2005 Honda Civic SE review from North America

When cold engine mounts squeak, and crackle to the point it feel like its about to fall out, Honda is unable to fix. Struts have gone from bad to worse. Rust is appearing on the trunk. Dust deflectors had to be adjusted as they were releasing back into the brakes.

I was excited to buy this vehicle new. My Jeep was just getting to the point I couldn't afford the cost of fuel. The Civic ran well until the first few cold days. I live in Canada. On cold days, it sounds as though the engine mounts is rubbing metal on metal. I had it in for service 5X to the dealer, and each time they "fixed" something else. I always had to wait until a very cold day -10 celsius or more so I could show then. The mechanics were so inept one evening when I picked it up it made the noise immediately... they told me the part they replaced needed a few days to work itself in. This has never happened 2yrs later, and I gave up arguing with them and just live with it.

Now today I've noticed a hole in the trunk, and a good deal of rust appearing. Time for another trip to the dealer, which becomes frustrating and difficult as it's about a 1hr drive.

Beyond these problems it does have great fuel consumption. It's peppy for a little 1.8L, but only until about 20-30mph, after that its pretty poor performance. The car rides like a German Army Tank... the seats are uncomfortable, the ride is rough, and the interior materials are cheap. Not GM cheap... but not far off. It's very very loud on the highway, so be prepared to turn the stereo up higher than normal. I'll keep it until it dies, or rusts out at this rate, but can't say I'm very happy with the car, nor would I ever buy another Honda.