How to Replace A Starter On A Honda Civic 2006-2011 

This project ended up taking a couple of mid 30's "men" about 3 hours to do. Sure it's a job that could probably take a single person under 2 hours... the point isn't that we're a bit incompetent - it's that the directions here were so good that even a couple of knuckleheads got the job done. Thank you for uploading. We were in for quite the bind otherwise

Thank you for the video as it helped me know the locations of things. This took me 2 hours. I’ll add a few tips of things I did. Only jack up the car just high enough for you to fit. This will allow your arms to reach further up to things and have more leverage. I’m 5’6 and could barely reach things. Use jack stands just like the video showed, you don’t want to get crushed. Wear a long sleeve shirt so you don’t scratch your arms up. Lay down cardboard or something to slide in and out from under the car easier. Lay all the tools you need under the car with you or have a friend near by. Take off the passenger side tire. I took my starter out through there and it lets more light in to see things. The order I did things. Disconnect battery, Removed wheel, removed the bracket with 3 bolts, removed the 3 green clips and broke off the gray clip, removed the lower starter bolt, removed the upper starter bolt, removed the starter plug, removed the positive starter nut. You might have to transfer the brackets off the old starter to your new one. I did with 8mm. Going back together. Starter positive nut, starter wiring plug, BOTTOM starter bolt then the top bolt, leave the bottom bolt barely loose so you can wiggle the top bolt in, you can tape the bolt to your socket/extensions to help guide it up in there, then the wiring clips if you wish to hook them back up, then the 3 bolt bracket, and battery, start the car, wheel, clean up. Tools I used. Car jack, jack stands, cardboard, long sleeve shirt, headlamp light, magnetic tray, 1/4 drive ratchet 10mm for battery, 1/2 breaker bar 19mm for wheel, 1/4 drive ratchet 10mm for 2 bracket bolts, 12mm for 3rd bracket bolt, 2 6” standard screwdrivers to help get wiring harness clips off, 3/8 drive swivel head ratchet harbor freight 14mm and extensions for bottom and top starter bolt, 1/4 ratchet and 12mm positive starter nut. You can use shallow or deep sockets in combination with different extensions for the starter bolts. Buy a set of 3/8 extensions if you don’t have them you will need them in my opinion. They will get you extended past the intake so you can rotate a standard ratchet on the starter bolts. It sounds easy but the limited space to work and see is what takes so long. You can’t have to many tools! Go buy some!

You, Sir, just saved me hundreds of dollars. I said a few bad words but couldn’t have done this starter replacement without your video. Many thanks!

I want to join the multitude of others who thank you for helping to make the starter replacement a success. Your video opened the door to the possibility of doing what appeared to be impossible. There were several "brick wall moments" but after a re-review of your video something new happened and the process continued. After getting the car up on the stands and removing the passenger side wheel, the starter remove and install took somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 hours. Turning the key and hearing the starter kick the car to life was very rewarding.

For anyone attempting this, this video is incredibly helpful! To make the job easier, I recommend having both shallow and deep 14mm sockets, and having short and long extensions. The area to work in is extremely tight, so being able to combine different socket pieces is a must. One of the best access points in the video from behind passenger tire. You do not need to remove the tire, just reach behind it to remove old starter and get new one above axle. For my project I used deep sockets, a flexible joint socket, and a medium extension. I wish I would’ve had a short extension though. I had a really difficult time installing the 2 bolts back in the new starter because it’s so heavy you cannot line them up and hold it. I used folded cardboard wedged under starter to brace the weight while installing bolts. Hope the tips help!

You are very concise and clear. I struggled to remove it but putting it back in was way easier after I removed the passenger tire. After I read the comments section, I was able to get it done. I will never install another starter in an 07 honda Civic again, ever. It kicked my ass. I almost gave up. Lucky I am stubborn. You made look easier.

One of the best step by step instructional videos on RU-vid. Thanks sir 🙏

Thank you very much! I had zero mechanical experience before trying this but I decided to take on the challenge and I successfully replaced my starter! My car has a nice, smooth, powerful start to it now. You released this new version about the time when I noticed my starter began to go out -- it almost feels like this video was made for me. Its apparent that is not the case though because you have helped lots of people according to the comments. God bless!

Man this was a tough fix. I'm used to working dirt bikes and not cars. Couldn't have done it without your video. Thank you sir.

Followed you step by step and finished in about 3 hours. I don't think I would have accomplished this without it, thank you for such a detailed video!

I could barely get three fingers of one hand in any of those spaces. I can't imagine figuring out how to get a camera in there, too. Nice work. I appreciate your time and effort and kindness.

Thanks so much for the tutorial! Just finished this install and good god it was a PITA! This is one of the best tutorials for this install I've seen on RU-vid!

Thank you.... I just finished 30 minutes ago doing the starter. It was exactly as you did. I had some trouble getting the wiring clips off the holders, but it's an old car, so thee ya go. Took me 2 1/2 hours because I got frustrated a couple times and had to take a break. Thanks again!

Best video on how to do this! Hands down! Thank you so much. I used this video to remove mine today and it saved me a lot of time and guess work.

Most miserable job I’ve ever done found out my forearms are muscular and my neck is very weak. Thanks for the help man appreciate it!

Thanks for the video! My cousin and I knocked it out in about 4 hours with the help of this video and others. It was a major pain but with the right tools and patience it’s possible. Saved me a bundle!

There's no way that I could have done this without your amazing instructions. It was a nightmare job, but at least with your help -the car starts now. Thanks so much, my friend! Subscribed!

Thanks for posting the couple videos on this, they are helpful and aren't full of lengthy filler material like some other guides. I just replaced my starter yesterday, and while it wasn't as easy as you made it look at least it was doable and my car now starts! 👍

Nicely filmed camera angles! Thank you for taking the time to do this for us!

For those STUCK ON ROTATING the starter once the screws into the engine are out: 1. Remove the 10mm screws to those metal holders that hold those green/black electrical wires, the ones where you push that zip tie like out. There will be two and long. 2. This will allow you to basically disassemble the entire starter into TWO parts. There will be a back plate, remove that by pulling it off. 3. You can pull it into two parts. It will be able to fit out. 4. You are left with a much smaller starter with no bits hanging out to block a rotate! 5. You can move easier to reach the positive lead with the weather rubber. TIP for weather rubber for 12mm bolt: Pull it off best you can and rotate the large bit under the wire so you can fit the 12mm socket into it without getting rubber in the way. Hope it helps for anyone stuck on rotating magic that they do in the videos + better access to leads and that one electrical plug!

Absolutely killed it with this. Very helpful. I’m not a car person and I was able to do this by watching your video.

Thanks! I just got done with this repair and this video was a great help. It was still a real pain getting my hands in those tight spaces.

100% came in clutch! Took me a few hours because I couldn’t really understand the angles but once I got it it was clockwork

I did this a year ago, and my best advice is to do as much as you can through the passenger wheel well. Yes! This MEANS: a lot of extensions, I personally used the 1/2 inch black ratchet from harbor freight and this job really isn't so bad, once you're done, you'll be happy to help someone else do this in an hours time the second time around, good luck guys, and remember to take that little exhaust piece off, it'll really help

Excellent video! But man I have to say I hated every moment of doing this job. I was successful thankfully. I almost quit several times just do to the limited space….it was a mental game but I pushed through and won. Honda wanted $800+ for this job. Saved right around $600 and hope I never have to do it again haha. Everyone looking to do this job, this video is the one to follow. Don’t spend your time watching other ones unless you want to pull exhaust pipes and/or an axle. Thank you for posting.

Thank you so much professor backyard. RU-vid university hasn't failed me yet!

This is the best step-by-step video on the topic I have seen.

I cried, and cried 😢all day and night. I gave up many, many times. Then I finally got last bolt tightened somehow. THANK YOU!!

Got this project done today using the video :) I was able to get the whole thing done having the car on jacks and taking off the passenger wheel. Majority of the work right through the wheel well with a crazy extension setup like 3 feet long lol and then just had to peek my head underneath a couple times to see some stuff. Took about 2-3 hours. Most of the time spent for this job was finding all the right tools and figuring out what combination of extensions and where to put the flex socket in the middle of it. Got all the bolts out from passenger side wheel well with not too many issues.

He is concise, without any time consuming fluff. Great video!

This video helped me immensely and it boosted my confidence in my mechanical ability. Thank you for your support. Keep wrenching everybody! 🔧

Thank you, I just finished mine. I took off the passenger wheel and used an extra long extension. You have to be patient because it is difficult to remove it specially that top bolt. great video.

absolutely the best ,most clear & informative video i have ever seen on a pretty complicated repair now i have a good understanding of what im in for. no others were this clear & accurate thanks so much,

Literally used this video to put a new starter in my civic in a chipotle parking lot following this video step by step made it easy. You saved the day. Thankyou

I appreciate that you took the time to go back and edit out all the curse words. Well done sir. Seriously though, thanks for the video. Think I’d still be trying to get it out

Thanks for this video! Tight spot. Few hours but got it done. Honda dealer wanted $900 to install a new starter. Bought a Honda starter for $200 and installed myself.

I was quickly humbled by this job earlier today. I tried to do this without RU-vid assistance. Thank you very much for this! I did mine on ramps instead of jack stands because I'm a sissy. I think the jack stands work much better than ramps because it angles the cv axles resulting in a bit more room to work. My civic is a stick shift and I had been relying on roll starting for about a month. No more Flintstoning my civic in the morning! Edit: To everyone about to do this job I recommend wearing some cut resistant mechanic gloves. I got a filet-o-finger on one of the sheet metal brackets. It's really easy to do in limited space when the starter bolts are a bit stuck!

Just wanna thank you for this video! I've watched it and studied this and finished the job in 2 hours! After breaking the top bolt loose the rest of the job went smoothly for me! Thank you! 🙏

Amazing. Saved the day for the wife’s car thank you

I was always under the impression you had to drop the sub frame for this repair. Probably makes it "easier" to access, but this is a great video. Thank you.

This was the best video by far. I'm a heavy mechanic with 10 years experience and it took me 4 hrs with a lot of frustration breaks lol. I'm 6 ft 240lb so it was a tight squeeze for my arms until I found the perfect position. I did take the wheel off. Everything was simple until I went to put the starter back in. I didnt (couldnt) unclip the top clip that is not attached to the starter so I couldn't twist the starter the right way. After 10+ times of taking it out and back in I finally disconnected the wires from the starter, put the starter where it goes, then pulling it out 2 inches and turning it and then I connected the wire and the plug. I'm definetly glad I didnt buy the starter on amazon that's half price but fails every year lol

Excellent video; Thank You. For those who will attempt this, note that the video makes it look like there is a lot of room for your hands. That is not the case. All the work is done from underneath the car on the passenger side. As shown in the video you can do it all without removing the wheel, but you will have to turn the steering wheel to get enough room between the wheel and wheel well to maneuver the starter out. It is very tight, so wear good mechanics rubber gloves or prepare to have your hands all cut up. You will definitely need a a swivel joint and various size extensions for your socket wrench.

Thanks man. I've worked on a lot of cars, mostly my own. I always watch videos to gain the necessary knowledge of the easiest ways. This video helped a lot.

Great video, I was actually able to replace my starter. If you're a newbie to this sort of stuff don't lose hope - it's possible! It took me an entire weekend but by the end I had saved tons of money and felt pretty accomplished. A trick me and a friend did was tying a string to the starter when installing the top bolt after putting the new starter in. The starter needs to be flush agaisnt the mount to really screw the top bolt in and having someone pulling it into position got us over the hump. Good luck!

This video just saved me $300. I'm a total car repair noob and you got me through it!

This is a great and very informative video. You make it look deceivingly easy. I just replaced the starter on my 06 Civic and cussed to no end. This job is not to be done by anyone that wears a glove larger than size small ( I wear XL). After 4.5hrs I finally got the new one on (my hands feel like I repeatedly punched the wall) Keep up the great videos

Thank you!!! I have changed this poorly engineered location for a starter, and swore never to do it again! I have kept notes of my swearing while I removed and installed the starter. I believe the biggest difficulty was because I did not remove the three bolts holding the bracket. THIS I think is what makes the task NOT EASY, but reasonably manageable. the only other comment I would make to your excellent presentation, is that I used a flexible tube about 5-6 inches long to start the upper bolt because it is a very tight spot to get the bolt started by hand, especially large hands. I am planning to do this as soon as the weather gets a little warmer, I believe your video will minimize if not completely stop me from calling the engineers that designed this a few choice words.

This video helped me out a lot because my wife has breast cancer and every penny counts thank you and God bless you sir

Awesome guide on replacing the starter bro! You explained everything perfectly and showed us exactly what we needed to see!

This video really helped me. Very informative and precise. However, i must say that the folks at Honda couldn't have made this any more difficult.

Wow! I’ve been looking for a simple video tutorial, I must say this is one of the best videos I’ve seen so far!👍🏽

Thank you. Your video helped me replace the starter in my daughters car. I appreciate the knowledge share, and effort you put into this.

Best video on RU-vid for this. I watched them all. That top bolt is really tough to find. Wish me luck.

Did this on my 2006 civic. It starts perfectly again, thank you so much for the video.

You saved me $800 CAD! My sincerest of thanks

Bro great video but I am most impressed with your ability to record with one hand and work with your other hand.

It's winter here. Heading to the shop for this job, but your vid was amazing and I thank you for your time. I hope your page does well.

Very good video.. concise.. no annoying music.. step by step... wish they were all like this..

Dude you're explanations are so good and so clear Plus one guy made us take out the exhaust or intake and one guy took the axle out You did this without taking anything out I think that's how most of us want to do this kind of work And again your explanations were so on target really really well done video

Believe it or not this video help me a lot Honda Civic was the hardest starter that I’ve changed so far there really wasn’t space to work with 💯

Thank you for this video! It was very informative. It took me about 2 hours removing and 2-1/2 hours installing. The top bolt is ridiculously hard to get started by hand! Otherwise, a smooth but tight quarters operation.

The starter in my 2009 Civic just died the week after I was laid off. You saved me $650. Thank you sir.

This job was an absolute nightmare but got it done thx to this video. Might be easier to remove the intake manifold and it should give direct access to the starter from above.

Thanks for the tutorial. It looks like I'm in for a real treat! The difficulty of servicing these vehicles is why I prefer owning an older non computerized vehicle that's rear wheel drive.

I changed the starter on my 08 yesterday. It took forever. Mainly because my arms are T-Rex 🦖 arms I will say the video was super helpful

Replaced mine last nite. Very helpful. Encourage you to put everything back in the reverse order you took off.

Thank you for the video. Just changed my starter after I was stranded on Friday nite. Made the task much easier and saved me $$

You did a very nice job on this video…talked plain and clear…explained exactly what was needed..and had excellent video showing where things were located….very good!

Man this video was 1 million times better than the other one. I like how you did it. No music is nice for these videos cause it helps people comcrentrate on the information and the noise from the music sometimes is too loud and distracting lol

Thank you for this video. My car died on me and I was stranded. Tow truck dude said maybe it’s the starter. Tested the battery and it was 99%. Decided to save some money and do this myself. I found the removal is easier to get to from the right wheel hole and under it. Then installation is easier to see/ guide the bolts from the further back angle and the closer spots. I accidentally removed it from the ground point (13mm) and not the ground contact (12mm) and it was a little easier cause the contact point rubber cover thing is hard to get back on if you get it off outside the lip edge. When you remove you basically gotta do a front flip to get our. When you install you have to flip it around again to get the wires connected then back into the installation spot. Took me 2 days for ppl looking up this vid. Don’t rush and break something/ mess up the threads. I thought I was forcing the threads in wrong so I stopped cleaned if off and tried again. It takes patience but you just gotta wiggle and keep trying. Didn’t use any extra swivels or special/long extensions. Just a regular ratchet set with a 4 inch extension should be enough Thank you so much for this video, I probably saved like 300-400 dollars doing it myself

Great video and it helped me a lot as I just finished replacing mine earlier today. It took me six hours overall, having started yesterday evening. I removed the a-pipe before starting as it gave me more room to remove it. The top bolt was dreadful as expected. Thanks again!

In a perfect world....this is how all how to videos should be. Thank you

As a student, this video was so incredibly helpful! Thank you

Thanks for this good video. I think capturing this on video is 10x harder than changing the starter.

Every other video I saw said to remove the oil filter. Didn't want to do that. Glad I found this video

Yeah took me 2 hours and I'm a diesel tech with tools! Thank you for your help!

Great video on how to do it. Just a FYI I found it easier to take the passenger wheel off. It gave me more room to reach the top bolt on the starter

Excellent step-by-step video! I completed this in about 2-3 hours, watching the video at each step. It’s a tight fit, but very “doable”. Thanks again

Thanks! Finished in 3 hours and the video helped a lot.

Amazing video, I played at least 15 times today since some botls are hard to locate. I took mine out and I've never done this before, now time to put the new one in after a lunch break. Took me 3.5 hours just to remove the old one lol

This is best tutorial I have seen for the replacement of this particular starter. Thank you!

Followed your steps, great camera angles and thoughtful commentary. Thank You.

Thanks this video helped me today. That top bolt was a pain in the butt. Those dang clips nor the power wire cover went back. Had trouble getting the power wire back on with that rubber cover so I cut it off. Good video. Thanks!!

Gotta say Thank You for taking the time and doing a proper DIY video! Complete, precise and awesome angles. Flawless Victory. Thanks again fam.

Excellent video! I found removing the front exhaust pipe and right front wheel made it much easier. I don't have anything like your snap-on tool, so for the upper bolt, I used a short socket followed by a universal joint, followed by long extensions out the wheel well.

My sisters and I will be attempting this as soon as we get the new starter! Wish us luck!!

Thanks! This guided me all the way through replacing mine flawlessly

Thanks for the video. The instructions we're great. Got the job done in a little under 2.5 hrs. I ended up using a straight ratchet instead of a flex head because my flex head ratchet is POS and flops around when you were trying to align it with a bolt. And is just too loose on the flex part in general. With a gearless ratchet you can get at both the starter bolts through the hole where you can see the power steering pump. That's if your arms are small enough.

Just replaced starter with this video. Thanks so much! Great info. Great video. Clean and simple. In and out.

Just finished after a whole week, your video helped a lot, only thing I’m stuck on is if a connection is on the side

Awesome! Thanks for the video 👍 I’ll be tackling this job on my nephew’s 08 Civic this weekend 🇺🇸 In the meantime, he’s borrowing my dependable 97 Accord SE with almost 300K 😁

Thank you so much! This video help me so much, you explained everything in the best way possible and i was allowed to help my cousin with his car🤘🏻

Thank you so much! Just changed my wife's starter in her 09 civic and works great thanks to your amazing video!

this was the hardest job I have done. getting tge top bolt in was hell till i got a friend's help. took off the tire and i pushed up and guided the bolt allowing him to go in from the wheel well and get the bolt in. was much faster. but also I am 5'4" and fat lol

Used your video yesterday . It helped a lot and I want to say thanks ! I lt did take most of the day to do in driveway and needed some decent rachets and extensions. The reason this is so hard to get to is that Honda planned on this to serve the life of the vehicle

One of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen for an automative repair. Keep it up brotha!!

This was by far the fastest way, thanks man!

Thank you! Couldn’t have done it without you.

Thanks man, you helped me replace it within a day. I really appreciate the detail you went into!

You don't even have to remove the exhaust pipe as Alldata instructions showed. Thanks for good video.