Faults:
Needed new muffler, A/C Condenser and Sunroof parts when I bought it.
Cruise control never worked while I had the car.
Automatic Transmission had (and still has) a 'bump' when shifting from 1st to 2nd, really annoying..
EGR Valve got sticky at 110,000km and was replaced.
Trunk was always wet and smelt funky... turned out to be leaky tail light foam pads, I pulled htem off, silicon-ed both sides of the foam and put it back on, has been bone dry ever since. Took about 2 bottles of febreeze auto to get rid of the nasty smell.
Window glass is 'scratching' badly, seems to happen on all neons with power windows... 110,000km I started to notice it.. it was probably where when I bought the car though.
Brakes squeal constantly... started around 120,000km or so.
Blew front driver side speaker... ended up replacing them all with after market stuff.
Key no longer works in trunk. Seems to be stuck.. as of about 130,000km.
Driver side wiper has corroded horribly...
Steering wheel started 'shimmying' as of about 140,000km. Had to have 2 control arm bushing replaced... they had deteriorated horribly.
Ticking noises in upper end of engine... sounds like lifters or something, I'm told all neon's do this after a while...
Some clunk has started occurring in the front suspension since the bushing were replaced. Seems to happen a lot with any bumpy road.
Car overheats when A/C is on, and more than 1 person is sitting in the car. (only fairly hot days.)
Fog light bolts are 'stupid'. They're headless bolts that have to be cut off when they rust... the battery hold down has a similar bolt, that also has to be cut off when it seizes.
Plastic driver side kick panel managed to cut through some of the wires that go to the back...
Around 130,000km.
Air Bag light is on as of 140,000km...
Outer tie rod end is now loose as of 168,000km, should be replaced before it fails.
Dash 'cracked' around 165,000km.. possibly 170,000km.. somewhere in there.. I just noticed it today.
Transmission coolant hoses, are all cracking and need to be replaced... not touching them this month :/
Starting to see oil on the valve cover, and a bit in my parking spot... I suspect its burning a bit too.. as I have to add about a liter between oil changes.
Rust has appeared on the roof... specifically where the metal is cut for the sunroof...
Rust has also appeared on the lip of the hood... the hood also doesn't seem to fit properly anymore.. seems to have been bent up either by wind, or thieves, or something. *shrug*
Some mild fogging and a small bubble on the hood too. Pretty good for 8 years I guess... considering some of the purple and white neons I've seen driving around with no paint ;) I don't feel too bad about it.
General Comments:
Next time, I think I'll buy a car that has more room under the hood.. this one doesn't leave a lot of room to even get any tools in there let alone my arms/hands.
The interior is a little cheap... I find the seats to be a bit uncomfortable for long trips, but I'm a pretty big guy.
The switch pods for the power windows dig into my legs, as does the corner of the center part where the stereo is... but I didn't buy this car for its comfort...
The frame-less windows were sexy when I first saw them.. but now I realize that they allow thieves to get into the car with almost no effort. They also need to be adjusted to reduce cabin noise, as they often get out of alignment/etc.
The car is fairly fast... I can make the tires chip from a standstill just by stomping on the gas... have to be very light on the gas in snow, from a stand still.
Cheap? well.. it should have been. I paid way too much for this car.
Over the 2 years I've had it, this car hasn't been that bad to me... a lot of the problems I've had, as you've read are minor, nit-picky things... It only really stranded me once when it overheated in traffic on a really hot day... it was towed away and the garage couldn't find anything wrong with it. This problem is still unresolved, I've had the cooling system flushed, refilled, checked, etc.. still happens on really hot days. I'm going to replace the rad soon.. I suspect its just clogged or something... it is 8 years old after all. Air conditioning is still ice cold 2 years after replacing the condensor, so that's good.
Hope to at least get 300,000 km out of this car... but it's a gamble considering how hard I drive it.
25th May 2007, 16:21
Your review is more emotional than facts, you have had two problems or three, a wiring problem that cost you nothing but electric tape, a water pump after "2 years" which is nothing for a crappy old car, I've spent more on crappy cars!
Like $2000 to buy and $4000 in parts to make them run, now that's a messed up situation, and both times the car was a Honda. Just because you have some minor problems with the car, doesn't make it 3/10.