2001 Honda Civic EX review from North America

Where do I begin?

Like others, I, too, have had front and rear strut, rattle and, interior seat issues. Most recently, I've experienced severe problems with the manual transmission.

The strut issue began in the rear of the car, when after about 10,000 miles on the odometer, a severe rattle from the rear was heard every time I hit a bump. The dealer replaced the passenger side rear strut as well as some other rear axle suspension parts that had "cracked" in the process. Which came first (the strut failure or the crack) or what caused what remains unclear.

Like others, I've also had problems with front struts. Both front struts have now been replaced, but only after a long wait for parts.

At just about the time the warranty was to expire (about 34,000 miles) the manual transmission became stiff to shift and began "popping" out of 2nd gear after up-shift. I was told by the dealer there were at least two "Service Bulletins" out on this particular problem, and after yet another long wait for parts, the transmission was completely rebuilt.

Sadly, after about 3000 miles, the transmission is now popping out of gear at highway speeds in 5th gear, making the car virtually worthless to drive on the highway without having to put physical pressure on the gearshift to keep it in position with one hand. So, I am now waiting for yet MORE parts to arrive at the dealer to have the transmission completely rebuilt... yet again.

So far, both the dealer and/or Honda have covered the costs of these repairs under warranty. However, my request for a new transmission (in lieu of ordering more of the very same parts that was supposed to have fixed the problem in the first place) has, so far at least, been met with rejection.

There have been other minor interior issues with the car as well. These have included a "rocking" drivers seat and loose overhead visor clip. Again, both have been corrected by the dealer under warranty.

I've owned one Honda Civic previously (1989) and it performed flawlessly for many years. That same car has well over 200,000 miles on it and is still going strong.

However, it now appears Honda has seriously missed the mark in both design and quality with their latest line of Civics. Having both read about and personally experienced first hand what can only be described as design flaws (transmissions) and supplier issues (struts) I shall never again buy another Honda.