I am purchasing A 2006 Civic EX automatic in a couple of months. I was wondering if I could could tow a personal water craft with it.
I tried the Honda website and when I questioned towing capacity for the Civic it pushed me off to the Ridgeline and Pilot. I am guessing since the Civic is driven by younger people(I'm an old fogey) that some of them pull Jet Skis. But I wanted to check out what is said. I said that I was purchasing a Civic in a couple of months. The reason is that I have a Pontiac Solstice GXP on order now! I'm an old fogey who likes to have fun!!![8D]

 

It would be able to do it but the transmission would be eaten alive after awhile.

 

I've got the same car only with the MT. The owners manual states a rated towing capacity of 1000 lbs and 100 lbs tongue weight. Keep to those limits and you shouldn't have any problems. Most of what I've read concerning Honda vehicles strongly recommend putting and auxiliary transmission cooler on the automatics of you're going to use them for towing but I haven't been able to find anything about that on the Civic. I'm going to be pulling a light utility trailer with my car as soon as I get it setup. I found a Class 1 trailer hitch through E-Trailers and if fit like a glove. No drilling or anything, just bolt it on.

I would think that the car would handle the lighter single seat PWC's without too much trouble. The bigger versions will probably exceed the cars rated towing capacity.

Good luck,
Steve R.

 

wow they have a solstice gxp? ill have to look that up i just bought 06 ex coupe though so its too late anyway

 

Out of curiosity, I just did a little searching around. Checking Sea Doo, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha PWC's, most of them are running the the 775 - 825 lb range, dry. That's without fuel or oil. Most of them also carry 15.9 - 18.5 gallons of gas, depending on the model so you can add "about" 100 lbs for fuel. That's still not allowing for oil and any other odds and ends that the owner might have stored in the boat. I would think that most PWC single boat trailers will be in the 200-250 lb range. That means that many of them are going to exceed the Civic's 1000 lb towing capacity by 100 lbs or so. Personally, I'm not sure I'd worry about 100 lbs one way or the other but it's interesting to note where you're at so as to "not" go any higher than that.

FWIW!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

Does my 2000 Civic DX Automatic also have the 1000/100lb tow capacity?

I'm thinking of preparing it to tow a couple dirt bikes (50cc & 125cc) on a trailer likethis 4x8 weighing in at 220lbs using this hitch.

 

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I have been looking at Honda web sites in New Zealand, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy. All rate the tow capacity for the Honda civic at around 1200 kg, that is about 2500 lbs. UK caravan clubs(campers) say it's a great tow car. Only in the United States the civic is not rated for towing. Same car, same frame, same construction. Also, U-haul rates it for 2000 lbs with a class one hitch. I'll be getting one soon for my 06 civic.

Note: specs listed below are in Kilograms, multiply by 2.2 to get pounds.

Germany
Honda | Automobile | Home
Anhängelast gebremst, kg 1.200

United Kingdom
Honda Civic Type S | Book Test Drive | Specification, Finance & Information
Maximum towing weight with brakes (kg) 1200
Maximum towing weight without brakes (kg) 500

Italy
http://www.honda.it/car/media/pdf/In...ypeS_TypeR.pdf
Massa a secco/ Massa in ordine di marcia (kg) 1227/1317 1272/1366

New Zealand
Welcome to Honda New Zealand
Maximum warrantable towing weight (kg) 1200 (Man)
1000 (Auto)

And if you are worried about your brakes, think of this, at 65 mph it takes the same force to stop your civic as it does at 50 MPH with a 2000 lb trailer. Simple physics Force = 1/2Mass x Velocity squared.

Just use common sense, secure your trailer properly, drive safely and give yourself plenty of room.

 

why dont u just buy a truck? lol. Civics are economy cars not tug boats lol. I'm sure you can find a nice truck on craigslist used or perhaps very new for the same price as a new 08/09 civic. Just my two cents!

 

I have a truck with a class 3 hitch, sits in the yard 350 days out of the year, this year I had to put in a windshield, master cylinder and exhaust, plus insurance just so I can make those occasional trips to Home Depot. I drive 50000 miles a year so why would I want a truck for driving to work. Decided to get rid of the truck.