1981 Honda Civic from North America - Comments

Transmission lost 3rd & 5th gear.

Carb faulty.

Power brake booster failed.

Left rear door jammed shut.

Let's just put it like this: This car was a nightmare.

I bought it used from the Honda dealership, no warranty because of its age. But they told me it was 1 owner, etc.

Had numerous problems with it in the 6 months I owned it.

Eventually GAVE the car to my cousin, who is a mechanic.

He eventually became so frustrated with it he abandoned the car.

Everybody loves their Hondas, I know, but I had the biggest piece of crap they built.

I have a Honda Civic and there is nothing wrong with it. It is actually in really good shape. I never have any probelms other than regular matinance. I would have to disagree with your opinion becuase if you compare a 1981 Volkswagon Rabbit Hatchback to a Honda Civic Hatchback, there is a big difference. You had really bad luck.

I have an '81 honda civic sedan that I bought three years ago with 146,000 miles on it. it now has 210,000 miles on it and is running strong. other than regular maintenance that would be expected on a car of this age, I have had no problems. I continue to get 30+ miles to the gallon in the city. the only things I have had to work on (other than oil changes and brakes) are the timing belt and cv joints. the fact that it took 200k to wear these out is impressive in itself. when I changed the timing belt I also checked the compression on the cylinders, and they were still within the service limits. this says a lot about the quality of a honda motor. I firmly believe that this car will make it to at least 300k, and have no plans to sell it, ever. I should also say that of all the cars I have worked on (few, I admit) this has been the easiest. anytime I tell someone about the impressive mileage on my honda I often hear "200,000 miles! it's not even broken in yet". obviously I'm not the only one with an affinity for hondas.

I too have an 81 Civic, and I have a mix of both worlds. I love the car, but I have had numerous problems with it. I know that this car is extremely reliable, because it has 279,000 miles on it. I have to say, despite my lack of fondness for Honda's, they sure make one heck of a engine.

Our 1981 Civic Honda 1500 DX has 140,000 miles on it. We just put in a rebuilt carburetor. It gets 25 miles per gallon. We have an automatic. No rust problems as we live in Las Vegas, Nevada. We love our Civic Honda. We met a guy who had over 400,000 miles on his 1981 Civic Honda just like ours.