2nd Jan 2004, 11:19

'95 Honda Accord: RUST SUBJECT

Mine has the rusting rear quarter panels also. The body-shop showed me the cause to be the rear bumper's retaining screws that tap into the quarter panels near the wheel openings. This is an engineering flaw, that has cost me more than it should. I've faithfully washed my car and flushed the underbody regularly during the winter months. This is my single-most biggest complaint with this Honda!

Be sure to keep up with your transmission and cooling maintenance, otherwise neglect can cost you big $.

FYI, the exhaust system is best replaced with OEM quality parts. I purchased the "lifetime" muffler assembly from the Honda garage for $125 and installed it myself.

9th Mar 2004, 08:01

Early Japanese cars were not meant to last for over ten years>>>

This could not be any further from the truth. During the 70s, 80s and part of the 90s, their build quality blew just about everything else away. They were durable and reliable, unlike what Detroit was spitting out at the time. Honda and Toyota were consistently praised for having better long term reliability and rigidity than anything else on the road. Since around the mid 90s, the American auto manufacturers have striven to match the engineering quality, longevity and durability of the Japanese manufactures. As a result, Ford and GM are now offering high quality automobiles.

Within 6-9 years, you will start to find rust if you never maintain the integrity of the vehicle>>>

In certain areas, this can be said for ANY car. I have seen my share of Aerostars, Tauruses, Broncos, Blazers, and K-cars that were consumed by rust. In the case of the Accord's rear quarter panels, it was a design flaw. When I lived in Detroit for a couple years... I saw that the old Hondas had faired much better than a lot of other vehicles of different makes.

The newer Japanese cars are Japanese engineered, but built in Canada/USA, as well as being built with stronger metal and better paint>>>

The majority of Honda Accords have been built in the United States (Marysville Ohio) since 1982. All cars have better paint quality today, but this isn't the fault of the auto manufacturers. As far as sheet metal, it's all the same.

Expect one to last well over 15 years>>

I drive a 1987 Honda Accord that is going on 17 years of age and still going strong (with very little rust) and there is currently a 1981 Honda Civic station wagon down the street from me that is for sale. The car is in mint condition. Obviously, ALL new cars are built better than they were 15-20 years ago... so I would expect any modern car to last well beyond 15 years.

3rd Apr 2004, 16:30

I drive a 1994 Accord EX Coupe 5 speed. I have over 198k miles. Last year I did have to replace the rotors and calibers and one axle. Still have the original front shocks.

20th May 2004, 21:40

I own a '94 Accord LX coupe automatic. Without a doubt, I will purchase ANOTHER Accord very soon. This time a V6 with leather. Currently, I have 188,000 miles and probably will have another 6 to 7,000 more before I sell it to a private party. My advice to other Accord owners... oil change every 3,000 miles and tune up every year. I've had to replace the radiator (finally) at 185,000. Other than that, it's been simple maintenance. As for the Accord owner who had his wheel come off at 65 mph? DUH!! Common sense is definitely an issue here. Listen to your vehicle. If you hear rattling or banging coming from it, don't drive at 65 mph! Get it looked at ASAP!

26th Jun 2004, 00:45

Regarding the rust problem: I was also beginning to get rust around the wheel wells, due to the amount of road salt used in my area, even with regular washing. I took it to a body shop to be repaired, and they suggested to pull the rubber piece off of the top of the wheel wells- it is purely decoration and will trap water and cause rust. I did this to my other Accord and have had no rust problems on that car.

Regarding your other problems, a little common sense goes a long way. Listen to your car, and look at it once and awhile. Regular maintenance works wonders.

3rd Sep 2004, 14:59

I just had my automatic transmission fail at 118000 miles. Symptoms were engine revs, but power not translating to forward motion. Sitting for 5 minutes with engine off allows me to drive a mile, then transmission slips and I have to pull over again. Car was used, service history unknown, and as soon as I bought car I had all fluids replaced. Honda dealer did work. Funny thing is after Transmission fluid change the fluid looked just the same. NOT cherry color, more like old engine oil! Suspected kona dealer not performed work.

My bad for not knowing anything about automatics.

Much prefer my old '90 accord manual. Super car.

26th Feb 2006, 12:42

This car does have a transmission filter, part number 044-0319 don't listen to people who claim to work on cars. I work on them everyday.

28th Apr 2008, 16:05

I own a 1994 Accord LX. It was brand-new, with 98 miles on it, when I bought it from a Honda dealer in April 1994. This car currently has 333,000 miles on it! I have not even been able to maintain it the way it really should have been maintained over the last 8 to 10 years due to finances. I have always changed the oil, but sometimes after the light indicator has turned red. Overall, I have been very pleased with this car. In fact, I love it so much, I will never get rid of it! The next car I purchase will definitely be a Honda. I owned a couple of brand-new Toyotas in the 80's - they're great cars, but this Honda has them beat. I checked out this site to try to find out how many miles other people have been able to get out of these great little cars. Just curious. Any and all comments will be appreciated.

4th May 2008, 00:27

I purchased a used 1994 Accord LX with 144,000 miles on it. It now has 190,000 miles and is still running fine. The engine hasn't had an overhaul yet and I just replaced one of the exhaust pipes. The rest look fine. At about 170,000 I replaced most of the rotating front suspension parts. There was one bad half shaft, so I figure that if one is shot, the other may not be far behind. Getting the king nut off the axle was a challenge, but the rest of the job was easy.

Two problems plague this car. The first is rear wheel well rust and the second is a strange transmission/clutch problem. I fixed the wheel well rust in another Honda, so I know what I'm in for - not fun.

The clutch problem only occurs with the first use in the day. When I let the clutch out while in first gear, the engine starts jumping like a bronco with a huge pulse on the clutch pedal. The car has been like this for 45,000 miles. Anybody else experience this?