2009 Honda Civic LX-S Sedan
QUESTION: Last year, I bought a new (2009) Honda Civic DX four-door sedan. Not a bad car, but one thing irks me all the time.
I asked about this at the dealer, and they said it is just the brakes releasing as I shift into drive and pull away. There is always this clicking sound from the rear. It sounds like the brakes, but I'm not sure. It is a metallic click, then all is fine after that. It usually happens after it has sat for a while. Friends have an earlier-model Civic, and theirs apparently has never made this sound.
Peter
ANSWER: I'm thinking your dealer is right.
If the noise was coming from the front of the vehicle, there could be a myriad of reasons and places to look, but there is nothing at the rear of a front-drive vehicle that moves other than brakes and suspension.
That would indicate the brakes got stuck or seized slightly then made noise when the car put in motion. It is quite common for rust to sneak onto the surface of the brakes when the vehicle sits for more than a few hours so that could be the problem as indicated.
As for your friends' car, maybe they don't use the parking brake, and you do?
KEY SLOTS
QUESTION: Living in Fenelon Falls, Ont., and commuting to Oshawa every day, my eight-year-old Chevy Tahoe has seen a great deal of winter driving; there's 433,000 kilometres on the odometer. I recently discovered all my exterior key slots (side doors and tailgate) were unusable due to corrosion, even though the vehicle has been oil sprayed at least five times.
With perseverance and some good lubricants, I was able to make them function like new. This situation occurred due to my constant use of the key fob. Now I try to unlock the doors at least once a month with the key so they maintain a good working order. If my key fob had failed prior to my discovery of this, I would not have been able to unlock the vehicle.
Bruce
ANSWER: I know exactly what you mean about remotes and keys.
I have a key for my house but have used it only two or three times in 25 years - we use the garage and the remote door openers. Arriving back from a trip this past winter in the wee hours of the morning, I decided to use the door and my key rather than take a chance of waking folks with the garage door. The lock was seized! The next day, I lubricated the lock and will make it a habit of doing so on occasion.
Your story serves as a reminder to folks who regularly use their fob rather than the key - lubricate the locks once or twice a year.