1986 Honda Civic review from North America

The clutch needed to be replaced twice while I owned my Civic, and I only owned it for a year and a half. However, both times I had the clutch replaced it seemed loose when I got it from the shop, like it was already going out again. This might have been unique to my Civic.

The cam shaft warped and ground a hole in the engine block, pouring all my motor oil onto the ground. Of course, this was a slightly more gradual process, but the end result was that my engine was destroyed. The dealer tried to imply that I caused the problem by letting the engine overheat at some point. I insisted that the car never overheated, but they wouldn't believe me. The kicker was when somebody who owned a 1986 Honda Civic saw my car sitting in front of my house and stopped to ask me if I wanted to sell the engine in it. They informed me that they had the very same warped cam shaft problem that had destroyed my Civic! After that encounter I always wondered if a poor alloy had been used in Honda cam shafts, and if it was a common defect with this particular year and model of Honda.

Up until the time I began to have problems with the cam shaft, this was a wonderful little car.

I had the 4-door sedan model and loved being able to haul my friends around without having to let them in and out by getting out of the car and tilting the seat forward.

The front wheel drive was amazing in the snow. I never lost control in the ice and slush when larger 4-wheel drive trucks were overturned in the ditches.