Faults:

Front brake pads, rotors and R/F caliper at 59,000 miles.

New tires at 70,000 miles.

General Comments:

I bought this car, used, on a whim with 53,000 miles without doing any research on the vehicle first. This is unlike me, but it's no secret that Hondas are about as good as you get as far as reliability, along with Toyotas. I just started reading the reviews on here and am surprised, quite frankly at the amount of negative feedback on these vehicles. My experience has been anything but negative, for the most part.

I purchased the additional coverage. I don't remember the terms exactly, but I believe it was a year or so many miles. After about 2 months and 5,000 miles, I heard noises coming from the brakes. Almost overnight, I could hear that the pads were metal on metal. With that in mind, I brought it in and was told that one of the F/R calipers had failed, which immediately wore down both front pads and rotors. They said they would replace the caliper under warranty, but I would be responsible for the pads and rotors because they are wear and tear items. I was not pleased, considering right before it was sold to me, they did a New York State safety and emissions inspection (NY happens to be one of the most rigorous states for inspection), but they did not catch that anything was going on with the brakes.

Because I was out of town at the time, I was not able to pick up the car. In that time, I got a phone call in the form of a survey follow-up from the dealer. Given the recent events, I expressed my frustration. Well, that's all they needed to hear I guess. They proceeded to replace the pads and rotors and broken caliper free of cost. For this reason, I can't speak negatively about the dealer. They worked with my best interest at heart, and corrected the problem. I was grateful for this.

Other than the brakes, I replaced all four tires at 70,000 miles. This is literally all that has gone wrong with the car in almost 2 years and 31,000 of ownership.

I love the design of the car. The rear seats have more room than my previous vehicle (Volvo S60). The lack of power was tough for me at first as I was used to the 5-speed turbo engine from my old car. The Honda does okay for what it is. The 140 HP coupled with a 5-speed manual holds its own for its class. I'm just a little more selective on who I choose to pass now, LOL.

Comfort is average. Day to day driving is fine, but the seats are a little hard on my back for long distance driving. Honesty nothing that has been a problem though.

Gas mileage is superb. My car is rated at 36 MPG on the highway. I haven't actually calculated it, but I would guess I get closer to 40. Any negative aspects of the car go out the window when filling up at the pump.

Sound system is not as good as my last car. It's adequate for the music I listen to. I don't listen to a lot of bassy stuff so it works for me.

Doesn't always start well in cold/wet weather. Usually it's no more than two tries, and it has always started eventually.

Idles low when sitting, causing some vibration in the cabin. I've read on here that I'm not the only one to report this. Haven't been enough of a problem to take it in though.

Snow handling is not great, but not to the point where I'm afraid to drive in the winter. It's common for a car of its weight.

In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't read the negative reviews before purchasing my car. I am overall very pleased with it and have yet to have anything go wrong outside of general maintenance. I am nearing 100k, so I'm expecting some things will need attention soon. It's starting to get a little crunchy on bumps, may need to look into getting shocks replaced in the near future. I have my oil changed at Midas. They pull the wheels each time and check everything over to see what work needs or "could" be done. Every time thus far, all they've told me is that the car is in great shape. Knock on wood it stays that way!

General Comments:

Good and hi tech. Major equipment failed only after 5 years of ownership.

1) IMA battery failed, but Honda Malaysia refuse to accept the warranty claim.

2) Brake master pump leak - outside warranty period; Costly to replace.