1986 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon 1.5 Liter from North America

Summary:

Best car ever made

Faults:

Nothing as of yet. I ran over a big rock and tore off my plastic fender well.

Leaks a bit of oil out of the valve cover, did before I bought car as well, no big deal.

Alignment is off, and exaggerated in 4wd.

Antenna flimsy and snapped off.

Hatch door is screwy, sometimes won't work.

The drivers seat is held up by 2x4's and the floor has a hole in it where it mounts. Weld job for the future.

Rusty b*****d, rust repair incoming when I have about 500 and some sheet metal to start up. SHE DESERVES IT!

Throwout bearing is going, very slight now and has been since I've owned it.

General Comments:

This car is simply awesome! I plan on keeping it as long as I can, and passing it on to my kids or a museum if it doesn't get wrecked. Knock on wood.

Dives into turns pretty tight for a wagon. Power is surprisingly enough to get the job done most of the time 72hp - 4wd turns it into a mountain goat, drive 12 miles regularly on a snow packed mountain pass to go skiing, and I can either sit back and relax and let the car do its thing, or drift it with confidence and style.

The gas mileage is insane. My motor eats about 1/2 a quart of oil every 3k miles and leaks a tiny bit, or maybe it doesn't burn oil and just leaks. Anyhow MPG is INSANE if you have a engine in pretty good condition.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I really like the way it looks. I can't wait to start rust repair, dent, and paint it white. Then a window tint! This car gets plenty of looks, and WTF's from the Honda guys that were not sure about Civic 4WD.

I love this car, I have always like Honda's, but because of this one, I will never buy a car made from 1980 to 2010 that is not a Honda.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th February, 2010

2nd Mar 2010, 10:26

'Best car ever made'? I suppose it depends on taste..

These types of cars are very well made and economical, but they are also very limited in terms of speed, comfort, and safety as a result of that economy. So, they're not for everyone.

31st Aug 2010, 22:19

This car died on me after 2 head gaskets at only 100000 miles!

I was told the engine has flaws, i.e. 2 different metals that warp!

1986 Honda Civic 1.5L from North America

Summary:

If you must have a Honda Civic, get one of the later ones with the 16-valve engine.

Faults:

Horn didn't work.

Eventually oil showed up in the coolant.

Eventually large amounts of oil kept showing up in one cylinder, fouling the plug, so I finally had to use a non-fouler on the plug.

May have had a cracked head or bad head gasket, which may have been due to the radiator fan not working.

General Comments:

One of the most gutless cars I've ever driven; dangerously underpowered. On on-ramps you often had to redline it or die. Drove it from San Diego to Vancouver, Washington and back and the trip took considerably longer than it should have because the car couldn't maintain the speed limit up hills.

Gas mileage wasn't real good either.

Also, seats were very uncomfortable.

Air conditioning worked really well, however, and never needed servicing.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th November, 2008

1986 Honda Civic 4 door sedan 4 cylinder carb. from North America

Summary:

Fun cool looking car. But..

Faults:

I paid $500 for the car when my first car died and needed a car to go back and fourth to school and work. when I first got the car I had to replace the entire brake system which was 800 bucks. Car would stall and stutter and would not start back up several times. we have a feeling it is the carburetor and don't know if it is worth fixing. I love this car but it is extremely un reliable. I was on my way to an interview and it died on the L.I.E. exit ramp, very dangerous. I was able to drive it after 30 seconds of waiting but when I did it would not go past 50 and was always stuttering.

General Comments:

I enjoy the car it is pretty roomy and would by another newer edition of the civic. I had for about a good year and just can't figure why it stalls.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th October, 2008

10th Oct 2008, 17:07

Your problem might not be the carb at all. I had a 1987 Toyota Corolla that had the same problem as yours. I did everything I could think of to it. I gave up and sold it dirt cheap. I'm still kicking myself. Turns out it had a plugged catalytic converter. They replaced it and it now runs like a champ! My bad...