Faults:
Car has lots of interior rattles (sunroof, dashboard, rear speaker deck, wheel wells). Cabin is very loud (then again, what do you expect? I bought a Honda, not a Mercedes).
OEM rear struts leaking (expected at 162k).
Rear sway bar end links have rattled for as long as I've owned the car.
Both of the above issues make clunks and rattles like nobody's business. Don't really care.
Torn motor mount. I have no idea when this happened; I really don't care because I still don't feel any vibration from the engine. This is not noticeable at all.
Automatic transmission replaced by previous owner; current transmission works well despite kickdown from 4th to 3rd during hard braking. The transmission shifts pretty hard; however, I've been told that this is a Honda thing and that it's normal.
Overheating led to a blown head gasket at 160k miles, not bad considering some of these cars have blown head gaskets at a tenth of the mileage that my car has. Independent mechanic charged me $1200 for the gasket. I also replaced the thermostat and valve cover gasket at this time.
I've had the alignment done and my steering wheel is still slightly turned to the left while driving straight. I think the steering wheel was put on crooked from the factory.
Due to factory alignment specifications, my rear tires have shown significant wear on the inside shoulders compared to the front tires. I take the car slowly around turns; speed is not a factor in the increased wear.
The SRS light was on at the time the car was purchased, meaning that I DID NOT have airbags. Turns out I needed a new driver's side seat belt buckle as well as a replacement of the driver's side air bag inflator. This was covered by the dealer way after the warranty had expired, because Honda had released a service bulletin for these parts.
All four speakers were completely rotted through when I purchased the car; I don't mind, as this gave me an opportunity to upgrade my entire sound system.
General Comments:
The car starts. Every. Single. Time.
Not gonna lie, the thing is pretty fun to drive.
Air conditioning kinda sucks, I don't bother with it during the summer anyway because I prefer to keep the sunroof and windows open.
GREAT on gas. I consistently get 31-33mpg combined, even better mileage on the highway. I take great care as to not over-rev the engine; for the most part I keep it under 4,000 RPM.
Rather quick for such a small engine, I've found myself doing 80 miles per hour without noticing (consider the fact that I'm a cautious driver).
Timing belt was supposed to be replaced at 105k miles, lasted me until 155k and it was still in good shape when it was changed (for the love of god just change it when it's supposed to, mine lasted thanks to a stroke of good luck. If you do not replace this, your engine WILL need a complete overhaul).
2001 Honda Civics are notorious for a ton of quality control issues (transmission, air bags, suspension parts, etc etc). The previous owner had replaced many parts before I bought the car. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I must say that my Civic has been an extremely dependable car that I've grown quite attached to.
A lot of work has been put in my car; as a result, I have a dependable car that I hope to get many more miles out of.
