91 civic question
 

Hello everyone. I just bought a 91 civic hatch to commute in and I have a question. The car has a DX emblem on the back but has a 4 speed manual which I thought was only available on the base model. I need some help figuring out what model I have. Is there any good way of telling the difference between the two? sorry for the probably noon question I am new to civics and I know there are some experts here on ecomodder.

Run your VIN, I ran mine using the following link and it came up with the correct trim level.

Free VIN Decoder - Vehicle Identification Number Report

If running the VIN disagrees with what you see in your car then you can figure someone swapped some parts.

As far as I can tell it is the base model. The vin search doesn't really work cause both the dx and base hatchbacks had the same identifying vin codes.everything seems to point to the base model, I guess someone could of just put a dx emblem on back or maybe the whole hatch is off a dx. I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run, was just curious.

i've never seen a 4 speed on a d series engine. look on the front of the block, and see which engine you have. Should be a d15b2 or something like that.

swapping transmissions is pretty easy.

I thought the "DX" was the base model? We refer to the base model CRX (88-91) as a "DX", even though it was never badged as such.

-soD

My brother had a 91 4 speed with throttle body FI. I think that was the DX model but not sure. What other models were there in 91 besides the SI. Wasn't the HF only available in the CRX models?

regards
Mech

Maybe it has a 5th gear....have you tried shifting to it? (If the shift lever knob was changed)

Here is a link to what Edmunds says about the 91 Civics.

91 Civic Page at edmunds

It appears your right, DX gets 5 speed Manual, Base is a 4 speed.

yeah, but in the US "base" was not an option I don't think.

DX, LX, EX, HF, etc.

That's correct, at least until fairly recently.

-soD

The 4-speed '88-'91 Civic is the STD model. Should be a D15B1 engine instead of the DX D15B2. Different camshaft and ECU, and slight TBI difference. I've seen them with a close-coupled catalytic converter, but I've heard that all years might not have it. It has about 20 HP less than a DX.

First through fourth gears are the same as the CRX HF, but it has the DX final drive. So it'll rev slightly higher than a DX in top gear, but there will be slightly less friction with only four gears in the transmission.

STD:
Compare Old and New MPG Estimates

DX:
Compare Old and New MPG Estimates

let me end the confusion here:

the 88-91 civic hatch came in 3 trims:

STD:

• no rear emblem
  engine: D15b1
  4 speed tranny
  no rear wiper
  no power steering

DX:

• 'DX' rear emblem
  rear cargo shelf
  rear wiper
  engine: d15b2
  4 speed or 5 speed tranny, this depended on the year, it did for a fact come with either.
  optional power steering

SI:

• 'SI' rear emblem
  rear wiper
  rear cargo shelf
  engine: d16a6
  5 speed tranny
  optional power steering

i can kind of relate to the confusion, my civic hatch is a STD model, but the PO swapped in a d15b2 sometime in it's life, aswell as converted it to automatic, and adding power steering. running the vin says its a 4 speed STD model though.

thanks for all the replies everyone. Sneak it must be a the standard model I have that has a DX rear hatch on it because I have a DX emblem and a rear wiper, but no controls for it.

The STD civic has smaller spline on outer Cvs axle like the HF CR-X

Plether interior
No rear security screen
no clock
No foot rest by the clutch