1995 Honda Accord Wagon LX review from North America
"Average car, lousy Honda"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The exhaust system was replaced three times during the car's life, and it was still loud.
The radiator blew leaving us stranded.
The oil pan rusted away, leaking all the oil out of the engine, also leaving us stranded.
The A/C compressor went, and would cost over $800 to fix it. We opted to not fix it.
The fuel gauge does not work.
The paint (white) is oxidizing and has very little shine left, however the car has never been garaged.
One of the taillights continues to burn out over time.
The transmission (automatic) doesn't always shift at the appropriate times and is slow to change from reverse to drive on cold mornings.
General comments?
Overall, my wife and I were less than impressed with this car. Although Hondas share a reputation of being reliable, ours wasn't very dependable and was expensive to maintain. We experienced a lot of problems within the first 100,000 miles that I would not have expected, and did not encounter on my Chevy. Additionally, the Chevy is relatively cheap to fix and this Honda is not.
The car is comfortable and uses its interior space well. It handles well in the snow. The radio sounds decent and has excellent reception. The driving position is good and all the gauges are legible, although the fuel gauge has been dead since purchase.
The fuel mileage has been good for a reasonably sized vehicle.
However, the transmission doesn't seem well-suited to the engine and makes the engine work hard to move this car around. The car has ALWAYS been loud, even with a fully functional exhaust system. I've noticed this with other Hondas as well.
It seems that others have been more lucky with their Hondas, but we won't be purchasing one again. They carry a price premium that did not pay off in the end with this car. After the fifth year, my wife and I decided that we would trade it in and get something that we would enjoy driving. We purchased a Saturn L300 which has been perfectly reliable and a joy to drive--and it didn't carry the premium of the Accord.
Overall, we would rate this as an OK car, but a lousy Honda.
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| Reliable/persistent engine - but not overall not a trouble-free car |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1995 |
| Year of manufacture | 1994 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 4 cylinder Automatic |
| Performance marks | 5 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 40000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 95000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Taurus |
| Date of Entry | 20th December, 2005 |