ranpow

For the benefit of those who are planning to buy a Honda Civic and based upon the literature they read believe it to be a great car, if not the best car one can buy, here is reality (ie. the list of problems that I have had with my Civic in the first year of ownership):

1. rattle from the front end that could get so loud you could not hear the stereo,

2. rear window defrost did not work,

3. flaw in front passenger door,

(NOTE: these three problems were in the first day)

4. cooling fan shaft breaks causing the cooling fan to separate causing damaging to parts around the area. It pierced the rad causing all the antifreeze to leak instantly and an overheated engine. My six week old car had to be towed to the dealer. The car was in the shop for five days and Honda Canada did not give a loaner.

5. The instrument panel malfunctioned - the only think that worked was the odometer.

6. The stereo malfunctioned. The original stereo would advance radio stations/tracks on CD without warning, the second stereo had a damaged face plate, the third stereo would just die all or sudden and I am now recently on my fourth stereo.


Every problem involves multiple trips. The required parts are never in stock meaning a second trip to the dealer when they arrive.

In some cases problems are found until after multiple visits but I still have to go back after the parts are received.

This is obsolutely the worst car I have ever owned.

I have contacted Honda Canada - not much satisfaction there.

Cbakey

Witch Civic do you own, year and body style?

93DelSolSi

Your Heat shield in the front of the car is loose(I THINK), the bolts always rust off and then makes a rattling noise. yeah, just go to an auto shop and they put a hanger type thing on it, like free with a oil change.

Running925

I'm very suprized to hear that you are having so many problems.. i don't know anyone that has problems with their stock Honda / Acura..

I'm sure that honda would not refuse to fix those problems that their own expence to satisfy the customer..

... u could have bought a cavilear.. & well yea... it just wouldn't have started lol

.. Running925 = Honda Lover!

Andy

I have a '98 EX and I've had none of the problems you describe. The only major issue I've had in the first 100k miles of ownership was the air conditioning belt started to break apart (it was torn up/frayed but hadn't failed, I was under the car changing the oil and I noticed it). The local Honda dealership replaced the belt free of charge (car had about 25k miles on it at the time).

I would find out contact information for Honda Corporate offices and contact them, or their customer service department if your not getting satisfaction from your local dealership. The problems your having are not normal and it sounds like the dealership isn't making much of an effort to help you. I take it your in Canada from your post and I'm not aware of the laws in your area, but in the US, we have a lemon law policy. Sometimes a car is made with serious flaws and you have a right to agrue that in court and win your money back or a replacement car. If Honda won't give you satisfaction, contact a lawyer and see if you any options.

19.3secS2K

boy, what year is this car?

my parents started buying honda's back in 1986. Thats when we first bought an Accord LXi. Actually, one of my aunts still owns the car. It looks like total crap, but it still runs.....

then we bought a 1990 Accord EX. Back in the first year or two of the car, the place we got an oil change at messed up and didn't put the drain plug in correctly. It leaked out oil until we saw the oil light, and then we turned around and took it back. That car lasted till 170k (mid 2002) before the headgasket killed it off, but thats including 50k miles of me essencially running it into the ground. (delivering pizza's and driving it like ass. I didt alot of neutral drops in that thing h: )

Then we also got a 1996 civic (my current car). The only major fawk up on it was the cracking exhaust manifold that I got replaced for free. Everything else has been normal wear and tear stuff (cv boots, transaxle seal, shit like that). It still runs like a champ, but there's only 120k on it.

My dad drives a 2000 Accord LX v6. Its a nice car. He's barely got 30k on the thing. No problems have happend with it.

My mom drives a 2002 Civic EX. She's at around 20k on that car. Again, no problems.

Maybe you just got a bad egg? No company is perfect.... :dunno:

swaggs21

I have the same opinion as most of the people in here. My family has owned 9 hondas, two of which are still running at almost 200k and look like new, and the others are either new, or traded in to buy newer ones. The only problem we ever had with any of them is when a raccoon ran up under the car and got lodged in there, and one of our German Shepherds neally tore both fenders and the scratched up the hood pretty good trying to get to it. The insurance company said it looked like a bear did it

hondatech

I have four honda cars, several honda moto's. Have had minor problems with the newer ones, but nothing big at all. Overall I believe they are the greatest cars made today and one of the greatest car companys in business. I only like to work on them because I know they make quality cars. If I wanted to make alot of money, I would have went to ford or chevy and be fixing junk all day.

I also believe that they go through more than most company's to make customers for life. I think that the dealership you have is not very good at taking care of your needs from what you say happened. If I was you i would call the corp. 800 number and go higher until your needs are meet. I don't happen to have the number since you are in Canada.
I know a guy who has a 03 TL, he and his family went to las vegas from sacramento, ca. for vacation. Upon arriving in las vegas his transmission began to not upshift and have harsh shifting. He took it to the Acura dealer in vegas. After they determined it needed to have an updated trans installed they promptly gave him a 04 TL loaner car for the week he was on vacation and told him his tranny was ordered and should be ready by the end of the time he would be there. Well as fate would have it it wasn't there in time and American Honda stepped up and flew him and his family back to ca, and then a local sacramento dealership met him at the airport with another loaner car until the vegas dealership flat bedded his car back to ca when done with the repairs. Honda also payed for food and hotel on the way back. When I heard this it reinforced why i work for this company and why my cars have an "H" or an "A" on them.

ranpow

To answer some of your questions:

The car is a 2003 Honda Civic LX Sport Sedan - it was purchased at the local Honda dealership in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

The problem with the rattle from the front end on the first day was a broken pipe - not a heat shield.

In Canada, there are no lemon aid laws like in the US.

I have spoken with a lawyer and she advised me that Honda's contractual obligations is to repair the car under warranty which they are doing. If I had the same problem constantly recurring I would have a case but they eventually fix the problem. Unfortunately with my car, every problem is a new one - and trust me there are alot of problems and alot of inconveniences to get it fixed.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been in contact with Honda Canada several times and am gradually working my way up the ladder in their complaint department.

Honda Canada has stated that they have done all that they are required to do: repair the car under warranty.

Since they understand my frustation, they have offered to pay for my next regular scheduled maintenance in August (an insulting offer from my point of view) and it sounds like they are trying to impress on the dealer to give me a loaner in cases of future warranty issues. However, knowing the dealer, they will not give a loaner as they have stated on many occassions that "we do not have a loaner program or a loaner fleet". Honda Canada told me to contact them in cases where the dealer does not give me a loaner but there is one problem: I usually drop off the car in the morning when I go to work (between 8:00 and 8:30 local time) but Honda Canada's customer relations department does not open till 10:30 my time due to time zone differences.

I hear what everyone is saying and I know that everyone praises Honda - that is why I purchased the vehicle However what I am hearing and what I have heard about Honda is not what I am experiencing. That is why I feel compelled to post this message.

SRT_Andy

Call whoever you financed your car through and tell them your problems. If you have a constantly recurring problem, the corps. are generally more than willing to work with you to save face - especially with a newer model. If they're not, your financial institution (who technically owns the car) car lean on them for you. Why pay for a car when it's a pile of crap? You'd be surprised the pressure a bank can put on someone.