Faults:

I have had to replace the headlight bulbs (left hand at 160,000 miles and right hand at 175,000 miles).

Sunroof blew off on a hot Georgia summer's day two years ago (mileage about 170,000). It must have been a freak incident because no dealer or mechanic that I spoke to had ever heard of that. I replaced it with one from a wrecker for $125.

Drivers seat is worn out as is drivers side floor mat, but it does have high miles. Other seats are fine.

General Comments:

I bought this car new and it has been very good to me. It still has the original clutch and front brake pads. They are still serviceable. I replaced the timing belt at 110,000 miles and will replace it again at 210,000 miles.

It has always got excellent mileage (average is 36mpg) and has decent performance. It is getting a little old now and I am looking to replace it. Probably with an Accord EX, or maybe a Lincoln.

It is not a big car, but has decent room and comfort for the size. Extremely reliable.

I added a Class 1 hitch and roof rack and have towed and carried way more than I should have with this vehicle, including 20' long hang gliders, 17' canoes, 18' kayaks, and a trailer of gravel and stone over a mountain pass, and it keeps going.

I will replace the shocks, front brake pads, and pass it on to my son.

Faults:

The only bad thing is that when I disconnected the battery and reconnected it, the radio said "code", and I needed a secret code to get my stereo operating again. Nothing other than the radio has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

It has good pep, and for a four cylinder engine it can get to speed quickly. The gas mileage is great, I can drive around without worrying about the rising fuel prices. The trunk has quite a bit of space for a compact car, and the seat can fold down to allow large objects to fit in.

Faults:

When I bought the vehicle the A/C did not work properly. I went to the junk yard and got a compressor for a couple hundred dollars. The exhaust pipe broke right after the catalytic converter due to rust. Some rust is appearing above the wheel which is somewhat normal for most Honda's in the Midwest. Otherwise it runs and looks immaculate.

General Comments:

This car has pep and when you take it to 7000 rpm it screams like no other. The V TEC sounds amazing at high rpm. Unfortunately it has horrible low end torque which can be a problem with a manual in traffic. You have to really drive it like you hate it to make full use of it's performance. The interior is pretty fancy for a low ball import. People think the car is brand new even after 10 years. I can honestly say I enjoy driving this vehicle and often times look for excuses for driving it. Get the manual or people will laugh at you.

Faults:

Replaced upper control arm assembly right front at 270,000 km.

The interior courtesy light was coming on unannounced while driving. Turns out the latch screws on the doors had come loose. This did not allow for good contact with the courtesy light switch on 3 of the 4 doors.

The car's factory size tires of 175/70/R13 seem a little inadequate. I have changed tires, but have stayed with the factory size recommended. It seems now that the car having higher mileage, that it wanders in grooves in the road now quite easily even though the current tires are not sufficiently worn. They still have some wear on them left judging from the tread wear bars on the tires.I'm sure HONDA would say it's simply the tires.

Left front axle is broken and needs replacement at 275,000 km a most reasonable time frame I think. It simply makes a noise when turning and accelerating to the left.

I replaced the radiator at 210,000 km.

The car's AM/FM tape deck by manufacturer was very cheap. I replaced it with a Kenmore version and upgraded the front speakers. It is much better like it should have been out of the factory.

General Comments:

This car's interior fit and finish is not on a par with the 1985 Honda Civic GL model owned previously. The interior is of slightly lower overall quality and has not stood up as well with the same relative useage.

The car still looks good though I had it repainted. This was mostly not because the original paint had faded or the body had deteriorated, but because of a lot of scratches. They were on the car when I purchased it at 4 years old in 1998.

This car's body integrity has been helped by the fact I have had it Krown rustproofed each year since 1998.This stuff does indeed work!

The car, though not as comfortable as my 1988 Accord EXI, is still a reliable and dependable as you'll ever want. I am even on my original alternator!

The car, with a 1.5 litre gas engine and automatic transmission, is not great at low speed acceleration and merging on to 4 lane highway. But once up there cruises very nicely at 120 kilometres an hour. It does have a buzz at this speed from the engine.

I really miss, what was once standard equipment on the Civics, the tachometer.