are quoting me ~1100 (timing belt and water pump - 800, spark plugs - 300) for all those repairs.

Are these really necessary? I have previously owned used cars that were more than 125k miles and no repair shops told me to replace the spark plugs. Also, the price quote on the repairs seems a quite high. I looked up quotes for these repairs from online sites and the max I got was ~700.

Has anyone here done similar repairs for their vehicle after it passed 100k miles in mileage?


innkeeper77

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2016, 10:42:25 AM »
Do you have the J series V6? If so, it looks like the timing belt has to be replaced at 105,000 miles, while the other models have timing chains that don't need replacement for a lot longer... but that could be wrong, it was a quick google search.

If your car has a timing belt, you need to replace it when the manual says so. If the belt breaks, your engine usually breaks as well. If you are replacing the belt, it is a god idea to replace the water pump as well. That is because you have to do a lot of labor to get to the belt or the pump, and they are in the same spot. Doing both at once costs basically the same as just doing one, while ding them seperately costs almost twice as much- it is all labor cost, not parts.

I had a 2007 Subaru Impreza, and replaced the belt and pump at 100k.

Lastly, spark plugs should be done, but they should be very easy to change... and cheap. I wouldn't pay that much for the service, but it probably depends on your location. I paid $600 for my timing belt and pump change, but that was in Indiana (low cost of living), on a different type of car. Now I just own cars with timing chains instead of belts, and will do the work myself when they are due.

lithy

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2016, 11:35:40 AM »
Yeah as mentioned above, if it is an interference engine you'll want to do the timing belt on the recommended intervals.  If the belt breaks it will destroy the valvetrain and then you're looking at an engine rebuild.  Kind of amazing to me that anyone still uses timing belts instead of chains especially on interference engines.

Timing belts aren't that hard of a DIY job depending on how cramped your engine bay is, neither is a water pump. 

Of course if you're new to DIY you might not want to take all that on at once.  The dealer isn't necessarily trying to hose you on the water pump, it is one of those things that when you have the front end of the engine disassembled to do the timing belt lots of manufacturers have a recommended combined service.  The water pump might last another 20, 50, or 100k miles, but when it goes you'll be disassembling the front end again anyway, so it saves on the labor which is the most expensive part for dealer repairs anyway.

Spark plugs as well are basically maintenance items.  You could wait until you develop a miss before replacing them.  You could pull one and inspect the electrode, or you could just do them every 100k to make things simple.  Spark plugs however are the easiest to DIY, if you have any desire to ever work on your own car, they are a perfect starter job.  Just make sure you start the plugs in the threads by hand before going at it with the ratchet. 

My recommendation would be to shop the job at another reputable shop for the timing belt and water pump, I'll bet you can get that job done for 500-600. 

Spark plugs shouldn't be more than 100 plus a couple hours with a simple hand tool set.  Or again, maybe 200 at a non-dealer shop.

Good luck!


lithy

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2016, 11:44:19 AM »
Actually I'm just looking and I can't find that there was a v6 available in the 2010 Civic.

Spark plugs on an inline 4 will be way easier to DIY, at least you won't have a rear bank on a v6 against the firewall which is always the most difficult part depending on the car model.

Unless you did a V6 engine swap into your civic, in which case, I shouldn't be giving you advice, I think you can handle a timing belt change! ;)

Reynolds531

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2016, 04:52:33 PM »
Others will disagree but I have owned dohc engines from Acura, Mazda, and Hyundai. All had belts that I changed on time. I NEVER changed a water pump, I've never had one leak. My theory is the factory pump is much better than vaftermarket.

Atca minimum I would suggest a manufacturer pump. Even still I expect it may leak in a year or two.

FeelTheRain

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2016, 04:59:18 PM »
Thanks for the advice all. This means that I do need to get the repairs done but I will need to shop around for a better quote, but since I am a complete noob at car DIY repairs (the nearest I have come to is changing the battery for the remote key and front wipers :) ) I'll leave the repairs to a mechanic.

I am hoping that after these the only repairs to do till 150k miles would be oil changes and new tires.

Debts_of_Despair

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2016, 05:07:53 PM »
No 8th gen Civic has a timing belt.  Your car has either a R18 or K20 (Si only) 4 cylinder.  They both have chains.  There is no replacement interval for a chain.  It only needs to be replaced if there symptoms of a problem with it.  I would find a new mechanic.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2016, 05:12:26 PM by Debts_of_Despair »

Joel

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2016, 05:11:48 PM »
Spark plugs are not much more challenging than wipers. Do those yourself.

I've done a few timing belts before, and depending on how much room is in the engine bay, it's easier to just have someone else do it.

2010 civic probably has a timing chain though... Which doesn't have to be changed. I would verify that is the case.

lithy

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2016, 05:18:29 PM »
Others will disagree but I have owned dohc engines from Acura, Mazda, and Hyundai. All had belts that I changed on time. I NEVER changed a water pump, I've never had one leak. My theory is the factory pump is much better than vaftermarket.

Atca minimum I would suggest a manufacturer pump. Even still I expect it may leak in a year or two.

Just to back you up, I don't disagree.  The water pump on the DOHC V6 in my 2003 Ford Taurus lasted 210k miles, so it is something to keep in mind, but if you're already paying dealer shop rates on the timing belt, you really aren't paying much more for the labor on the water pump and they're going to put in OEM.

use2betrix

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2016, 05:29:34 PM »
FYI. It's best to think of these things as maintenance, and not repairs. Those items are part of the routine maintenance schedule, nothing is "broken" once you get them done you should be good for another 100k.

Ankenystache

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2016, 06:05:52 PM »
I agree with the OEM water pump. Honda's are known for their reliability and putting a aftermarket part on the car is asking for a dealer to point to that as the problem should another rise. The difference may be about 50-75 in terms of parts cost and for that I would take the one designed for the car. If your really looking to save money, see if they can price match it. Working in the repair field I know that dealers price match all the time. They may not get it as cheap as aftermarket, but they can come down a little bit. For the spark plugs, that is a DIY project with some basic hand tools and youtube videos. Just remember a little bit of anti sieze will help you out for the next time you do it. As for spark plugs, I have seen Honda does really well with NGK plugs, but that is my opinion.
Another benefit of this service is that you will be replacing the coolant, which can break down gaskets as it gets older.
Good luck to you

lithy

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2016, 06:15:19 PM »
No 8th gen Civic has a timing belt.  Your car has either a R18 or K20 (Si only) 4 cylinder.  They both have chains.  There is no replacement interval for a chain.  It only needs to be replaced if there symptoms of a problem with it.  I would find a new mechanic.

Obviously I know nothing about Civics but if this is true it is pretty damning for a Honda dealer...

Syonyk

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2016, 06:43:33 PM »
My 2010 civic recently crossed the 100k mark. When I took it for an oil change to the honda dealer, they pointed out that since the car just passed 100k, I would need to replace the timing belt, water pump and spark plugs. In total they are quoting me ~1100 (timing belt and water pump - 800, spark plugs - 300) for all those repairs.

Yeah... unless you have the V6, Debts_of_Despair is right, you have a timing chain, and you need to find another place to get service, because they shouldn't even be quoting a timing belt replacement on that engine.

I could understand it if it was a casual remark by a maintenance person, but if they've actually quoted it out, they should realize it doesn't have such a thing.

Quote
Has anyone here done similar repairs for their vehicle after it passed 100k miles in mileage?

Sure.  I've had interference engines with timing belts.  I don't care to let those fail.

The manufacturer's maintenance schedule is a good start.  Ideally, you're not putting insane numbers of miles on a vehicle.

randymarsh

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2016, 08:11:38 PM »
I have a 2010 Civic and everything I've read says it doesn't have a timing belt. Mine is 4 cyl automatic.

neo von retorch

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #14 on: February 29, 2016, 08:19:56 AM »
I'm just here to find out in which country have they sold Civics with a V6, and for what years :)

FeelTheRain

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #15 on: February 29, 2016, 05:07:20 PM »
My civic is LX 4cyl auto . I too was unsure about if it has a timing belt or a chain. There is a fair bit of both opinions when i googled for it and the manual is also not very clear about it.

neo von retorch

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #16 on: March 01, 2016, 08:23:54 AM »
The four cylinder Civic from 2010 has a timing chain.

The internet has spoken. So say we all.

JeffS

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Re: Advice on repairs for civic
« Reply #17 on: March 01, 2016, 02:37:58 PM »
Honda has a maintenance reminder system in cars built after 2006. If you've taken it to the dealership, I'm sure they remind you every time. They're talking about the Sub 4 which pops up around every 100k miles. You can ask the dealer for a price on the belt and plugs, I think we did one here for about 2 hours labor. Not sure what the labor rate is where you are, but that's about $260 in labor and parts aren't that much. If you do the water pump, you will also be doing the Sub 5 which is just a coolant service. Not too hard to do, but mistakes can happen and you could get an air bubble in the system if you miss a step. Like everyone else has said though, not too hard to do spark plugs yourself. Good luck!