Has Anybody owned a car from [censored]?

[gmh101357]

Mine was a 2001 Honda Civic EX
Struts went out at 30k
Auto Trans at 45k
Engine burned up at 67k....I used the Honda Dealer for every oil change between 3k and 4k miles....I think they used Chevron 10w30 or 5w30
We put rebuilt trans and Engine it
We gave it to my wifes daughter and at 88k the 2nd trans went out and she got 800 trade on a new 2011 Corolla.
I looked on the net and was surprised at all the problems with Honda's and trans going out and just building sub-par cars for a premium cost.
Honda USE to build great cars but after that Civic I would never even glance a Honda car lot now.
I had a friend that had a 89 Civic and drove it to 250k with no problems....I read that Honda fired a V-P over Civic flaws...at least they are trying to do something about it.
My rant with Honda is over....

 

[Lead Shoes]

I don't see how a D series could fail so soon...

Honda's A/T is garbage, should have got the M/T, those are nearly bullet proof after 95 when they got rid of the aluminum shift forks that would break.

The struts on my civic are full of rust and still ride great after years of service... and the motor was by the looks of it quite neglected but after 210k it still runs great, just burns oil.

A civic new is around 20k, Far from a "premium" for a new car that holds such a great resale value and performs so well.

 

[Bill in Utah]

And same model and year (my Dad's ex-Civic sold to a friend) needed a long block @ 14,000 miles (leaked oil out the side of the block) and that really has been it for over 200,000 miles since new.

It was the 2001 Civic LX model 2 door with Auto. So in our example its been a GREAT car.

If all of them were like yours then Honda would not be selling anything these days.

Bill

 

[Quest]

7th gen civics strut problems have to do with the fact that they sourced their OE struts from the US KYB manufacturing line, and my dad's rear struts failed within warranty.

Replaced the rears with Jpn made Tokico blues, no issues afterwards; front original factory KYBs went out after 160k, replaced them with another US pair of KYBs for the time being (coz Tokico blues for front 7th gen civics can be fairly costly).

While I don't dispute the quality of NA made civics (or their A/T box reliability issues), I typically attribute the sub-par quality of Honda builds to their sourcing of NA OE components..

Honda can be good provided that they sourced their parts from the Jpn suppliers, or construct them in Jpn assembly lines. My 07 fit was built in Suzuka plant and been trouble-free all these years...

Q.

 

[Win]

Yes, my '79 Honda, bought brand new, was the worst manufactured product I ever had the misfortune of owning.

If it could break, bend, burst, crack, fall off, leak, peel, rattle, rip, rot, rust, short, smoke, or squeal, it pretty much did.

I had to put the really viscous motor honey in it to keep it from smoking like a mosquito fogger. On a still night you could hear it rusting. In the South.

It was just a terrible car.

 

[jetmech1]

WOW! Who would have thunk it? They make such great motorcycles (at least the ones I had were).

 

[david_ES2]

2001 first year of generation 7, unfortunately there was many issues with 01-02's

Otherwise my 2004 has been superb and has never let me down.

 

[Capa]

The most reliable car I ever owned was a 1999 Honda Accord V6. I bought it at 76,000 miles and sold it at 145,000. Never, ever gave me a problem. However, the transmission was replaced prior to me buying it. I did get to drive it before the transmission was replaced and it was jacked up.

 

[Michael_P]

Is this about cars from the opposite of heaven or Hondas? I'm not a Honda fan but I'd like to hear about other brands. I would contribute, but I've been lucky in the car part of my life.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I drove the same exact car for 227k. The only things that I needed to replace:
Front struts at 150k
Front brakes at 180k
Two timing belts/water pumps under normal maintenance
Alternator at 177k.


It was a great car for me.

 

[demarpaint]

1995 Caprice Classic, the biggest POS I ever owned.

 

[mpvue]

'85 golf automatic. gutless 85hp, no overdrive so it buzzed like crazy on the hwy. terrible mpgs, maybe 25hwy.
to change the starter you had to remove one of the driveshafts!
terrible grounds, hardly could maintain charging above 13V.
tiny terrible brakes.
would eat alternators and starters on a regular basis.
a Fram OCOD finally (mercifully) killed it for me; it wouldn't thread on all the way, and when I started it, all the oil blew out and it seized.
sold the car for parts, made $100 IIRC.


OTOH, the '86 and '87 GTI's I had were fantastic cars, none of the issues of the golf.

 

[oiltard]

Originally Posted By: david_ES2
2001 first year of generation 7, unfortunately there was many issues with 01-02's

Otherwise my 2004 has been superb and has never let me down.


Same for my 2005. Not my 2002. Bought it at a Nissan dealership with 105k on the clock. Driving along the 3rd day I owned it, and it wouldn't shift (automatic), then went into limp mode. Fortunately, I hadn't had it inspected (In NJ, a dealership used car MUST pass inspection), and they had to repair it. Gave me a loaner. 2 days after I got it back, same problem. Another loaner, another "rebuild" and the thing ran for a few months. Then I sold it when a girlfriend's family member offered me an unbelievable deal on the 2005 model,with 16k miles in 5 years and records oil changes every 3 months and trans drain & fill at 12k.

 

[oilmaven]

I had a similar experience with a 2001 Civic...mine was an LX model with a 5 speed. Although I didn't have any problems with the drivetrain, that car was at the dealership every month I owned it for one thing or another. I had to replace the front struts, A/C compressor and ball joints. The heater refused to direct more than a whiff of heat through the floor vents (but the windshield and your face stayed toasty warm) and even when working the A/C was marginal. The rear suspension on the first couple of model years was poorly damped and the car would bounce over road undulations. Add to that horrific road noise. On the positive side, it would get nearly 40 mpg and drove and shifted fine. I dumped it after a year. I understand that the 2003-05 models were much improved.

 

[addyguy]

Definetly - my 1985 Buick Skyhawk sedan with a 2.0L Chev. 4-cylinder.

Now, my disclaimer - I was young and nieve, and I took the sellers word for the condition b/c I really wanted a car, fast.

Steering rack a month after I bought it. Wheel bearings and brakes a lot. Heater core and radiator problems. Valvecover gasket leaked oil, and the car was always full of a burning oil smell.

Firewall has rust in it, and it leaked water badly into the front floor. The wires that formed the bolsters in the seats kept breaking, and I literally ended up with bloody cuts in my butt from it...had to 'cut them out' a few times.

I put over $4k into it in just under two years just to keep it going. Fianllly traded it in for $250 on a much better 1986 Civic. Frustrating thing was some who lived near me bought and fixed it, and I saw it on the road for years after I ditched it.

Took me 10 years to buy another 'domestic' car after that!

 

[tig1]

My son bought a 96 Accord and he did have a lot of problems with it, but you can find that in all brands. Honda's are no better or worse than other brands. Just another average vehicle.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Is this about cars from the opposite of heaven or Hondas? I'm not a Honda fan but I'd like to hear about other brands. I would contribute, but I've been lucky in the car part of my life.


I had an '86 VW Jetta GLI, also bought new, that was no prize, but it was not in the spawn of [censored] category, like the Honda.

What? The proper term for the great devil, master of evil, the underworld, and all the lesser Imps and Demons, is censored?

 

[Cristobal]

My Dad had a 1966 Ford Country Squire station wagon. He bought it new.

The heater hoses ruptured within a week of the purchase, and then the air conditioner failed. The transmission started to leak all over the place.

There was a funny noise from the rear that the dealership could not figure out. They told my Pop to drive the car some more. So as he left the dealership, the gas tank fell off onto the road.

He swore never to buy a Ford again, and he never did.

 

[SLCraig]

Probably my '96 Saturn, the one I miss the most. Maybe it's because I basically built the car from the ground up..

Only thing about that car that was great was that the A/C worked, and it did the whole time I owned it.

Just tons of numerous small repairs. I bought it knowing it had a wonky clutch and I did replace it. It had a worn timing set probably from neglect and I don't blame the car for that either.

Window motor problems
Rear defrost problems
Door and ign. cyl problems
Sunroof problems
Water pump
Failed ICM at one point
Had a sporadic mid RPM stumble that I could never figure out
Rear wheel cyl
Struts were shot
A bunch of the usual stuff like tie rods brakes etc. (that's normal though)

There was just so many things to do to that car. I know there are more on the list but I just can't think of everything.
At least I only paid a song for it and by the time I sold it, it was like new.

 

[SteveSRT8]

My Dad bought one of those incredibly ugly Sevilles, perhaps around 1984 or so.

On the way home the entire crank pulley arrangement fell off the engine! This was an old V belt car with about 4 belts if I remember right.

That was just the beginning. The whole car was simply cursed or something.