Honda Civic 1.8 i-vtec se 5-door
We’ve all heard about the reliability of Honda’s vehicles, from the Jazz to the Civic Type R and various Accords. To put these claims to the test, we’ve taken on a 2006 Civic 1.8 petrol with 107,000 miles. It’s still oil-tight and uncorroded, in marked contrast to other vehicles of a similar age, so hopefully, we won’t be burdening our sponsor, GSF Car Parts, with too many requests for replacement items.
The eighth-generation Civic FN was built in Swindon from late 2005 for a January 2006 UK launch. In fact, the Civic was built in 15 different factories around the world: Japan, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, two plants in America, Vietnam and the UK. There are various different body styles, but the one we Brits know and love is only sold in Europe.
The European Civic is completely different underneath as well, with just a few interior parts and the basic engine carried over. These engines were the 1336cc L13 from the seventh-generation Civic in 80bhp standard and 98bhp i-VTEC guises, a 138bhp 1.8 i-VTEC, the 198bhp Type R 2.0 and a 2.2-liter turbodiesel with 138bhp. The R18 petrol engine used in the 1.8-liter car was an all-new i-VTEC
unit, using a cam chain rather than a belt and featured balance shafts, as well as various friction-reducing ideas such as ion-plated piston rings and oil cooling jets for the pistons As a standard spec, Civic buyers got ABS, traction control, side, and passenger airbags, remote locking with an alarm, front electric windows, folding rear seats, steering wheel rake and reach adjustment, heated mirrors, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, and rear Isofix. However, due to a protrusion on the dashboard, Euro NCAP only gave this Civic four out of five stars for safety.
ES and EX models added alloy wheels, remote radio controls, a CD player, rear electric windows and front fog-lights, while the EX GT model had headlight washers, heated seats, park distance control, sat-nav and a leather interior Our EX features a multi-function steering wheel with cruise control, audio remote controls, and sat-nav, although the first owner didn’t bother with full- or part-leather or parking sensors. Si and Ci models added half-leather trim to the ES/EX spec, plus climate control, with Ci-T cars adding sat-nav. Type Scars were EX-spec but with electric front seats and an audio remote, with the Type R cars adding leather and sat-nav.
Production of the FN ended in 2012 after two facelifts. The first was in 2009 when the front grille gained a pair of air intakes, the rear bumper was slightly restyled and the 80bhp 1.4i engine was dropped in favor of the 98bhp 1.4 i-VTEC. The 2011 facelift was just a grille change, new wheels, and some different colors and minor spec.
This generation of Civic has only been subject to three safety recalls. Why do Japanese car-makers get vehicles right in a way that Europeans can’t?
OUR CAR
Our project Civic was spotted at BCA’s Blackbushe sale and it looked OK: bright red, motor trade-friendly dark trim, plus the usual climate control and electric windows, with optional 18in alloys. This was the 138bhp 1.8 i-VTEC six-speed manual EX model which included a sat-nav that still seemed to work (sort of ).
Sadly, this three-owner car has no handbook or service book–how do these get
lost?–but it does have super-clean oil and some service receipts from 2017 and 2018. The MOT history was as clean as a whistle, limited to one fail in 2010 for a tyre and screen washer jet, another in 2017 for a number plate light and one more this year for a ball joint. Advisories were limited to the usual ‘underlays obscuring view’ and air freshener dangling from the rearview mirror.
Upon collecting the Civic from BCA,
where it cost us £900 + buyers fees, editor Martyn Knowles found little wrong with it mechanically. The aircon doesn’t do much, so it may have a leak or might just need a shot of gas, and all
four alloys had been used for target practice on kerbs. However, the wheels are shod with four very recent Maxxis tyres, so while we will be restoring the rims (gun-metal gray metallic rather than boring silver), we won’t need new rubber. The steering wheel is also on at the wrong angle, probably because the tracking wasn’t done in January after the worn balljoint was replaced. We can either sort the tracking or remove the wheel and refit it correctly – we’ll probably go with the first suggestion, to avoid wear on the front tyres.
Like most cars older than 10 years, this one has had one comical body repair to the front bumper corner. It’s not too ugly, to be fair, but should be fixable with filler and a matched aerosol can, while the weather is still warm enough. There are also a multitude of minor scratches to the bodywork that is shallow enough to be wet-flatted and mopped out – the car could use a good polish anyway and the grey trim edging around the sills and arches has turned the usual pale grey – we’ve found that teak oil can restore the factory blackness, so we’ll be giving that a shot.
One potential problem we were worried about was the Honda-fitted roof bars. These are a superbly aerodynamic design, but the key for them is missing – not to worry, the internet came to the rescue. More in the next issue.
The passenger side folding exterior mirror no longer folds when you press the button. While the driver’s mirror moves out of the way smoothly, the passenger one emits the rattle of worn
plastic gears and doesn’t do anything, so we will be removing this and attempting a fix before shelling out for a used one – we dread to think what a new one costs.
Last but not least, the glovebox doesn’t close, meaning it was hanging open.
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