Faults:
After purchasing the car, I noticed on long motorway journeys there was a noise coming from the passenger side like a whistling sound. I took to a dealer, was told it was normal, then I drove it through a car wash and noticed water coming through.
Got it repaired after waiting 1 week for a seal to come in, then noticed they fitted it on the wrong side. I went back and another week went by.
Rattles from the windows, but I have noticed this from other Civics as well.
Door panels and (outside) door hinges vibrate too much when music is at 20, making the car seem 10 years old.
A musty smell comes through the car when the air recycle button is active; not pleasant when going through high carbon monoxide tunnels; would honestly prefer that smell.
The leather interior does make the car more desirable, but if the radio is off, noise creaks will sound quite annoying. Fixed myself with WD40.
General Comments:
For a 1.6 SOHC (single over head cam) it's very smooth to drive, although the gears can seem stiff at times when the engine is cold.
The clutch is very soft, not ideal for me, but other people who have driven the car prefer this.
No engine problems to date.
Considerable amount of noise from the tyres on normal roads, and not the most quiet engines when in high gears. 3000rpm from a passenger perspective sounds like you're doing 5500rpm.
One good thing is that when VTEC kicks in, the engine changes tone, forming a whirling sound overtaking similar specification cars or higher, such as a BMW 318, Golf 1.6 fsi, and more.
Whether I drive this car hard, hitting 6500rpm, or hitting 3000rpm, I have the reassurance that when it comes to the next day, the engine will pur on start.
16th Dec 2011, 08:50
Giving it 1/10 in reliability, only because the water pump went bad in 4 years! What if the engine blew up, therefore -20/10 indeed.