What a Honda Civic engine looks like after 250,000 miles is a testament to reliability
- Hondas are great for long mileage runs
- Someone disassembled a 2003 Civic engine to see what was inside
- The engine was surprisingly in workable condition
Published on Aug 28, 2024 at 3:04 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja
Last updated on Aug 28, 2024 at 7:13 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
You’d be surprised to know how many cars can easily make it to well above 250,000 miles — provided they get regular maintenance and checks — just like this Honda Civic engine that was being disassembled.
Now, you may argue that cars from some brands may fare better than most, but it solely depends on how well you treat them.
Someone disassembled a Honda engine that had well over a quarter million miles, and its insides were quite interesting, to say the least.
Apart from a few issues here and there, it could stay on the road for much longer.
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Disassembling a 2003 Honda Civic engine
A YouTube channel called ‘I Do Cars’ posted a video about the entire process, where the host disassembled the engine.
Although the host is not a fan of this Honda 1.7-liter D17 engine, he was still intrigued to see what was inside.
![2003 honda civic engine 250,000 miles](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/03-Civic-coupe-1024x604.webp)
The naturally aspirated engine came out of a 2003 Honda Civic, whose owner decided to replace it.
He likely replaced it with a lower-mileage engine since these can be found in most places even now.
The Civic has been around for a while now, and it’s a reliable ride — even John Cena drives one to date.
Right off the bat, the host saw signs of oil leakage as he began disassembling the entire thing.
As he further removed the support brackets and covers, he saw signs of some oil where it shouldn’t have been.
There was also a sharp and dreadful smell of ‘hot oil,’ which only confirmed the leak.
Condition after 250,000 miles
![2003 honda civic engine 250,000 miles](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/main-civic-engine-1024x576.webp)
![2003 honda civic engine 250,000 miles](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/without-gasket-1024x576.webp)
While most of the engine’s parts were stock, a few had been replaced over the years.
But that’s quite normal for any car with such high mileage.
Apart from some more ‘not-so-critical’ problems, he found a major one.
The Honda Civic engine had a bad head gasket, which was likely preventing complete functionality.
That means its previous owner could have switched out the gasket to keep using the engine for longer, but a replacement was ideal anyway.
Several cars that reach a million miles have their engines replaced, so this was no big deal.
However, it certainly was interesting that this Honda Civic engine could thrive once more despite its time on the road.
As they say, for the 2000s models — you could never go wrong with a Honda.
![user](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-sid-96x96.jpg)
Siddharth Dudeja
Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.