Honda Civic Automatic.

[millerman]

My Wife has a 2003 Honda Civic auto (MK VII) I've looked at a couple of the newer shaped Civic auto's ie; 2007/8 and the auto gear shift lever looks completely different, is this auto box the same as ours or is it one of these new fangled type of auto boxes like those fitted to the likes of VAG, BMW ETC?

 

[alan333]

The 08 plate 1.8 petrol auto I drove a while ago was actually a manual gearbox with an automatic clutch. You drive it like a regular auto ie it only has two pedals, and it changes through the gears for you. You can feel it changing through the gears like you do driving a manual car. We've had two cars with this style of auto: a Citroen C4 and a Toyota Auris. The Citroen wasn't too dreadful cos it had enough power to handle the gearing when it got it wrong, but the Auris was completely woeful and was permanently in the wrong gear, changing down two gears in quick succession on really shallow hills etc. They're also prone to expensive repairs when they go wrong, which seems a regular occurence.

These are different again to the VAG or BMW style of box.

Go for a long test drive in one before you decide to buy. And check whether it has hill-start assist or you need to use the handbrake cos they don't "creep" anywhere near as good as a regular auto.

Personally I'd keep looking, although the choice isn't very good if you want low road tax and good mpg with an auto.

 

[millerman]

Thanks Alan, we are keeping our options open and will deffo be looking at a long test drive fella.

 

[Burnerman]

I think this one will have the 7 speed paddle shift on the steering wheel, together with the normal gear lever?
There was a recall for the auto transmission fluid to be upgraded on the Jazz model, and I have to say its one of the most reliable autos around......but I'd definitely want a warranty on
any auto transmission.
Low mileage is the order of the day! Unfortunately the Honda dealers won't be interested in putting an earlier car on their forecourt so a private one owner car could be the one to find.
John

 

[millerman]

Thanks as always John. I don't even know why we are looking at another car to be honest, its just people have been saying to my good Lady, (oh, your Civic is getting on a bit!) Well, its on 98k, one previous owner and its clean as a whistle and according to the guys on the Honda forums it will run for years if looked after, reliability is a byword for Honda. My only concern regarding the later models was, has it got a DSG type of box that will be bloody expensive if it all goes belly up. Or am I an old git who only knows good old fashion autos with a torque converter and am afraid to embrace these newer type of box?

 

[alan333]

My only concern regarding the later models was, has it got a DSG type of box that will be bloody expensive if it all goes belly up. Or am I an old git who only knows good old fashion autos with a torque converter and am afraid to embrace these newer type of box?

I real up a little to refresh my memory and it seems my above info is correct. The i-shift box fitted to the 1.8 petrol Civic of around the age you mention is actually an automated manual box, not an auto. This means it has a clutch just like a manual but it's operated electronically when it decides to change gears.

As I mentioned earlier we've owned two of these boxes, both were 6-speed:
First a Citroen C4 with Electronic Gearbox System (EGS) - this was a torquey little diesel car, so it had enough power to pull it through when it changed up gears too early. It generally drove ok on the open road but wasn't so good in town. We owned it for about 2 years from 18k to 33k miles and by the time it was sold it felt like the clutch was either needing adjusted or replaced soon. There was quite a lag at most gear changes and you could feel the clutch releasing when pulling away etc. It didn't creep much either so slow parking wasn't so easy, especially on a hill. This one had hill-start-assist tho, so at least you could do hill starts without using the handbrake.

Second was a Toyota Auris with Multi Mode Transmission (MMT) - this was a petrol with little power until the revs got up, so the car always felt flat cos the box always changed up far too early. To compensate for this, when it (eventually) decided it needed a lower gear, generally speaking it changed down one gear, then a second one almost instantly, resulting in a loss of road speed and ending up in 3rd where you'd choose 4th if you were driving manually. There was always a lag changing gears and it was especially dreadful at analysing which gear to choose on hills. This one crept a bit better but didn't have hill start assist so it often ran back on very small hills since the clutch wasn't released for just-a-little-too-long after moving off the footbrake. It drove ok at best on the open road unless you paddle shifted when you wanted it to change. We owned it for just over a year until we could justify getting rid of it. It was by far the worst engine/gearbox combo I've ever driven. (I drive hgv's and have driven a wide range of boxes over the years, from the modern 12 speed automated manuals in Scanias and Dafs, to 16 speed twin splitter manuals and crash gearboxes of old, plus countless auto and manual cars/vans etc).

The DSG box is different in that it has two clutches - one for even gears and one for odd gears. Therefore when one clutch has engaged, say, 3rd... the other clutch has both 2nd and 4th ready to engage - resulting in an almost instant gear change. I drove a Skoda with DSG recently and it was really good.

The modern twin clutch boxes are quite complicated and there are quite a lot of bad reviews around for them, but one wonders whether some of them are due to misuse, ie permanently driving them aggresively and forcing the box to operate outwith it's comfort zone. I have no basis for this tho, it's only a bit of a feeling.

If you can up your budget a bit the new shape (2012 on) Toyota Auris has a CVT auto. It's the same box as my Avensis and while it can be a bit revvy at times, it's an excellent smooth box and gives good mpg and quite low road tax bands. I couldn't find a single reported fault with that CVT when I did some research before buying mine, and the box has been fitted to the (2009 on) Avensis since not long after it's release. Toyotas sold after summer 2010 also came with a 5 year warranty so it would give you some peace of mind for at least a couple of years.

Hope this helps

 

[millerman]

Thanks for a very interesting read Alan.

 

[Burnerman]

Only my point of view but I don't think the later Hondas are as well made as the earlier ones......certainly if the auto box packs in, repair bills are enormous. However, there are auto box specialists around so it may not be doom automatically (!)
Modern boxes do have electronic diagnostic facility though, which helps to a degree.
The only thing an owner can do is to have the transmission oil changed regularly, which includes a filter replacement which is within the oil pan.
John