Faults:
At 20 000 KM- air conditioner had to be replaced. The dealership was fantastic. It was probably a leaf that got stuck in the fan, but the dealer decided to replace it before the warranty period ended.
At 25 000 seals on the windows had to be replaced-dealer said that this was a common problem with this car.
At 85 000 km-stitches for the leather seat were coming loose a little bit. Car was past warranty period however dealer was able to take out the seat and have it re-stitched.
At 125 000 km- manifold cracked.
- rear brake pads replaced (first time), front brake pads still in excellent condition.
At 140 000 km-seal for power steering is leaking a little bit. Dealership advise to keep an eye on things-no action taken yet.
General Comments:
Advantage of this Car.
-Controls are all easy to reach and very intuitive.-good layout.
-great on gas. Get about 540 km on a full tank-$26 to fill up @ 0.63/litre.
-line of site inside the car is very good. Easy to handle in traffic and when parking.
-fairly reliable. Very few mechanical problems so far.
DIS-LIKES
-very noisy inside the car especially at highway speed.
-HORRIBLE cup holders. Bad location, and can't hold ANY mugs, or tall cups.
-tire noise is very noisy.
-tire size is 195/55 (I believe) They're performance tires, but this is certainly not a performance vehicle. EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE TIRES.
-does not handle very well in the snow. Quite dangerous actually. I bought a set snow tires: Pilot Alpines and the handling is much much better.
-the car is severely under powered unless you rev it a little bit higher, but then the noise becomes even louder.
I installed an air intake system and this seems to help boost the power a little.
Car is ideal for two people.
16th Aug 2005, 16:46
I agree with most of what you said. I have had my 98 EL since 99. The person who had it before me treated it poorly-which sadly I only found out later. As for your idle speed being high. I only notice this when the choke is on in colder weather. Otherwise from May to Sept. it idles around 7-800rpms.
This car is quite underrated. It took me 170,000kms before changing my front pads and that was because I was worried, and they were still at half life. The rear shoes are still on there. They are original and I am guessing due to the F/R distribution of the car they have lasted so long. I now have over 200,000kms on this car and the only thing I need to do is find someone to repaint my hood from stone chips... ahh the blessed 401 highway.