1987 Honda CRX from North America - Comments

The clutch began to slip around 125,000 miles or so, to the point where I could be driving down the road at 55 mph, and downshift all the way from 5th to 1st gear without using the clutch at all.

When we went to replace the clutch, we discovered that the floor was so rotten that the lift would have come right up through.

It had a tendency to overheat for no apparent reason that anyone could ever figure out.

I bought this car without really thinking too much about it, because the price was right, my previous car was undriveable (actually, it was due for a sticker, and there was no way it was going to pass), and I have to admit, on the test drive it seemed like a sporty, fun little car. If I'd looked at it a little more closely, I might have realized the shape it was in, and steered clear.

For the first few months, when the clutch still worked, and when it wasn't overheating for no good reason, it was a sharp, fun car to drive. It had great, tight steering, and was reasonably quick. It felt faster than it really was, because it sat so low to the ground, but it was still fun to pretend it was a real sports car.

It felt like a real sports car in the snow. It was nearly impossible to keep on the road, and heaven help you going up or down even a slight hill.

Not by any stretch of the imagination was it a comfortable car to be in for anything longer than maybe an hour. I made 100-mile trips in it fairly regularly, at great cost to my back.

It had a tendency to get sucked into tractor-trailers' slipstreams, which was a less-than comfortable feeling at 70 mph.

By far the lousiest car I ever drove. A CRX in good shape, one that hasn't been abused and isn't about to suffer catastrophic body failure might be a good buy, and might be fun to soup up, but out of the box they don't seem to be anything special, and if they're prone to the problems I had with mine, it's probably best to stay away.

I'm sorry to here you have had a bad experience with a crx, but after looking at other reviews I have come to the conclusion that I have made a great sporty buy especially as it is my first hot hatch.

sean

OK, you say the clutch was slipping at 125,000 miles, but having to replace a stock clutch at 125,000 is not unusual at all. The overheating is most likely a head gasket that needs to be replaced, but it could simply mean that the cooling system needs to be flushed out and fresh coolant added. A Honda CRX is one of the best built and most reliable cars ever made so you are correct in saying that you did not check the car out properly before buying a used one. Any car will breakdown if the owner does not give it the proper care. I once knew a young lady who bought a brand new Honda Civic and complained that at 12,000 miles it was smoking and running bad. I asked her when she last changed her oil and she had no idea what I was talking about. She had ruined a perfectly good brand new Honda motor by not even checking the oil for 12,000 miles. Go figure.

Sorry if I sound like I disagree with you, but how can you say that about a '87 CRX? The car is great, and I don't find anything wrong with it.

The crx is a good car so stop complaining and learn to take care of it and it won't break down.

Hey, I was just wondering; I have an 87' CRX, I've replaced the clutch and the alternator, and it was running perfectly. I have been maintaining it regularly. However, now when I am driving and switching gears between 3rd and 4th, I press down on the gas and it starts revving higher, but not going any faster? Does anyone know what might be wrong with it, or anything that I can do to fix this??

T.

Yeah, you need a clutch. classic sign of slippage you have.

I own an'87 CRX with 210k miles and it has no problems with it at ALL. Yeah, it feels faster then it is and sometimes I putput around like I've got something under the hood and get dusted easily.. LOL But I could easily see my car running past 300k miles. I've seen a lot of CRX owners with heavy miles all souped up still running strong. Just remember to check your oil and all the routine stuff. Peace.

I have had the same CRX for many of years. Kept up on the oil changes, timing belts, head gasket and all that. Then I started having the same problem that you are describing (overheating). Since I work on my own cars, I was able to figure out the problem for myself... turned out that the catalytic converter had melted into a ball inside the exhaust. Now, I know how I drive, I hot rod all the time. So yeah it was my fault that it started overheating, not Honda. CRXs are some of the best cars out there. No there aren't that many of us out there that own them, but we all love them like they were our children.