1988 Honda Ballade 150 from South Africa - Comments

The following went wrong with the Honda:

The timing belt snapped at about 190000 km and caused 2 exhaust valves to be crushed.

The resulting skim on the engine block caused tremendous oil usage. Having the rings replaced solved the problem for the most part.

The front right ball joint seems to have run dry and is now generating some unnerving noises.

Also, the gearbox synchro seems to be dying along with the clutch (usual wear and tear).

The most annoying failures were however not mechanical, but rather in the interior.

The roof lining came down at 100 000 km and had to be replaced.

A rather nasty series of rattles developed in the dashboard and to this date haven't been fixed (not for the lack of trying).

Somehow the doors developed a nasty thump sound when pulling away. It was discovered that the hinges somehow have worked loose and allow the door room for movement.

On the left outside panel rust has appeared, but this may be due to some old accident before I received the car.

For a student the car is great. It gets you where you need to go with tremendous reliability.

It is also not very quick, but it is extremely economical. When I bought it initially it easily got around 650 - 700 km per tank (around 15 km/l).

Unfortunately, reliability is not all that is required for a good car. Much of that car seems to be composed of cheap plastics that fall apart for no apparent reason. There are many unexplained rattles and tends to give the impression that the car is not very solid.

As well as it has served me, I will never buy a Honda again. Rather pay the extra money and buy a decent vehicle that won't fall apart if you sneeze in the wrong direction.

I beg to differ about the reliability and standard of the 1989 Honda. I purchased 1 about a year ago and the car is still in a fabulous state. The timing belt on your Honda snapped because you were either due for a new one or the one you fitted was fitted incorrectly resulting it to rub against the cover. The noise in the dashboard can be the result of 2 things firstly foreign objects in the pipes of your air conditioning system or for some reason the dashboard was removed which must never be done, a dashboard is a plastic mould product and it is fitted while it is still malleable making each dashboard uniquely fitted. The roof lining came down due to a lack of maintenance and the door hinges was not lubricated properly resulting in the hinges wearing down. (replacement are available)

I have a 1985-1988 Honda 1500 with 176000 km on the clock and must agree with the other users that a large amount of rattles causes a problem, although the car didn't do any gravel roads and is well looked after, the rattles in the dashboard is a large problem that seems to be unsolvable.

The car gives a very good 14.3km\liter petrol at a constant speed of about 120-140km\h. Up to date there was no problem with oil usage, but the air conditioner seems to be working not that good in the summer, and take a lot of the cars power away. I must congratulate Honda on a good car with a very strong interior where it come to linen and upholstery.

I have owned a 1985 Honda 150 and although I have purchased 2 new Honda's since I still cannot sell the old one. The car has been very reliable and currently has well over 800 000 km on the clock.

If maintenance is kept up this car should last a very long time. I have removed my dashboard many times to add aftermarket extras to the car and have had no problems with rattles, as I always insulated the mounting surfaces with sponge or prestik. I even fitted a new dash as I changed the interior and wanted a black dash as apposed to the brown and still no rattles.

A wonderful car to own.

I beg to differ. My Honda is a 1984 model with 244000km on the clock. It gives me a suprisingly 700km on a tank. Air conditioner still works fine and just a few rattles at the dasboard. Very pleased with my Honda.

Hey how do you wait 190000km for your timing to snap... i currently have 1991 that has 260000 and have changed the belt twice. Probably you must be the type that runs the car to the ground.

I am the owner of a 1994 Ballade Luxline. I agree wholeheartedly with the comments about the timing belt. My Honda now has covered 275,000km and I just had the (original) gearbox bearing replaced.

While the engine and gearbox were split, I had a new clutch fitted. The old clutch was also the original manufacturers part. The car uses absolutely NO oil, even at this extended stage in its life.

Yes, it has had a rattle inside the dashboard, which was fixed in 30mins at no cost (a couple or inches of insulation tape to bind a loose wire that was touching the glove-box bucket)

Everything on this car works as the manufacturer intended. The only repairs have been i) a distributor shaft at 230,000km, ii) new timing belts at each 75,000 service and iii) the gearbox bearing and clutch.

Exceptional performance for a limousine, masquerading as a small family saloon. Bravo Honda!

I am the Proud owner of a 1993 luxline with 293 000km on the clock. I have replaced the water pump at 145 000km and have not had a problem since, except for the odd rattle or two. I can only see many more happy Honda days to come.

Understandably enough, my 1994 Honda Ballade has accumulated a whopping 225,000 kms, but still delivers a powerful punch after 3000 revs though it's a bit sluggish on the 2nd gear, nonetheless I cannot but agree with the above-mentioned comments when it comes to the clutch and gearbox mechanisms. I am finding it increasingly harder to shift from neutral to first, and I was made to understand that this "phenomenon" is indeed very symptomatic of Hondas (Ballade?), and will soon "spread" to the other gear transmissions. I have not changed the timing belt as yet, but I ensure that the car benefits from regular servicing (a religious six-month pattern would be ideal given the age of the car). The air-conditioning system seems to be slowly dying out and even at full blast, only a shy whiff of cool air comes out of the vents (I think re-gasing would be the solution). Though the car is shielded as much as possible from weathering, I have noticed some cracks on the bonnet. But all in all, the Honda Ballade is VERY low on fuel consumption. It has served me well... part of me will die when I sell this mean and loyal machine.

I bought a Honda 89 with 270000 km and it still runs fine,but had a few problems the idle speed is too high and I got a singing sound on the gearbox, but it is a nice car to have it gave me about 14km/l.

Regards

Johnny.

I am the proud owner of a 1996 Honda Ballade 150i Luxline, and fully agree with the positive comment raised by fellow Ballade owners. The car is still good looking after 11 years, is very economical and also mechanically very reliable. Apart from tyres, exhaust and a timing belt replacement at 160000km, the car still gives me reliable day to day service. The standard of fitments and overall quality of the car also compares well with other more expensive car makes.

Can only agree with all the other positive posts. A fantastic little car. If you want to get it going you just have to let it rev a tad harder than normal.

As long as you keep the oil clean it should last forever. If you use synthetic it probably will - the engine that is :-)

I have a 94 Honda Ballade Luxline 150. 320200km on the clock and still goes lyk a lil bomb!