2009 Civic Si 4 door - Redline Orange Pearl

[WRAPT C5Z06]

It's awesome. Seen some crazy stuff and I'm having a blast. I actually look forward to going to work every day and don't want my shift to end when it's over

Now THAT'S what it's all about!!

[builthatch]

awesome work!

my wife has had a fiji blue pearl '07 Si sedan since new that had nothing but issues with the paint. the clear failed in many places and in stages Honda repainted it. in fact, it has 140k+ now and it's at the dealer to get the left rear quarter and roof rail painted since the edges lost their paint and it's starting to fail on the roof rail. she JUST finally traded it in today on a Q5 she ordered a few months ago but it still has to get this paint stuff finished before our broker takes it.

starting at 80k, it had the roof, left rear door, both front fenders, hood, rear decklid, right rear quarter and roof rail and now the left rear quarter and roof rail repainted.

i never touched that car with anything, except some trim rescue once or twice. she mostly took care of the washing over the life of it but i never corrected or put any sort of LSP on it. it was treated like a normal car and couldn't last.

the dark colors on the 8th gens have had a lot of problems similar to what happened to the early 2000s Odysseys. i'm not sure about the lighter colors like yours but i hope you get Opti-Coat on that thing immediately because the clear is definitely soft and probably super weak if it's anything like the clear we dealt with.

interestingly, that was her second. the first one was silver and had paint issues but of a totally different nature. the paint started to bubble soon after purchase and when they dug into it, they found out the entire driver side had been wiped out and repaired prior to delivery. so they bought it back and got her the fiji blue pearl one she has now.

other issues she had over 140K:

- noisy/creeky/squeaky clutch master cylinder after, say, 45k or so. they replace it with the same part so it will do it again. just lube it strategically with a spray dry lube

- failing 3rd gear syncro in the six speed that took many years for them to 1. admit and 2. administer a fix; they eventually had a massive R/R campaign that took care of tons of cars. hers was done relatively soon after purchase.

- sun visors, which my wife has had replaced like 3 times. they split at the hinge.

- poorly sourced/failing rear shocks.

- poor fit and finish, esp. the interior (mysterious rattle in the b pillar on the passenger side, a pillar material coming out from rubber molding on passenger side).

- trouble with the steering following the grade of the road (this is SO annoying and someone recently made a thread about it).

- windshield wiper motor that most likely will fail permanently if it sees a long stretch of freezing weather.

this was her second Honda (she had an '04 Si from new), and i was a Honda fanboi for years, so it was a massive wake up call to the direction they were going. i think this direction is best illustrated by how their 9th gen intro went - they had to do a refresh almost immediately because the cars were so terrible in so many ways. i've heard that was the tipping point and they are more where they used to be but i've lived first hand how sketchy things can be with a brand no matter what kind of reputation.

the one thing i can't fault is the actual engine. it has been perfect. and...the trans, once the third gear defect was remedied, has been perfect too. she is still on the original clutch and it's showing no signs of wear.

[Nick McKees37]

awesome work!

my wife has had a fiji blue pearl '07 Si sedan since new that had nothing but issues with the paint. the clear failed in many places and in stages Honda repainted it. in fact, it has 140k+ now and it's at the dealer to get the left rear quarter and roof rail painted since the edges lost their paint and it's starting to fail on the roof rail. she JUST finally traded it in today on a Q5 she ordered a few months ago but it still has to get this paint stuff finished before our broker takes it.

starting at 80k, it had the roof, left rear door, both front fenders, hood, rear decklid, right rear quarter and roof rail and now the left rear quarter and roof rail repainted.

i never touched that car with anything, except some trim rescue once or twice. she mostly took care of the washing over the life of it but i never corrected or put any sort of LSP on it. it was treated like a normal car and couldn't last.

the dark colors on the 8th gens have had a lot of problems similar to what happened to the early 2000s Odysseys. i'm not sure about the lighter colors like yours but i hope you get Opti-Coat on that thing immediately because the clear is definitely soft and probably super weak if it's anything like the clear we dealt with.

interestingly, that was her second. the first one was silver and had paint issues but of a totally different nature. the paint started to bubble soon after purchase and when they dug into it, they found out the entire driver side had been wiped out and repaired prior to delivery. so they bought it back and got her the fiji blue pearl one she has now.

other issues she had over 140K:

- noisy/creeky/squeaky clutch master cylinder after, say, 45k or so. they replace it with the same part so it will do it again. just lube it strategically with a spray dry lube

- failing 3rd gear syncro in the six speed that took many years for them to 1. admit and 2. administer a fix; they eventually had a massive R/R campaign that took care of tons of cars. hers was done relatively soon after purchase.

- sun visors, which my wife has had replaced like 3 times. they split at the hinge.

- poorly sourced/failing rear shocks.

- poor fit and finish, esp. the interior (mysterious rattle in the b pillar on the passenger side, a pillar material coming out from rubber molding on passenger side).

- trouble with the steering following the grade of the road (this is SO annoying and someone recently made a thread about it).

- windshield wiper motor that most likely will fail permanently if it sees a long stretch of freezing weather.

this was her second Honda (she had an '04 Si from new), and i was a Honda fanboi for years, so it was a massive wake up call to the direction they were going. i think this direction is best illustrated by how their 9th gen intro went - they had to do a refresh almost immediately because the cars were so terrible in so many ways. i've heard that was the tipping point and they are more where they used to be but i've lived first hand how sketchy things can be with a brand no matter what kind of reputation.

the one thing i can't fault is the actual engine. it has been perfect. and...the trans, once the third gear defect was remedied, has been perfect too. she is still on the original clutch and it's showing no signs of wear.

Sounds like you received a LEMON.

I can only hope that Matt (or myself - an owner of a 2013 Civic Si) doesn't experience such issues!

Excellent work Matt.

[builthatch]

Sounds like you received a LEMON.

I can only hope that Matt (or myself - an owner of a 2013 Civic Si) doesn't experience such issues!

Excellent work Matt.

a few of the issues have TSBs (third gear issue, paint) so it was definitely more a fall from grace for Honda vs. being an isolated incident however...when someone uses a car for over 140k in such a relatively short time is bound to expose flaws that might not come out on a more babied vehicle.

btw...Nick you should be a-ok. once they did the 2013 refesh on the then-new 2012 9th gen, everyone became pleased with the product. they stepped it up again and i'm glad to see it.

[Matt S.]

Honda revised the third gear assembly in 2009 and this transmission feels great so far. I can't find any faults mechanically and there are zero signs of the paint failing from a manufacturing standpoint. I had an '07 Fiji Blue Pearl previously and the paint sucked. I know Nighthawk Black Pearl also had some issues, but this color code was introduced in 2009 and I've yet to read about any issues with it. I'm not going to bother Opti Coating it since it sits in the garage 99% of the time and I drive my patrol car to work every day, plus I have 3 other cars at the moment

[builthatch]

Honda revised the third gear assembly in 2009 and this transmission feels great so far. I can't find any faults mechanically and there are zero signs of the paint failing from a manufacturing standpoint. I had an '07 Fiji Blue Pearl previously and the paint sucked. I know Nighthawk Black Pearl also had some issues, but this color code was introduced in 2009 and I've yet to read about any issues with it. I'm not going to bother Opti Coating it since it sits in the garage 99% of the time and I drive my patrol car to work every day, plus I have 3 other cars at the moment

oh, you've been down this road then if you had a fjp previously. i feel you on the garage situation but Opti-Coat makes that clear so much easier to clean without marring when you do eventually clean it. i've scratched that gen clear by just looking at it wrong.