1992 Honda Civic Si from North America - Comments

CV joints/axles had to be replaced at about 180,000kms.

Rear disc brakes are not the best design, due to the fact they're so small and not used for very much braking force, the calipers seized at about 160,000kms and had to be replaced.

At 238,000kms, piston rings are going and engine is burning a bit of oil (probably due to my aggressive driving)

3rd gear synchromesh wearing down (again due to my aggressive driving) and so tranny grinds a bit going from 2nd to 3rd.

Nothing else but regular maintenance... no major repairs before 180,000kms...

This car is amazing for its size. This hatchback Si (EX in the US) hauls with the 1.6L single overhead cam (SOHC) VTEC engine. Its puts out 125hp base stock and with a hatchback body, is very light so its very quick.

The Si has all the 'toys': pwr sunroof, cruise, foglights, pwr locks, pwr mirrors, etc. Very good value for the price.

By far the best body design yet. Very modern even 10 years down the road. Car was ahead of its time in '92.

I have a 92 Civic Si I bought from the original owner in 1997. It had 41K miles on it then, 90K now. It's been a great car. It's very quick - I've stoplight raced and beaten a Jetta VR6 and 86 Supra. Using Mobil 1 oil it gets about 33 mpg in mixed city/highway driving and has gotten as high as 44 mpg in relaxed country driving. 38 is typical at 75 mph. It's had the map sensor replace to fix a stalling problem. It later turned out there was dirt in the map sensor port that was causing the problem, not the sensor itself. The ignitor went out at 60K. I just put CV axles on it myself about a month ago, and when I took it in for an alignment, they said it was still spec. Things that could stand improvement - the seats aren't all that comfy. The interior noise level is pretty high, but really only a problem at high speed on the freeway. The clutch on mine chatters and always has. It will need replacement eventually so hopefully that will fix it. While the VTEC technology is really cool, the engine still could use more low rpm torque. It's pretty weak down low and it gets a little old doing all that shifting just to get around in traffic. And the speedo has always read about 5 mph slow. Other than that it's been flat reliable. I may have to trade it in as my lifestyle now begs for something a little more roomy. I'm considering a CRV as a replacement. Hate to give up the performance, but at least I can keep the Honda quality/reliability/simplicity.

My 92 Civic Si has 211,000 miles and the only major problem has been the input shaft bearing in the transmission going out. Went ahead and replaced clutch and rear main seal at the same time. Cost under $900 for all and that included transmission overhaul. Some minor problems such as brake master cylinder and distributor had to be replaced. Does anybody know the average life of the igniter?