2003 Honda Civic TypeS from UK and Ireland - Comments

The engine hesitates when ever I drive the car from a cold start, but the dealer has not solved the problem under warranty.

The alarm started sounding in the early hours of the morning due to a faulty sensor.

The battery failed after only 12 months.

At 12 months old and 8,000 miles all of the alloy wheels had to be replaced under warranty due to corrosion.

When ever I go round sharp left hand bends I hear a rattling noise from the front right suspension, but the dealer cannot fix it after attempting several times.

While the engine is warming up and I am driving in slow moving traffic the rev counter needle will drop to a low r.p.m. when ever I apply the brakes, nearly stalling the engine.

The engine has a small oil leak caused by the garage leaving a bolt out of the rocker cover when they tried to fix the hesitation problem.

My car has now only covered 13,000 miles, but just lately I have been hearing a metallic slapping sound coming from the engine bay when I press the brake and clutch pedals.

I am very disappointed with my Civic TypeS as I believed it would give me many years of trouble free motoring.

The dealer does not seem capable of fixing any problems with my car, giving me the impression that Honda does not care about its customers.

My cars warranty expires soon and I going to trade it in for a Ford Focus mark II.

I will not be buying another Honda again.

I have had my Honda for one month and already it has been back to Honda for 2 new headlamps and motors as they screamed even if the lights were not on. Honda advised that 2003plate owners were subject to recall because of this problem. Now when I drive straight or turn right I have a horrible noise coming from the gear box (sounds like its coming from engine!) It crackles around corners and very embarrassing to drive! The reason why its crackling is that 2nd gear is too slack. Again, Honda have advised this is another problem subject to recall. If anyone has a 2003 plate please advise if yours has ever been recalled. I need to know if my sport is a Friday afternoon car or Honda are telling the truth and the previous owner did not bother taking it back to Honda. I would not go as far as saying that I would sell this car now. I absolutly love it. Its just a shame I bought the car for reliability and already taken 4 days off work to sort the problems out!

Had my 03 plate Type-S for almost two years with no major problems. The only recall that I have had was to fix the alarm problem. It drives well, has more than enough power to bring a smile to my face and, in common with all Civics, is a bit of a Tardis when it comes to interior space.

Dealer service (in Aberdeen) is pretty good although its nearly impossible to speak to a mechanic.

The only complaint I have is that brake-pads are not yet available on the open market - only from the dealers (at dealer prices).

With steering/suspension improvements, cruise control etc, I would certainly consider buying a new model.