2012 Honda Civic LX

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Originally Posted By: vintagegz
I was disappointed in the treatment of the rear wheel opening on the new civics, the lip folds under then around underneath the wheel opening, effectively trapping any salt and mud in the lip so it cannot get washed out, with his New York state winters that may be a problem area down the road...


No problems there. The vehicle will live it's life in Kentucky. His 2000 Subaru paint/body/chassis was basically spotless aside from some plastic fade from the summer heat.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: vintagegz
I was disappointed in the treatment of the rear wheel opening on the new civics, the lip folds under then around underneath the wheel opening, effectively trapping any salt and mud in the lip so it cannot get washed out, with his New York state winters that may be a problem area down the road. The new Golf and Elantra have a straight down weld, like the new Camaro, no way those quarter panels are ever rusting out on these newer designs, a little sad that Honda would not lead the way, but I guess they want to sell you a new one down the road when it rusts.

Buying a brand new car.....and then driving it in salt (an extreme corrosive) just seems kind of strange to me. I don't see any car maker being able to 100% prevent salt from ruining a car....nor should they be expected to turn over every lip or fold to prevent salt corrosion. Between the U.S. and Canada what percentage of car buyers actually live in salted areas? I've been back east many times and just don't know why more outrage isn't expressed that alternatives (cost effective) to corrosives like salt have not been fully explored. It destroys cars....plain and simple. And who pays the cost? The consumer/taxpayer. You pay for a new car every few years from rusting out.....and you pay for the salt to be put on the roads to destroy your cars. Odd cycle of acceptance if you ask me. I would only drive a junker during the winters back there and not even consider thrashing my nice one in that salt.


Some of us trade in old cars for new ones to use as daily drivers, and thus must be driven in the winter. For what it's worth, my 97 cavalier had 140k on it, and it lived in upper ohio for most of it's life. And there was not any rust on it, anywhere when I had to get rid of it.

I understand the expense involved in owning more than one or two cars. I just can't see buying one for 15 to 25k and then driving it into a corrosive environment. It goes against my nature. And yes, some vehicles incredibly remain fairly rust free for ten years or so (but if one was to look closer....and underneath the vehicle I'm sure there is rust and corrosion). I know that when I visit my father near Buffalo, I am astonished at the rusted hulks I see on the road that are many times less than ten years old. All I can say is that I am very happy NOT to live in a salted road state.
 
even though some may say there are better cars these days,(as far as interior and styling goes) he got a great car that has a great drivetrain and gets fantastic mileage. it should be good to him for a long time. good choice
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I test drove a 2012 SI and I liked it more than I thought I would.
The dealer I was at had an LX all tricked out with the HFP upgrades including the wheels and as shocked as I was, I thought it looked honestly amazing. The 8th gen (06-11) has a slightly nicer feel to the interior, but the 9th gens have already grown on me. I just prefer the styling of the 8th gen sedans by quite a bit.

Either way, the reliable powertrain is more or less unchanged and it just works.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
I test drove a 2012 SI and I liked it more than I thought I would.
The dealer I was at had an LX all tricked out with the HFP upgrades including the wheels and as shocked as I was, I thought it looked honestly amazing. The 8th gen (06-11) has a slightly nicer feel to the interior, but the 9th gens have already grown on me. I just prefer the styling of the 8th gen sedans by quite a bit.

Either way, the reliable powertrain is more or less unchanged and it just works.
is it just me or do Hondas need more getting used to than other cars. i remember when the 8ths came out and i thought they were the ugliest car made. now they are by far my favorite civic and i think theyre great looking. same with most of the things honda makes imo.

on the 12's i think if they just would've made the back not look like a 5th gen camry people would like it alot more, thats my favorite thing about the 06-11 sedans is the rear
 
It took me a while to like the 8th generation Civic also; but I too now like the 8th generation sedan the best out of all of them. They have a very clean and "solid" look without being too gaudy or trendy.

I do wish Honda could step it up in the NVH department for the Civic, though. The larger vehicles like the Pilots and CR-Vs are far quieter and more refined than their predecessors, and even the Accord has made steps in the right direction, while still maintaining somewhat of a fun-to-drive demeanor. While the Civic continues to retain a nice multi-link suspension setup underneath (vs. competitors' solid beams), they could still stand to improve road noise. I understand they've addressed impact harshness with the new '12 models, but I can only go on media reviews until I can ride in one.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
.. I understand they've addressed impact harshness with the new '12 models, but I can only go on media reviews until I can ride in one.


Yeah I'm curious about that too.

It's got this soft, squishy black spray-foam like substance on the lower rocker panels and most of the floor pan areas you can see.

Almost the entire under-body from front to back is covered by a giant one piece flat plastic panel. Like a big-ol flimsy skid plate. May be for NVH or aerodynamics?

Good luck finding jack points for a floor-jack. You pretty much have to use a notched pc of wood or plastic on the factory rocker panel jack points. There's nothing substantial under there, but that's typical of any small car I guess.

The engine also has a big plastic/sheet metal belly pan covering the whole thing. I have NO ideal where the oil filter is on this beast, nor how you'd get to it! I believe it uses a spin-on. I know the 710 cap says 0w20 for oil.

The comment above about the rear wheel-well opening crimps. Yes, they are crimped/welded into kind of "U", where you can hook your fingers up into the arched "U" channel, but both ends of the arch are open. What ever road water doesn't flush out this area can be easily flushed with a washing.

Overall, I think my BIL did OK. It's a nice car. He's a big athletic dude around 6'2" and doesn't need to roll the seat back all the way. Back seat is roomy as well. It's extremely roomy overall in the cabin. I did find a small flaw or two in the cheap flat-black exterior window frame cladding around the door glass. You can see where Honda went bare minimum on stuff like that.

I think overall, if he doesn't like it after 2-4yrs, you could sell it and never worry about being upside-down. You can't say that about most econo-cars, that's for sure.

Joel
 
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Originally Posted By: JTK

Good luck finding jack points for a floor-jack. You pretty much have to use a notched pc of wood or plastic on the factory rocker panel jack points. There's nothing substantial under there, but that's typical of any small car I guess.

The engine also has a big plastic/sheet metal belly pan covering the whole thing. I have NO ideal where the oil filter is on this beast, nor how you'd get to it! I believe it uses a spin-on. I know the 710 cap says 0w20 for oil.


The Civic actually has really good jacking points, assuming they haven't changed it from the 8th gen -- cross member under the radiator for the front, tow hook in the back, very easy to get to.

Oil filter is downward facing on the bottom of the engine next to the oil pan. Also very convenient.

I do get annoyed by excessive underbody paneling on newer cars though. My 07 Civic EX didn't have anything under the engine. I liked that.
 
Originally Posted By: rationull

The Civic actually has really good jacking points, assuming they haven't changed it from the 8th gen -- cross member under the radiator for the front, tow hook in the back, very easy to get to.

Oil filter is downward facing on the bottom of the engine next to the oil pan. Also very convenient.


You can't get at the front x-member because of huge belly pan in the way. It doesn't look real user-friendly to remove either. There's gotta be access for the oil filter, I just can't find it. Don't really need to. Not my car. Yayy!
 
Originally Posted By: JTK

You can't get at the front x-member because of huge belly pan in the way. It doesn't look real user-friendly to remove either. There's gotta be access for the oil filter, I just can't find it. Don't really need to. Not my car. Yayy!


Wow, really? That's not cool. I would've expected them to at least make a hole in the belly pan for the jack "pad" on the cross member to stick out of.
 
Yes, the large under-car trays are for aerodynamics. This video shows a lot of what's underneath the new Civic. Especially beginning at about 1:00 into the video. Good stuff.
 
i guess, like real estate, timing is everything. it is a new model year, and perhaps the supply is still low from the tsunami.

i remember looking at the 7th gen accord in '03. the dealer was marking up the v6 coupes 10g above sticker!

i purchased my accord online in nov '04 as a left over for almost $4700 off the sticker. but i had time on my side; i was not in a rush to buy, and so it worked in my favor.

gotta say it has been bulletproof so far and i hope your cousins civic is the same.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Yes, the large under-car trays are for aerodynamics. This video shows a lot of what's underneath the new Civic. Especially beginning at about 1:00 into the video. Good stuff.



That video shows a pretty open underside under the engine, and you can see the jacking point (can even see the arrow in the plastic that points to it if you pause it at the right time) but I'm guessing the LX has more aero cladding than the Si.
 
Originally Posted By: rationull
I'm guessing the LX has more aero cladding than the Si.
that seems bass-ackwards
 
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: rationull
I'm guessing the LX has more aero cladding than the Si.
that seems bass-ackwards


In terms of price, sure, but they aren't stretching for every possible MPG on the Si quite as much as on the base models I'd guess.
 
Maybe it just looks different because the engine is different? The oil filter on the K-series engine is behind the oil pan, making removal very easy. On the R-series engine (the 1.8L), I think it may be in front of the oil pan, which would put it at odds with some of the under-paneling.

My '07 Corolla had an oil filter access panel which allowed you easy access to the filter. Most people just threw those away at the first oil change.

Both of our current vehicles have some panels under the front of the vehicle, but both do have a void in the very center where the front rail of the perimeter subframe is, so you can jack it up, which is handy.

I'd like to see a picture of the underside of an LX sedan, if it's different from the SI coupe shown in that video.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Maybe it just looks different because the engine is different? The oil filter on the K-series engine is behind the oil pan, making removal very easy. On the R-series engine (the 1.8L), I think it may be in front of the oil pan, which would put it at odds with some of the under-paneling.

My '07 Corolla had an oil filter access panel which allowed you easy access to the filter. Most people just threw those away at the first oil change.

Both of our current vehicles have some panels under the front of the vehicle, but both do have a void in the very center where the front rail of the perimeter subframe is, so you can jack it up, which is handy.

I'd like to see a picture of the underside of an LX sedan, if it's different from the SI coupe shown in that video.


There's one picture here:

http://www.vtec.net/forums/one-message?message_id=973479

The paneling does look very "ambitious" and it does cover up the oil filter which is downward facing on the bottom of the engine toward the front. The jacking point is visible, however.
 
Originally Posted By: rationull
The jacking point is visible, however.


Where? All I see is what appears to be a small section of radiator support up front.

Otherwise, that's what my BIL's LX looked like underneath from the quick poking around I did on it.

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: rationull
The jacking point is visible, however.


Where? All I see is what appears to be a small section of radiator support up front.

Otherwise, that's what my BIL's LX looked like underneath from the quick poking around I did on it.

Joel


What looks like the radiator support is actually part of the front of the subframe and is the jacking point. If you look closely at the plastic just ahead of it you can see a small arrow molded in pointing at it.
 
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