11th Apr 2004, 22:05
Well well, for once I am seeing a lot of blue faces on the civic pages. Not only that, but to see all the devoted civic fans come up with excuses on the comments pages has got me laughing. You guys are starting to sound like domestic car lovers. Truth is thought the civic was a good car and that's a stretch from me, but its getting old. Honda is just patching it up as the years go on when they should completely redesign the car. Hope you guys don't get tired kicking that dead horse.
13th Nov 2004, 10:23
Over 200,000 Honda Civics were sold in 2001. I have a 2001 Honda Civic. I have put over 120,000 miles on it in a four year period and have had no major problems. The clutch is fine, the seats don't rock, and no un-identified noises have been noticed. The people writing bad reviews for this car have either gotten a "lemon", or don't know how to treat their car. "Lemons" are common in every make and model vehicle. Don't be discouraged about buying this car or any other car for that matter.
24th Apr 2011, 05:24
I am in the same boat. I have a 2003 Civic Si (EX Canadian version) with 144,xxx kilometers. It was a great car, but common problems are creeping up fast.
1) DRL (Daytime Running Lights) module. I've had older Hondas/Acuras with the exact same problem of electrical gremlins taking over the lighting system, such as losing the high beam on the passenger side and an awful buzzing of the DRL relay. Akin to GM wiper motor circuit boards, soldered areas begin to crack either from heat or vibration or likely both. Instead of purchasing another DRL module from Honda, fire up a soldering iron and repair the damaged solder points. DIY cost to fix, $10.
2) Rocking drivers' seat. Nice. My slim girlfriend and I must be too much for the poor seat to bear, but rather our light to medium frames are actually too much for 'plastic' bushings that are part of the height adjustment control. DIY cost to fix, estimated Honda OEM parts, $60.
3) The cloth trim is coming off the drivers' side door panel at the top of the trim area. Just great. Oh, there are a couple of corners of the headliner cloth peeling. Sweet. I purchased a can of spray glue. DIY cost to fix, $8.
4) Black interior - great for pet hair and general dirt. Customize your interior by lightly scuffing it with practically anything... for a modest and post-modern worn out look. Do not forget to stain and possibly white-out your black interior with mild interior cleaners.
5) How about those crappy struts, eh?
6) Did someone say weak rear wheel bearings?
7) Has anyone managed to clean the lower areas of their coupes' rear windows? I might have to invent a special tool for that. ;p.
8) Thumbs up for floppy air vents. I just love how you cannot more or less precisely adjust the vents before they simply flop down like in my 1972 Chevelle. Yay.
9) Having an engine or transmission mount attached to the bottom of the rad support is innovative thinking, and provides more structural support during a front impact. NOT.
10) What is that spontaneous tin can rattle underneath? Ah, probably a vibrating heat shield or the like.
11) Whaaaa? No automatic transmission gasket to change??! Oh, there's an internal filter akin to an engines' oil pick up, thus it will likely clog up from cheap quality, sourced out clutch pack lining material, and starve the torque converter, which will in turn overheat the transmission to accelerate its predetermined demise. Your only hope for prolonging the inevitable is to change out the transmission fluid at least every 80k.
12) Oh, gee whiz, my fuel door won't open and I need gas ASAP! Thanks engineers for setting us up like the rocking drivers' seat. No. More like thanks to the Internet community to explain how to open the trunk, pull back the trim on the drivers' side rear, and twist out the latch for the fuel door, because the cable end has broken away at the lever, therefore the plunger on the fuel door latch cannot be released any longer. DIY cost to fix, $5 - Google "Fix-Broken-Fuel-Door-Cable-on-Honda-Civic"
All in all, our pampered Civic is a eight year old car even with fairly low KM and it's almost like someone is sneaking off with the car to abuse it to no end. We still love our little Civic coupe, but sadly the quality is not up to par anymore, even though domestic vehicles are practically garbage. Having that stated, our previous car was a 2000 Z24, and the only weak points were wheel bearings and a stupid coolant housing that loved to leak... not actually bad for a older car (which was about $15k brand new) with 215,xxx Kms. If that Cavalier did not start to get too rusty in its hind quarters, we may have kept it for a few more years.
24th Apr 2011, 23:47
Having had experience with a Civic, I will never buy another Japanese brand ever again. I have never had any problems at all with any of our domestics. Our 8-year-old GM has 100,000 miles on it, and has not had anything but one set of tires and 2 batteries. Even the brake pads are original. It's easy to see how GM can offer a 100,000 mile warranty. It won't cost them a cent.
13th Feb 2004, 12:50
I feel your pain. People have been brainwashed by Honda for too long. I have fought Honda for 18 months on my 2002 Civic because they refused to repair the rocking seat and a defective steering rack during the warranty period... independent ASE Certified mechanic documented. In addition to 4 seat track replacements and the steering rack, the front struts sprang leaks, the trunk lock broke, drivers side window, all 4 interior door panels lost their cloth, failed emissions and a host of other things. My first Honda is definitely my last.