instalher

hey gang just wondering about this.. i have been on this web page now for a while now and noticed that our cars ,for the most part, suck.. does anyone have anything good to say about the 7th gen civic..
also on a lighter note our cars made the top ten list of worst cars to buy.. this is a first for honda ever on any car!!! whooot!! whoot!! horray for us...
i will start.. i have 300,000 km on my civic and have replaced everything on it from bumper to bumper with the exception of the motor... so ya the motor is bullet proof!! there your turn.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I still made 35MPG average while boosted.. and even though I'm not boosted anymore, it's still fun to drive

lazlong

Can still get 30mpg with short gears. Almost 200K. Replaced ALL the suspension, switch on top of steering column (caught fire while I was 900 miles from home), cat converter, radiator fan, driver's window motor, 1 light in gauge cluster, door checks, airbox (stupid stripped screws. lol.), and 1 fender when some a**hole backed into me. OK, you got me beat, I only replaced half the car.

The Turtle

This is a fun car to drive on the track... handles well. Just that the 100bhp could do with some help... improve the suspension, and that 100bhp would scare cars twice the power on a track with lots of turns... not that it overtakes, it just keeps up or even pass at the corners because it handles so well, and improved brakes make it near supercar class on approach, braking, and turning...

in dead stock trim, the brakes need aftermarket pads, hoses, and 4/600 brake fluids to bring them to life... 0-800 degrees project miu pads works wonders here for the 7 Gen...

I know people who traded up... to 400+ horses regret, and miss the 7th Gen on track...

grendel

I've got a pretty unique 7th gen, so the uniqueness factor somewhat offsets the fact that there's little/no aftermarket support.

What list are you talking about? Source?

welcome to civicforums!

instalher

it was on msn auto. so i will give u a run down of replaced parts.. 3rd tranny, 3 batteries, 5 alternators, all new suspension, 3rd camber kit, 4th set of brakes, 3rd set of rotors, 2nd set of calipers, 3 mufflers, second exhust now stainless, second exhust manifold, new door skins, new seats, new roof liner, new dash, new hood, new intake, 3rd set of headlights, 3rd set of fog lights, had the leaking rear passenger side of trunk fixed, had that car painted 7 times and they still got it wrong. third timing belt, third set of upper and lower rad hoses, 2nd thermostat. and 52 oil changes... cha cha cha..

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Damn.. That's a lot.. How long have you had your car? I've had my car since July of 2002 and I haven't had that much go wrong with it.. Almost everything I've replaced on my car is because I wanted to or had to because I messed it up myself during installation/modification.

grendel

What do you do with your car, man?? Seriously, that's ****ed. I find it almost impossible to believe that you're driving it as Honda intended and having all of that go wrong - there's more to this story that just Honda's build quality, that's for sure.

Same here. For my '04, I've:
- replaced the battery (by choice - winters are hard up here)
- repaired some paint chips (highway driving),
- wetsanded headlights (again, weather and driving conditions, not Honda)
- new rotors/pads all around (one OEM pad was starting to squeak, so I swapped everything all at once)

I think that's about it.

mr22508

Replaced an engine(by choice)
Replaced alternator twice
Water pump (by choice)
Head gasket
Thermostat twice
plugs multiple
clutch (by choice)
Rear bumper twice (accidents)
Headlights (by choice)
timing belt (by choice)
Battery
Rotors (by choice)

I love my EM2! For being on the top 10 worst, it sure runs good for me! I've owned a few Honda's, Acura's and the only one that beats this car overall was my 91 Acura Integra.

grendel

I think I found what you're referring to. Worst Cars of the Decade?
http://autos.ca.msn.com/editors-pick...entid=23127790

This is actually a bunch of MSN Auto reviewers pointing out their most-hated cars of the last decade. One guy describes a Porsche 911 model as a "worst of the decade" because of his air conditioning preference. lol

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Replaced due to wear and tear/component failure
-Brake Pads
-Spark Plugs
-Oil Changes/Filters
-Tires
-2nd Clutch (first clutch replaced by choice)
-Tranny Synchros
-Electric Load Detector
-Front motor mount
-O2 Sensors
-Thermostat/Coolant flush
-2nd shift **** (first replaced by choice, both replacements were RSX 5-speed *****)

Replacements due to human error/vandalism
-Passenger mirror and rear quarter panel (accident)
-2nd set of headlights (first replaced by choice, 2nd messed up taking eyelids off)
-Driver rear quarter window (someone shot it with a BB gun)
-Passenger tie rod end (Messed up threads during strut installation)
-Various plastic pieces (due to modification mishaps)
-2nd set of angel eyes (first set changed because they were blue. Second set were changed because they were hella thick and I popped the CCFL tube putting the headlight back together)

thats all I can think of at the moment.. everything else I've replaced was for modification/aesthetics

Everything else I've replaced was for modification/aesthetics

ashokudu

I have to say the 7th gen is not what you except of typical civics. I replaced all four struts, front LCA so far and freaking thing has only 141K miles on it. What I love though it gives me 38+ on the highway .

Its a stick.

ashok

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

How long do you expect struts to last? Every strut on every manufacturers car is expected to wear out.

lazlong

Yeah. With the potholes around here you have to change struts about every 50-80K, springs last about 100K.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Well, let's see the worst cases besides normal maintenance:
1) Manual tranny rebuilt (too much spinning in corners due to worng camber settings);
2) Both front axles (Same reason as above)
3) Both LCA front - one of them cracked (literally, not sure why) and changed both so i would have new bushings.
4) SRS computer - one of the modules died on me...
Besides that, nothing major on the top of my head.
In the end? Loooove the car! Does what i expect from the price i paid, but wasn't there a guy here in the forum that wanted a BMW ride from it? kkkk!
Better than that is only the 6th generation, i guess, double wishbone suspension, much lighter, etc, etc.
And the seats, aside from the rocking, are muuuch better than the Corolla or similar priced cars. 1200 miles and my back is good, Corolla seats kkilled me in 2 hours!

instalher

well as far as how long i have owned this car bought new and since day one.. it has giving me grief since then. i reported the water leak right away, and the fuel gauge readings and the erratic idel, and they gave it back each time no fault found.humm figure that out.. i got the same song and dance with the tranny making noise at 87000km they told me dont worry about it..umm no please fix.. 1700.00 bucks later and a completly rebuilt tranny, my alt. went at 53000km i asked for a good will alt. guess what they said.... bite me.... ya honda service does suck... as far as driving the car. well i drive it like its the last car i will ever own.. so never has the tach gone over 5000rpm, only the best motor oil, ngk double irridium platinum plugs, borla stainless exhust, brembo calipers, hawk pads, brembo rotors, dc sport muffler, aim cold air intake, kyb suspension, sprint springs, agx camber kit f/r. when something goes i replace it with a part that i trust wont break next week, so my upgrades, while expensive make the car now worth something and its very reliable.

lazlong

FYI-usually somewhere in every city is a guy who rebuilds alternators, starters, etc. Next time that happens, go find that guy. btw-the guy here charges $25 for a rebuilt alt.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

I remember one of your previous posts...
You prolly got one from a bad batch, likely... Try to see what good mechanics you find out there in OKC (that's where you are from, right?)

mililani

So far, I've not had any real problems with my 2001 LX. I bought it brand new, and I've only had scheduled maintenance stuff done and a window regulator cable that broke. It has 110k miles on it. I don't expect it to last much longer, but who knows?

The best thing about the car is the fuel economy. I always get 44 mpg on the highway for long trips (over 300 miles). I average 65 mph too. The fuel economy is accurate, since I use mileage and gas at the pump to do the calculation. So far, it has been a really reliable car. Got rear ended once, got towed, no major damage. When the tranny gives, which I'm expecting, I might just dump it and buy a new car. It's too bad, though, cause I was hoping to get 250k miles out of it.

instalher

my mechanic loves me. i have dropped on average 199 per month getting things done there. but that also includes new rims every yr and new rubber twice a yr.. toyo proxy 4 235/40 zr 17. last month was 250 for 4 new plugs. synthetic oil change and new o2 sensor.. and one new spark plug wire, shorted out as i wash my motor once a month.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm, let me see... besides all the maintenance stuff (Spark plugs etc.) I've replaced:

Thermostat
Head Gasket

I think thats it. Still running on the original battery. I will break 100k miles this week.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

New battery a month ago for the winter
and at 95k... hope i can get to below 110k before i get back to TN... (it will be a 1200 mile trip and kind of trying to decide if i wait to get back to work on the garage or simply get the car to a shop to replace the timing belt...) this will be tricky...

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

-3rd tranny, If its auto, then I could see this... but many people make the tranny last with a tranny cooler
-3 batteries, 5 alternators- you must have an ICE system that is causing this- I was rocking the stock battery n alternator for 9 years.
-all new suspension, 50k ago they said my struts were leaking n were going to go... that was 50k ago. I saved 1k not listening to them
-3rd camber kit, I've never seen a broken camber kit
-4th set of brakes, brakes wear out over time, but I just replaced mine for the second time, 110k into it.
-3rd set of rotors, You must be running your brakes down to the rivets or getting junk stuck between your pads and rotors that are causing this
-2nd set of calipers, HOW?
-3 mufflers, HOW?
-second exhust now stainless, HOW?
-second exhust manifold, did it crack? Thats why people warm their cars up before they drive them
-new door skins, new seats, new roof liner, new dash- thats all interior. If you care for your interior then there shouldnt be any problems. Did you paint your interior and decide you wanted it stock- i dont see how
-new hood, Carwashes much?
-new intake, You must have broke this yourself.. its THICK plastic
-3rd set of headlights, Carwashes much?
-3rd set of fog lights, These are an option, the OEM ones are glass n hard to break, ebay ones crack easy.. but they are 6 inches from the road, they will
had the leaking rear passenger side of trunk fixed- that involves twisting a rubber stopper
-had that car painted 7 times and they still got it wrong. Where the hell are you taking it...
-third timing belt, 300k+ miles?
-third set of upper and lower rad hoses, really...
-2nd thermostat- I replaced mine once too
-and 52 oil changes... Thats a lot.

You gotta be kidding.. if I listened to the dealer everytime I rolled through I would have replaced as much stuff as you too... I dont see a reason to replace everything, so often...

mac25

edit

MindBomber

This thread is closed for two reasons: there is already a thread where people compare the problems they've had with 7th gens, there's no need for a second; the op's car is heavily modified and he needs to except a loss of reliability with that, your list is hardly reflective of a stock 7th gen.

I've never replaced a single part on my 2002 Si outside of basic maintenance, and I get close to 50mpg.