Faults:

My Civic has had it's share of normal wear and tear. However, there have been some secret small problems that eventually caused major problems.

At 131000 miles, the cooling system sensor went bad, which caused the head to slightly crack. If I'd known this, I could've spent about $50 max at a junk-yard instead of $1700 to resurface the cracked head. This problem also developed a bad radiator with a crack in it's plastic cover on the top. This cost another $100 to replace.

An unusual problem also occurred; the igniter went bad. This is located behind the rotor cap. It looks almost like a game-boy cartridge, and it cost me $340 to replace. This can't be found at your local auto-parts store. It has to come directly from Honda manufacturing.

General Comments:

This is the best car I've ever had by far!! It's smooth on the road; and even at 158000 miles, it drives and handles very comfortably on 6-10 hour road trips. Keep the oil changed regularly and a good tune up every 50000 miles, and you've got a fantastic car for life.

Faults:

To date, the only things that have gone with this car have been a very high (and bumpy) idle, which I realized came from the previous owners lack of attention to the air filter and fuel injectors. Fixed the problem for about $15. if you are having a similar problen e-mail me at, desert_rat21@yahoo.com.

General Comments:

The car can be very fast if you can get it in the high revs (revolutions per minute) but it does, but it does burn little oil... handling is awsome, due in part to the 17x7.5 inch wheels with high performance tires. Looks sporty for a $12,000 car. (new, that is) My engine runs very strong, and the exhaust sounds good. (new muffler) very reliable car.

Faults:

Needed clutch

Replaced Air-Conditioning at 110,000. I live in Florida.

Driver seat is now very uncomfortable, flat.

Driver inside door handle broke last week.

General Comments:

Love this car, will definitely buy another Honda.

Blew a tire on the Turnpike at 100 miles per hour and feel this car is what saved my life!

Faults:

March 2002 - The next day after buying this car, it started overheating. I took it to a mechanic. They said the radiator cap probably wasn't on tight so they recommended a new one. I took it back to the dealership and after three visits they finally decide it was a blown head gasket. Fortunately for me, that was covered under warranty.

February 2003 - Another blown head gasket. It takes the mechanic three times again to figure out what's wrong (but of course they have to sell me a radiator before they let me know the truth.) Needless to say I don't use that mechanic anymore.

October 2003 - CV boots rupture, but that happens to all cars. Unfortunately, there is a large hole in my steering rack and it needs to be replaced. Since I am saving up the $500 to replace it, I have to buy bottles of power steering fluid. It goes through a 12oz bottle every 2 days, and it's even made worse by the fact I have to pay extra for the special Honda power steering fluid.

I've also have had some suspension/steering problems, but that might be due to the fact that the previous owner heated the stock springs to lower the car.

General Comments:

Ah, my beloved 1995 Honda Civic DX coupe. It's really a love/hate relationship. It's not a bad car, but it's not what I expected either. Compared to other Hondas it seems to be somewhat unreliable. I've had to fix the head gasket twice in one year, there's steering/suspension problems, and it's a magnet for car theft.

Driving: 4 out of 5.

This car is actually fun to drive. It has a great cornering ability, helped by the fact that it's lowered. It's small, agile, and easy to park. More acceleration would be nice, but then again, it's a base model. To get any kind of power out of the car you have to push the pedal to the medal. Just lightly putting your foot on the pedal will get you nowhere.

Interior: 3 out of 5.

One thing I don't really like about this particular era of Civics (92-95) as opposed to the later ones and other cars is that it seems kind of cheap inside. The seats are made out of a plain fabric, there is too much vinyl, the instrument panel is a little TOO simple, and it has a real econobox feel. Still, it's functional, logical, and the interior styling is conservative yet stylish.

Exterior: 5 out of 5.

These are simply great looking cars. They are arguably one of the most sporty looking entry-level cars ever. It's curvaceous yet mean-looking.

What I like about it:

Styling, gas mileage, easy to drive, handling.

What I don't like about it:

Acceleration, driving with people in the back seat (there is a marked difference in acceleration), and the fact that it's a thief magnet...

Which is probably the worse feature of these Civics. Where I live, in Southern California, these type of Civics are the most stolen of all cars. I've had three incidents in a little more than a year...

April 2002 - Just a month after I got the car, a thief broke into it and stole the stereo and all our CDs.

August 2002 - This time, our fuel pump was stolen. Apparently there is a large black market for Honda parts.

April 2003 - The car was stolen this time. It was recovered just a couple days later, but not first without having the tires, speakers, intake, and a couple other stuff stolen. I guess I got off lucky compared to other people, but I have to constantly worry about this car being stolen. My advice about having a Civic: Get an alarm AND a club AND a clutch club AND a Lo-jack. And to be on the safe side, hire a 24-hour security guard to watch it for you!

Final Words:

I would definitely get another Civic because I think most of the problems of this car is related to the particular car and not the model. I would get an EX and a manual next time, and wouldn't make it look so flashy.