Faults:
Brakes (wear item I know) were replaced at 20,000 miles-ish, pads and rotors. Service was done at the Honda dealer, but the new pads leave a lot of brake dust on the wheels. Paid almost $500, not impressed with the Honda "quality" of parts.
Battery died at 27,000 miles and 3 years. Another wear item, but I was expecting a little more since my Elantra did 7 years on its battery.
Keyfob batteries seem to go out every 2 years.
The car is starting to misfire now at idle. Stalls occasionally at traffic lights, but Honda says it's "normal". Has not been fixed yet, but I just deal with it.
General Comments:
I'll admit that the car hasn't been a really bad car to own, but I think it's incredibly over hyped for quality and reliability. Paying $25,680 out the door for a "loaded" LX, and choosing a Honda over anything else because my old Accord had 300k miles on the original drivetrain, I expected better.
I think Honda's are coasting on the general consensus that everyone thinks they are super reliable cars, when in reality they're more average than anything. If you take a seat inside an 8th gen Civic and then sit in something like a Focus, Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda 3, you realize that the Civic, while quite attractive to look at, is a bit lacking in the interior department. Tap the dash board with your fist to see what I mean; it just feels cheap.
Couple that to the fact that the Civic itself is a really noisy car (wind and road noise), and that the grade logic auto transmission is anxious to shift in and out of gear at the most annoying times, and the car's appeal quickly fades as an everyday commuter.
As stated, it's not a bad car per se, but for the used values that Honda commands on the market for an average car, it's definitely not worth the money.
I say this sadly, I wish I had my Elantra back, even after 4 years with a Civic.
The reason I'd not look at a new Honda is that Honda is still using the same motor and transmission in the 2014 models that has been in use since the 06, which leaves me little hope that they're doing anything to make the Civic a more pleasant car to live with. My confidence has been shaken but not shattered in Honda, but taking my money elsewhere until I see better things.
31st Jan 2015, 11:37
I agree on the battery comment. Mine went at about 35K miles.
My brakes were fine though. I bought my car at 22k miles and didn't have all the brake issues others did. Probably because the dealer replaced them.