1990 Honda Accord LX review from North America

At about 170,000 miles, the transmission computer went berserk and started putting us into incorrect gears, shifting too early or late, shifting between gears back and forth. We spent about $500 to put in a computer from a junkyard Accord, and it seems to work well.

At about 175,000 miles, the alternator fried. We were able to replace it, again from a junkyard Accord, for $150 parts and labor.

Minor issues: at about 165,000 miles, the left front window (power) fails to go up. It goes down, and the driver can still put it up, but the passenger can't. We haven't gotten it fixed, although we bet it's a faulty switch (cheap). The driver's door handle is starting to fall apart: the plastic casing that fits into the door is cracked, and the casing has to be held in place with one hand while the lever is pulled with the other. Again, probably a cheap fix, but not really worth it to us.

Very recently (~ 179,000 miles) we have noticed some lateral instability in the rear end of the vehicle when it's traveling at high speeds (65 MPH +). We are guessing it's the struts, which would be costly to replace (maybe $600?).

All told, though, the car has been excellent. It's never really broken down (even when things go wrong, the performance tends to degrade gracefully), and it's never failed to start.

This car is not a fantastic performer, but it is superbly reliable and economical to drive and maintain. Also, there are going to be a lot of Accords around for parts for a long time coming, which lowers the cost of repairs. Highly recommended.