Hi, I'm new. I'm not mechanical.

So I'm being offered, by family, a 2009 Honda Civic LX, for under $3k. They're replacing it anyhow, and I need a car, so they're helping me out. 93000 miles on it.

After the inspection discussed below, I took it for a test drive. The car runs well. Very smooth on the highway at least up to 70 (fastest I could go given start of rush hour traffic yesterday). I had no issues with the acceleration.

Yesterday I took it for inspection by mechanic who found;

It was low on oil. Per the mechanic, it was sluggish driving. They added 3 quarts to bring it up, then it rode fine. Per the owner's manual, the car holds 4.8 quarts oil total, though only 4 are needed for oil change. Oil pressure light was not on. The wrench light was on.


It was 2660 miles past when the last oil change was due (flashing -2660 where the oil life remaining reading would be, which is in the display where the odometer would normally show..)

Oil leaking from Timing chain cover gasket and oil separator cover, which mechanic thinks caused the low oil. He quoted $600 to fix both.

Other minor issues: The thing in front under the bumper is slightly pulled out on right, as these cars are known to ride low and catch that thing in parking lots. he quoted about $400 to fix that. Much of the plastic wheel well liner is missing from the left front, He quoted $100 to fix that.

Also, Service code says B12. From looking at the owners manual, it looks like it wants periodic maintenance, (from 75000 or 80000 miles?) I've put the things B12 calls for at the end of this post.


Should I get a compression test on the engine, or other diagnostics because it got so low on oil? The mechanic is saying it isn't needed, it's probably fine. I have a buddy who is very mechanically savvy, who says "go ahead and buy it, at that price you can't lose", but he did tell me to have somebody rev it up in a driveway and look for blue smoke first.

It does seem like a lot of oil was lost in not too many miles.

Anything else I should be looking for, to avoid major issues?

Maintenance code B12
B is:

• Replace engine oil and oil filter
• Inspect front and rear brakes
• Check parking brake adjustment
• Inspect these items:
  • Tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
  • Suspension components
  • Driveshaft boots
  • Brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
  • All fluid levels and condition of fluids
  • Exhaust system
  • Fuel lines and connections

1 is:

• Rotate tires

2 is:

• Replace air cleaner element

If you drive in dusty conditions, replaceevery 15,000 miles (24,000 km).

• Replace dust and pollen filter

If you drive primarily in urban areas that have highconcentrations of soot in the air from industry andfrom diesel-powered vehicles, replace every 15,000miles (24,000 km).

• Inspect drive belt

 

The B12 service is the baseline service after an oil change and such. It should be done to keep the car at its best. As for the low oil condition, if the TC cover gasket was loose, think that even when the car is stationary not running even, the oil in the TC and oil pump area will still leak out of the gap in the gasket. After a few months of running and stopping the oil will lessen. The car needs to have that gasket replaced for certain.

The under sill air dam ( at the front under the bumper ) is not usually required to be replaced unless the entire air dam is damaged and interfering with other components of the front end ( suspension or cooling system ).

The inner fender liner should be replaced as it protects the frame and chassis components from road debris and the elements.

Good luck with the purchase, it seems to be a good deal for you.

 

Thank you very much for your response. I have one more question:

Should I get a compression test on the engine, or other diagnostics because it got so low on oil? The mechanic is saying it isn't needed, it's probably fine. I have a buddy who is very car savvy, who says "go ahead and buy it, at that price you can't lose", but he did tell me to have somebody rev it up in a driveway and look for blue smoke first.

 

Also, this vehicle's VIN is listed as being potentially affected by the engine block crack problem listed in TSB 10-048. A small percentage of cars affected by this will spontaneously crack and lose coolant. The full fix is engine block replacement. Honda will do that free of charge for cars that are less then 10 years since it was first sold. This car was sold in February of 2009, so I have that warranty until early next year.

Question: Is there any way to stress test this thing? Something that would prove the block good, even if it risked provoking the crack?

 

if it were me I would skip it and look for a 2010 or 2011 since they don't have the engine crack issues

my 06 has the engine crack issue but it's in the front and i was able to patch it up with rtv but if it develops in the back it's almost impossible to patch it

 

Thank you for your response.

1. Is there anyway to stress test this, that would validate the engine or crack it, while it's still within the 10 year warranty?
   
   
2. Have you continued to drive it with that patch, or was that just to get by temporarily?
   
   
3. I've read that the prevalence of the crack actually happening was less in the later, but still susceptible, runs of this engine (2008 thru early 2009) than for the 2006 year. Do you (or anybody) have any insight on that?

I'm interested in this specific car because of the $2700 price and the known history (it's from family). I was very hot to jump on this until I heard about this engine block crack issue.

 

no, you can't stress test it, i've got it mostly patched up, it doesn't leak much but I wasn't able to get up into the upper left corner where the water pipe runs, when i get a chance i'm going to pull the water pipe and put rtv all over the front of the block just in case it opens up on the driver side

i originally used K-Seal and it worked really well cause it was leaking a decent amount daily, now i fill about a cup a week of 1000 miles driving or so

 

Again, thanks a lot for the answers.

So the K-seal was only temporary?

What did it take, as far as removing/replacing stuff, to do the patching you have done?

 

k-seal doesnt work to fully close the crack but it closes it substantially, however there are four spots on the block where it can crack and mine was only one spot, if it crack in the back its not going to be easy to patch, especially if its behind the oil separator plate

i just used my fingers after pulling the alternator and pressed some rtv onto the block

 

How hard is it to get that oil separator plate off and inspect for crack? (Sounds hard...)

When I had the mechanic inspect it, he stated it had oil leaks from the timing chain cover and the oil separator plate. That wasn't great news, but if it's really coolant instead of oil, then I'm gonna just have to let this one go.

Thanks again!

 

never had to take one off, if its leaking from it then it might be coolant

 

Yep, that's my thought too.