21st Mar 2004, 18:45

I live in Canada and have had also a terrible experience with Honda. I had a 2001 Acura 1.7EL which is equivalent to the Honda Civic EX. That car was the first Honda vehicle I had bought; after all the years of hearing about Honda quality I did not think I could go wrong with an Acura. I thought the extra money was justified at first, but I soon learned better.

I had the car for only 1 year. All the problems I had to contend with in that one year:

1. Transmission would not stay in 2nd gear; I had to double-clutch to keep the gear in 2nd. (I had driven a 5 speed for more than 20 years and never had this problem with other cars).

2. Side airbag sensors had to be replaced after 3 trips to the dealer. ($800 billed to Honda)

3. Both front struts replaced because of leaks.

4. Terrible rattles from the front dash.

5. Shaky driver's seat.

6. Huge gap between the windshield and the lower trim piece (cowling) at the passenger side lower corner. (Honda said it was normal; where is the tight tolerance Honda advertises?).

7. Cracked handbrake button (after 50 km).

8. No shroud in the front wheel wells. (One could see through the engine compartment from one wheel well to the other; Honda said it was normal... despite the potential of gathering road salts in the engine compartment).

The Honda engine was great, but everything else left to be desired.

29th Mar 2005, 10:02

I bought a 2001 civic in august of 2001 and have had nothing, but problems. I've had my front struts replaced my head gasket replaced, three water pumps and two radiator's. Most recently I had to get my number three coil package replaced and my V-tec replaced. None of this work was done under warranty even though my car was under the 36000 miles. Think twice before you by a Honda you could by a Mercedes with all the money you will spend to maintain your HONDA.