That is exactly what happened. They didn't fill up the filter before hand. But what I want to know is what kind of oil they put in, since they didn't know it was a hybrid until after the check engine light came on. I've been anal about sticking to my manual's suggestions. ya know how it is.

Lots of cars have electric fans that stay on after you shut the car off. It's designed to let the engine cool down evenly. Don't defeat it, it's beneficial to the longevity of your engine.

73 de n1ywb

2005 HCH
www.n1ywb.com

Mine does it too. I used to have an Escort that did the same thing. Many cars have a sticker that says "Fan can start at anytime" or similar. I wouldn't worry about it.

"Hybrid Owners Do It Both Ways"

i noticed the fan thing right after i test drove my car at the dealership before acquiring it. i asked the salesman about it, thinking the engine was still on, and he reassured me that it was simply the fan cooling the engine - he even popped the hood and showed me where the fan was, and i could see it spinning quite rapidly to cool the engine

after 10 months of use, i observed that the fan always comes on after turning the car off if the temperature of the engine reaches some threshold point. sometimes it turns on for 10 seconds, and other times for 2 or 3 minutes.

one time i had parked my hch for a short while and was walking back to it when a man walking his dog noticed the noise coming from my car, thinking it was the engine still on. comically, he looked around the car, inside of it, and in the wheel wells to figure out where the noise was coming from, and his dog went crazy sniffing the front. finally, i walked up to him and reassured him that everything was fine, and drove off, much to his confusion.

don't worry about it, it's a good thing.

I've changed my own oil and it does take a couple extra minutes to remove the aero panel. The car is really low to the ground so it is hard to get the filter out. I didn't fill the filter and it did cause problems but they went away.

They may have put 5-20 oil in, which is reccomended for the regular Civic. the "0" has to do with the viscosity when the engine is cold, the "20" is the viscosity at working temperature. I believe the reason the hybrids are reccomended to have the lighter oil is because they start and stop more often such as at stoplights. However, if it is summer time in a fairly warm climate, the two are likely effectively almost the same. At least in the '03, the manual states that the 5w20 is acceptable as a substitute, but that it's not reccomended.

Have them confirm that they used 0W-20... if not, have them change your oil again.