2002 Honda Civic EX 1.7 VTEC from North America
Summary:
A lemon
Faults:
A pillars and glove box rattled from the factory.
At 8,000 the carpeting started to come out of the factory floor mats. This had to be replaced.
The vehicle does not start on a hot day when it sits for several hours. The dealer can't reproduce the problem.
The car intermittently cuts off on the highway. Again, the dealer can't reproduce the problem.
The trunk lock broke so the key no longer works. The lock mechanism needed replacement.
The trans-axle has developed slop such that it is now in the shop to check on the motor mounts.
The driver seat slide mechanism has failed and the seat came free. This is being replaced currently.
The front brake pads wore out in 20,000 miles and Honda states this is normal wear.
The air conditioning is sub-par in 90 degree weather and Honda states this is normal.
The drivers door power window failed had needed repair.
General Comments:
For an economy car, the Honda Civic EX is a very responsive automobile. It gets great gas mileage 30 - 40 mpg. The car also has a lot of room for its size.
The quality and durability of construction of the automobile is lacking. My last vehicle was 10 years old and had 200,000 miles on it when I traded it in, but it had less quality related problems in those 200,000 than my new Honda has in 24,000.
I am very disappointed in the poor construction of the Honda Civic. This will be the last Honda I will ever buy.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 18th November, 2002
16th Apr 2005, 08:02
My 2001 civic EX has had more problems than I expected from Honda. After 40,000 miles I had to replace both front struts because they were leaking. This cost over $500. They couldn't get the parts to replace them for over a month. I was told they were made in the US and were not as good as the ones made in Japan. They supposedly replaced them with ones from Japan. At 70,000 miles the air conditioner went bad. The clutch and the compressor needed replaced for over $800. I am now looking at the right front strut leaking again at 89,000 miles and probably another $500 to fix them again. I can't imagine struts only lasting 40,00 I have a couple of Accords with over 100,000 miles on them and they don't need replaced yet. This car is a lemon and I will never buy another first model year car again as this 2001 model was.
17th Feb 2006, 04:15
Honda Civic 2002 UK 3 door Hatch 'Vision'
Extremely poor finish to body - paint chips easily and no undercoat on metallic finish. Headlights, front grille and spoiler made of plastic. Excessive noise, road and wind, at moderate speed and very tiring on long journey; poor performance for a 1.4. All in all, the Emperor's clothes - far inferior to others in range.
24th May 2007, 10:33
I guess I got lucky when I bought my '02 Honda Civic Ex. It was a great car. Only had 2 problems with it. Engine light stayed on. The cause was I needed an oil change. Still stayed on after oil change. Very simple to fix. Push in trip button, leave in until light goes out. That's it. At 85,000 miles, I needed to replace front brakes. I loved my car. I only got rid of it because I wanted a truck. The dealership I sold my car to, sold it 2 days after I traded it in. They got $1500 more than I paid for it. And that was 2 years ago!
5th Dec 2004, 22:15
The problem with the failure to start on a hot day is caused by the main relay going bad. this is a common problem on Honda's, a new relay is $65.00 new from Honda and takes about 10 minutes to change. Replace this and the problem will disappear.