Common Honda Civic Si Issues & Maintenance

10th Gen Civic Si Problems the MAPerformance team ran into

Here at MAPerformance, we’ve taken our own personal 10th gen Civic Si from completely stock all the way to a full-blown drag car. Honda's Civic Si has been a favorite among Honda lovers for generations. It's renowned for its improved performance, sportiness, and cooler looks, while still maintaining the factory Honda reliability, good gas mileage, and overall cheap ownership. However, there are a few maintenance things to look out for, so we'll go over those common problems and Honda Civic Si performance upgrades as replacements as you break the car in. By being aware of these potential issues, you can keep your Honda Civic Si running like new when you start to modify and push it to the limits.

Honda Civic Si clutch problems

The first major issue you can run into when starting to add more power to the Si is the stock clutch. We added an intake and a flash and started noticing some slip in the clutch that progressively got worse over time. The stock clutch is obviously designed to work with the stock power levels of the engine, and when we started to put more power down to the wheels with the intake and flash, it put too much strain on the stock clutch.

If you're planning on adding any modifications that increase the power output of your engine, it's important to upgrade your clutch at the same time to avoid damaging it. Otherwise, you'll end up having to replace your clutch much sooner than necessary. If you're noticing slip, it's important to get the clutch replaced as soon as possible. A slipping clutch can cause damage to the engine, and it can also be dangerous if it fails while you're driving.

You want your clutch to be locked and in sync with your performance upgrades. So with that, there are factors that will determine exactly how much power your clutch is going to hold. Like:

• What’s the life of it?
• How well has it been treated in the past?
• How well are you treating it currently?
• Are you riding it all the time, or being relatively easy on it?
• Have you been driving manual cars your entire life and know how to modulate a clutch?

All of these things are going to be factors that are going to key into the life and health of your clutch. These cars are insanely popular so there are all sorts of different aftermarket clutch options for you. Anywhere from the mildest street build or a stock replacement all the way up to twin disc options for your fully built drag car application.

Browse Honda Civic Si clutch replacement products

Honda Civic oil dilution

One problem we experienced in the Honda Civic Si was oil dilution. Excess fuel vapors were not being burned up in the combustion process, leading to excessive amounts of fuel in the oil. This caused the oil to become thinner, leading to oil leaks that could potentially cause engine damage. In order to prevent this from happening, it's important to make sure that your car is properly tuned up and that the fuel system is working correctly. Otherwise, you may end up with expensive repairs.

It’s a long-term issue, especially for someone that goes on longer extended oil change intervals. Fuel is going to spend more time in the crankcase, which could lead to washing out bearings and other issues. Honda recognized this issue and created a technical service bulletin for it. If you own a Civic Si or you’re looking to buy one, you can ask your dealership if they can run your VIN to see if that technical service has been performed.

Browse our Honda Civic Si fuel and oil products:

• Honda Civic Si fuel lines
• Honda Civic Si fuel pumps and install kits
• Honda Civic Si oil catch cans
• Honda Civic Si oil feed lines
• Honda Civic Si oil filters
• Honda Civic Si oil pumps

Honda Civic Si direct injection carbon build-up

We're predicting that carbon build-up will be a problem for the Honda Civic Si. The design of a direct-injection engine doesn't allow for the carbon that's built up naturally on the tops of the valves to be washed away like a typical port injection engine would, as that's spraying fuel on the tops of the valves.

Direct-injection simply means it's directly injected into the combustion engine. This is an issue we've seen on every other direct-injection engine out there, and over time, this carbon can build up and cause reliability issues as well as decreased performance in rough idle, poor performance in wide-open throttles, and you’ll feel a lull. We haven't seen this become an issue yet on our Civic Si, but we believe it will be an upcoming problem. Luckily, there are products on the market that can clean out carbon build-up from your engine, and we recommend using one regularly if you own a Civic Si.

This is a relatively easy fix as there are a few effective solutions on the market today. One solution is walnut blasting, but before going that route, we recommend trying Liqui Moly fuel injection cleaner. This cleaner guarantees:

• low fuel consumption
• An increase in operational reliability
• carbon deposits removal from the intake valves and in the combustion chamber

Carbon build-up on spark plugs

Honda created an extremely efficient vehicle, which unfortunately means that it takes a while for the engine to warm up, allowing carbon to build up on the spark plugs over time (similar to the direct injection valve carbon issue). This carbon buildup can cause rough idle, misfires, or even worse problems, and you'll have more frequent spark plug maintenance and replacement intervals than usual.

Civic Si turbo upgrade

The factory turbocharger on the Honda Civic Si can be an issue if you start to increase the boost pressure. The higher the boost pressure, the faster the turbocharger spins. If the turbocharger spins too fast, it can start to fall apart. We've seen a number of factory turbochargers with very high boost calibrations on them start to fall apart. If you're planning on increasing the boost pressure on your Civic Si, be sure to keep an eye on the condition of your factory turbocharger.

But if you’re aiming to make more power and increase the boost pressure significantly, you’ll ultimately want to install a turbo kit for your Honda Civic Si that matches your power goals.

Browse Honda Civic Si turbochargers

Honda Civic 1.5T oil pump gears

The last issue we experienced ourselves was the factory oil pump. We had some initial oil pump failures when trying to pack in more power, so we collaborated with Boundary Pump Division. They made a gear for the 1.5T engine that’s a direct drop-in replacement and ensures that when you start to increase the boost (increasing load) and start to rev the engines a little higher, you won’t see an oil pump failure. It’s an easy install as well, so you can’t go wrong here.

Some benefits of the Boundary Pump Division 1.5T gear are:

• Pump Stability Over 9000rpm
• Proven In Excess Of 600whp
• Higher Efficiency & Less Friction

While the Honda Civic Si has held the title of one of the most reliable cars for over a decade, they certainly aren't without fault. Although these 10th gen civic issues are well known, Honda Civic Si's are still considered to be very reliable cars when these common issues are fixed up. If you have any questions about 10th gen Civic mods, our team of experts is looking forward to talking to you. Contact them today at 1-888-MAPerformance or submit a customer service request here.