Really frustrating issue - Honda Civic 2004

[chriswood_7]

Hi everyone,

Ive found possibly the worst design flaw that could happen on your car. Ive had some poor design choices on some of my previous cars, after all nothing is perfect.

Why have Honda got a fuel release lever instead of just a little door that you pull open? Surely this is the dumbest choice of all. I pulled into the fuel station this afternoon to fill up (red light for 20 miles) so im pretty desperate for fuel, and also getting rained on, HARD. To my delight, my fuel lever decides not to work. So back in the car I go, pull it again. Get out and back round to the flap (which is annoyingly on the passengers side so you cant see it) and its stil closed. After a few minutes of head scratching, I tried to pull it open with the tips of my fingers but its on the catch which is operates by the lever. Now im 6ft5 with long arms and legs, but I cant reach inside the car to pull the lever and try to open the flap at the same time.

So here I am, getting wetter and with a few frustrated drivers behind me. I decided to go for broke and just keep pulling the lever and see what happened, and to my delight it was open. So I was able to fill up, pay and drive home with half a tank of fuel. Now when I got back, I thought about this abit more. What sort of idiot designs possible the most important thing on the car, the thing that you NEED to use all of the time to make the car work, into a lever which is remote from the flap itself.

Also, not only remote, but in a position where when you get in the car you could actually snap it off or damage it. Which means that I now have to carry a screw driver and a pair of pliers in the car incase im in Cornwall and need some petrol to drive all the way back to Newcastle and have to "prize" the door open, damaging probably my paintwork and also leaving the door flapping around until I pay someone to rip the whole car apart to change a cable.

What makes it worse is the fact that I bought the car a few months ago and since then I havent really enjoyed it that much. Ive been currently thinking of going back to small and sporty as im a massive Renaultsport fan, but im looking at getting a mortgage in the next 3 months so its not the best idea to get a new motor.

I think im slightly disillusioned with this Japanese build quality lark. Its not what I thought a Honda was all about as it has a squeeky seat which moves about 3 or 4 mm if you rock back and forth, a 12V adaptor which doesnt work very well and possibly the craziest door design whereby if you have a bit of rain on your window, you put the window down and up again (a technique very handy on dewey mornings) to find that the seal itself doesnt even touch the window. Which then made me think "hold on a minute, if thats not sealed then surely there is water inside my door!?". There is a couple of drain holes on the underside of the door, but that doesnt instill confidence that in 5 years time the window will actually wind down after being battered by the British weather.

Anyway, rant over. Does anyone have really annoying design flaws that make you dislike your car or have you ever got rid of a car because of it.

[MadduckUK]

that's strange, cause it worked every time on my two knackered rovers and current eg civic just bad luck old bean

[Shad]

that's strange, cause it worked every time on my two knackered rovers and current eg civic just bad luck old bean

They'd be cable operated, my CRX was the same. I suspect the newer models are electronic

[MadduckUK]

doesnt bode well for the airline industry

[Vimeous]

Chris which shape is your Civic, I've forgotten?

The current car is cable operated for the fuel-filler.

Early current model cars had problems in damp weather because the filler cap would move when the cable was pulled but would not unlatch. - I believe due to the angle the filler cap sits at.
One attempted fix was to add foam in the housing to spring the cap outwards when released - of course in damp weather this turned out to be pointless.

As far as I know it was fixed at normal service intervals rather than with a recall but you'll have to check with the dealer for you own car history. More recent cars should not suffer this.

I had this happen to me at 5am one damp Ross-on-Wye day.
I got round it by pulling the release and wedging a 500ml water bottle between the throttle pedal and the release. This pushed the filler cap out far enough for me to pull it open by hand.

Hopefully it won't happen again Chris!

[chriswood_7]

Its the 01-06 model, the previous shape that I have. I had a feeling it might have been the fact it was wet, but with the winter coming up and a trip down to Ipswich next weekend, I must admit its on my mind now. I just hope next time it happens that im not on my own and that someone can come and lift it while I open the flap.

Otherwise ill have to go and ask the nice lady behind the counter for help!

[MadduckUK]

Otherwise ill have to go and ask the nice lady behind the counter for help!

always an option, if there is nobody at all about you have the bonus of free petrol when you DO manage to get it open

but seriously - if its still cable what the hell have they done?

[chriswood_7]

Yeah, its definitely a cable. I think its routed underneath the boot liner.

I just hope I really dont get stuck somewhere if it wont open. Be just my luck to pull up with the red light on at ASDA self service pumps and it not to work hehe

[MadduckUK]

is there any audible difference between when it opens and doesn't?

oh and it sounds like what you need is a pair of tweezers with the ends bent

[chriswood_7]

No, no audible difference. Im sure it will be ok for months, and then one day it will happen again but ill make sure I have an instrument in the car with me Just a silly design that really should have been thought about before they signed it off.

One other really annoying thing too. Why does the drivers side seat not fold forward for passengers? Is it me or is this another stupid and sometimes dangerous design. What happens if you park up so the passenger door is on the main road side, on a windy, dark evening when you let three passengers out? Are they meant to wrestle with each other to get out quickly and safely? Or do I have to get back in and turn the car around so the passenger side is on the pavement.

Or how about this one? Why is the hand brake so close to the passenger seat that if there is a passenger in the car you have to alter how you operate the handbrake. If my gf is in the car I dont mind touching her leg to let the brake off, but if I have a mate or a family member I dont want to touch them everytime I use it!

Or am I just a whinge bag?! Im a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to cars, It just annoys me when ergonomics arent thought of when designing stuff.

Cheers

[MadduckUK]

i was following a new shape civic the other day. those triangle exhausts? this was even worse - it had them filled in but blatantly still there, as though the centres needed pushing out but someone forgot. no idea where the actual exhaust was..

[chriswood_7]

Yeah, I noticed that on the diesel models. Im sure they are blanks as the diesel exhaust are hidden under the rear valance I think. It would have cost too much to change the press or die for specific models, so instead it just looks naff. What would have been better is if they had both of the blanks removed, and had a chrome effect insert so it just looks like there is two exhausts there. However his would have cost another £1 per car or something similar, so instead the compromise aesthetics for reddies in the bank! Nearly all manufacturers do this though, not just Honda but I think its more noticeable on the Honda.

[Konan555]

Anyway, rant over. Does anyone have really annoying design flaws that make you dislike your car or have you ever got rid of a car because of it.

Design flaw that saw me getting rid of my car? Iron block with an alloy head and a gasket made from recycled vending cups

And then I bought another one.......

The original octavia has the worst bit of 'trivial' design I've ever suffered in a car. The vent to demist the windscreen is planted firmly in the middle and the blowers where powered by a hamster in a wheel. On a bad day, I'd reach work after 45 minutes and still be waiting for parts of the screen to clear.

I can't even begin to imagine how this slipped beyond testing? I mean, should I offer my services to skoda? Surely someone got out of the car during cold weather testing and exclaimed "Blimey! Who fitted the fan from a '72 1302s in this?"

How can a car designed in the last 20 years fail to demist a window?

[kalniel]

How can a car designed in the last 20 years fail to demist a window?

Actually that's pretty much the only thing I'd complain about my Astra for as well - front window demisting is very poor. But then it only takes 2 seconds to wipe with a demisting chammy so it wasn't something I'm going to change cars over. You can even get window sprays that prevent misting.

The main problem comes when it's really really cold and you get ice on the inside of the windscreen.

[99Flake]

Anyway, rant over. Does anyone have really annoying design flaws that make you dislike your car or have you ever got rid of a car because of it.

Never got rid of a car because of bad design flaws, but the only thing I can think of is the ariel on my Lexus. It is an electric extending one but because it is on the near-side it gets thumped by overhanging trees.

I know that it isn't exclusively a Lexus thing either, old Mercs and Jags are the same, if it was on the offside they would get hit and therefor wouldn't bend/break. I know they aren't expensive but it is a gripe when you here an ominous 'clang' going down a country lane.

On the other hand my car has a lot of features that I really like, for example the windscreen is slightly recessed so when you spray the screen with the windows open the water goes to one side and is carried up guttering and over so you don't get it coming round the pillars into the car.

Also the wipers on intermittent will wipe 4 or 5 times, then wait for about 5 seconds for any water coming up the screen before doing a final wipe and then finally folding below the bonnet line when not in use.

[Vimeous]

Civic rear valance:
2-blanks = 1.4
2 holes + 2 straight round pipes = 1.8
2 holes + angled down pipe with a false bit pointing through the hole = 2.2 diesel

It's the false bit that annoys me and it's not a Honda thing it's happening all over the place GRRRR.


Design flaws that annoy me include:
Gen6 Celica - WHY must the armrests dent so badly that even looking at them seems to make them cave-in? It made finding a decent Celica v difficult!
My Civic - WHY is the oil filter so inaccessible?! WHY is the nsf light bulb sooooo close to the other ancillaries - it's a knuckle killer that only delicate teeny hands have even the slimest chance of attempting a removal. ARGH!

No show stoppers but bloomin' frustrating.