1987 Honda Accord LXi review from North America

Brake booster gave out.

Master brake cylinder gave out.

Front rotors warped twice.

Distributor lost the oil seal at cam.

Automatic transmisson died.

Switch arm on column broke FOUR times -

why did Honda make the inner part of cheap

plastic and not a metal rod???

Radio died (replaced with Alpine CD deck).

Radiator blew at seam.

Fuel injector seals gave out, replacements still leaked.

"Pop-up" headlights sometimes finicky. I attribute

this to the bad switch arm assembly though.

Drivers side CV joint went bad.

Temp sensor, temp regulator, and EGR valve

all died at one time. Very odd.

Probably more stuff I have forgotten.

I bought this car for $300US with a broke

transmission for a parts car, but ended up

replacing the transmission.

Since doing the transmission, I have done

performance mods to the car - CAI, full

exhaust, DC Sports 4-2-1 header, MSD-6A

ignition, reground cam - and each

modification made the engine respond well.

Acceleration is good from the line, as is the

whole RPM curve. Anything after 2nd gear is

a joke for acceleration, but 3rd does help

well in traffic for passing. Had trouble getting

the idle right with the cam due to rather anal

retentive nature of the ECM.

The suspension likewise received attention -

1.5" Neuspeed springs, Tokico shocks, 89

SEi rear disc conversion, 14" Sei alloy rims,

full OEM rebushing, front and rear strut tower

bars - and the driving characteristics are now

incredible.

The nose likes to dig in sometimes a bit much on corners, but once you can anticipate the nose diving, it's an easy car to drive. Steering is precise otherwise, and the car doesn't lose contact with the road now even on rather "bumpy" and uneven country roads.

The conversion to 4 wheel discs was worth the effort. I do recommend slotted and dimpled rotors if you can afford them - check Whalen Tire for such.

Stay with OEM Nissin pads for best braking effect. Also, don't use Tokico shocks, too bouncy. Get the Koni red type!!!

To note: the above list of defective parts is listed because I am very anal on upkeep when it comes to a car, due to the hard driving I do, which is now up to 1,000mi. a week to go to school.

This was my fourth 86-89 Accord, and one I will not give up anytime before it rusts away.