2001 Honda Civic DX review from North America

Well, this is bad to say because I am such a Honda buff, and I have recommended so may to my friends, I am very happy that this hasn't been one of them.

I unfortunately recommended this car to my dad because I worked for a car rental company and we got this version of Civic while I was working for this car rental co, and when it was new, I really thought it would appeal more to him then myself. I had a 97 at the time (see in the 97 section EX-G OUTSTANDING) that was the former Civic. Now I have the replacement because in 03 I inherited it from my dad, because he couldn't stand it.

As you can see from the 97 comment, the previous car was unreal when it came time to making it happen, the new one I don't know what to do with... I am a high mileage driver, like in the previous report I had something to say about the A/C breaking and getting fixed and the throttle cable sticking and the exhaust manifold, this is another beast.

My father complained about the suspension in the front before he gave it to me, It was fixed, but at 118,000 kms, the front suspension failed again, and I couldn't get Honda to fix it because it was passed the warranty, not even three months later, I received a letter from a friend of mine at Honda that said there was a technical service notice issued fron Honda that there was a prob with the front shocks..

The prob was that the absorbers while hitting a bump would release the gas, but not return it to the absorber so that means it will run out of gas, therefore your shocks are done.

When I moved to the present province I lived in, I had to have the car reinspected in order to plate it here, it failed. The front absorbers were finished, and now along with that the sterring rack absorbed the impact of the abuse and no one mentioned it.

So, when I got the front susp done at a Honda dealer in Mtl, QC... the job was done at a cost of $879.00 CAD, even though they knew they were defective, but because I had passed the 100,000 km extension "service bulletin" they wanted nothing to do with it.

So I had no choice, it was fixed because I had to have it legal, I work for a car rental co in Canada that has the exclusive contract with Honda Motor Co and I rent cars to the Honda staff on a daily basis, and I have even tried to get they're help. Nothing...

I will now maake sure that all the Honda Reps coming to my car rental counter get Cobalts and Focus's, when they tell me they don't want either, I tell em I don't want a Civic either, but unfortunately I am stuck and you are getting a rental... Deal with it.

Another few things... The cars interior has some fails.. The fabric on the doors are all bubbling and falling off because the adhesive is not holding the fabric to the door.

The alternator has dies twice, the first time replaced with an aftermarket, lasted three months, got my money back and bought a Honda one hoping it would last longer, hasn't failed yet!

I miss my double wishbone from the 97 Civic, such a beautiful ride compared to this setup, god I miss my double wishbone!!!

Sometimes the car will take a few tries to start, I think poss if has something to do with the chip in the key because if I take the key out and let the green key flash on the gauge cluster and put it in and start it, its like new.

We have the new Civic's at work (07 Civic DX-G) and I have driven it on many occasions, and I like it, but really, it hasn't got the double wishbone that I miss.

If I could have the new Civic with the character from the past, I would be all over it, but its just not there. I do like the new Civic, don't shoot comments that I think it's a piece of crap, I do like it, a lot!!! I just wish sometimes that things were back to basic, and some of the spirit from the 96-00 Civic would return... Don't know what I will buy next...