Honda civic rated most reliable car today?? LOL

[Vizzy]

A few ancedotes don't count.

My guess is that Mazda may be the most trouble free brand at the moment, with Subaru coming in second followed by Honda, Suzuki, and then Mitsu...

I too worked in the service department at TWO Honda stores from 1983 until 2002....

Back in the mid 80's Honda really couldn't be beat for reliability, value, and a limited amount of fun factor too if you chose the right product, like the CRX or Civic Si....

Then around the early 90's things started to go bad....

I think the real decay at Honda started around the mid 90's or so.....

Very dull product, developing more reliability and quality problems...major ones at that ..I saw all kinds of issues from 1997 or so on..

The Accord and Civic got fat, cheapened, and even become quite boring to look at and to drive as well and the prices just got higher .....

Honda may have been great at one time but that time has since faded into history.

 

[Spyder7]

An 01 Civic has withstood the worst kind of neglect and maintenance I've ever seen a car get. No preventative maintenance, things fixed only when they have to be (and after the domino effect has begun), oil run well past any kind of healthy lifespan. Very hard driving.

It also has one of the worst sounding engines I've ever heard (no wonder given the above) yet its pushing 300,000 km and still going.

I don't know about the new ones (don't buy new so don't pay much attention to new cars), but the older Civics, at least, are some very tough cars.

-Spyder

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: lairdwd
You guys need to read the mechanical forums. One guy who is a honda tech basically said the civic's were POS. Cracked blocks, leaky racks, transmission problems. Honda is also well known for over sensitive emissions systems, over engineered, non user accessable vehicles.

With all the quality problems being self reported by Honda and Toyota today, how many do you think are *not* reported?

In the below thread, mopar_monkey is a service tech at a honda dealership. Read what he has to say:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1936697



LOL @ YOU...you must hate hondas?

one guys opinion does not speak for everyone

I still see lots of late 80's and early 90's hondas on the road more than any other make. That has to say something.

 

[lairdwd]

cheap OEM parts? What are these guys smoking? Cat converter = $1k, an oxygen sensor = $400. A friggin OEM spark pug = $18. serpentine belt = $68.

Those are "cheap OEM parts"?

Thanks to the other honda tech who straightened out the crowd. Despite the other thread from the other honda techs clearly indicating quality going down the tubes, and the endless articles on the web about cracked blocks, leaky racks, automatic transmission problems, serious emissions problems, super sensitive sensors, and lack of user friendly engine designs, and other serious issues - they "stick to their guns" about granny's civic being a great car. LOL.

Do some research folks. Use your friggin' heads.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
What three years were the blocks cracking?
We only had one here with a cracked block due to heat


Google Civic and Cracked Block......you'll see the anecdotal evidence is there. People have been complaining about this for years.

 

[Spyder7]

I did my research when I bought this car. I was looking at 2000-2002 model years. My top two picks based on the research I did: the Toyota Corolla I drive now and the Honda Civic. And it was a toss up for both as I would have been happy with either. I got the car I wanted and it'll last a long time. Same if it had been a Civic instead.

-Spyder

 

[daves87rs]

I think pretty much all newer cars are better than we are used to. So te point of this thread is pretty much mute...

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: AlienBug
I agree Hondas are boring. Now my VW OTOH is a thrill. Turn the key, and a world of possibilities open up. What warning lights will come on? Will the glove box door fall off? Will the power windows shatter when you roll them down? Hondas are boring. Wake up, drive to work without incident, come home. Repeat for 15 years.

 

[lairdwd]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT


Let me guess, the MSM is full of [censored] when they conclude that the Toyota Corolla is also one of the, if not the most reliable cars ever made.


See the comments from honda techs on this thread and the previously mentioned thread about the later model civics being the biggest POS in the entire honda line. For these "click and clack" clowns to say it's the most reliable car on the market today is complete misinformation by the mainstream media.

Also for those people saying that their automatic transmission honda's are lasting 200K. Consider yourselves fortunate. It's pretty well known that the AT's are junk in the hondas.

 

[Vizzy]

I would bet that the Corolla may be one of the most reliable compact cars in the USA today....

But it is one mind numbing driver.

And actually VW products are nearly as reliable as the typical Japanese or Korean today...surprising but true...
The Golf is actually MORE reliable than quite a few Japanese and Korean models...including Honda.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
An 01 Civic has withstood the worst kind of neglect and maintenance I've ever seen a car get. No preventative maintenance, things fixed only when they have to be (and after the domino effect has begun), oil run well past any kind of healthy lifespan. Very hard driving.

It also has one of the worst sounding engines I've ever heard (no wonder given the above) yet its pushing 300,000 km and still going.

I don't know about the new ones (don't buy new so don't pay much attention to new cars), but the older Civics, at least, are some very tough cars.

-Spyder


One example however. My wife has a good friend who's mom has a 2001 Civic which just ate tranny #3, and is on it's way to the wreckers. Had it been a manual car, I imagine things would have been different. Is the car you speak of a manual by chance?

 

[Spyder7]

Yep, its a 5 speed manual.

-Spyder

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
I would bet that the Corolla may be one of the most reliable compact cars in the USA today....

But it is one mind numbing driver.

And actually VW products are nearly as reliable as the typical Japanese or Korean today...surprising but true...
The Golf is actually MORE reliable than quite a few Japanese and Korean models...including Honda.


Depends on what you expect out of your chosen transportation. For me, I'm on-call and have to be ready to go when the phone rings. With just the one car, downtime for me is not an option. Or it needs to be minimized as much as I can, and ideally at a time of my choosing. In that sense its boring: no excitement from the car not starting or dying on the highway. No excitement from the suspense of wondering when its going to need its next repair.

Daily, solid, dependable transportation. Boring - you bet. But I wouldn't have it otherwise.

Edit: the first car I bought was a '79 Rabbit with 350,000 km on it. It was like a tank for durability (and fun to drive). It was bare of any amenities and as purely functional as a car can be. It still remains the gold standard I've weighed every car against since.

-Spyder

 

[Vizzy]

Honda always did make a great manual tranny as I recall...I remember when I first started working at the Honda store back in 83 MOST of the cars were manual!!!!!!!

Just before I left another store almost NONE of the vehicles had manual transmissions!!!!

People are so darn lazy today....I guess they need their hand free for their stupid cell phone!!!!!!!!

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Honda always did make a great manual tranny as I recall...I remember when I first started working at the Honda store back in 83 MOST of the cars were manual!!!!!!!

Just before I left another store almost NONE of the vehicles had manual transmissions!!!!

People are so darn lazy today....I guess they need their hand free for their stupid cell phone!!!!!!!!



Well we don't need computers or cell phones at all then. Or alarm clocks, or anything like that. No check/credit cards. Do everything the long and hard way. No online bill paying, no ATMs, nothing. People need to stop complaining about the lack of manual transmissions, because the trend is NOT going to reverse.

 

[Spyder7]

Manual trannys are harder to find in the used car market. I went into last time preferring a manual but being realistic enough to know my chances of finding a car I wanted that was also a manual would be slim. I wound up with an auto. No complaints, as I'm happy with either. The biggest ding against the auto, is that when they fail, the cost of repair or replacement usually exceeds the value of the car. It factored into the buying equation on this car, but Toyota is known for building some of the most durable autos out there, so in the end it wasn't a deal killer and I expect it to last a long time.

-Spyder

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Honda always did make a great manual tranny as I recall...I remember when I first started working at the Honda store back in 83 MOST of the cars were manual!!!!!!!

Just before I left another store almost NONE of the vehicles had manual transmissions!!!!

People are so darn lazy today....I guess they need their hand free for their stupid cell phone!!!!!!!!



Well we don't need computers or cell phones at all then. Or alarm clocks, or anything like that. No check/credit cards. Do everything the long and hard way. No online bill paying, no ATMs, nothing. People need to stop
complaining about the lack of manual transmissions, because the trend is NOT going to reverse.



You must be VERY young.....VERY VERY young!

They HAD CCs, ATMs and the like back in the middle 80's.....even computers...

The only things missing was the internet..but there was BBS back then..compuserve...a rudimentary internet. Cell phones (mobile phones) were available but not common until the late 80s early 90's.

But you certainly SHOULD NOT BE USING ANY PHONE OR TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. PERIOD...


The fact is that MOST people HAVE gotten fatter, and lazier over the past few decades, incredibly so. I'd even add dumber because as much as I want to deny it....it's true!


As far as the manual tranny...actually there is a bit of a revival lately because of the subcompact car becoming more popular over the past few years....

Of course in the RoW the manual is king as always will be for the near future...only in America is the autotragic so popular.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: barlowc
Originally Posted By: lairdwd
You guys need to read the mechanical forums.

Why? When I maintain my mother-in-law's 9-year old Civic EX with 75K miles and nothing at all has gone wrong and there's no signs anything will, why waste my time reading about other people's misfortune? I'd rather spend my time reading about something that does relate to me. I'm sure other Civic owners with similar experience will agree.

75K? That isn't exactly alot of mileage.

 

[CharBaby]

My experience with Honda's has been steller. I don't own one now only due to their styling. I just don't like'm. Plus, I think that just about everything is better today than it was years ago.
I do try to stay in higher rated vehicles and watch the repair records. Each vehicle has it's own issues I guess.

The Honda Civic according to CR, the box of Black, Red or Clear circles, the Honda Civic Sedan(non Hybrid) shows to be the most consistantly, year after year, lowest to repair, most reliable vehicle in their magazine. This past April 2010 Annual Auto Issue, the Honda Civic Sedan didn't show not one black or half black spot in any of the years listed. From my recent review of this issue, only the Toyota Highlander V6 matches the Civic although many vehilces show to be very good today. There are a couple of other vehicles that don't have any sort of "Black" spots either but, they haven't been being produced as long.

CR Mag also states that, just because a vehicle shows to be very reliable, doesn't mean that things don't go wrong and visa-versa.
They also mention that if reliability was not a factor and only driving experience such as performance, comfort & safety mattered, the European cars such as VW/Audi & MB would be their top choices.

 

[Autobahn88]

My experience and my parents experience with Hondas in the past have also been stellar. Nothing out of the ordinary other than maint issues and preventative maint items. Honda did not get this reliability reputation for nothing. It is funny how all of the naysayers always blame the media for bias coverage. Well, my father was looking for a minivan last year and ended up buying a new Chevy Uplander. Lets say his experience with the Uplander has been less then what he expected. It is now for sale and he is going to buy a new Honda or Toyota. Nothing beats personal experience.