1999 Honda Civic DX from North America - Comments

Since new this car has been nothing but problems, even with regimented dealer service.

First problem I noticed was the drivers seat was was moving when I accelerated or braked. It turns out to be the floor board were flexing where the seats bolted down. The car had to have plate metal welded to the floorboards to fix it. Honda refused to cover it as it wasn't under any warranty. Note, I am only 160 lbs.

I also noticed a grinding sound when accelerating and it turned out to be a bad bearing in the transmission. Luckily Honda fixed it under warranty.

The car also has a lot of wind noise through the windows at highway speeds.

Other than fuel economy I really don't have too many good things to say.

Acceleration is pretty weak, I don't understand how other surveys rate it high. They are probably 16 year old kids that don't know better or Europeans that are only use to 4 cylinders.

Body roll is good at low speeds, but on the highway the car tends to roll badly. Not a high speed handling car.

The fit and finish of the body panels are not that great and the interior already has a few squeaks.

I really think these cars are by far highly over rated. After renting a Ford Focus I found it a much better car in all aspects. For any buyers take a good look at the competition.

You have been unlucky there are always a few duff cars

doesn't matter who has made them be it ford

gm, Nissan etc

Honda is a superior product and out of the 3 Honda's I have had I have

had not one problem!!!

You may have had luck with your 3 Honda's, but it might not be enough to call it a superior product. You were lucky, I wasn't. Look at some of the other poor comments on the Civic, look at the comments on the problematic Oddessy. Either quality has slipped or this manufacturer is highly over rated.

I would never buy one again! Like other surveys I find the technicians try to hide problems and blame it on anything, but quality. At least Ford, GM and Chrysler are recently owning up to there mistakes and performing recalls. I prefer a mfr that accepts responsibilty rather then shunning you off.

My Dad's 84 Accord has over 190000 miles. Original drive-train. Engine has never been opened. Clutch went at 150000+. Gaskets are beginning to leak. This isn't just one example. Many Hondas have several hundred thousand miles. Some American cars of similar age may have the same amount of miles, but there aren't nearly as many examples as with Honda.

American cars sometimes have better fit and finish than a Civic has. The Civic is an economy car; it has economy packaging.

If you want better, buy an Accord, or an Acura. If it still feels poorly built, Toyotas have a heavier feel, like the American autos that "Detroit" keeps churning out.

If you want economy and need really heavy duty packaging, buy a used tank, or a sixties American car. Ah redundancy.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about comparing a Ford Focus to a Honda Civic.

Amen!

Please, go buy the Ford, I don't want your comments here on a good car.

All you have to do is look at the # of smiley faces for any model Honda, then go look at Ford's FROWN pages!

Sorry, Charlie... WRONG.

We've had dozens of Honda's since the late 70's, and never a lemon, although it is bound to happen to someone, this, I think, was YOU and not the car. Also, you have to maintain a car. I find most think maintenance is turning the key and complaining when it won't go more!

Maintenance is the key in everything here. Hondas wear out around 200-250K everytime, regardless of over maintenance. They usually make it there, but by the time they're there, ka-put.

I've had 4 Hondas and I do not EVER WANT ONE AGAIN!!! Except maybe the NSX. Gotta admit that it's a gorgeous car. I've had 3 Civics and 1 Accord. The Accord was alright. The finish inside of the Civics (88-99 just plain sucks. I've had THREE, so don't say I don't know what I'm talking about.

I've had 4 Domestic cars, and I think I'm hooked. 330K on my unopened Ford engine, I want to see a Honda that does that well and drive as well as my Ford. 215K on my Taurus, no problems, and it doesn't even seem tired like so many of my Hondas did at this mileage.

American all the way, comfy, reliable, and sturdy.

There are plenty of them around. I see many Honda's and Acura's and Toyota's with well over 300,000 miles. When I am at the junkyard I only see ones that are either too old; their life taken by rust or I see them from a horrendous crash. Now I think it is biased to say that Honda's will not make it past 250,000. Now let us think of all those poor Fords that had their trannys go or the whole engine. I have had a few Fords and they did just that. Maintenance? Yes! Quality control the problem? YES!

Well, folks - please don't compare Honda's to perfection - compare it to alternatives - a friend of mine is a Ford fanatic (or he's just too proud to buy a Japanese car) anyways, his 1995 Ford Taurus barely made it past the warranty period - I think around 60,000kms...the engine went Kaput once it hit 1,000 kms over 60,000 kms... while my 1995 Honda Accord (1995) is still running and going at over 250,000 kms... mind you I've replaced brakes once ($300.00)

Timing belt/chain $450.00 (twice) and ball joints ($400.00) - Wow, if you tally 'em up it's only over sixteen hundred dollars in repairs since I've bought the car in '95!!..I'm not saying Fords are not good cars - they are affordable and yeah, I like them when it's new..so..let's stop bashing the car makers - sometimes you get a well-made car (regardless of the maker) sometimes you get the crappy 'lemon' ones - and yes, I had a couple of those - yep, a Ford and a Honda ('88 accord)

Hondas are little tanks and can withstand more than any ford! I have had 2 hodas and treated them like crap and they run better than any other ford or gm that I have riden in.

I have never bought anything other than Honda and for good reason. My first Honda was a 1999 Civic Dx with just a full exhaust system and intake which made it just as fast as my buddies same year Nissan Maxima (that's a v6 engine). I was always dropping the clutch at six grand and never had any transmission problems or motor problems with 90,000 + on the car. I have seen Hondas outlast Fords and Nissans many times as tuners and beaters and that's why Honda made is the way to go when looking for an economy, long lasting, or tuner vehicle.

To the poster above who claimed his 1999 Civic DX with a modified exhaust was just as fast as a 99' Maxima... I seriously doubt that. The Maxima has a V6 which pumps out 190 HP while the 1999 Civic DX has a V4 which cranks out 106 HP... changing the exhaust would get you MAYBE another 25-25 HP, you would still be nowhere near the 1999 Maxima... Yes the Maxima is a heavier car, but the curb weight difference is less than 300 Kg... From a person who drives both Honda's and Nissan's, I can tell you they are both really good cars but don't try to tell me that a Civic slightly modified is as fast as a Maxima.

I agree with your review, I have not been in a single Civic that has lived up to its hype. The engines may have great reliability, but in all other aspects I have seen the cars to be a real let down.

Wind noise is extreme in these cars, along with road noise, and don't drive on gravel, or your dash will be covered, literally covered in dust! Having been in the back and driving these cars, I find them unbelievably uncomfortable. I say all this because I drive an Accent that is a LARGE improvement in all of these areas.