Biggest Problems: 7th Gen Honda Civic 2001 - 2005 ES1 ES2 EM2 

My head gasket has been blown for almost 100000km in my 2005 civic reverb. It now has 360000km, but amazingly, the car works like a charm. The only other major thing, I which I did fix, was the input shaft bearing in the manual transmission. Cost me 60 bucks. Most dependable car I've ever owned.

Idk bout y’all but the 7th generation Civic is the best looking gen imo, especially the 04-05. Lol I might be a lil biased being an owner of an 05 Civic sedan.😎

It's always the headgasket. Lol My issues were: The headgasket (failed in a way that was letting air into the coolant system, but not oil mix or loss. Go figure) The auto transmission filter clogs in the 01-02's and needs to be rebuilt with the newer filter design. Do the topside shift control solenoid at the same time. Cheap and makes a difference. After that, you have to make sure your ground connections stay clean. Even in salt/rust free areas, but especially if it snows where you live. Replace all ground wires for battery/trans/chassis with anything but factory. Clean your starter motor connections! Clean fluids and a copper brush will literally fix and prevent many problems. Love these little cars and they'll love you back!

Intro was brutal: A tear was shed for the 03 Civic Si Hatch bro...

02 Civic EX, 187,000 miles, second owner, have owned it for 2.5 years Speedometer stopped working. Replaced gauge cluster with used one and it's working great. VVT gasket on back of head leaking oil everywhere. Took me forever to find source of the leak. Changed out original ATF at 160,000 miles (USE Honda DW1 ONLY!). Transmission works great. Recently, fan switch replaced with OEM part (was overheating at idle). Change oil every 5,000 with synthetic 0W20 Drain and fill ATF every other oil change. Flush coolant and brake fluid every 50,000 miles Did timing belt/water pump, cam and crank seal when we first purchased, OEM parts only. Did front and rear struts. That's about it! Thanks for the video!

2002 Civic LX Coupe Got it from my brother, who put 200kmi + on it, being 2nd owner. I've put 20k n it, with no problems. Clutch needs replacement, but I'm waiting for another 2k b4 replacement. I know how to drive with part replacement. Going on a road trip across America, from Cali to Texas, to Illinois, to Georgia, to Florida this summer. Don't think I'll have any problems. Love this lil nugget. Have always been partial to 4 cylinders since 1973. Will try to make 450k. Keep you posted.

i have a 2005 honda civic vp with 320,000 miles. ive changed the head gasket once with head resurface, 4 timing belts, bought a reman bmxa trans from auto tech transmission out of phoenix az at 315k miles, starter replaced once, alternator replaced once, and simple maintenance. its still sitting in my driveway getting me from point a to b. great car

Thank You for your 411 on the 7th generation Honda. I recently picked up on a 2001 Civic LX BUT with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION and only had 81k miles on it. It seemed like it was well cared for. Everything WORKS on it. I have a GOOD friend who is a mechanic and I'm going to have him change the timing belt and I'll keep a close eye on the temperature gauge. I get 29-30mpg around town with the air on and 38-40mpg on the interstate with air on going 65-70mph. It runs GREAT, RIDES and handles GREAT. "I LIKE IT"😉👍 Oh it was a ONE OWNER.😁

Got a 2003 Civic EX 5 speed, about to turn over to 211k miles. Runs like a champ. Keep the oil changed every 3 to 5,000 miles, Valve adjustment check every 30k miles or so and they will last. I have not owned mine since new so i do not know if the Headgasket has ever been done but the car was well maintained and kept up. Interior is immaculate. You would never guess it had anywhere close to 211k miles on it. I also gets 33 to 35mpg with mainly city driving and yes my trip meter and odometer read correctly.

My head gasket went at 137,000 right after i bought it. $1400 because shop replaced water pump, radiator, t-stat and timing belt also. Paid 3600 for the car so 5 grand in all isn't bad. Transmission shifts pretty good. I'm going to change the trans fluid next. Thanks for the vid. Peace

My '04 LX just hit 199k miles. I've owned it since '06. The head gasket was replaced at 115k when the timing belt broke (less than one year after being replaced at the Honda dealership I bought it from). No overheating since then. Other than the freak timing belt break, it's been a very reliable car. I have a manual transmission, so no concerns there! Thanks again for your videos. They've helped me on several jobs and saved me a lot of money!

Cool video. I have an 04 ex 5 speed, great car. Head gasket replaced at 161k, along with thermostat, fan switch, valve job, timing belt, water pump, and spark plugs. Then the clutch and alternator, wheel bearings long time ago. Still a daily driver, going now at 226k and going up. 👍🏼

If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have replaced my transmission in my 01 civic…I watched your video at least 20 times and 10,000 miles later it’s still going strong. I couldn’t find a good know good one locally so I just bought one from a JDM supplier and had it shipped to me and used genuine Honda ATF and it’s been really good to me.

I don't get it.... You don't like one of the most reliable engine in the world... Idk about your customer's car but my has 500k km and still works like a charm.... Yeas the CVT transmission sucks that's why you get the 5speed mt that's bulletproof... Simple as that ....

(((giggle)))) I had to look up the definition when you mentioned the slang term "Slush Box" . Up in Ohio we use the slang word, "tranny" when talking about a transmission.

My 2001 es1 model has been running seens new with the original gearbox and no head gasket failure we had the car since new and we still have no issues other than maintenance and one broken radiator every video i see on RU-vid everyone say that they have garbox and head gasket problems idk but i take care of it service and gearbox oil just and just recular maintenance hope this helps anyone that wants to buy this car thanks again!

Your k20a3 auto swap em2 sedan was dope a it gets! And is still on the road to this day!

I bought my manual ex 2001 Honda Civic coupe 6 years ago I haven’t had problems at all it’s got 256,xxx still runing smooth 💪🏻💪🏻

At the rate the prices of cars are going these days I would repair this vehicle with a smile on my face all day

I am daily driving at 380 000km with a coolant leak and blown headgasket. She still gets up and goes everyday.

02 civic 5 speed. Ive got 204k miles on mine and no headgasket issues

I have a 2005 Honda Civic that I bought new with 125k miles, only thing i have replaced besides oil, brakes, plugs and tires is the oxygen sensor a few years back and the alternator last year. Motor and transmission are fine so far.

Head gasket Cam sensor connection issues Change the fluid regularly and the automatic will last

I’m not sure why Honda has so much problems with Auto Transmissions. Even their Acura line has countless examples too

I bought a 2003 ex em2. Auto. 40-50 mpg regularly. Non hybrid. Threw some 6th gen HX enkei wheels on it and did some suspension work since it was a Massachusetts car. 118.2k miles. Knock on wood no issues yet. In hindsight I should have gotten a 9th gen HF civic. Preferably the updated 2013. But my em2 is working out fine. Don’t beat on her, I baby her.

Got an 2002 with nearly 500k on it. Had to replace cam and crank sensors. And the cat/exhaust manifold cracked replaced it with an aftermarket one. Mine is manual transmission though. Replaced factory clutch at 335k Never an issue with the head gasket.

Bought my ‘03 lx coupe brand new for $14,750. It now has 225k miles and to the point where nearly everything, including head gasket, has been replaced. Now that gas is $5, glad it’s still in my life. Latest problem has been an oil leak from the inner oil pump seal near the crank sensor which seems to keep rust away. Will get to it some day

When the head gasket was leaking on my civic, it wasn’t overly obvious at first. It would just keep filling up the overflow tank to the max and would “mysteriously” lose coolant

I currently run two 2005 special edition 7th gen Civics, Yes headgaskets are something youll end up doing lucky for I'm a Diesel Mechanic so it's not a big deal for me, Also if anyone has ever completely run a 7th gen out of coolant by accident like I did, I hit something that rammed the hole through the radiator Driving 75 mph down the highway it shut down because the head failed without coolant, I would have been able to install a new head without doing any damage to the lower section like pistons rings block etc because it doesn't burn any oil still after this abuse. In fact I resurfaced the cylinder head flat again and still run it with that but is very Stupid because the valve seats on cylinder 2 must be messed up or the v-tec rocker is hanging up from the potato chip head, It was warped BAD, Just don't try that with yours if you overheat yours until it shuts off just install a different head...

I absoloutly do NOT have the money for a head gasket job. Will yellow lable blue devil get me by till i can swap the engine? Its blowing gas in to the radiator.

There is no any problem at my (2002 Es7) automatic transmision

Hi there I love your videos and your real professional of Honda mechanic I ever see just keep going brother. I have a two Honda Civic 2002 I start to have a problem with the transmission as soon as I start driving after 10 or 15 minutes transmission stop working after the engine is warm , but after 3h cooldown start working perfect for 10 up to 15 minutes and again stopping as soon is warm just stop shifting ?! I have a Honda Civic 2005 ex special edition one one morning I start to drive and I see it's overheating I stop by and I check the antifreeze and I see it's empty after I fill up and I take out bubbles or air and he stopped overheating but now I have for one week I'm checking every morning the antifreeze level but always I need to add two or three oz what you think there will be a problem all this too ?? I check all the hoses I check water pump I checked on the radiator I send the to four shops nobody can find nothing they start to think everybody it's had gasket but it's not

I have 2002 256000 no big issues best car ever!

Not sure if i can say anything about the transmisson. Ive own the car since the car had 35k. Didnt have a problem. Ive never punch the gas pedal and i guess it made a difference for my shocks as well. All the weight doesnt shift to front or back when i brake. Go easy on the gas and brake people. Punch it slow easy going in.

Nice Red hatch 5th gen civic there at the background at 3:38

The rod barings ive had one engine with baring problems my cousin had 2 same thing and 2 of my friends to idk if where just not lucky or there’s more people that had that issue with the d17

Master window/door switch cluster goes out constantly. I have to replace my switch cluster t least once a year. I WOULD like that head gasket video as I have a D17A1 sitting on a pallet to replace the head gasket I don't actually know WHAT is wrong with it but I'm guessing it's a head gasket as it was overheating badly and had oil in the coolant. I've got to pull the current D17A engine that's in my car now and replace the rear main seal that I botched when I put it into the car. I set the rear main seal it all the way to the back instead of putting it back exactly where I found the previous seal.

The head gasket can be fixed. But I'm not sharing how. But this particular model is my favorite because of the head gasket issue. I also have a standard. But everyone hates them so get all my parts dirt cheap. Working on having at least 3 redundant propulsion setups. Please turn more people off this car so I can scalp all the parts

my 2006 has head gasket issue too at 51K miles. Honda replaced the engine as a curtesy after I wrote them.

o ya has the newer key on the 03-05 i think. I have an 02 which has the 01-02 old school key, but 02 is the first year they did the immobilizer (thank god). someone tried to steal my 02, picked the lock, im thinking with a lishi tool, and then tried to lishi the ignition but obviously it has an imobalizer unlike 01. it says so on the window ffs... which he broke afterwards. guessing they tried to pick the lock, got it once but then got frustrated and broke the window and messed up the driver side lock. then got in and either realized it was 02 and newer despite his lishi fitting, or it was a manual and the person happened to be a melinieal lol im guessing its not an easy task to take out the ecu and swap one in with a key from junkyard to boost.... but I loosened the belt on the altinator and put something down the ebrake, so if i hear it a squeeling at night ima come get me a hog. other times I swap out the fuel pump relay with a broken one when i go out of town/leave it parked long term. getting tired of buying new windows though....

I'm rewatching this lol

crazy i never had an issue with mine for 6 years still going strong but its gonna gwt swapped for a kseries soon 177k on d17a2

Thanks for all the info. My 2001 civic ex seems to work fine if I don't use the air conditioner. The last time I used it with ac on the engine light came on (NOT BLINKING), and it went into limp mode. I barely got to my destination. I came back to it about an hr later, so I popped the hood and disconnected the neg. battery cable for 10 min. or so, reconnected it and the engine light was out. It started back up and I got home about 15 miles later without a problem. I'd like to have known what code would've been present b4 I cleared it.

But shit I can’t say anything about the transmission ive done some huge reverse to drive burnouts and it’s never gave me a problem

Not a head gasket, but my car won’t start I changed the alternator because it was locked. Still didn’t start, checked for spark in the ignition coils and there’s no spark but the coils are new so what could it be ? It’s a 2002 civic ex

Thank you for the video! I like the design of them, I have a ep2 civic. A question, if my head gustket goes bad, should I just buy a new gustket and replace it without taking it to a machine? I already replaced the gear box using your video - did it in my backyard while watching your videos under the card lol

Fixed mine. K20 swapped lol

Your customers are very lucky! My mom has a 2004 auto with around 55k miles mostly city driving. The gas mileage is terrible at around 20 mpg, any advice on what I could check that would cause such poor gas mileage and any recommendations that I can do to improve gas mileage?

Is it overheating from a coolant leak either form a hose or water pump gasket( mine was water pump gasket). Because I don't think the head gaskets blow on their own, unless someone in the comments can clarify. But any generation of civic will blow a head gasket if there's isn't enough coolant(ie it leaks out) or fans don't work. The parts of the interior on these come un glued from my experience and yeah heard negative things about the auto trans.

This was the first Civic with MacPherson struts too, it totally blows. Honda spend two million dollars making a jet airplane and a robot in 2001 for PR and the new Civic design suffered. Avoid it if you can.

Head gasket, valve cover leak where distributor would be placed if it had one, driver window switch, Ground wire rips in-between driver door, Adjuster bolt for ac breaks often,

I don’t have a lift, can I still do it on the floor?

This applies to Yank edition builds only, I've a Jap 7th Gen import, a 04 , My is 6th speed manual and electric steering, has the VTEC engine 👍👌 no issues apart from 2... 1.) The seam joining rear panels boths sides to the booth are weak, has to resealed every few years as they join to and down the water channel run offs. 2.) Airbag sensors and both driver and passenger (many passenger side) ... Because of company involved, I think all worldwide got recalled for free replacement. Like any motor, if you look after and maintain, 9/10 you won't get issues

I got an 00' ek1 Civic automatic transmission. It doesn't suffer from common transmission or head gasket issues, right?

Does the 1.5 Had the head gasket issue as well im thinking of buying a 2005 1.5 L automatic gear with 100k miles what do u think

So the 98 - 2k are the best Honda civic to purchase?

Since the transmissions aren’t very good and mine is starting to shift a little weird, would it be worth it if a’guy had the opportunity to swap in a manual transmission because the option was literally right there or is it better to rebuild/replace the automatic?

When you said head gasket i know u know lol better vid than those others.

I have a honda civic 2003 1.4 s, it has idle problems RPM goes down to near 2000 when the engine warms up and would lose speed in high gear. I have changed O2 censor, spark plugs and coils, idle control valve, the map censor and now I'm thinking about changing the fuel injection. My wife doesn't want to get rid of the car, am I just going to have to get rid of it myself or is there anything I have overlooked. Code P0171 keeps coming back on.

The Em2s, at least the D17a2 HG would fail in a way where the exhaust would leak into the cooling system. slowly overflowing the reservoir and draining the radiator. I drove mine for 1yr/10K miles while replacing the coolant every 2 months. This is the most common way the D17a2 HG blow and rarely end up mixing coolant and oil. Since I had the HG replaced it idles better, especially with the AC on, and I don't have to worry about refilling the reservoir on long drives. From what I've researched the factory graphite HG will last on average 100,000-120,000 miles. Honda did release an updated OEM HG which improves durability or you canorder aftermarket MLS HG

What about overheating issues

I hv a 05 non vtec auto es1, it struggle going uphill, wont go past 80mph on straight roads, the rpm just stays at 3000 on final drive.. already replaced transmission and a number of other solenoids, spark plugs... its just sucks.

I have a 2002 Civic LX. Just bought it last week. She's super super clean. 45k on the dash when I bought her. At 45,250 she gave me a sweet metallic smell and wouldn't start after sitting for a few hours. Battery was dead. Charged it and she cranked over after some belt smoke. Now ive got some mild whining and an occasional clunking noise and I can't figure out where it's coming from. Could anyone give me some help? 😊

How the 5 speed transmission and is synthetic oil good to run in these 1.7l vtec and non v tec

rolltide bama! got an auntie over there. much love from Seattle.

Camshaft sensor and catalytic converter went out on my O2 which is a pretty crappy thing to have happen to oneself while on the freeway in the fast lane 😬

I have one I put a motor in due to knocking made it two days and now it’s acting like the auto tranny is gone witch I know is good. Csuse it went into gear np sometimes but give sometimes it won’t

I have the 04 hybrid. The cvt transmission is extremely bumpy at 160000 miles. Do you think I should try to get the transmission rebuilt or put a new/used one in?

Literally just had to manual swap my es1 cause the trans went out.. right after I did the head gasket and camshaft seal 😭

Which engines are more susceptible to head gasket failure?

How hard is it to do the 5 speed swap from a Auto? And is it cheaper if Gos forbid the. Automatic takes a crap. (I am hearing a contestant bearing type noise now like wheel bearing but it is not that)?

Have a very specific question so I own a 2005 Honda Civic ex car had a overheating problem but always delt with that just have to add coolant but today I was driving made sure to put oil before I drove but I made it 25 miles car went into limp mode and thru a code for crankshaft position censor I cleared it because I was trying to get were I was going car then broke down almost like it blew up there was a melted harness right behind the right side of the valve cover on the back car also was not reading any oil on the dip stick when i checked but then was reading when it sat for a little bit

Do the Hybrids with the LDA1 have head gasket failures too? As far as I can tell it's just the D17s but there's little info on the Hybrid

My ‘04 lx model has been burning gas like crazy and the maintenance light comes on whenever I start it and blinks for a bit. I have no clue what to do because I do all maintanence(air filter, coolant replacement, and oil) any advice?

I came across this video by accident and want to know how you do head gasket swap. Will you please consider on making a video of doing that? That'd be great.

P1457 for me Issue was the soleniod and the canister

Mine had problems with overheating and head gasket problems just used bars leaks now it’s good

Hey how u doing bud? I have a 04 coupe and i have installed skunk2 coilovers but i cant lower it to mucho because the shocks tube touches the front axle. Do you know how to fix that?

Should I get an 04 civic with an automatic trans? It only has 190k kms on it (120k Miles) is it worth it as a first car?

Where in alabama is ur shop I have a 05 with bad head gasket

Bought a car with 120k from a older couple who barley got it past 40mph had it for 2 weeks was running it pretty hard definitely hardest it's ran in a while ended up with a blown head gasket

Did you fix the steering wheel knocking problem ??

Definitely familiar with those years ,, I was on line the other day and was asking a question and you never answered my question I kinda felt like I was being ignored

the more I search for a used vehicle it seems like the way to go is just buy a house with a BIG garage first. Then buy all the tools ya need? and then build a vehicle completely from scratch. sheesh

So is the replacement head gasket better than the factory? Im going to look at an 01 5 speed tomorrow with 79k for $3500. Seems like a good work car

Anyone know if a 05 k20 fit in this car?

Head gasket quite common on these but still drives. I've put a switch by car lighter that turns fans on, especially in the summer or going up a hill since they tend to reach over 210°.

I got a 03 civic look exact car i have a jdm tranyy its going out at 60 to 80 different ecu but it sucks mine leaks to

Diagnose it on the "test track" out back! 8:08

What’s the egr plug/ cover called?

mine automatic with 356 000K on it original transmission and head gasket ( touching wood) :D

Didn't Honda do a recall on Head Casket for these 01-05 ? Yes.

Working on my 05 now. I just adjusted the valves on the 50,000 jdm. The last one had a crack in a cylinder. The jdm is more like 10.5 compression compared to a d17a2 9.5 + vtec. If you do a video on a head gasket maybe include a good gasket to use. I thought the same thing a 7th gen has been the least reliable for I.

My 7th gen overheated yesterday now in selling it

I'm glad to find your channel. I drive the 03 Honda Civic LX Sedan. It has 180,000 miles. I don't know much about car repairing, but my father and I have replaced the radiator and cooling fan since the motor was overheating about 5 months ago. I have a few questions if you don't mind me asking. Would adding a cold air intake help any cooling issues down the line, or should I keep the OEM Air Filter Resonator Box? I live in TX and the humidity and heat can be taxing. Even after we switched out the cooling fan and radiator, sometimes on longer drives, I notice the motor still heats up. Not as quick before the fixes we applied. Is there anything else I can do to prevent it from overheating? thanks for this video

Sounds like a good excuse to go with a K swap. Bout to talk with the wife about a new engine 😂

Those are now ALL erm ... Elderly. Currently at ~20 years old. . Didn't Mention Cluster failures These are as endemic as Head Gaskets Factory used lead free solder which fractured and Deaded the entire cluster.

I got a little bit of surface rust on mine but thats it

Do you have a video of doing a head gasket on this gen civic?

Wow is it a must on these cars the head gasket ???