Civic EP3 common issues
Type R issues (relates to FD2 as well):
Rattle from the engine
This is quite a common problem that is simply a heat shield problem, in some cases there is a similar rattle made by the silver cover that says VTEC on it. A lot of these issues were fixed under warranty but still something to look out for.
Whirring sound when turning on ignition
This is a problem related to headlight level motors, where they are coming on when they are not needed. Again this was a recall so most cars should have this problem fixed.
Windscreen whistle
This noise appears to happen between 65-100mph. This was fixed by resetting a windscreen seal. The problem with this was many dealers were reluctant to test for this problem as it meant having to break the speed limit.
No VTEC kick
CHECK YOUR OIL.This is the first thing to do if you aren’t feeling VTEC kick. The K20A unit does tend to use quite a lot of oil so needs to be checked regularly. The VTEC cannot happen if the oil pressure is low. You must also make sure your engine is up to temp, rule of thumb seems to be to not rev past 5800rpm until you’ve been driving for longer than 10-15 minutes.
Steering lock knocking
This is a problem that has differed from car to car,some people have had the same noise at idle and at low speeds whereas some have seen their noise get worse. Like many other problems this was fixed under warranty so many cars shouldn’t suffer with this problem.
Drivers window auto function
This problem will occur whenever you disconnect the battery. It is fixed by closing the window, then opening it and holding the button for 5 seconds once open.
Comments
Thank you, definitely some useful info rigth here.