Honda Sedan Range

The main problem with this gearbox is that it’s a CVT and that makes a lot of people a bit nervous. But in the Honda’s case there’s less to be concerned about.

That’s because Honda doesn’t just buy in its CVT, and instead, designed and engineered its own CVT to be a better thing. And it seems to have worked. That said, any Honda that exhibits juddering on take-off, a whining noise from the CVT and even slippage as the car tires to accelerate or travel up a hill needs attention.

The good news is that, in the case of the Honda CVT, the fix is often pretty simple. That’s because these problems in a Honda usually point to nothing more involved than changing the contaminated transmission fluid. For the record, the experts reckon that changing the fluid in your Honda CVT every 40,000km at the outside is the way to go, and should keep any problems at bay.

As far as the engine goes, the Civic’s turbocharged four-cylinder seems to follow Honda tradition by being remarkably reliable. However, it’s worth remembering that this is a high-tech unit and requires careful servicing if it’s to remain so. Make sure any second-hand Civic has a full and complete service history as part of the deal.

This car was built before LED lighting became popular in new cars, so you should be dealing with a simple, replaceable, conventional globe. Even cars from this era that had LED headlights would also probably have had conventional indicator globes.

The trick is in finding the precise one to replace the blown one. While the rear globes may match the front ones in your Honda, I wouldn’t put money on it. The best advice is to remove the blown globe and take it to a parts store that will be able to match it precisely. Even though the two may look the same, you may find there are detail differences in the way they insert into the holder that locates and powers them. Sometimes the contact points can be different, sometimes the physical size of the globe will be an issue.

Removing the globes should be a simple matter of removing the covers over their mounts (from inside the engine bay and the boot respectively) and giving the globe a gentle push and an anti-clockwise quarter turn to release it. When replacing them, remember not to touch the glass surfaces with your fingers as this can leave a hot spot which could lead the globes’ early failure.

If the car is still running well and there’s no signs of oil burning, then the oil you’ve been using so far would appear to be the right one. Thicker oil is usually only used if the engine is starting to show signs of wear and is leaking or burning oil.

While that mileage sounds a lot, provided the servicing has been carried out promptly, it’s amazing how far a modern, quality engine like the Honda’s will go without problems.